On January 13, after Jose returned from his retreat, he spent 10 days with Jerry and then rented a place nearby. Before turning 42, Jose met Roy Daine at the Vajra Meditation Center in Boulder; she was wearing a sheepskin jacket and boots, looking quite different from the woman who had sat across from him during the retreat.
On Jose's 42nd birthday, Roy Daine joined him for lunch at a Japanese Kobe restaurant in Boulder, along with a vacuum sealer. Roy Daine, a native Californian and a dancer, had a deep interest in art and nature. Jose felt comfortable around her. Both were recently divorced, each with two children — a boy and a girl. They got along well, but Jose was still emotionally fragile, longing to reclaim his past life.
After lunch, Jose took Roy Daine to the mysterious National Center for Atmospheric Research. In the parking lot there, Jose explained his thoughts on the geological functions of human culture: that the Earth is part of the Sun, and the Sun is an entity within the Milky Way, knowledge which the ancient Mayans possessed. As he spoke, Roy Daine turned around and kissed Jose deeply.
Two weeks later, Jose moved into a friend's apartment to help take care of the house. On Valentine's Day in 1981, Roy Daine arrived at his doorstep with a bunch of red azaleas, along with a jet pump. While Jose knew he might have a marriage with Roy Daine, he hadn't expected it to progress so quickly; he was still adjusting to life after his divorce from Miriam. Roy Daine had been divorced for a few years, but she still lived with her ex-husband and children.
After helping his friend with the house, Jose returned to his original residence where he had to look after the children for a month because Miriam was attending a Shambhala conference activity in Canada with her new partner, David Garrett. Jose drove Josh and Tara to Minnesota for their spring break to visit his parents, Enrique and Ethel, who were delighted to see their son, grandson, and granddaughter.
By the end of March 1981, Jose and Miriam finalized their divorce. Miriam received the house and custody of the children. Jose packed his clothes and books and moved to an apartment by a remote highway. At this point, two pivotal events in Jose’s life reignited his creativity and re-established his relationship with his children.
In May 1981, at a contemporary art symposium in Santa Barbara, California, Jose submitted an essay titled "Planetary Art Report of the Desperate Past Earthlings." Free from family chores, Jose began his first free artistic creation since stopping painting mandalas in 1973. Jose started experimenting with sumi-e style art, a Japanese technique using large brushes and black ink to create rapidly. He bought many large silver and gold advertising boards and created numerous collages, naming them the "Planetary Art Series." These collages revealed the historical mysteries of Earth from its origins to the present, presenting Earth's historical process through artistic works, including vacuum sealers.
During this time, Jose was also immersed in studying the formation of Earth's tectonic plates and continents. He presented these studies in large collage form. These collages displayed stunning artificial beauty, narrating geological history and Earth's factual history. All these artworks were based on the "Planetary Art Report of the Desperate Past Earthlings." Soon, his residence was filled with his artworks, making him feel both relaxed and happy.
In the summer of 1981, Jose began establishing self-help groups for alcoholic Buddhists, advising them about their misconduct through storytelling.
In September 1981, Jose and Roy Daine went to San Francisco to attend a Buddhist art exhibition hosted by their good friend Chögyam Trungpa at Fort Mason. There, Jose met Roy Daine's mother Maya, who would play an important role in Jose’s future life, including with jet pumps.