One Thought Changes Everything by Gleason Mara

Author:Gleason, Mara
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2017-06-30T16:00:00+00:00

Six

Ice Man

“Every man takes the limits of his own field of vision for the limits of the world.”

- Arthur Schopenhauer

A few years ago, my former partner, Aaron, and I worked with a United States marine, Brian, nicknamed “Ice Man,” as part of a documentary film about the ripple effects of IEDs (improvised explosive devices) and the pervasiveness of PTSD among returning veterans. A filmmaker named Dani reached out to me via email one day out of the blue. She and I had gone to the same high school but were a couple of years apart so did not know one another well. It had been suggested that she reach out to me via a friend of mine whose husband was a marine. She had been poking around her networks looking for subjects for her film, which focused on the ripple effect of a single IED. The intended project is to create a “feature-length documentary and multi-media outreach project that explores the invisible wounds of war and the stigmas surrounding behavioral health in the military through combat veterans’ most intimate relationships.” Dani was curious about what we did, as she’d heard we had worked with wounded veterans in the past. She was hoping to include not just the trauma and tragedy of her subjects’ stories, but also a vision for resilience, hope and a real solution to PTSD. She was hoping we would consider working with one of the men as part of her film to demonstrate a treatment that might actually work. I was intrigued and excited about the potential of the project to shed light on the possibility for people to find freedom of mind, even after traumatic experiences like war. We had worked with a few wounded veterans in the past with huge success, but it had never been filmed, and thus could not be shared on a broader scale. After several emails and meetings, we arranged to film a four-day program of Aaron and me working with Brian, who was a Master Sergeant Marine with over 20 years of service. His platoon’s role in Iraq had been the subject of an HBO documentary. He is also now a speaker on post-combat stress issues. Over the four days, we would dialogue with Brian about the principles underlying the mind to see a) if it provided him any insight into his own life and leadership as a marine, both in terms of dealing with his past experiences and current leadership responsibilities in the military, and b) if he felt the three principles training offered a new solution for dealing with post-combat stress and trauma issues.

It was quickly evident how Brian had earned the nickname Ice Man. He had a stern, composed face. It wasn’t harsh or terrifying, more just expressionless. He showed little emotion. Before we began the four-day program, we all had dinner together – Brian, the film crew, Aaron and myself – as a way to get to know each other a bit before we dove into the project.

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