Hi everyone, Luke here.

Firstly, thank you for taking a moment to stop and read this. I'm coming to you today from a place of mixed vulnerability, real truth, and courage, where there might have once been fear, had I not had such a blessed life thus far.

To put it concisely, I've been diagnosed with advanced cerebral atrophy and "silent seizures" that went misdiagnosed as "depression" for many years, but are now revealing themselves as signposts for early-onset dementia and what could be called "a way-too-soon" cognitive decline.

Over the last 15 years or so, I've been experiencing an increasing frequency and intensity of what I've been writing off as "bouts of depression," but what my wife, Alexa (my main support and mental health wiz), more astutely observed as "quiet seizures and catatonic episodes." These episodes, sometimes lasting many days, often come in conjunction with an intense neck pain from two bulging discs at C5–6 that induce insomnia and exacerbate.

Now, I can probably count on one hand the times I've stepped into a doctor’s office over the last 30 years, and like a lot of people with creeping, silently intensifying chronic conditions, I let this go a lot longer than I probably should have, until I finally went for an MRI a few months ago to gain what I assumed would be a diagnosis of "bulging discs".

The results did confirm the bulging discs, unsurprisingly, but revealed something else a bit unexpected and quite troubling — advanced cerebral atrophy — meaning my brain has somehow lost considerable mass along the way, which is the physiological precursor to what people call "early-onset dementia."

How this has happened is unclear, and maybe irrelevant, but it comes together with a considerable impairment of cognitive function and a decreased capacity for real-world responsibilities, not to mention the existential challenge for myself and those who love me.

After the MRI, I went for an EEG brain scan from a brilliant neurologist and pioneering brain health educator and board-certified Neurotherapist in Maine named Pam. Her tests confirmed significant dysregulation and lack of activity in the parts of my brain controlling language, memory, and cognitive ability. Interestingly, she noted that the areas of my brain that govern things like music, meditation, and non-linear thinking are unusually strong, but when it comes to navigating the physical world, my noggin is quite impaired and in danger of worsening without focused intervention.

In other words, I'm on track to being that mumbling wizard lost in the woods.

I could speculate endlessly about what may have caused this or how quickly it's progressing, but I'm coming out today against the grain of all my conditioning and asking for your help.

Asking for help is hard for me, which is kind of ironic considering my life path, and I often harp on the critical importance of getting over the discomfort of speaking up for one's needs.

Life is funny.

This all comes at a time when Alexa and I are preparing to start a family, and our project, Sacred Counsel, is taking off. I love my life, family, and community too much to let this thing render me useless — and the treatments we're looking at to slow, maybe even reverse (let's go with reverse), this condition are a little beyond our means.

The irony of all this is not lost on me. In my line of work, I'm literally surrounded by geniuses at the tip of the spear of health and healing, so we've put together a protocol with some cutting-edge technology, treatments, and supplements, which I will outline below.

But here's the beauty — the success of this campaign will provide us with the state-of-the-art equipment, training, and lived-experience to be able to not only heal my brain, but then be able offer these therapies to our retreat guests and to our community, adding a powerful layer of cutting edge healing technology to our blossoming wellness retreat center here in Mexico. In other words, the success of this campaign, and my personal healing is something we get to pay forward for years to come, bringing these science-based modalities to our work in the psychology/spirituality realm. Imagine - a place where psychedelic assisted therapy and spiritual healing combine with scientifically measured technology proven to regrow brain cell, restore neuronal connections, reduce cerebral inflammation, restore nervous system function, and reduce paralysis and seizure!?

All that to say that I'm viewing this all as a gift from God in some very awkward wrapping paper.

Here's a breakdown of what the money is going towards:

Home Hyperbaric Chamber – $45,000

Infrared Helmet – $2,500

Neurofeedback System – $2,500

1 Year Supply of Nootropic Supplements ($4,000)

Construction, Misc Expenses, R & R - $21,000

So that's the plan, my friends.

And it's already happening.

And I'm not afraid, nor should you be ;)

I thank you again for taking the time to read this, to feel that thread between my heart and yours, and celebrate this wild ride called life.

From My Heart (and Head) to Yours,

Luke