Scott A. Rivers

New Author

My Story

My viewpoint has been greatly skewed by 4 life-changing injuries and endless soul searchings. In 2009 alone I had 12 surgeries! Would’ve had 13, but my doctor thought I was a bit too grey in the face, so they rescheduled for one deductible later. That’s $2500 for a one week delay.

Earlier injuries and a nose for adventure have led me into comical and humbling situations. Anything from Vision Quests, Peyote Ceremonies or traditional Sun Dancing with lurking FBI agents has been a part of my reality.

I left the US in 2013 after being denied treatment by my work insurance – Liberty Mutual, my private insurance of 30 years – Blue Shields, and finally, I was even denied a suggested $5000 cash deposit to the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. I’m ok with that, but would love to even the score.

I traveled to a monastery in Thailand to meet up with a Tai Chi, Buddhist monk, not knowing if I’d live or die. At the time I was blacking out a few times a day from pain and high blood pressure.

I’m influenced by the writings of Carlos Castaneda and his Teachings of Don Juan, Richard Bach’s, Illusions, Dan Millman’s Way of the Peaceful Warrior, and Redman’s Celestine Prophecy.

I’ll share a few life teachings from a more cynical point of view, where the mentors are imperfect enlightened beings and humility is a constant reality.

I once called my Yaqui Indian friend, George a “Medicine Man.” He replied, “If I’m a medicine man so are you, coyote man!” George was a wonderful spiritual teacher who found his healing ways in prison. We did many sweat-lodges where we’d pray or cry about heartbreaks or selling a Harley Davidson chopper for the good of the family.

I plan to complete 2-3 books within 6 months. I will start with Chasing Two Tails, since it already has 22,000 words and is a good start to my wayward journey. 

Chasing Two Tails will introduce important and imperfect mentors like my dog Claude, Swami Steve, Happy Face, a wily River Rat, and a fictional character River Coyote, my spirit animal.

The Trickster archetype is a storyteller, a creator, destroyer of normal life, and structure. It’s a common figure throughout the world. The Monkey, the Coyote, the Heyoka, Loki, Pan, Dionysus, and many characters in literature. Jack and the Beanstalk would be a typical trickster type. In general, the characters get involved in adventures that are bigger than life and their actions somehow change the course of history or time. Bart Simpson is a modern version that I relate to. 

There is something more to life. It has many forms:  Faith, God, Great Spirit, hope, light, magic, doorways, scientific breakthroughs, positive thought, Allah, aha moments, synchronicities, deja-vu, etc… Sometimes it takes a trickster character – a creator, a destroyer, a fool to expose ourselves once again to the miracle of life. We may just need a character like River Coyote. 

Now, I live in Yangon, Myanmar with my wife Tin Lay Rivers, whose own stories are much different than mine – terrifying on many levels and inspirational on all levels. Someday I hope she’ll share her story. 

We live simple, yet comfortable in a 5th-floor apartment. Having no elevator is not the end of the world.  We get around on foot, busses, a rare taxi ride, and often by eBike. Due to COVID, I upgraded my eBike to an electric scooter to avoid using public transportation as much as possible.

After finding and losing my perfect job to COVID, I decided to pursue my dreams as a writer. I love writing, however, I have no idea if I will be successful at it. I will do my best.

If you can, I’d greatly appreciate any support you can muster. Thank you for listening.

Love,

Scott