What was his life before Kenja?
"... I met Ken when I was in my early 20's. I was attending Alcoholics Anonymous for chronic alcoholism and drug addiction. I was unemployed and unemployable. There was no future for me. My girlfriend had become a prostitute and my best friend was murdered. I could not think, and went through a period where I could not even get the right words to come out of my mouth. I ended up in bed all day diagnosed as paranoid schizophrenic with malnutrition and scurvy. Naturally I tried to commit suicide and failed. I tried to suicide because of the futility of recovery in that post-drug haze, where you can't concentrate or do anything, and no one really wants to step you back into living again. I can remember sitting down staring at my shoes for half a day, unable to work out how to do the laces. What was ahead of me was the overwhelming sense of how much damage I had done, how lonely it was and how impossible any real recovery seemed. And even though I am eternally grateful to AA, their only solution was to sit still and wait for 10 years before I could begin to look at working again."

What did Bevin get out of his relationship with Ken?
"... Ken helped me out. He understood what it was like. He had the patience to keep helping when everyone else had just given up. When you spend your youth half drunk and out of it there's not a lot you can do. He got me interested in working, got me to go over everything when I took shortcuts. He even let me work on his boat which was a risk for him given my state, and sure enough, even though I was only sanding back a little timber and varnishing it, I managed to start wrecking the boat... Ken even understood this, even though it wasn't working out all that well for him. He persisted and helped me finish the job in such a way that I was happy with myself. And that I felt that I could take something on and finish it. This is rehabilitation and he never backed off."

How did Bevin spend his time in Kenja?
"... I'm sure you can appreciate that it was never an easy thing. Never an overnight success. Always a long hard battle up and out of the confusion I had managed to create. And on the way things happened that I won't mention here... "

There are many things Bevin Hudson chooses to hide
"... And on the way things happened that I won't mention here, but they were enough to send me back to where I came from. And again Ken was there, understanding mostly and helping me come to terms with events. He inspired me to want to live. Got me interested in sailing. Helped me broaden my horizons and showed me that life was worth fighting for. He encouraged me all the time. As I moved up and began to think straight, get organised. He helped me look at myself. An ex-drunk is an incredibly dishonest person. They don't want to know about their little faults. But this is a major part of the recovery process. Without it you are just treading water until you go under again."

How did Bevin's life change whilst doing the Kenja training?
"... He [Ken] was there when I started the business I am involved in now. Helping even with the original idea. When I needed straight lessons on ethics and honesty he wasn't lagging. Straight in with the kind of communication I needed to keep me up and running"

Time for family and relationships
"... My partner and I enjoy an alive relationship. We run this business together... and have time enough for a relationship. But with the skill of surviving a 20th century relationship with two full-time working parents and a 20th century child. I'm sure you know what I mean."

Bevin's alleged 'entrapment' in Kenja
"... but the main thing is, he has never asked me to pay him back in any way at all. And I mean never. I have never paid Ken any money for all this. Outside of the seminars which I have used to increase my income (I was on the dole when I first met Ken, I now own a boat, have a good income, provide for my child and have savings for the first time in my life). Because I run a very demanding little business, I don't get to Kenja all that much. In fact I'm hardly ever there. I don't feel any pull. Ken has never asked me to attend anything. I feel very free to come and go."

Bevin's viewpoint on Ken as a 'guru'
"... I don't feel as though I owe Ken anything. That might sound funny, but he is not sitting there dictating to me what I should do and what I should not do. He has never done that. He has helped me put the pieces back together, after that it is all mine. I am not confused about that. That is how he plays his game and that is why he is so good at it."

published 4/7/2009

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