It took a year and a half to sell the facility.

For months after that, Paul did nothing but read and sit. The patio of his Avenues home became his classroom.

"I really needed time to step out of everything that determines how you see the world." So indeed, he stepped out of everything — he did not renew his license to practice psychotherapy. He let lapse all dues and memberships to associations.

"Professional life, commitments — all the things that keep you running, I let them all go."

So Paul, the author of three books, went into retreat.

At some point he picked up a book by Devra West. It resonated with Paul, and he decided to look up the author. West was living in Montana and hosting workshops on land once occupied by Chief Joseph and the Nez Perce Indians. Paul visited her and attended workshops and discussions.

Having cleared out the clutter in his life during his "retreat," Paul says he became clear about his mission for moving forward.

"I was more alive than I had ever been in my life," he said. "I had a remarkable feeling of relatedness to others." And his attraction to the beliefs of Native American leaders grew.

"Hollow Bones" was born in a joining of these personal and historic experiences.

The book is a mechanism for conveying a message — a message delivered by Chief Oren Lyons, who opened the "Year of Indigenous Peoples" before delegates of the United Nations Organization Dec. 10, 1993.

He spoke of the Native American "Law of Life," or the "Law of Regeneration," where life and creation are born in the seeds that grow food and plants on Earth.

Lyons said in his address his ancestors had also warned of dark times — times when water would be polluted and the "world would be covered with smoke."

"We were told there would come a time when, tending our gardens, we would pull up our plants and the vines would be empty. Our precious seed would begin to disappear." He spoke of concerns about toxic dumps and nuclear waste. He spoke of over-fishing, over-cutting of timber and toxic chemicals.

"So then, what is the message I bring to you today? ... We are the generation with the responsibilities and the option to choose the Path of Life for the future of our children. Or the life and path which defies the Laws of Regeneration. "

The so-called "sustainable development" of the past few centuries cannot last, he said.

"We can still alter our course. It is not too late. We still have options. We need the courage to change our values to the regeneration of our families, the life that surrounds us. Given this opportunity, we can raise ourselves."