After 40 years on T.V., in 3 different Western cities, I’ve become a blue-fingernailed, beanie-wearing celebrity overnight…thanks to cancer. Don’t get me wrong, I love the status upgrade but wish the circumstances were slightly different. My new-found-fame has meant well-wishes from thousands of people I don’t know personally, many of them have been religious in nature.
I’m going to cross a path here that has been the ruin of far bigger celebrities than me…I’m gonna talk about God. The risk is many of you will immediately log off (God talk has a way of doing that to some). Others of you will find my conversation blasphemous, irreverent or just reason to debate.
First, some background: Since making my cancer diagnosis public you’ve been kind enough to send me prayers and healing based on your beliefs. I thank you for that. My friends, the Gennusos, arranged for a Mass to be said in my honor, many of you have organized prayer circles and my Mormon relatives tell me cobalt blue nail polish is sold out in their Utah town. I even received a phone call from Southern India, where my Buddhist buddy, Lama Phuntsho, offered my name as part of an eight-thousand monk prayer festival. Wow. That’s all overwhelming.
Here goes the part where I should probably just say “thank you” and move on…but it’s not my nature. I am not a terribly religious guy. I’m part of that new big group of Americans that refer to themselves as spiritual but not religious. So what’s that mean? I find wonder in sunrises and sunsets, the relationship between a bee and a flower makes my eyes wide. And did you know that every single orchid on earth is designed as a runway to attract the insects that help in pollination? The workings of this world mystify me daily. That kinda stuff can be a powerful argument for God or for science. Till now, I just have happened to come down on the side of science. Your kind thoughts help me better understand what it’s like being a person of faith. I’m a modern man faced with Pascal’s Wager.
Funny thing happened to me the other day, a wonderfully talented writer from the UT, Karla Peterson, stopped by for an interview about what’s been going on. I shared with her one my recent revelations: learning that I need to be more engaged with the people around me by attending “birthdays, bar mitzvahs and weddings.” When Karla’s article appeared in Saturday’s paper, my comment had some of you wondering “Is Loren Nancarrow Jewish?” We know you’ve been wondering this through the marvel of technology (as we’ve been keeping an eye on search terms that lead you to my blog) and it turns out that more than a few of you have asked Google this question. So, let me answer it now: nope. Raised a Methodist and spent a life trying to live by the Golden Rule, failing too often but working harder at it now that I know, if there is a God, he’s watching more closely these days. Ironically, I have a longtime friend in Mark Larson, a conservative talk show host and occasional preacher. He asked me to look for meaning in everything I’m experiencing. Sound advice. Rest assured Mark, I’m looking.
The Nancarrow Project 
Loren, I love your blogs, I read every one. It moves me to tears. I can only pray that in your search for spirituality that you find the One and True Living God. You pointed out in your recent blog that you are “spiritual,” but are you “Spirit full?” Everyone is “spiritual” as we are all body, soul and spirit. God created us in His image, as He is Spirit. So the question is, as you search for true meaning, with whose spirit are you connecting? Do you realize your spirit is designed to connect with God, the One who created you? The only way to make this connection is to give your life to Jesus Christ. Jesus says He is the Way the Truth and the Life & that no man shall come to the Father (God) accept through Him.
So many times we are caught up with the accoutrements of life and our soul is left out of the plan until we have a moment of disruption. I pray that you will turn to the One who can make the necessary repairs. God sent His Son to die for our sins. We are all sinners and fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23.) I pray that you will accept Him as your Savior and allow Him to come into you and make you whole. He has the power to heal.
All you have to do is ask Him. What can it hurt? Just ask Him to forgive you for your sins (remember that we are all sinners.) Tell Him that you want Him to come into your life and become the person that He wants you to be and then thank Him for giving you eternal life.
If you don’t do anything else I have written, close your eyes and say this out loud.,
“Jesus, I am precious to you,” and then ask yourself what you just felt, say it over and over until you feel something or it means nothing.
If Jesus was walking this earth today, he would be considered no more than a homeless transient that we see everyday, walking the streets. Yet this homeless man named Jesus ended up as the most influential man in the history of the world. How can that be? No matter what people say about Him, how could He have had so much influence? Why are the unbelievers so adamant that He isn’t God & that at best, He was just a good teacher? Doesn’t it ever make you wonder why this country can kick Jesus and God out of every public venue, yet leave every other religion alone? We divide our time by his birth and his reign. The only plausible solution is, He is exactly who He said He was, God incarnate. And if God came to earth to tell us that believing in Him, and having our sins forgiven through Jesus is the only way to heaven, then we should listen!
Through Him you can know and experience God’s love and plan for your life.
” God’s strength is made perfect in our weakness.” (Corinthians 12:9-10)
Loren, I am glad you are looking – He is always right beside you and in fact, within you. You are made in the image of God. I pray you will consider inviting the Holy Spirit to take up residence in your open heart.
Loren, I too, am one of your many spiritual, but not formally religious followers. I just returned from Wisdom 2.0, a conference filled with many on the spiritual path trying to bring wisdom to our digital age. I thought of you often during those four days and sending spiritual strength your way. It culminated just how with getting a blue pedicure in unity. Namaste.
So honestly spoken, and I bet most of us fall into this range of belief verses the extremes being marketed. Enjoy each day. Breath deeply and watch the world unfold.
Loren, I try to attach all things religious and spiritual to a basic yearning as simple as finding your way back home after your first day at school or having too many Rolling Rocks in a Midwestern tavern. We are collusional in just wanting to rest our heads on a familiar pillow and to have someone say “it’s ok, you’re going to be fine”. And you are…kr
I’m one of those spiritual but not religious people… But I like what my sister always says… A thought is a prayer. I am glad you are getting thoughts, prayers, OMs, blessings from the universe! It just adds up to a lot of love!
You sound like Unity to me. The God you know is the one in you, the one in all of us. You live the life of appreciation and love. Prayers work, no matter which faith utters them. Just believe in the healthy you and it will happen. My Unity prayers will continue. If they could heal the founders of Unity, the can heal a wonderful man like you.
Loren…tagging on to ‘looking for the meaning’…’what is the gift in this?’. as someone just above my comment here said…you are a treasure…sincerely, thank you for letting us all in…this and many other San Diegans love you!!!
God bless you, Loren. That brought tears to my eyes. You are a good soul. After my husband died too young is when I found just how personal and relational God is. Keep an open heart, you can’t lose with the Lord. Pollardfam
God bless you Loren ! I love all your posts and love reading them so does my family . You are a legend here in San Diego ! Lots of love to you and your beautiful family
Loren is definitely not Jewish. He’s the only newscaster I’ve spoken with who asked if I wanted something to drink, and then bought me a soda out of the machine after I said yes! (calm down everyone, I can say that…I’m Jewish)
One thing I’ve noticed thru your blog and FB posts Loren, you’re damn funny. I appreciate that. I know I use humor in lots of different circumstances that come up in my life. My heart condition for one. Whatever it takes, I always say. I’m also a live and let live guy so it doesn’t matter to me what your religious or non religious gig is. With that said, keep on keepin’ on. Tom- Encinitas
What a treasure you are, Loren! What a treasure! Thank you for letting us all be a part of your life. San Diego adores you and wishes you well!
Love it! Well said…
L’chaim, Loren!
Thanks, I feel the same.
I find that praying and meditating helps…I’ve had breast cancer…I know the fear, but I also know all of the positives it has brought me and my husband. We are closer than ever, I learned that I am loved by many, and I am closer to God than ever. For that I am grateful…I wish nothing but the same for you….It sounds like you are on your journey, as was/am I…
Nicely said, Loren. Keep it coming…
Loren. I loved your honest blog today. Let me share so thoughts with u , might as well it’s on the Internet for ppl to find if that is their thing Growing up I was raised Roman Catholic , how hard I tried to fit as a child and adolescent in the mold given me. But to no avail I failed miserably , my path led me down hard roads and I ran into hell in earth, here’s the brutally honest part, I started playing with drugs and I’m sure you know if u play long and hard enough you will be come its slave, during that time my parents & counselor s and police family and judges asked me to find God again. Well this confused me That god I thought had allowed me the free will to all but destroy me. So in my heart and mind and in rehab and jail I found spirituality . GOD Good Orderly Direction Something more powerful than me. And I found a belief a strength and hope . I don’t find it in church or in scripture I found a power that lays within my heart. It sounds like you found that as well. Never apologize for your kind of beliefs they are what gives you what you need each day to get threw that day! That spirituality I found has help bless me with sobriety from IV Meth addiction since 9/6/94 My point believe what ever you believe and let no man judge you Your friend Audrey Wilmot
⭐Audrey Wilmot❤ awilmot2003@gmail.com
Loren: Great article, as always. Spiritual or religous, what is the difference. I believe they are basically the same. Belief is the crux of the matter.. No matter how you get there, believing in somthing is all that matters,. Everyone of your “fans” has some sort of belief that is putting out energy to you, who’s to say one is better than the other.???
Hang in there Loren, we want you back on TV so we can harass you some more.
Hugs. Jackie
Loren. I loved your honest blog today. Let me share so thoughts with u , might as well it’s on the Internet for ppl to find if that is their thing Growing up I was raised Roman Catholic , how hard I tried to fit as a child and adolescent in the mold given me. But to no avail I failed miserably , my path led me down hard roads and I ran into hell in earth, here’s the brutally honest part, I started playing with drugs and I’m sure you know if u play long and hard enough you will be come its slave, during that time my parents & counselor s and police family and judges asked me to find God again. Well this confused m
⭐Audrey Wilmot❤ awilmot2003@gmail.com
Loren, your writings are beautiful – so proud of you and the man you’ve become. Of course, all of us here at KENW take all the credit – ha. Just kidding. You’ve done so much and will continue to do so. Thanks for sharing this current journey with us all. We are keeping you and your family in our thoughts and PRAYERS! God bless you.
Lot
⭐Audrey Wilmot❤ awilmot2003@gmail.com
Love it!… We all have to have “someone” or “something” to believe in, and to give us hope, strength, and comfort!… Thank you for sharing your journey with the world!
LOREN, we will make you an honorary jew… how about that? p.s. my fingernails are cobalt blue.
Great blog Loren. I was thinking about Mark Larson (since that’s how you and I met) and I’m not surprised with the response. I’m witha brother! Claiming to be a “humanist” myself I align myself with where you are and what you are going through. I had a job once to be a personal assistant to a very high up exec in the Nashville Music Scene who was terminally ill, she had 6 months to learn how to live, and through watching her I learned not only how to live but how to die. Both lessons brought me to where I am today. Namaste.
Hi Loren,
Your words touched me. I think you are extremely brave to share your beliefs and your journey with us. I wish you well and will send you healing energy. Namaste
Since you have spent so much time in my living room (via the television) for so many years, I feel that somehow we know one another. You’ve been so generous over the years responding to my queries about frogs that croak after fresh rains and how to deter wandering raccoons and fend off distruction of the garden. I read Karla Peterson’s article in the UT and felt the need to respond.
I like to think of you as my friend that I’ve not formally met. You describe yourself as “spiritual” rather than religious and I don’t think that’s a bad way to be. Rather than grab on to religion, you’re keepin’ it real. We’re all pulling for you and who’s to say a “spiritual man” can’t receive a miracle!
Very good email about your religious tendencies? I am a currently registered Methodist, who was raised in an Evangelical household, and who believes in the teachings of my yoga practice. At the age of 60 I do not concern myself with other people’s beliefs. I do try to practice the understanding that people must answer to their own heart, and their god, in whatever way they choose. Belief is the word that is forefront in my mind. I hope for each of us to have belief in someone/something greater than ourselves. When we face challenges in our lives we then realize what beliefs we really have. At other times we tend not to pause on such things.
Loren, you’ve been “smacked” up the side of your head, literally, by your current circumstances and we all wonder “why”. As a very curious person I try not to ask that question of God because I imagine he gets tired of hearing it! To me it is our job to conduct our lives in a manner pleasing to our Creator, and in a way that does not harm others. He gave us the “smarts” to do this and therefore that is our responsibility. I do hope that during our tough times our beliefs keep us going as there is no other explanation for what happens to us.
You and your family are doing just that! Keep it up, Loren. Everyone else has suffered something in their lives and that is why we are here to support you.
I have a small Om sign tattoo on my inner left ankle to remind me that I am, we all are, connected to God, to the universe, and to others. As a believer, along side of yourself and a multitude of others, I can only say, “So be it!”
Hi, Loren. Maybe you can do more than just “look” for meaning in everything you are experiencing. You can also “put” meaning in everything you are experiencing. Love ya, dude, Kathie (a 2-time cancer survivor, so hang in there)
Very well said, Loren. You have taken the words right out of my mouth. Much love to you… Miz Shirley
Have you seen or read ‘The Power of Myth’ by Joseph Campbell? He really opened my eyes.
Honestly, could you be any more real, Loren? LOVE how you have shared, made yourself vulnerable and just plainly say it how it is. This Carlsbad resident transplanted from the Midwest finds it awesome! I recently connected a friend whose father has been diagnosed with cancer (completely different type) to your blog because you are awe inspiring and he could use a dose of that. God’s work! 🙂
the wonders of nature never cease and at times make us wonder about a higher power. an evolutionist I am but when I watched the whales in Maui last month and those off of our coast, they do make me wonder.. I was raise Catholic but stopped going to church decades ago. Just now for weddings and funerals, my dad’s just last year. So as we grow older, healthy or sick we look at our own mortality daily and wonder even more.
BTW I heard a startling fact that we lose 1/3 of the worlds bee population every year and without bees the world as we know it will run out of food in 4 years.
I two, follow the same path of “The House of Nancarrow”, but I find that we, as humans often fall back on our upbringing and bargain with God in times of crisis, mainly because we are frightened and don’t know what else to do. Is it right? I don’t know ,but I’ve certainly done it before. Call them prayers, good wishes, positive thoughts, good vibes, whatever; open your mind and heart and let them in…..hell, it won’t hurt.
My views are quite similar to yours. I was, for many years, a Deist (thanks to Tom Paine’s “Age of Reason.” More recently, we did a cover story on Baha’i . . . as I researched this story, this faith, these believers, their beliefs, I found myself thinking, “Lawdy! I think I’ve been a Baha’i most of my life. That’s what I believe in my mind, in my heart.” (War is bad, we are all equal, men, women, black, white, mottled, etc.) – more recently, following the tragedy in Wisconsin, we did a cover story on the Sikh people and their faith. Their belief system closely parallels that of Baha’i (I’ve attended meetings and services of both faiths. Fascinating).
My girlfirend, evelyn, has a grandson whose mother was Jewish, dad was gentile. When they divorced it was decided Tyler, the grandson, would be raised in the Jewish tradition. About six years ago we attended his bar mitzvah. First one I had ever attended. Interesting. Impressive. One thing that caught my attention was that the congregation was free to argue with the rabbi . . . and did. That doesn’t happen in any Christian church I’ve ever attended. Again, interesting and refreshing. (And, yes, we did a cover story on the bar mitzvah as well. Always looking for interesting stories.)
Am following your blog and enjoy your writing as much as I’ve always enjoyed your features and commentary. We’ve discussed you in my column “Man About Town,” on several occasions. If you’d like to drop a note to our readers, I’ll clear the space for you. You seem rather a popular fella. Lots of fans up here in North County, of which I am one.
I know you’ve heard/read this from a number of folks but let me add my voice . . . anything I can ever do to help you or your family, lemme know. Email is:
thepaper@cox.net. Phone is 760.747.7119. Website is http://www.thecommunitypaper.com.
Hang in there, keep your chin up, and be nice to the nurses.
Best.
lyle e davis
editor/publisher
The Paper
Loren, you expressed my same approach to faith beautifully. God is everywhere and definitely in you!
I’m amazed that we live in a culture where saying GOD and expressing our faith feels wrong. What I do is all about my god-given gift and spiritual awakenings. There is a greater power than us working through our beings and it’s sad that it takes illness for us to realize it. Love to you and your family.
Here’s a metaphor for you that I think you’ll “dig”: Mycorrhizal Fungi. Every time someone says a prayer, holds a mass chants or in any way offers up an affirmation for you it’s like the nitrogen transport system sustained by that fungus like organism that makes our gardens thrive. Everything (well almost everything growing is connected and synergizes (is that a word? MS Word doesn’t think so!) The Matrix is for real and yours is growing every day with every prayer, positive gesture and kind word and with what I know will be very real benefit to you and your family. And it sounds like you’re soaking it all up just right given this amazing post. From an extreme gardened in Vista: be well. I know that positivity positively makes all the difference.
Oh yeah, I’m 1/256th Jewish but I think the doctors removed that bit when I was born. <– this utterance never failed to cause my Mom to play hit me while she guffawed.
Loren, I absolutely understand where you are coming from. I’ve known some folks in my life who claim to be “born again” or extremely religious but do not follow the Golden Rule at all. Sometimes they almost seem hateful or depressed and I wonder what they are really getting out of their religion that seems to make them such sorry souls. I do believe in positive energy and thinking and that it can be directed towards helping another person as it can certain help someone who is ailing to think positive thoughts. And funny that you mention the Jewish part. I’m currently waiting for results of a DNA test to see if there was any Jewish background in my mother’s Russian roots. There was this family secret and I’ve always wondered about it. The town where they immigrated from was mostly Jewish. Anyway, as always, sending positive vibes your way and enjoy this beautiful February day! Your friend, Lois Bach
“Whatever gets you through the night”
We are all leaves on the same tree, Loren 🙂 Sending good thoughts your way.
Love this!
And ditto to Connie to.
are you sure they weren’t asking is Loren blueish? 😉
Ditto
Someone told me once he’d been “searching” for more than 30 years and I asked, Jesus, Lord, Neptune and karma…… HOW LONG IS IT GONNA TAKE? More POWER to you, bees, orchids or the sound of the sea!!!
Loren,
Whatever you call the spiritual energy that guides the universe, it is good to have it in your corner! Thanks for letting us share your journey, and to be there for you and your family in whatever ways we can. Many long and happy days to you, my friend.
Amen to that Loren!
Thanks for sharing, Loren.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts, appreciated so much since they align with mine so well 🙂
No one could have said it better!