KNOWsis | a Site for Spiritual Explorers

Meet Mike!

Hello, my name is Michael and my friends call me Mike. I hope you will too. Let me tell you who I am, what I’m about, and some of my beliefs. I see myself as a "Spiritual Explorer" as I feel I'm "a spititual being having a human experience". The goal of this adventure is to heighten my awareness that I am a perfect expression of God (or Divine Energy or whichever term you may choose). I have experienced this Divine Energy since childhood and would like to show how you can experience it too. I'm not a big fan of organized religions and I'll share that with you also. We are all spiritual beings and I want to hear about your relationship with God, your God stories. Are our relationships and love with God different with each faith or beliefs? or is God's love the same for everyone? What brought you closer to God? When we let God express through us are we then God? When are we not God? Is God ready to take us to a new realm of life and exsistence? So far it's been a great adventure and I'd like to share some of it with you.

I was born in a small town in Minnesota. There was me, a brother and an older and younger sister. We were your average middle class family: My parents both worked, we all went to a catholic church every Sunday and we were enrolled in a catholic school. All good experiences- even being an alter boy!

I was sick as a child and the doctors finally decided to take my tonsils out at a very early age, which solved one problem but it left me with a speech problem. Then there was another issue- I had a liking for butter and cookies and...being fat with a speech problem made me an easy target for the kids to pick on. These were rough experiences to get through for such a little kid, but then this all led to my meeting Jesus. I already knew who God was, but I really wanted to meet this man I kept hearing about called Jesus, his Son. So I asked God to introduce Him to me.

One day I was playing kickball with some neighborhood kids, and I started getting picked on very badly. Needless to say I ran home, locked myself in the bathroom and cried. Through my tears I asked if Jesus would help me through this, and in return I would help people become closer to God. That is when a peaceful calm came over me. I could now feel the actual presence of Jesus with me at that moment. Then there was a knock on the bathroom door, and my older sister said; “come on Mike, come out and play. Those kids didn’t mean that.” So I went out and played with a smile on my face. Ever since then I have been aware of my connection with Jesus. I’m still a child playing in the game of life. And spiritual masters such as Jesus have reminded me that we are ALL children playing together in the same playground.

I loved spending 2-3 weeks out of the summer on my grandparents farm. Then one 4^th of July my brother broke his neck and was paralyzed from the neck down by diving through an inter tube at the lake on the edge of town. What a time that was. A miracle was being played out through his recovery. It not only brought our family closer together but also the whole town. To help with the medical costs, our neighbors started up coin jars in all the stores. There were fund raising events such as our science teacher playing the women’s gym teacher in a match of tennis, similar to the famous Billy Jean King match against Bobby Riggs. This all taught me how precious life is. I was at a party several years after the accident and I said to someone, “…yeah it really brought our family closer together.” His response to me was, “It also brought the whole town together.”

Out of high school I joined the Air Force. I took everyone’s advice and didn’t volunteer for a thing in basic training. But for some reason I was chosen to be the chapel guide on Sunday mornings. I was to march the troops to church every Sunday till we were through with basic training. Many months later, one night at a party a friend came up to me in all seriousness and said, “Mike I see it, I see God within you…” What a heart felt compliment that was. It was at a time when Jesus was big in my life.

One day they closed the runway down for repairs and sent us all to another base to keep the airplanes flying. There wasn’t enough room on the base for all of us to stay so they kept us in a hotel 15 miles away. Instead of giving us money to eat off base, they bussed us back and forth to the chow hall, it was a political power struggle and the airmen and families were suffering because of it. Eventually I filed for an investigation and got the attention of a general and he said,“ These guys desire it, they do great work, you pay.”

The thing I remember most about that incident is telling a Lt. Col. that; “God is on my side, you're not going to win this one.” God was and I did. I remember the chief master sergeant saying to me, “…Anderson, you're going about it in the wrong way.” I grinned and said back, “We tried it your way, now we’re going to try it my way.” And sure enough I put a lot of money in the chiefs pockets and helped not only for our squadron but all squadrons up there AND they got an extra $15.00 a day in their pay checks. Thereafter, respect between the chief and I was mutual.

After 2 1/2 years in the Service, I moved to Texas and worked landscaping and maintenance and focused on getting closer to God. I decided to get back into aviation maintenance after several years and moved back to Minnesota. After my second DWI, I thought I might have a problem with alcohol and decided to educate myself through an outpatient treatment program. To help solve this problem I had to come to terms with myself and God about being gay. Taking my cue at an early age from a society that, for whatever cause, is uncomfortable with homosexuality, I condemned myself for being gay. And here is where I had another heart to heart communion with God. Basically, God said; “that’s the way I made you and no matter what churches or society says, I love what I made.” Who am I to argue with God! So I accepted it and we moved on. My family and most friends accepted me but work was another story.

God opened up another door for me to walk through. And being aware of my oneness with God, I walked through it faithfully and together we changed the culture and the way all airlines treat gay people. My experience working in aviation maintenance was wonderful. My coming out at work was a difficult time but I forged ahead. The union president once told me, “…if it was anyone else they wouldn’t have been able to do it, you pulled it off.” That compliment meant a lot. The union and the company did come around to making the necessary changes. They just needed a push.

I met Michael through a straight friend in AA and we were together for 6 ½ years. Michael was a God send. I believe we have several soul mates throughout our lives. Soul mates are people who help you throughout your life. A soul mate can be a great friend or partner. Some call soul mates angels. But soul mate or not, things eventually became stagnant in my relationship with God and Michael. I was not moving forward in a fulfilling way especially with God. In the past people have come up to me and thanked me for what I did and how it made a difference in their life. and I wanted that again. I knew it was not me doing this but it was God expressing Himself through me. So I asked God to help me resolve the situation I was in, I needed to feel useful again to God. To serve Him and let Him use me again. Once you experience this you’ll want to experience more of this joy. I heard the question, “Even if it means breaking up your relationship with Michael?” After several months my answer ultimately was, "yes". The love and joy from letting God express Himself through me was more important then living the rest of my life stagnant. I knew Michael would be hurt but in the end I knew He would understand. My love for God and Michael was and is very strong.

While still in a relationship with Michael, I met Terry in Florida. Terry is also a soul mate and blessed with the desire to help people. Shortly after we had started dating- another major event took place in my life. I was in a car wreck.

I don’t believe in accidents so I refer to it as a "wreck". It happened when a young preacher was driving inattentively. He lost control of his car and went through the medium, became airborne, came down on the passenger side of a car, and flipped onto my jeep wrangler. The result of this killed the young preacher who left a wife and 3 young children and put me in a coma a with a 5% chance of survival.

Understandably, Michael and Terry didn’t get along in the hospital. They both wanted what was best for me. Michael was also hurt by my ending our relationship. After waking up out of the coma I had to choose between the two. I eventually pursued a relationship with Terry and after 2 1/2 years, we too discovered our differences and departed as friends. I’m dear friends with both men and no one can take time we spent with each other away from us. God bless them both.

These are just some of the highlights of my life, but the greatest highlights of my life comes from the fact that I was surrounded by love growing up. This has always had the most profound effect on my life. My faith and love always carried me to where I needed to be. I’m one who needs to be at peace with God and in return I get to experience heaven here on earth. If any of you are lacking in faith or love, use some of mine. Then when it’s time, pass it on again. God's love is there for the taking.

So now God has planted these ideas into my head and I must act upon them or I’ll never know what could have been. That’s how and why I met David and why we’re starting up this website. David has brought much joy and delight into my life. He truely is a God send. One of the many gifts that David has and shares with us is that of his imagination. I'm refering mainly to the books and films he's created. We've decide to include a page here on KNOWsis where everyone can create an ongoing adventure story. We've started the story- and we welcome everyone to add to it and keep it going. Join in! (See the "collective journey" page.)

I have discovered this new universe with-in me. I have to go to the center of my soul to find the door in order to enter into my own universe. This is where all truth and understanding lies and where I commune with God. We’re all at different levels of awareness with God. As this site takes on a life of its own, I hope you’ll share your experiences of God expressing Himself through you. If He’s not expressing Himself through you please share that also.

Please note that I still refer to God as "Him" simply out of habit. God is father/mother, creator, universal mind. It doesn’t matter what you call limitless force. Simply remember "He" is everything- including you. God knows all and is all. But whatever you accept or don't accept about God is up to you. It’s your personal journey and you create it at every moment. There are no judgments made here. The main point of this website is to increase awareness of our oneness with God and to ponder our journeys as fully as we can.

Gods love, peace and blessings to you all.

Michael