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Hello, I am Joshua P. Warren, and this is Joshua P. Warren Daly. Well, today is Father's Day, and on Friday, two days ago, my father, Danny, had a stroke. He is sixty-six years old, and so he's been in the hospital this whole weekend. And uh you may know from my previous podcast that my father has had heart problems for a while, but this is the first time he's had a stroke. And I I got this news on Friday, of course. Here I am in Las Vegas, and my mom and dad and sister live in Asheville, North Carolina, practically on the other side of the country. And so I'm trying to figure out, like, you know, how severe is this, and uh, you know, is there is there anything I can do to help all these things? But there really wasn't. I mean, an ambulance took him to the hospital, and uh they got there really fast, which was great, which was great. And um then Friday night, I'm trying to figure out, you know, how this is all going to turn out, and uh I got a call from my friends at Coast to Coast A.M. asking me if I would like to go on the radio. And I said, sure. Um so I wasn't quite in my normal frame of mind Friday night. I was um my thoughts were often elsewhere, and I was kind of distracted, and as soon as it was over with, I thought, man, I hope I did an okay job, you know. And I must tell you, all I've gotten is uh positive feedback, so hopefully uh that was okay despite the fact, and um I can tell you now how relieved I am because today my father is back at home. And uh as a matter of fact, I just got off the telephone with my mom and him. And considering he couldn't talk on Friday, uh we had a pretty good conversation. So I you know, it's it's amazing uh how much that you might take for granted somebody's state of mind, somebody's brain, and um my dad certainly is the same guy. Uh he's just having difficulty getting the word to come out, you know. Uh and so he's yeah, he's having you know, just struggling with that, and struggling with um, you know, just walking and just coordination, normal stuff for people who have a stroke. Um but they say that he's actually recovered uh almost miraculously. You know, he's much, much better than he was on Friday. And he's a he's a strong guy, he's a tough guy. And so what's funny is that when I started this story, you might think, oh my gosh, what a terrible Father's Day. But it turns out that it's just the opposite. It's a wonderful Father's Day, it's a great celebration, um, because I went through the process of thinking my father might be gone, and now he's he's here, you know, and so uh and and my I've always been blessed with wonderful parents. Uh I love them very much, and uh we have a very loving family. So uh it's you you know, stuff like that. It helps you to um to remember what what really is important, you know, so that you don't start taking things for granted. So I'm sure that my father will be recovered dramatically in a short period of time. And you know what's weird is that my mom and dad, neither one of them have ever smoked or drank in their entire lives. And um my dad's only fault, so to speak, is that he has always had a big sweet tooth. He's a big guy with a big appetite, and he likes to eat a lot of good food, and uh, and then it's very easy in this country to get carried away with that. Um and so uh yet my mom and dad both have had high cholesterol and high blood pressure, such as many, many other people on uh on both sides of my family. And same here, it's a genetic thing. So, yeah, even though I I do go out and uh enjoy some of the vices of life more than my mom and dad, uh doesn't really seem to matter that much because it's genetic, and so you know, you just take medicine. That's that's what I do, you know, you just get some medicine to help you keep your blood pressure where it's supposed to be. And you take it seriously, you know, you take it seriously. And what I find most amazing of all is that my grandmother, who is my father's mother, is still alive. She is almost 100 years old, and uh, as far as I know, she's had perfect health. I mean, I yeah, I I visited her just recently, and I mean you talk about a lady with a sharp, clear, vivid mind, and um so she you know she's she's a tough woman, though. I mean, it's like uh well anyway, look, it's it's just funny. You never know how these things are gonna manifest throughout a family. And when I was a young man, and I was trying to learn about how the world works, I had this, I guess, natural ability to stumble into broadcasting situations like at TV stations or radio stations or or scientific laboratories and uh meet up with like the old guy, you know, the the the oldest guy who's there. And so I ended up having all these friends when I was, you know, I was like 20 years old, and I had all these friends who were like in their 70s, eighties, whatever. And uh so I would get together with these old guys, and then I would say, tell me what is it like to be old, you know. And they were great because they would remind you, like, well, you know, it's mentally it doesn't have to be that different. You still feel like you're a kid, but you you're looking in the mirror, like, where's this hair coming from? And what I heard again and again, especially from uh old friends who are now longer with us, like my buddy Bill Banner, who worked for many decades at uh WLOS Channel 13 there in Asheville, he said, you know, he said, here's the thing that sucks about getting old. He said, the older you get, the more people you have to watch die. And that's the saddest part. The saddest part that, you know, if you live to be old, if that's important to you, and I think my grandmother likes being old. She's actually, well, she's come right out and told me she likes being old. She likes to see what's happening around her. Uh but that's part of it, you know. If you if you want that experience, what comes with it is this curse of having to watch all the people who don't make it to your age. But another thing is, you don't want to be old if you're going to be miserable, right? And so I think that a lot of times we have people in the world who say, you know, I'm gonna eat whatever I want, I'm gonna drink whatever I want, I'm gonna smoke whatever I want, I'm gonna do whatever I want, because I'm gonna enjoy life, and then when the day comes when I'm meant to hit the dirt, boom, I'm dead, and end of story. But the problem is that it doesn't usually work that way. Um usually it's a slow, gradual breakdown that sucks. It is a series of things heart attacks, strokes, accidents, it's a chain reaction of things. And the reason I bring this up is that if you are thinking to yourself, Well, I'm just gonna live the way I want to, because it's my life, well, just remember that if you do live that way, and you do have these uh unforeseen things that start to occur, well, you're a burden upon everybody around you as well, because you're you're making them sad for you and stressed out, and frankly, somebody's gonna have to take care of you if you can't take care of yourself. And so, really, this idea of uh extreme independence, like I'm just gonna do what I want until I die, is a naive notion. You really do have a certain responsibility to um try to keep yourself as healthy as possible so that you can be a contributing member of society and you don't have to burden other people with you, basically. So it's uh it's a selfless way uh as opposed to the selfishness of saying, well, I'm I'll do what I want, and then somebody has to take care of me when things go wrong. So these are things that, you know, I know it's not always nice to talk about it, but nobody wants to think about this stuff. It sucks. But this is part of real life, you know, we all end up at the same destination. One way or another, we all end up dying, and that's why I think it's marvelous when someone just goes to sleep and dies peacefully. You know, I mean, it's just like I've I've had friends who have had that fortune. Um it's my understanding that that's essentially what happened to Art Bell. I mean, I know that Art Bell had suffered for years from COPD and that sort of thing, but um uh when it came time for him to go, my understanding was that you know he wasn't in a hospital surrounded by strangers and hooked up to little machines and things. He just uh he just went away, you know, in his sleep. And a good death is hard to come by. So there is something, you know, magical about the idea that some people get to, you know, well, let me put it this way, we usually come into this life kicking and screaming, and so it's kind of nice to think that you might be able to go out uh with a calm, peaceful demeanor. Nice calm atmosphere. Just drift away. That's what we all hope will happen someday. So all that said, um it's been a hell of a weekend. It's been weird. There's been a lot of other weird stuff that's happened, just small things, though. Um technical glitches here and there. Um there have been people who have contacted me with really weird reports, and and that's saying a lot. You know, I'm I'm always getting contacted by people with weird reports, but um there is uh this something odd is happening in the world right now. I I can't put my finger on it. But it's compounded by the fact that, as you know, over the next few days, I'm going to be conducting a series of experiments. And I can't say any more about them than I have already said until they are completed. So that means that over the next few days I may or may not be able to give you any kind of update. It I'm gonna be in some remote places, and I don't know what kind of connectivity I will have, and I am prepared for that. But um, so you might not hear from me again for a few days, or who knows, I maybe I'll I'll be surprised, and I'll have great connectivity because I have many, many different kinds of devices at my disposal, as you can imagine. So I'm really excited about it. I'm in a very positive place because, as I told you, Friday was um uncertain. I didn't know how things were going to turn out. It was it was very chaotic, and so today I feel great. You know, I feel wonderful, uh, I feel uh, as usual, blessed. I know that there are people who've prayed for me and my family, and I thank you for doing that, and I hope that you'll continue doing that, especially pray for my mom and dad. And um, you know, it's it means something. It means something. You know, there are people out there who say that prayer doesn't do anything. Yeah, right. Let me tell you something. I have a whole big part of my new ebook, Finding Your Magic, that's all about prayer and the miracle of prayer, and I think at some point uh I'm gonna read about that. You know what? Maybe I'll read a little bit about it right now. What do you think? Just this one little section. Again, I wasn't gonna do this, but uh I think this is really interesting, and I think that you will enjoy it. So let's see if I can find it. So what I want to uh to tell you about here is this little story that I use in Finding Your Magic about prayer. When General Patton was facing terrible weather conditions in World War II, he called in the army chaplain and asked him to create an effective prayer. The chaplain said yes, sir. May I say, General, that it usually isn't a customary thing among men of my profession to pray for clear weather to kill fellow men. General Patton responded, Chaplain, are you trying to teach me theology or are you the chaplain of the Third Army? I want a prayer. The chaplain replied, Yes, sir. The chaplain wrote an original prayer on a three by five inch card that was distributed to the soldiers, and here is that prayer. Almighty and most merciful Father, we humbly beseech thee, of thy great goodness, to restrain these immoderate rains with which we have had to contend. Grant us fair weather for battle. Graciously hearken to us as soldiers who call upon thee, that armed with thy power, we may advance from victory to victory, and crush the oppression and wickedness of our enemies, and establish thy justice among men and nations. Well, guess what, folks? The weather miraculously improved against all odds, and Patton's army helped to finally crush the powerful Nazis. Why did this work? What is the quote secret to success here? Well, it's the wording of the prayer. Believe it or not. It's the wording of the prayer, and of course the words represent the intention. That's all I'm going to read to you, but I get into that in my uh ebook Finding Your Magic. And if you would like to uh experience that, learn more about it, just go to you willmanifest.com. You will manifest dot com. Um so thank you for your prayers. Prayer works. That's one example. Prayer does it work every time? No, because you have to know how to do it properly, and I believe that, and and that may make no sense to you whatsoever. But y it will if you read uh the book. There is a certain way to create an effective prayer. Uh okay, well, I guess I uh I'm gonna call it a day for the podcast, and um I will let you know, ASAP, what happens when my experiments are done. So if I can, I'll call in and leave a little message, and then I'm sure it'll be brief. But I'll do that, and uh if not, then I will be leaving another podcast in a few days. So uh don't take your your parents for granted if they're still around. Uh tell 'em you love them. It's Father's Day, but uh it doesn't have to be just your own parents. Um think of anybody out there who's in a position of responsibility to help shape someone, help mold their life and be there to help them and support them because we all struggle sometimes in life. All of us. And when we do, we need to have someone there that we can rely on to help us. That's part of what we're supposed to learn here as we are becoming creators. So um my website is joshuapwarren.com. This podcast is called Joshua P. Warren Daily. It's always free and it's always short. You can subscribe through my website or just follow me on Twitter at Joshua PWarren, and I will tweet when a new one is available. So thank you for listening. Thank you for your support, thank you for staying curious, and I will talk to you again soon.