SOLDIER'S HEARTS
CONNECT

Vela Giri, Director

I was drafted in 1968 and assigned to infantry. Not feeling inspired by the quality of other draftees, I joined the airborne. After additional training I was assigned to the 173rd airborne brigade. I served with them for a year in the jungles of the upper highlands of Viet Nam. We had firefight contact with the freedom fighters known as Vietcong on an intermittent basis. There was a few larger battles. We lost men and they lost many more.

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Soon after I left the army, I took Buddhist vows and studied under the tutelage of Katagiri Roshi who founded the MNN Zen Center. The practice of Zen mediation kept my PTS at bay.

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I was then introduced to the Way of The Sacred Pipe where I learned of the Native American sweat lodge. Eventually under the guidance of the renowned Lakota medicine man Martin Highbear, I was able to experience vision quest twice upon the sacred sight of Bear Butte in South Dakota.

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These experiences led me to completely cut my ties with this country and I began to wander the world. I traveled with my home, in my backpack for over six years. I visited over fifty countries in four continents. I could not find home.

 

Finally I landed in India and studied there with the Ashtanga yoga master Gitananda Giri. Some years later I finally met my meditation guru, Ajaib Sign. I studied with him in Indida and the US for several more years. During this time I finally found love and healing and who I truly am beyond the ego. However I still carried the deep inner wounds of war which led to my work with Dr. Ed Tick.

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Around the year 2012 is when I realized I was afflicted with PTSD now referred to as PTS as the D denoting disorder is erroneous. With the help of Dr. Edward Tick I was able to address this affliction to the point that I learned the methods of recovery and healing that he and his organization, Soldiers Heart inc. employed. 

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Dr. Tick is my primary mentor. When he retired after over 15 years of helping numerous veterans, I decided to carry on his work with Soldiers Heart of the Ozarks. This is a 501c nonprofit with which I hope to do my part as an elder warrior in assisting my afflicted brother and sister veterans suffering from the soul wound of PTS and who often need help reintegrating into society.

 

Prior to founding Soldiers Heart of the Ozarks, I worked with the local Sierra Club to establish the military outdoors program of Arkansas and produced a weekly radio show on KPSQ. The radio show, Soldiers Heart, presented different modules for addressing PTS. (These shows are now available on the website, under resources, as a free online resource- click here)

 

At this time my primary teacher is the Vietnamese zen master Thich Nhat Hanh. He is a living Bodhisattva. I attend retreats in Mississippi at the Magnolia Grove Monastery.

 

After receiving my M.S. in forestry I founded Lone Oak Tree Service in Mpls MNN. After over 15 tears I saved enough money to buy 90 acres and a house in the Arkansas Ozarks.  I still reside in this paradise like landscape of river and forests. I grow food and assist my wife, Francesca Garciagiri with her acupuncture business in Eureka Springs.Before establishing my tree service I had trained to become a therapist in the field of chemical dependency and worked several years with adolescents and their families.

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I have learned that the duty of a warrior is not finished in the military but once a warrior, always a warrior, dedicated to protect and serve his or her people. Therefore, I am committed to this work for the duration of this life adventure. I hope to leave a legacy of my work to establish a working methodology which can be applied not only to veterans but first responders and others who suffer from PTS due to the affects of our dysfunctional militaristic society.  I am finding this includes a wide range of individuals in our society.

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