Blog Archives
Think Critically and Deeply
In Beyond Power, you present the idea that Western society is departing from its moral core and the ideas on which democracy was founded. How long did it take to research and compile this book?
I developed it over a period starting when there were severe tensions in Israel over democracy 2022 and strong anti-Israel post October 7th, 2023.
Did you learn anything while writing Beyond Power that surprised you?
Many of the issues plaguing society seem to have a common conceptual cause.
What is one thing you hope readers take away from your book?
To think critically (and deeply) about all we see, hear, and are told.
Author Links: GoodReads | Amazon
At first glance, these may seem like separate struggles, political, cultural, or geopolitical yet they are deeply connected.
By tracing the tensions between power and ethics, this work explores how successful democracies evolved, why politics so often devolves into hostility, why societies fracture, understanding more deeply the progressive agenda and why Israel in particular stands at the center of so much global controversy. It examines how democracies are corroded from within, how oppressive regimes weaponize ideology, the dynamics of geo political tensions and how Western progressivism redefines compassion.
Rather than despair, the book points toward renewal, offering diagnoses, practical proposals, within the context of a profound conceptualization of the notion of state itself, one capable of transcending today’s divisions.
I Love the Me I See In You
In Hope on the Border, you address existing misconceptions surrounding the US–Mexico border and offer an honest look at life in this perilous area. Why was this an important book for you to write?
America is in trouble. We are more divided and unhappy than ever. In the 2024 World Happiness Report, people under 30 in the U.S. ranked 62nd globally out of 143 countries in happiness and life satisfaction. And this abysmal ranking is plummeting. Suicide is now one of the leading causes of death for American preteens (ages 8–12). How can this be when roughly 95% of the planet is financially worse off than the average American?
(Of interest, Mexico ranked 25th in the 2024 World Happiness Report.)
At our four-decade-old Rancho Feliz Charitable Foundation, Inc., we have a proven solution, and America needs to know what we have to offer. So I decided to write a book.
Ensnared in technology’s frenetic pace, many youth and young adults in America are experiencing a poverty of purpose, meaning, and connection in an environment of unparalleled abundance. Paradoxically, this poverty fosters the same primal fear, alienation, loneliness and emptiness that haunt the poor and underprivileged in Mexico, on the U.S. southern border. In fact, both have the same negative symptoms, just on opposite ends of the socioeconomic spectrum.
Rancho Feliz’s volunteer program allows both sides of the charitable transaction to be simultaneously donors and recipients, thereby thriving in tandem. In a very real sense, the volunteers feed the stomachs of the poor and, in turn, the poor feed the souls of the volunteers. It’s an equal exchange of energy with no logical end—and it transforms the lives of everyone.
This two-pronged approach of serving the poor and creating purpose for the privileged fosters a symbiotic relationship—one in which givers become receivers and receivers become givers. Everyone benefits equally from the same service transaction. We call this reciprocal giving. Under this operating mandate, we have changed thousands of lives on both sides of the border.
To run a successful volunteer-based charity, the greed of human nature must be recognized and harnessed. In other words, service work is foremost in your best interest, and the recipient benefits as a result.
10,000 years of failed religious teachings have taught us that presenting charity as a sacrifice, an action grounded in lack, doesn’t work.
Rather, Rancho Feliz appeals to the driving force of basic human self-interest. Out of selfishness, a form of altruism blossoms.
This isn’t about helping Mexicans – it’s about helping ourselves (by which the Mexicans get helped in the process). This is a true win-win.
In light of our current situation, Americans need to hear this message now more than ever.
How long did it take to research and put this book together?
“Hope on the Border” is a collection of lessons and experiences I gleaned over 38 years of volunteering on the Mexican border, coupled with a lifetime interest in the workings of the mind. My interest in the mind led me to five expeditions into Tibet’s Himalayan “Hidden Lands of the Blossoming Lotus” A.K.A. “Beyul Pemakö” where I studied with several learned Buddhist monks and indigenous ascetics. I firmly believe that in the arena of the mind, what we believe to be true is.
To this end, I also had an early interest in hypnosis and visualization. In the late 1970’s this fascination led me to the Institute of Noetic Sciences which, in turn, led me to studying eastern philosopher Paramahansa Yogananda and his self-realization teachings. Though Yogananda was a Hindu, this study led me to a profound interest in Tibetan Buddhism. In 1993, I took my Bodhisattva Vow of Compassion directly from His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama. This experience further strengthened my resolve to help others as a path to a rich and full life.
I attended Buddhist meditation master Chögyam Trungpa’s “Shambhala: The Sacred Path of the Warrior” classes in Boulder, Colorado, and completed all 12 levels of the meditation teachings in 1998. It’s important to me to note that I do not consider myself a Buddhist – rather I am a student of Buddhism and how our minds work.
It has been my experience that meditation changes us. It changes our brains. It changes the way we think and relate to our world and to each other. It breaks down the hard boundaries that separate us. As a life-long meditator, I have experienced this firsthand. Likewise, when I am in service, the distinction between me and you is blurred. I see myself in others.
At Rancho Feliz we have created a venue where our volunteers can see themselves in others less-fortunate. When this true view is mastered, the only logical conclusion is to serve – for in serving others you are serving yourself.
Both meditation and serving others unveil the interconnected nature of all things. This awareness further strengthens one’s resolve to help others as a path to a rich and full life.
And this is what led me to start Rancho Feliz. I began seeing myself in others. I could no longer default to ‘empathic blindness’ as I realized that the only difference between me and the poor on the border was ‘luck’ – just blind luck.”
Did you learn anything in the course of writing Hope on the Border that surprised you?
Yes. I came to understand the difference between the statements, Love thy neighbor as thyself and I love the me I see in you. I learned that the worn-out and ineffectual statement Love thy neighbor as thyself is a gullible and simply impossible moral imperative that doesn’t work. It goes against our basic instincts of self-interest. To love a stranger is treacherous. It’s a dualistic love. It assumes a separateness, a distinction between you and your neighbor. And all divisions invite conflict. All I had to do was look at our border wall for proof of that.
I love the me I see in you, on the other handis the “true view”(as the Buddhists would say) of our human condition. We are not separate and independent from each other. Rather we only exist in relation to, and are dependent upon, everything else as strands in a universal web of cause and effect.
I love the me I see in you is personal and reflective. It concentrates on unity and shared being. It’s about recognition and connection. It’s self-referential – focused on how the other person reflects you back to you. It suggests that when you look at another human being, you see yourself – echoing the same emotions, wants, needs, hopes, joys, and vulnerability of our shared experience. And you love them because they mirror what is familiar in you.
This is love based on recognizing our “oneness” – the sense that you and I are not truly separate. Love here comes from seeing ourselves in the other and recognizing our shared existence – our shared humanity. We’re all in this together. None of us knows exactly why we’re here, yet we’re all doing the best we can with the circumstances we were born into. This is a non-dual love – a love that dissolves the boundary between self and other.
In writing “Hope on the Border” I was forced to define what made Rancho Feliz different from other charities and religions. Working in one of the most divisive atmospheres on earth – the U.S./MX border – made me contemplate deeply what approach to charity is in sync with our basic human nature and what approaches are not. I attribute much of Rancho Feliz’s success to this simple but all-powerful understanding.
What is one thing you hope readers take away from this book?
We all have a hand in the maladies that plague our southern border. And the pain, suffering, desperation, misunderstanding and divisive contempt will continue until such time as we truly take to heart the fact that you can best serve yourself by serving others.
Author Links: GoodReads | Facebook-Author | Facebook-Book | Website-Author | Website-Book | Instagram
The U.S.–México border is more than a line on a map. It’s a place of hardship and resilience, inequity and generosity, division and connection. In Hope on the Border, Gil Gillenwater draws on nearly four decades of firsthand experience to bring readers face-to-face with the realities of the world’s most dangerous migrant corridor—and the hope that still thrives there.
Through vivid storytelling and dramatic photography, Gillenwater reveals the heartache and humanity that define life on both sides of the border. His unflinching accounts expose the shared responsibilities of two nations, while his insights point to a deeper truth: Mexico’s material poverty and America’s spiritual poverty are intertwined.
Readers will discover:
Authentic border experiences free from partisan narratives and media distortion.
Stories and photography capturing resilience and humanity.
Insights into poverty on both sides of the border.
A blueprint for hope through reciprocal giving.
A challenge to reflect on personal responsibility.
Hope on the Border won’t just inform you—it will transform how you see division, compassion, and your own capacity for change. If you’re willing to move beyond comfortable assumptions and discover what truly has the power to unite us, this book will be your guide.
Join the movement. Start reading Hope on the Border today.
$5 of each book’s proceeds will support Rancho Feliz’s life-changing work on the U.S.–México border.
Hope on the Border
In Hope on the Border, author Gil Gillenwater dismantles the misconceptions surrounding the U.S.–Mexico border with rare honesty and humanity. Drawing on nearly forty years of personal experience as founder and president of the Rancho Feliz Charitable Foundation, Gillenwater offers a deeply moving exploration of what life is really like along the world’s most perilous migrant corridor. The result is both a visual and emotional journey, one that enlightens as much as it inspires.
This is not a book about politics; it’s a book about people. Through gripping stories and stunning photography, Gillenwater captures the contradictions that define the border: suffering and joy, despair and resilience, inequity and generosity. He introduces the concept of “reciprocal giving,” an approach to charity that rejects dependency and instead emphasizes empowerment and mutual respect. In the villages of Agua Prieta, where Rancho Feliz operates, residents “earn” their homes through fair rent-to-own programs and participate in community-driven initiatives that uplift both givers and receivers.
Gillenwater’s message extends far beyond the borderlands. He challenges readers to reflect on the dual poverty that afflicts both nations, Mexico’s material deprivation and America’s spiritual emptiness. His argument is both searing and hopeful: true transformation begins not with policy, but with personal responsibility and human connection.
Every page of Hope on the Border radiates with color and life. The photographs are vivid, compassionate, and unflinching, and offer more than illustration; they act as testimony. Smiling faces, vibrant murals, and rugged landscapes bring the narrative to life, emphasizing the beauty and strength found in even the harshest environments.
Hope on the Border is a call to conscience. Gillenwater offers readers a rare gift: the opportunity to see the border not as a place of division, but as a landscape of shared humanity. His blend of storytelling, activism, and introspection makes this a must-read for anyone seeking to understand the deeper truths behind one of the world’s most misunderstood regions. A masterpiece of empathy and vision. Part photojournalism, part personal odyssey, and entirely transformative, Hope on the Border reminds us that the most powerful walls we can dismantle are the ones within ourselves.
Pages: 318 | ASIN : B00OH0HUHK
Cascadia’s Call
Neha Hewitt’s Cascadia’s Call is a heartfelt coming-of-age story about Ari, a fourteen-year-old girl uprooted from Boston after her father’s death and sent to live with relatives in Portland while her mother pursues a demanding journalism career. The novel moves through Ari’s grief, her rocky adjustment to a new city, and her clashes with cultural expectations, all while weaving in mysterious symbols tied to her family’s heritage, most notably a necklace that seems to carry an uncanny power. It is both a portrait of adolescence and a meditation on family, loss, and belonging.
I found myself drawn into Ari’s raw anger and aching loneliness. Hewitt captures the turbulence of being a teenager so vividly that I often felt like I was back in my own messy adolescence, stumbling through identity and yearning for control. The writing is crisp and accessible, yet it carries real weight, especially in the quieter scenes where Ari longs for her father or struggles with the heavy silences between herself and her mother. At times, the dialogue made me laugh in recognition, and at other times it brought a lump to my throat.
I’ll admit there were moments when Ari’s stubbornness grated on me, and I caught myself wanting to shake her into patience. But that’s part of why the story works. She feels like a real teenager, with sharp edges and contradictions that make her alive on the page. I also admired the way Hewitt didn’t shy away from difficult conversations about culture, tradition, and feminism. Those scenes felt risky, sometimes messy, but honest. The supernatural hints with the birds and the necklace added just enough mystery to keep me guessing without overwhelming the emotional heart of the story.
This book would be a strong recommendation for teens navigating change, parents trying to understand their children, and anyone who appreciates stories that blend culture, grief, and a dash of the mystical. Cascadia’s Call is the kind of novel that keeps you thinking, not because it resolves everything neatly, but because it captures how uncertain and yet hopeful growing up can be.
Pages: 242 | ASIN : B0FJF5VC19
When Life Knocks You Off Your Happy: Facing Challenges for the First Time: Providing Practical Tools for Building Resilience, Self-Awareness, and Empathy
D. A. Mintaka’s When Life Knocks You Off Your Happy is a compassionate, twelve-chapter journey through the emotional and social trials faced by tweens and early teens. Told through the eyes of various young characters, the book explores big issues like perfectionism, bullying, self-worth, emotional burnout, and peer pressure, with simplicity and warmth. Each chapter features a different protagonist navigating their “first time” through a major emotional experience. What makes this book shine is how it gently folds life lessons into compelling, relatable narratives without ever feeling preachy.
I found myself genuinely moved by how Mintaka writes children’s emotional lives. The writing is clean and clear, full of sensory detail and believable dialogue. The author has a gift for showing how kids think, their logic, their fears, their hopes, and doesn’t write down to them. What stood out most for me was the emotional layering. Each story starts with a small moment, a science fair project, a school play, a treehouse, and slowly unpacks something much bigger about trust, identity, or self-compassion. I was especially struck by the story of Evelyn and the hummingbirds. Her anxiety and need for control felt so real and raw, and her small decision to let go and live a little was quietly powerful.
There were moments where I wished the book let readers sit a bit longer with the tension before spelling out the moral. And while the language is geared toward younger readers, I craved just a touch more complexity in some of the emotional resolutions. That said, I reminded myself this book is written for kids who are in the thick of figuring things out for the first time. And in that regard, it does a beautiful job of meeting them exactly where they are.
I’d recommend When Life Knocks You Off Your Happy to kids ages 9 to 13, especially those who are navigating new or tough experiences like first disappointments, social friction, or growing pains at home. It’s also a great read for parents, teachers, or counselors who want to understand what kids might be feeling but don’t yet have words for. This isn’t just a book to read, it’s one to talk about.
Pages: 204 | ISBN : 1732342601
Walk a Mile in My Shoes: Surviving Life’s Challenges
Paul Bradford’s Walk a Mile in My Shoes delves into the life of a man scarred by childhood trauma, exposing a harrowing journey from victim to perpetrator. Bradford recounts his life with unflinching honesty, refusing to excuse his actions as an adult while tracing their origins to the extreme hardships he endured as a child. The narrative begins with Bradford’s recollections of an abusive, alcoholic father whom he blames for his mother’s death. A pivotal moment in his life unfolds during a hitchhiking trip to his grandparents’ home, where he endured molestation, a secret he reveals for the first time in this book. The story continues through his unstable upbringing, bouncing between foster families, and the damaging influences that shaped his understanding of sexuality. Both the church and manipulative older boys contributed to a distorted, exploitative perception of intimacy and boundaries. Bradford’s use of vivid, colloquial language, what he describes as “hillbilly” expressions, paints a raw, authentic picture of his early years. His descriptions evoke the atmosphere of a bygone rural society, adding texture to the narrative.
As a piece of writing, the book is well-crafted. Bradford’s grammar is precise, and his articulation is engaging. Despite the deeply unsettling themes of abuse, violence, and exploitation, the narrative holds the reader’s attention through its clarity and flow. However, the focus of the book tilts heavily toward the darker chapters of his life. Positive memories, though present, sometimes feel rushed and underdeveloped. These moments, when they appear, offer glimpses of light but I feel lack the depth and exploration given to his tragedies. A more balanced portrayal, with a fuller depiction of happier times, could enrich the narrative and serve as a reminder that not all of his childhood was consumed by pain.
While the book is well-written, the content may not appeal to everyone. Bradford’s candid acknowledgment of his past wrongdoings and his struggle with trauma elicits some sympathy, but it does not mitigate the gravity of his actions as an adult. His experiences underscore how a lack of education and societal attitudes like “boys will be boys” can perpetuate cycles of harm. Yet, as someone who endured similar trauma, Bradford’s choices remain difficult to reconcile. Walk a Mile in My Shoes is a raw, unsettling account of a life shaped by adversity and mistakes. While it may resonate with readers drawn to unfiltered stories of human frailty and resilience, the graphic and disturbing subject matter makes it a challenging read.
A Community Shaping the Future Together
Human Extinction presents an overview of the myriad of ways humanity is responsible for its own downfall, highlighting the progress and destruction that define our history. What inspired you to write this book?
Actually, it was only because of a statement by Greta Thunberg that “The Germans are the number 1 climate sinners” that I got the idea to look into this topic more intensively. I then looked into the topic more intensively and you quickly realized that this statement has no basis and that there are not only the problems of the climate, but many others, all of which are intertwined in some way.
Can you share with us a little about the research required to put your book together?
I looked at a lot of reports, statistics and documentation and put things into context. The basic principle is actually an inspiration and a lot of thinking about what effects this has on other areas of life. At the moment we are actually living in a very exciting time, because things that could help us are only now being developed or published. I’ll try to show this with an example: Everyone knows Photovaltak systems, they’re on everyone’s lips. As we all know, however, these only work during the day, but a German company (rawlemon.com) has linked this technology to “a magnifying glass” and this system even works at night, I think further development will not be long in coming . The fact that this is also available as a color or foil is very new and sounds exciting
What is your background and experience in writing, and how did it help you write Human Extinction?
It was information with a lot of inspiration. It is a mental process of connecting things together to see what effects one has on the other.
What is one thing you hope readers are able to take away from your book?
There is always a lot to hope for. I would like more people to think about how we can shape the future of our children without doing more damage to our planet. It doesn’t help to just believe everything that prominent people say, we should think about what is being said and what impact it might have. We are not everyone in this world. We should all be a community that shapes the future together.
Author Links: Facebook | Website
But all is not yet lost. A look into the past shows that numerous technological solutions are already on the table, we just have to make them usable for the future and be prepared to bring about change where the biggest obstructors are: in power, money and influence.
Human Extinction – The extinction of mankind or how we are destroying ourselves
Human Extinction is a thought-provoking examination of the myriad ways humanity is contributing to its own potential downfall. The author presents a sweeping overview of historical, environmental, and societal issues, intertwining them to illustrate how interconnected and fragile our existence truly is. From ancient civilizations to modern technological advances, the book highlights the patterns of progress and destruction that define human history.
The writing is passionate and earnest, reflecting the author’s deep concern for the future of our planet and species. The book is peppered with historical references, personal anecdotes, and speculative ideas, making it both informative and engaging. For instance, the comparison between ancient advanced civilizations like the Egyptians and modern society provides a compelling framework for understanding how past mistakes are being repeated on a grander scale today. I think the section discussing the fall of these civilizations due to environmental changes and societal collapse resonates with current global challenges.
While the book’s organization may pose some challenges, its core message is clear and urgent. I felt that the digressions into conspiracy theories and speculative history, while interesting, can sometimes detract from the more solid arguments presented.
The author’s ability to inspire critical thinking is undeniable. The chapter on modern technology and its implications for resource depletion and environmental degradation is particularly poignant. The author effectively highlights the paradox of technological advancement; while it brings numerous benefits, it also accelerates resource consumption and environmental harm. The call for a global rethink and collective action is a powerful reminder of our shared responsibility.
Human Extinction: The Extinction of Mankind or How We Are Destroying Ourselves is a compelling read for any person interested in environmental science, history, and societal issues. I would recommend this book to readers who are passionate about understanding the broader context of humanity’s impact on the planet and are looking for a catalyst to inspire change.
Pages: 134 | ASIN : B0D47DRKK8
LITERARY TITAN 