Special Memory #4
When a client talked about it, it didn’t seem like it was a coincidence when people showed up in their life, it got me thinking. As I look back on my life, I have met some extraordinary people who have shaped the path I am currently walking, and was that a coincidence? This article is about one special man that I met on my path that I wish you all had the privilege to meet – Albert Saparoff.
I met Albert out of obligation. I was about to drive to a five-day meditation retreat and a friend asked if I could take her father along with me. She wanted me to keep an eye on this 78-year-old guy who was almost as old as my grandpa. A three-hour drive with some old fart? Eventually, I agreed.
Right off the bat, this old man couldn’t stop talking. He had that old man smell that my air freshener couldn’t mask. He was a talker. I was a rocker. All I wanted to do was jam to Led Zeppelin or Lynyrd Skynyrd but I was stuck with a grandpa talking about positive thinking and spiritual healing. I figured that my seminar had begun and eased back to lend him an ear. It turned out that Albert was a goofball like me! His dad jokes sucked and he also laughed when delivering them, like yours truly. Was this, how I was going to be at his age? I wondered. As he talked more and more, I could see me in him. It was bizarre.
By the time we arrived at the training, Albert had elected himself my surrogate grandfather. At the same time, he dampened my chances with the ladies by insisting on sharing a tent with me. He was like a bad rash that wouldn’t go away.
That was the downside. The upside was his vast knowledge of the healing arts. One night, Albert taught me non-touch healing. He had attended a nurse training before he was scheduled to give a presentation on his “Get High on Life Program” at some convention. Albert used to go into the inner city and give self-esteem presentations to teens.
In non-touch healing… Actually, I’ll say it in Albert’s words:
“Well, my boy, I get myself centered, get in touch with the healing energy of the Universe, allow that energy to enter the top of my head, flow down my arms and I let it flow through my hands, about 4” to 6” away from a person’s body – starting at their head, I bathe someone in energy all the way down to their feet. Now, my boy, it isn’t me doing it. I am just a conduit. It is the healing energy of the Universe that is doing the work through me,” he would grin.
When he asked to give me a healing, I was skeptical, but reluctantly agreed, sat on a folding chair in front of our tent, and watched him take his pose. Like a concert conductor, he began moving his hands slowly from the top of my head and worked his way down, but when his hands reached my ears I heard and felt, “WA WA WA WA.” This is the only way I could describe it. The man was moving my eardrums back and forth and quickly!
Suddenly, my body perked up and I was in shock. I wanted to make a comment, but Albert was only there in body, caught up too much in the connection he was linked into. By the time he finished, I felt renewed. My look at him made him chuckle.
“No, my boy, that wasn’t me. That was the healing energy of the Universe,” he grinned proudly.
In graduate school, they talked about non-touch healing and how, through experiments, had proved that people given that treatment would heal 30% faster. These experiments were proven over and over again. When Albert had a quadruple bypass surgery a few years later, his daughter and granddaughter were allowed in the recovery room, per his prior instructions, gave him the non-touch treatment and not only did he heal faster, but everyone in the unit healed 30% faster, too! The medical staff was baffled!
Albert created the “Get High on Life Program” and the slogan he used was, “Be Dear to Yourself.” The word Dear spelled out:
D – Diet.
E – Exercise.
A – Attitude.
R – Relaxation.
His model brought him 94 joyful years.
When Albert was in his mid-80s, I supported him through his divorce. This was a great thing as he tolerated a bitter woman for over 50 years. Oh, how he tried to please a woman who was hell-bent on making his life miserable. I overheard one conversation they had where his wife was complaining about $5,000 missing from their joint savings account. He had spit out, “It’s on your face!” I guess he bought her a facelift to improve that resting bitch face, but it didn’t work very well.
I got Albert involved in my group at Tarzana Treatment Center. From day one Albert became the superstar! I was running a spirituality group and Albert would do healings on the clients at the end. People would line up and one by one, Albert got into his conductor’s stance, and magic would flow out of him. I loved looking around the room to see the expressions on the faces of the onlookers. Most were amazed, others thought he was selling snake oil or something like it, that’s until one particular day that blew us all away.
A client entered the group and immediately asked for a healing. We normally waited till the end, but Albert immediately jumped to his feet in eager anticipation. He saw the darkness in this man’s body and wanted to help.
The man’s liver was failing. He was scheduled for a liver transplant in a few weeks but was fading fast at that time and looked for a miracle.
As Albert did his healing, it appeared as if he was grabbing things and tossing them to the side. A hush came over us all, as we had never seen him do something like this before.
“Out!” Albert demanded as he tossed something large to the side.
When he was finished the client started crying, stood up, and hugged him.
The client hadn’t returned to the group for two weeks and we were all concerned. Then one day he walked in all smiles.
“Albert and Scott, I just got my liver panel back and it showed my liver stabilized for now. My doctor is baffled and so is his staff. This is my last group because next week I have the surgery,” he smiled.
Albert Saparoff, shaman, surrogate grandfather, friend, and cornball.
A little more on Albert. When he was 8 years old, he soloed on his violin in the Kansas City Orchestra. He knew he had a God-given talent from an early age and always liked to show off his talents. What makes this stranger is that when he was in his 60s, he visited the Vatican, had a private tour with his wife and when it was finished they were led out to some side alleyway. Well, once he saw the street something deep struck him. He grabbed his wife and dragged her with him.
“Come on, honey. It’s all coming back to me.”
Albert walked her into the back entry of a small museum.
“Here is where my music stand was. Here was where Mozart played. I’ve been here before!” He said in amazement.
Sure enough, Albert was in Mozart’s practice hall. Like lightning, everything from his past life came rushing back to him.
“No wonder I could solo at 8 years of age, my boy, I was an expert in my life before,” he smiled.
Albert never feared death after that. He knew that his soul would live on.
From time to time I will do healings. I got pretty good at it as a massage therapist and would end my massages in this fashion. My sister had a hysterectomy and I visited her in the recovery room shortly after, to find her asleep. I began giving her a treatment and when she stirred I stopped.
“Don’t stop,” my sister told me. So I continued and then explained to her what I was doing.
This thing I thought was voodoo, has scientific proof. Albert’s daughter got me into a whole slew of other alternatives including acupuncture, homeopathies, the “Chi Machine,” and using whole food as medicine. This was one entire family that surely had an impact on the person I am today.
Compassionate Care is Always Available
There are many more tools and strategies you can use in your pursuit of happiness. Here is where we come in. Contact us at Basic Steps Mental Health and let us support and educate you on this journey back to your loving heart center. Imagine living a heart-centered life, regardless of what is happening externally. We’d love to be of help.
For 25 years, Dr. Scott Alpert, the clinical director of Basic Steps Mental Health, has treated over 7,000 people with mental health and addiction problems, using a Psychological approach that mixes and matches ten of the top approaches used in the industry. We are here virtually and in-person to help you get through this COVID-19 pandemic and many other difficulties you may be experiencing.
May you have good mental health.
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