Free Albatross by J. M. Erickson

like fish and fish oil. I also added meditation three times a day for twenty minutes each day to be said aloud.”
    Andersen was really curious now. “Meditation? Why?”
    “The neuroscience of the time indicated that when a person meditates for fifteen minutes every day, their frontal lobe rearranges itself. The frontal lobe is known for its abilities to think logically, plan, strategize, and is considered to be the ‘computer part’ of the brain. The frontal lobe also tends to be pro-social, positive, and overall empathetic. If you alter the frontal lobe with all of these efforts, it becomes the way of regenerating neurons and to have the person think more positive. Maybe even happier. And happy people are less guarded and more open to talking, sharing, and remembering things.”
    Andersen stopped writing because he was getting lost.
    “In English please?” Andersen asked.
    Andersen watched as Coleridge’s body language shifted. More animated, relaxed, and confident. I can see this guy is a natural professor, Andersen thought.
    Andersen could see that Coleridge was trying to put it all into layman’s words.
    “The part of the brain that makes us thinking creatures not only helps us think but helps keep us civilized. Laws are important. Codes of conduct are important. This is where our moral basis is consolidated. That’s why prayer, learning, meditation, and positive thinking make for happier human beings,” Coleridge concluded as he adjusted himself in his seat.
    Yeah. This guy is a good teacher.
    Andersen had to ask, “What did he meditate on? A Hindu prayer or Indian chant?” Andersen asked, getting back to his interview. At the very least, Coleridge or Caulfield or whoever he is was interesting, Andersen thought to himself.
    “That was also a shock. Burns chose Eastern Orthodox prayers from the Orthodox liturgy; he chose morning, midday, and evening prayers each for thirty minutes every time. That’s an hour and a half a day when only twenty minutes would have been helpful. In addition, he took the Lord’s Prayer and Hail Mary prayer and meditated with those as well in Latin. So in addition to a remarkably rigorous exercise routine and improved diet and sleeping patterns, he was spending about two hours a day meditating on religious matters that focused on forgiveness, acceptance, and kindness. And he had learned a new skill. He was reading Latin. This entire program took about sixteen weeks. That was strange.”
    “Strange?” Andersen asked. This was one of those situations when Andersen thought more would be better. If only twenty minutes was needed to meditate, two hours had to be better.
    “Strange? Yes. I expected to see results in four weeks. With the rigorous exercise he was doing, the average patient would start feeling significantly better and their mood greatly improved while their anxiety decreased. This would make them more amenable to therapy. They would start talking more freely and with far less barriers. Burns didn’t start talking in a less guarded fashion until week eleven. But that was minimal at best. More time passed. And even then after nearly four months of this level of treatment, his breakthrough seemed more like a surprise.”
    “How so?” Andersen encouraged.
    Coleridge sat back in his chair again as if recounting the very moment it all snowballed. Andersen could see Coleridge returning back in time. His shoulders seemed like they were tensing again, and even Coleridge’s voice sounded a bit weaker and hollow to Andersen. Coleridge started to talk again.
    “I am a computer geek. I love tinkering with old desktops. I build computers up from the motherboard to RAM to multiple monitors. Right before a session, I had soldered two components. I had thought that after two hours, the smell would have evaporated from the room. But Burns had picked up the smell. He came in the office as usual, but he seemed to tense up immediately and become focused. He had changed almost before