Recently, the United States Military opened up the possibility that members who suffered from Gender Dysphoria could be eligible to receive hormone replacement to help with their transitions. We'll make this clear: this is fine by us as long as it does not inhibit their duty.

What is not fine by us is the fact that military members who are suffering from hormone deficiencies as a result of injuries sustained during service are being denied that opportunity. We discuss this situation along with other subjects including taking responsibility for your own wellness and health, and mindset as it involves success in life. 

Tom Campbell began researching altered states of consciousness with Bob Monroe (Journeys Out Of The Body, Far Journeys, and The Ultimate Journey) at Monroe Laboratories in the early 1970s where he and a few others were instrumental in getting Monroe’s laboratory for the study of consciousness up and running. These early drug-free consciousness pioneers helped design experiments, developed the technology for creating specific altered states, and were the main subjects of study (guinea pigs) all at the same time. Campbell has been experimenting with, and exploring the subjective and objective mind ever since. For the past thirty years, Campbell has been focused on scientifically exploring the properties, boundaries, and abilities of consciousness.

During that same time period, he has excelled as a working scientist, a professional physicist dedicated to pushing back the frontiers of cutting edge technology, large-system simulation, technology development and integration, and complex system vulnerability and risk analysis. Presently, and for the past 20 years, he has been at the heart of developing US missile defense systems.

Tom is the “TC (physicist)” described in Bob Monroe’s second book Far Journeys and has been a serious explorer of the frontiers of reality, mind, consciousness, and psychic phenomena since the early 1970s. My Big TOE is a model of existence and reality that is based directly on Campbell’s scientific research and first hand experience. It represents the results and conclusions of thirty years of careful scientific exploration of the boundaries and contents of reality from both the physical and metaphysical viewpoints. The author has made every effort to approach his explorations without bias or preconceived notions. There is no belief system, dogma, creed, or unusual assumptions at the root of My Big TOE.

By demanding high quality repeatable, empirical, evidential data to separate what’s real (exists independently and externally) from what’s imaginary or illusory; Campbell has scientifically derived this general model of reality.

Michael D. Lewis , MD, MPH, MBA, FACPM, FACN is the president and founder of the

Brain Health Education and Research Institute. He is an expert on nutritional and

holistic interventions for brain health, particularly the use of omega-3 fatty acids for the

prevention, management, and rehabilitation of concussions and traumatic brain injury

(TBI). He founded the Brain Health Education and Research Institute in late 2011 upon

retiring as a Colonel after a distinguished thirty-one- year career in the US Army. His

pioneering work in the military and since has helped thousands of people around the

world and is regularly featured in the media, including CNN’s Sanjay Gupta, MD, show

and numerous radio shows and podcasts. He is a graduate of the US Military Academy

at West Point and Tulane University School of Medicine. Dr. Lewis is board-certified and

a fellow of the American Colleges of Preventive Medicine and Nutrition. He completed

postgraduate training at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, Johns Hopkins University,

and Walter Reed Army Institute of Research. He is currently in private practice in

Potomac, Maryland (BrainCARE, www.BrainCARE.center ); is a consultant to the US

Army and Navy as well as several organizations, institutes, and nutrition companies

around the world; and is a founding member of the Pop Warner Youth Football Medical

Advisory Board.

As US Soldiers serving in Afghanistan, Griff and Lee saw a problem that they wanted to fix: A country torn apart by war who's young girls had little opportunity for jobs or education. 

Their solution: to build a business that helped the Afghan economy and that helped to put young Afghan girls through school.

Combat Flip Flops has grown immensely since it was a three man operation. The group recently partnered with three of the sharks on Shark Tank, and Griff has hit the stage as a TEDX presenter, but their mission is still clear. For every shemagh the company sells, a young Afghan girl gets put through school, and every flip flop is produced by factories in Colombia. Through these efforts they are helping the Afghan economy and helping Colombia to transform its once narco based economy. 

The big lesson to take from this episode is that, while they might make it look easy, this is a story of pain and persistence. Things were not always easy for Griff and Lee, and they have been through a lot. But it was their purpose and vision that brought them to where they are today.