Seasons Greetings!
Over the Thanksgiving holiday I was reading an article in the November issue of Science of Mind, a guide for spiritual living. The article, written by three psychologists (Drs. Vieten, Schlitz and Amorok) from the Institute of Noetic Sciences, is titled “Seeing With New Eyes”. They indicated that over the last decade a research team from the Institute has explored in depth how people make deep, lasting changes in their lives. They wanted to know how people change their minds and alter their thinking, not just in small ways but also in ways that fundamentally shift our understanding of who we are and what we are capable of becoming. They explored what catalyzes these shifts and what factors make difficult, challenging, or painful experiences transformative rather than traumatic, leading to growth, healing, and wholeness.
The gist of their research revealed that big changes in life spring from changing things at the core -- altering our bottom-line view of the world and our place in it. In other words, when we change our worldview, changes in thinking, behavior, values, and priorities follow. They found that dramatic, long lasting shifts in consciousness spring from a fundamental shift in perspective. Transformation really means a change in the way we see the world and a shift in how we view ourselves. It’s more than a change in point of view. It’s a whole different perception of what’s possible.
Transformation in consciousness is something that opens a doorway or portal for us where suddenly there is a sense of possibility where there might have been none before. There’s a sense of having options where we didn’t perceive any before. Essentially there is a transformation of perception bringing new meaning and clearer purpose. The most fundamental change is within us allowing a profound shift in where we direct our attention and how we direct our intention. These moments can arise from experiences of awe, wonder or great beauty. They can also result from great pain, loss or suffering.
In their research, they found that while each person’s journey is unique, several common elements foster the kind of deep, profound and lasting transformation that shows up in real-world everyday life – in the way we treat people, in our capacities for gratitude and forgiveness and in our whole orientation to life and priorities. Some of the key elements that they discovered were:
1. Being a part of a like-minded, inspiring, and challenging community;
2. Continuing to access teachings through multiple ways of knowing – experiential, intellectual, kinesthetic, visual and auditory;
3. Having daily reminders in our environment;
4. A daily mind-body practice;
5. Making time for silence, solitude, and engagement with the natural world.
It was with the intent of providing opportunities to those on the path of personal transformation that I initiated a series of one-day Colloquiums commencing in January of 2006. These were conceived to allow men to gather in discussion about the salient and often challenging issues confronting them. In January of 2007 a series of Mindfulness Practicums was offered to teach practices that could allow participants to deal with their challenges in fundamentally new and productive ways.
The last Practicum of this year was facilitated for women. Mitch Roth and Clayton Norcross assisted me in holding the space for a select group of 14 women to do their Work. Many of the participants had father issues surface. One of the women wrote to me after the event and said that I could quote her: She expressed, “first of all, thank you for yesterday, I am looking forward to the next one. It was really nice to come together with women (and men) who also desire awareness, clarity and compassion in their lives, and it is always reassuring to know that I am not the only one who gets lost on that path.”
She went on to say, “I don't think about my dad very often (it may not seem like that to you, because you are the one I call when I need help). I have 100% intellectual closure and pretty solid emotional closure; sometimes life gives you a kick in the ass and you get a bad apple, so that was one of my bad apples and I accept that. But it is amazing how out of nowhere something can trigger that hurt little girl ‘I want a daddy’ feeling, and that feeling of being cheated. It was startling to me yesterday how many women had rebirthing experiences dealing with early deaths of their dads, dads who they adored and who adored them (and one of the women, who is in so much pain dealing with her dying dad). I have no idea what that feels like, other than the imaginings of my mind and the remembrance of daydreams of what I could do to make my dad like me when I was little, when I had no life experience to understand that it wasn't about me. Still today when I see people who have or had adoring relationships with their dads it hurts, even though I don't want it to and I beat myself up for it. So I decided that is OK, my daddy stuff is like a herpes virus that erupts from time to time and it is OK to feel bad.”
Speaking for the three men that had the privilege of supporting the women for the day, it was a very moving experience to be present to their healing process. It takes a lot of courage to be willing to enter into the deep work with people that are initially unknown to you but the women bonded readily and felt a sense of kinship as they related to each other and shared themselves openly.
The Men’s Center will host another series of one-day events at Holy Spirit Retreat Center. There will be another Sacred Path Practicum for women on Saturday, May 23rd and, prior to that, a day for men and women to look at their relationships on Saturday, March 14th. The next event for men will be a Symposium on Saturday, January 31st. It is titled, Healthy, Wealthy and Wise: Spiritual, Physical and Financial Fitness in the New Year. We will have some guest presenters who are experts in their fields. What better way to start the New Year than to look at your life with the intent to see yourself with new eyes and to review your attentionality and Intentionality to the details that are most important to you.
The word “Change” has been foremost in our minds as we have come through the election and now look forward to a new administration and a path offering different outcomes. What changes are you willing to make this year? The Sacred Path Community is here to support you on your journey of personal transformation to an expanded consciousness. Look below for further information about the Symposium and be one of the first to reserve your spot for the day.
Wishing you and your family a Happy Chanukah and a Merry Christmas,
Stephen
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
Healthy, Wealthy & Wise Symposium January 31, 2009
What does it mean to you to be healthy, wealthy and wise? Perhaps it has occurred to you that health doesn’t just pertain to the body; wealth doesn’t just pertain to your pocket book and wisdom doesn’t just pertain to your mind. For example, you can be financially, physically and mentally depleted while continuing to make deposits in your spiritual bank account. One’s prosperity is not just measured in dollars or other forms of material success. Abundance is a state of mind; a condition that allows you to choose faith over fear, acceptance over resistance, truth, love and simplicity over that which tends to create the more complicated life.
On January 31 we will convene for a day to explore what it means to live an uncomplicated life, one without worry and anxiety with the freedom to move through life with relative ease, regardless of what the situation or prevailing condition. We’ll discuss what it takes to have good physical, mental and emotional health. It comes down to living in the energy of the natural order. Those of us on The Path have discovered that once you shift into the Universal Divine Order that flows from the metaphysical laws that govern the flow of the universe, your life takes on a completely different state of consciousness and balance.
This Symposium is designed to bring good men together and once again to bring out the best in them. We will gather on this day for the opportunity to interact with the facilitators who will present information on their areas of expertise and invite open forum discussion. The intention is that you will leave this event with a better understanding of what it takes to further the endeavor of living a life balanced between the physical world and the spiritual realm; to further your awareness and understanding regarding your health, economic concerns and the right use of your essential intuitive wisdom.
Dr. Stephen Johnson will present on the integrated field of Spiritual Psychology that includes a focus on metaphysical laws and mindfulness training as well as the proven benefits of practicing body awareness, meditation and affirmative thinking. Stephen will invite participants to share about the challenges we are facing as well as what we have gained from our own experience with the practice of “Right Livelihood.”
In 1974, while a Doctoral Fellow in Rehabilitation Psychology at the University of Southern California, Stephen published his research on the Benefits of Yoga Therapy on Self-Concept, Conflict Resolution and Emotional Adjustment. He went on to study a post-doctoral curriculum for four years at the National Academy of Metaphysics and was one of a group of individuals assisting Leonard Orr during his pioneering work with the powerful breathing process called Rebirthing. This became the foundation for the blending of spirituality and psychology that has been at the heart of Stephen’s personal evolvement and his professional practice as a psychotherapist and educator for nearly 40 years.
Dr. Howard Elkin suggests that a New Year always reminds us of our quest and need to make constructive changes in our lives. A true motivator when it applies to health and fitness, he will discuss nutrition and exercise goal setting and how physical wellbeing is the cornerstone of his 4 quadrants of wellness. Paramount to healthy aging will be a discussion on hormone evaluation and replacement. Furthermore, to separate a scientifically based approach from all the media marketing hype, there will be a discussion with recommendations for selecting truly useful supplements for the average busy man living in this stressful time. Howard presented at the October retreat to an audience of 60 men that found the material to be quite informative and useful.
Howard was born in Richmond, Virginia. After obtaining a B.A. in English, he attended the Medical College of Virginia where he earned his MD degree in 1979. He completed his residency in Internal Medicine at Michael Reece Hospital and Medical Center in Chicago, followed by a fellowship in Clinical Cardiology at Northwestern University. He moved to Southern California with his wife in 1984 where they raised two daughters. After completing an additional fellowship in Invasive Cardiology, he opened his practice in 1986 in Whittier, California where he still resides.
Howard is board-certified in Internal Medicine, Cardiovascular Disease, and
Anti-Aging Medicine. He is best described as an integrative physician
that espouses the best in both traditional and alternative treatment modalities.
His approach in managing his patients is focused on linking the connection between
the body, the mind and the spirit. His interest and knowledge in nutrition,
exercise and stress reduction benefit his patients as well as those who attend his seminars
and speaking engagements.
Howard is also an athlete who has competed in gymnastics, marathons and triathlons.
During the last ten years he has successfully competed in bodybuilding on the national level. His zeal for exercise has garnered attention from various colleges and universities where he has served as team physician.
Chris Rudy is a personal trainer, certified by the National Academy of Sports Medicine. He creates individual fitness programs for clients using an integrated blend of weight training, core/abdominal and cardiovascular exercises with an emphasis on functional moves that will improve everyday life.
Chris was a featured personal trainer on the Discovery Channel's "National Body Challenge" series in 2004. His client lost 28 pounds and won the competition! He works with everyone from beginners to athletes to seniors with a focus on teaching you how to exercise safely and effectively. Chris recently celebrated the grand opening of his new Oasis Personal Fitness facility on Ventura Boulevard in Woodland Hills.
Chris states, "I enjoy working with people of all fitness levels, and see the potential in everyone. Commitment is the key. If you are willing, I will show you how to reach your goals and together we can design a program and make lasting lifestyle changes that work for you."
Not since before we were all born has there been a more challenging, frightening and possibly seductively opportunistic time. Join the men who will be attending this event as we explore how we all are dealing with the “Economic Meltdown” and how we can cope, grow and prosper during these unprecedented times.
Your input can be significant as we enter into an in depth discussion led by Richard Bizzaro inviting all of us to share our experiences, hopes and fears about money and the economic challenges we’re confronting.
For over four decades Richard Bizzaro has been building businesses. Starting in the fashion business on 7th Avenue, he studied under the first empire builder in apparel, Chester Roth, participating in the growth of a 500 million dollar conglomerate. He became the youngest Vice President ever to sit next to the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of one of the leading brands for 13 years.
Meeting his wife, Wendy, during the last year of his tenure at Kayser Roth, they set out to pioneer the new fashion of Active Sportswear. They went on to develop Wendy Gray Sports Editions, a design studio that created projects for Reebok, Japan's leading store Seibu, Rollerblades and many leading companies
Joe Weider, the Fitness Industry's leader, asked Richard to join him in 1983 to build the budding empire know as Weider Health and Fitness. 15 years later Richard led a successful Initial public offering on the NYSE after reaching $1.2 Billion in sales from $25 Million over those 15 years. The business took him to Utah where a total of 565,000 square feet of manufacturing, distribution and administration offices were built. A staff that was assembled in 1990 with 47 employees grew quickly to over 1400 in seven years and the business remains one of the largest employers in nutrition. He was named Entrepreneur of the Year in 1997.
Richard then turned his attention to the Direct Marketing Industry where he merged two of the leading companies into the 6th largest Multi Marketing Company in the world. He sat on the Board of the Direct Selling Association in Washington D.C and shared the position with Amway, Avon, Herbalife, NuSkin and all of the leaders of the industry.
Today, he owns a company devoted to Leisure and Travel. The All Resort Group, the largest Transportation Company in Utah, has expanded to 4 major western cities and has grown in sales to over 400% in 4 years. Richard enjoys skiing with his children and grand children and riding some of the Grand National Champion horses that Wendy has trained and shown all over the Western United States. Wendy and Richard currently live on the Gray Barron Ranches in Park City, Utah and Chatsworth, California.
To download the Flyer/Application for the “Healthy, Wealthy and Wise” Symposium, click HERE
On January 31 we will convene for a day to explore what it means to live an uncomplicated life, one without worry and anxiety with the freedom to move through life with relative ease, regardless of what the situation or prevailing condition. We’ll discuss what it takes to have good physical, mental and emotional health. It comes down to living in the energy of the natural order. Those of us on The Path have discovered that once you shift into the Universal Divine Order that flows from the metaphysical laws that govern the flow of the universe, your life takes on a completely different state of consciousness and balance.
This Symposium is designed to bring good men together and once again to bring out the best in them. We will gather on this day for the opportunity to interact with the facilitators who will present information on their areas of expertise and invite open forum discussion. The intention is that you will leave this event with a better understanding of what it takes to further the endeavor of living a life balanced between the physical world and the spiritual realm; to further your awareness and understanding regarding your health, economic concerns and the right use of your essential intuitive wisdom.
Dr. Stephen Johnson will present on the integrated field of Spiritual Psychology that includes a focus on metaphysical laws and mindfulness training as well as the proven benefits of practicing body awareness, meditation and affirmative thinking. Stephen will invite participants to share about the challenges we are facing as well as what we have gained from our own experience with the practice of “Right Livelihood.”
In 1974, while a Doctoral Fellow in Rehabilitation Psychology at the University of Southern California, Stephen published his research on the Benefits of Yoga Therapy on Self-Concept, Conflict Resolution and Emotional Adjustment. He went on to study a post-doctoral curriculum for four years at the National Academy of Metaphysics and was one of a group of individuals assisting Leonard Orr during his pioneering work with the powerful breathing process called Rebirthing. This became the foundation for the blending of spirituality and psychology that has been at the heart of Stephen’s personal evolvement and his professional practice as a psychotherapist and educator for nearly 40 years.
Dr. Howard Elkin suggests that a New Year always reminds us of our quest and need to make constructive changes in our lives. A true motivator when it applies to health and fitness, he will discuss nutrition and exercise goal setting and how physical wellbeing is the cornerstone of his 4 quadrants of wellness. Paramount to healthy aging will be a discussion on hormone evaluation and replacement. Furthermore, to separate a scientifically based approach from all the media marketing hype, there will be a discussion with recommendations for selecting truly useful supplements for the average busy man living in this stressful time. Howard presented at the October retreat to an audience of 60 men that found the material to be quite informative and useful.
Howard was born in Richmond, Virginia. After obtaining a B.A. in English, he attended the Medical College of Virginia where he earned his MD degree in 1979. He completed his residency in Internal Medicine at Michael Reece Hospital and Medical Center in Chicago, followed by a fellowship in Clinical Cardiology at Northwestern University. He moved to Southern California with his wife in 1984 where they raised two daughters. After completing an additional fellowship in Invasive Cardiology, he opened his practice in 1986 in Whittier, California where he still resides.
Howard is board-certified in Internal Medicine, Cardiovascular Disease, and
Anti-Aging Medicine. He is best described as an integrative physician
that espouses the best in both traditional and alternative treatment modalities.
His approach in managing his patients is focused on linking the connection between
the body, the mind and the spirit. His interest and knowledge in nutrition,
exercise and stress reduction benefit his patients as well as those who attend his seminars
and speaking engagements.
Howard is also an athlete who has competed in gymnastics, marathons and triathlons.
During the last ten years he has successfully competed in bodybuilding on the national level. His zeal for exercise has garnered attention from various colleges and universities where he has served as team physician.
Chris Rudy is a personal trainer, certified by the National Academy of Sports Medicine. He creates individual fitness programs for clients using an integrated blend of weight training, core/abdominal and cardiovascular exercises with an emphasis on functional moves that will improve everyday life.
Chris was a featured personal trainer on the Discovery Channel's "National Body Challenge" series in 2004. His client lost 28 pounds and won the competition! He works with everyone from beginners to athletes to seniors with a focus on teaching you how to exercise safely and effectively. Chris recently celebrated the grand opening of his new Oasis Personal Fitness facility on Ventura Boulevard in Woodland Hills.
Chris states, "I enjoy working with people of all fitness levels, and see the potential in everyone. Commitment is the key. If you are willing, I will show you how to reach your goals and together we can design a program and make lasting lifestyle changes that work for you."
Not since before we were all born has there been a more challenging, frightening and possibly seductively opportunistic time. Join the men who will be attending this event as we explore how we all are dealing with the “Economic Meltdown” and how we can cope, grow and prosper during these unprecedented times.
Your input can be significant as we enter into an in depth discussion led by Richard Bizzaro inviting all of us to share our experiences, hopes and fears about money and the economic challenges we’re confronting.
For over four decades Richard Bizzaro has been building businesses. Starting in the fashion business on 7th Avenue, he studied under the first empire builder in apparel, Chester Roth, participating in the growth of a 500 million dollar conglomerate. He became the youngest Vice President ever to sit next to the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of one of the leading brands for 13 years.
Meeting his wife, Wendy, during the last year of his tenure at Kayser Roth, they set out to pioneer the new fashion of Active Sportswear. They went on to develop Wendy Gray Sports Editions, a design studio that created projects for Reebok, Japan's leading store Seibu, Rollerblades and many leading companies
Joe Weider, the Fitness Industry's leader, asked Richard to join him in 1983 to build the budding empire know as Weider Health and Fitness. 15 years later Richard led a successful Initial public offering on the NYSE after reaching $1.2 Billion in sales from $25 Million over those 15 years. The business took him to Utah where a total of 565,000 square feet of manufacturing, distribution and administration offices were built. A staff that was assembled in 1990 with 47 employees grew quickly to over 1400 in seven years and the business remains one of the largest employers in nutrition. He was named Entrepreneur of the Year in 1997.
Richard then turned his attention to the Direct Marketing Industry where he merged two of the leading companies into the 6th largest Multi Marketing Company in the world. He sat on the Board of the Direct Selling Association in Washington D.C and shared the position with Amway, Avon, Herbalife, NuSkin and all of the leaders of the industry.
Today, he owns a company devoted to Leisure and Travel. The All Resort Group, the largest Transportation Company in Utah, has expanded to 4 major western cities and has grown in sales to over 400% in 4 years. Richard enjoys skiing with his children and grand children and riding some of the Grand National Champion horses that Wendy has trained and shown all over the Western United States. Wendy and Richard currently live on the Gray Barron Ranches in Park City, Utah and Chatsworth, California.
To download the Flyer/Application for the “Healthy, Wealthy and Wise” Symposium, click HERE
Leeann Karidis - Comments on Women's Practicum
The practicum on mindfulness has inspired me to appreciate the beauty in the details of everyday moments, instead of mindlessly fast-forwarding from one task to another, one day to another.
The breathing exercises have instilled in me a calmness which serves me in coping skills during stressful situations.
Learning the skills to cope with life’s dilemmas, by refraining & not reacting, have brought a sense of peace to my life. I feel I am better able to avoid “drama” that I can cause by overreacting.
I feel by being more mindful, I can avoid accidents or injuries due to mindlessness.
Being more mindful makes me consciously aware of my life. I appreciate more, enjoy more, simplify & not over-complicate situations.
Life is for living; by being more mindful, I am living a beneficial life.
With great appreciation,
Leeann Karidis
The breathing exercises have instilled in me a calmness which serves me in coping skills during stressful situations.
Learning the skills to cope with life’s dilemmas, by refraining & not reacting, have brought a sense of peace to my life. I feel I am better able to avoid “drama” that I can cause by overreacting.
I feel by being more mindful, I can avoid accidents or injuries due to mindlessness.
Being more mindful makes me consciously aware of my life. I appreciate more, enjoy more, simplify & not over-complicate situations.
Life is for living; by being more mindful, I am living a beneficial life.
With great appreciation,
Leeann Karidis
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Director's Message for November
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Greetings,
This newsletter is getting out a little early because our beloved editor, Rich Manners, is heading to the open seas for a two week cruise of the Hawaiian Islands. It’s fitting that we’re releasing this now since we’ve just returned from our 21st Annual Sacred Path Retreat in which 60 men participated. I never cease to be amazed at the power of these retreats when good men gather to bring out the best in themselves.
Personally, it’s always a joy to be on the mountain and the beautifully reconstructed community building was a welcome sight. It has been four years since it had burned to the ground. The large tents that had served as our meeting area and dining hall have been removed opening up an unobstructed view of the surrounding hills and coastline. The weather was perfect and just the right temperature to support all of our activities especially our daytime sweat lodges.
Andrew Soliz, who normally pours water for us in the lodges, was taking a group down the Colorado River on the kayak trip that the Wisdom Council participated in last February. In his place, Thomas Alvarez, Andrew’s cousin, stepped up to facilitate our lodges. Both Andrew and Thomas are Sun Dancers on the Pine Ridge Lakota Reservation. Thomas brought a lighthearted element to the serious nature of the Sweat Lodge easing the anxiety of those that were first timers. His contact with Spirit deepened the sacred nature of the healing work that was provided to those in need during each of the three lodges that were conducted. It was a special privilege that Thomas was able to join us because his Grandmother had just passed on Thursday morning. He and his family knew that she was in a good place and they were fully supportive of Thomas coming to bring prayers to the men through ceremony.
The community was comprised of men as young as16 as well as those representing each decade into the 60’s. The Wisdom Council once again manned up to create a full and varied program for the men who engaged wholeheartedly in the work. There was laughter balanced with intense moments of emotional release. The honesty and openness of the men was profound and deep while the Tribe skits on Saturday night were quite zany. Carl Wood, our fire dancer, performed his incredible fire spinning for us on Saturday night and Ed, Christo, Peter and Fred brought the evening to a close with music and movement. Albert, with the assistance of Timothy, led the men in some martial arts processes with the use of sticks. Cardiologist, Dr. Howard Elkin presented a breakout session on health, anti-aging and well-being. Our morning sessions consisted of movement with Fred while Clayton facilitated Yoga, Danny and Christo led Chi Gong, Timothy taught meditation and some of the men in the community offered some impromptu sessions from their own skill sets. The community gatherings and tribe meetings were rich.
We didn’t have as many Vets with us as we had hoped but those in attendance were acknowledged for the selfless gift of service that they have provided to our country.
Save the dates (mark your calendars now) for the Spring Call to Adventure Rites of Passage Retreat for youth, fathers and mentors this coming April 16-19, 2009 followed by the 22nd Annual Fall Sacred Path Men’s Retreat next October 22-25, 2009.
There are a few openings for the Mindfulness Practicum for women that I am facilitating (with my assistants Mitch Roth and Clayton Norcross) on Saturday, November 8th at Holy Spirit Retreat Center in Encino. The date is fast approaching, so if you were planning to attend or considering the possibility, please get your registration in right away so that you won’t be left out of what promises to be a very special day. I’ve not ever facilitated a day just for women and I’m looking forward to the experience. Since my work has been primarily directed toward men in the past 20 plus years I am pleased to be inspired to provide some programs in 2009 to include women and to assist couples. If you’d like to mark your calendars now, the following dates have been slotted at Holy Spirit for a series of Practicums: January 31, March 14, May 23, July 18, September 26 and November 7. I will be announcing the formats as my inner direction is revealed.
In the spirit of the approaching holiday season all of us at The Men’s Center and who walk the Sacred Path wish you and yours a haunted Halloween and a festive Thanksgiving.
Namaste,
Stephen
Greetings,
This newsletter is getting out a little early because our beloved editor, Rich Manners, is heading to the open seas for a two week cruise of the Hawaiian Islands. It’s fitting that we’re releasing this now since we’ve just returned from our 21st Annual Sacred Path Retreat in which 60 men participated. I never cease to be amazed at the power of these retreats when good men gather to bring out the best in themselves.
Personally, it’s always a joy to be on the mountain and the beautifully reconstructed community building was a welcome sight. It has been four years since it had burned to the ground. The large tents that had served as our meeting area and dining hall have been removed opening up an unobstructed view of the surrounding hills and coastline. The weather was perfect and just the right temperature to support all of our activities especially our daytime sweat lodges.
Andrew Soliz, who normally pours water for us in the lodges, was taking a group down the Colorado River on the kayak trip that the Wisdom Council participated in last February. In his place, Thomas Alvarez, Andrew’s cousin, stepped up to facilitate our lodges. Both Andrew and Thomas are Sun Dancers on the Pine Ridge Lakota Reservation. Thomas brought a lighthearted element to the serious nature of the Sweat Lodge easing the anxiety of those that were first timers. His contact with Spirit deepened the sacred nature of the healing work that was provided to those in need during each of the three lodges that were conducted. It was a special privilege that Thomas was able to join us because his Grandmother had just passed on Thursday morning. He and his family knew that she was in a good place and they were fully supportive of Thomas coming to bring prayers to the men through ceremony.
The community was comprised of men as young as16 as well as those representing each decade into the 60’s. The Wisdom Council once again manned up to create a full and varied program for the men who engaged wholeheartedly in the work. There was laughter balanced with intense moments of emotional release. The honesty and openness of the men was profound and deep while the Tribe skits on Saturday night were quite zany. Carl Wood, our fire dancer, performed his incredible fire spinning for us on Saturday night and Ed, Christo, Peter and Fred brought the evening to a close with music and movement. Albert, with the assistance of Timothy, led the men in some martial arts processes with the use of sticks. Cardiologist, Dr. Howard Elkin presented a breakout session on health, anti-aging and well-being. Our morning sessions consisted of movement with Fred while Clayton facilitated Yoga, Danny and Christo led Chi Gong, Timothy taught meditation and some of the men in the community offered some impromptu sessions from their own skill sets. The community gatherings and tribe meetings were rich.
We didn’t have as many Vets with us as we had hoped but those in attendance were acknowledged for the selfless gift of service that they have provided to our country.
Save the dates (mark your calendars now) for the Spring Call to Adventure Rites of Passage Retreat for youth, fathers and mentors this coming April 16-19, 2009 followed by the 22nd Annual Fall Sacred Path Men’s Retreat next October 22-25, 2009.
There are a few openings for the Mindfulness Practicum for women that I am facilitating (with my assistants Mitch Roth and Clayton Norcross) on Saturday, November 8th at Holy Spirit Retreat Center in Encino. The date is fast approaching, so if you were planning to attend or considering the possibility, please get your registration in right away so that you won’t be left out of what promises to be a very special day. I’ve not ever facilitated a day just for women and I’m looking forward to the experience. Since my work has been primarily directed toward men in the past 20 plus years I am pleased to be inspired to provide some programs in 2009 to include women and to assist couples. If you’d like to mark your calendars now, the following dates have been slotted at Holy Spirit for a series of Practicums: January 31, March 14, May 23, July 18, September 26 and November 7. I will be announcing the formats as my inner direction is revealed.
In the spirit of the approaching holiday season all of us at The Men’s Center and who walk the Sacred Path wish you and yours a haunted Halloween and a festive Thanksgiving.
Namaste,
Stephen
Fall 2008 retreat Tribe Descriptions
Men Who Don't See Their Treasure
The path of filled up yet unfulfilled lives
Yet ourselves, every day, do we not, each of us, receive from the unknown beggar an apparently unimportant fruit, only to disregard it and cast it heedlessly" aside? Does not life itself, every morning, stand before us in ordinary workaday garb, like a beggar, unannounced and unexplained, unexacting and unostentatious, waiting upon us with its gifts of the day, one day upon another? And do we not generally fail to open its common gifts, the common fruits from its common tree? We should certainly ask: "What does this hold?" We should suspect some seed within, precious and essential; and we should break the fruit to discover it. We should learn to separate the radiant, imperishable kernel from the part that has ripened only to fade, the part that rots and is soon in the keeping of death. Yet we permit the fruit, jewel and all, to be tossed away. And the valuable fruit is not only continually presented to us by the patient hand of outer life, with each successive day, each passing moment; it is also offered from within. Each of us is a fruit of the precious kind of this parable: yet do we manage - do we try - to release from the pericarp of our everyday personality the brilliant jewel of our essential seed?
Men Who Seek The "One Right Answer"
The path of fear
One of the foundations of patriarchal thinking is the assumption that there is only one right answer to any problem (namely, the patriarch's) .The patriarchal pattern of thinking is often called "logos" and can be seen in males from, boyhood onward. When boys play games, for instance, they often spend more time arguing about the rules and who is right than actually playing together.
…The King, like most men at midlife, relies on logos to solve his problems. …Psychologically, when men use only logos, ignoring emotions, and insisting on one right answer to every question, life becomes sterile and repetitive. For men in therapy, one of the biggest challenges is to silence male rationality and to step outside the intellect. Only then do men directly experience their problems and resolve them.
…The King, like most men at midlife, relies on logos to solve his problems. …Psychologically, when men use only logos, ignoring emotions, and insisting on one right answer to every question, life becomes sterile and repetitive. For men in therapy, one of the biggest challenges is to silence male rationality and to step outside the intellect. Only then do men directly experience their problems and resolve them.
Men Who Carry The Corpse Of Their Unresolved Grief
The path of crisis
The King dramatizes a difficult phase for men in the middle years. At this time, men struggle with the grief and pain they avoided or denied in youth, carrying the corpses of past loves, murdered dreams, and childhood traumas. The torment and timing differ for each man, but the process is similar. For one individual, the corpse might be a shameful deed committed in youth, for another a marriage dissolved in bitterness, and for a third a talent never developed which then withered away. Often there is a real cadaver; because aged fathers die, leaving their middle-aged sons to labor with painful memories and lingering regrets. In carrying corpses, men walk what Robert Bly eloquently calls, "the road of ashes," and many men start therapy for the first time when they reach this dark inner place.
In such a painful situation, men may be tempted to seek solace from women, turning to the anima or more commonly to wives, daughters, and mistresses for support…. Yet men's challenge is to bear their burden and walk back and forth in the cemetery…
The Monkey Who Finds The Treasure In The Discarded Fruit
The Path of Joy
But…We have our monkey. And he does not belong within the throne hall; he is out of place in the chamber of our kingliness. His gentle keepers are sheltered in the inner apartments of our being, those pleasant seraglios where we enjoy ourselves in royal idleness with our women and our 'games…In due time, even the monkey breaks loose and comes bounding unceremoniously into the chamber of state, leaps on the throne and thrusts its grotesque little face into the affairs of the king.
The monkey receives the unimpressive gift of the beggar. The king is above it, but the monkey is avid for its taste. With unbridled impetus and dainty-mouthed curiosity, this monkey- readiness to grasp at things and play with them until they break cracks open the fruit at last and discloses its secret to the eye. Curiosity, the ordinary desire to tamper with things, to consume and destroy them, releases the jewel at the core. But the playful animal cannot understand what it has done. Its act has been one only of amusing innocence. Having disclosed the gem, it simply abandons it, bounds away to the next monkey somersault-and so leaves the tale.
The monkey receives the unimpressive gift of the beggar. The king is above it, but the monkey is avid for its taste. With unbridled impetus and dainty-mouthed curiosity, this monkey- readiness to grasp at things and play with them until they break cracks open the fruit at last and discloses its secret to the eye. Curiosity, the ordinary desire to tamper with things, to consume and destroy them, releases the jewel at the core. But the playful animal cannot understand what it has done. Its act has been one only of amusing innocence. Having disclosed the gem, it simply abandons it, bounds away to the next monkey somersault-and so leaves the tale.
Men Who Know The Truth And Do Not Speak It
The Path of Regrets
How easily we walk through this journey we call life, ignoring the signs that are all around us. Voices speak to us, telling us the way. Yet we choose to follow our projections of the true path. These projections are illusions sculpted by our unhealed wounds. The way to proceed is that pointed to by the urging of your inner voice. The voice speaks the truth in all we sense. There is a price to pay by not heeding the voice. Are you willing to pay it? Are you willing to walk the path of regrets?
Men Who Seek Control Of The “Other World”
The path of resisted aging and death
Do I pursue the path of eternal youth? Is what I am chasing eternal (outside of time) youth or everlasting (in time) youth? As my body slows down, are there messages, important messages, being received that I deny? In denying my process of aging and dying am I not really denying my very life? What am I really chasing? What am I really running from? Am I seeking to control that which I cannot? In denying the other world, am I really seeking to control it?
Practicum for Women November 8th
Sacred Path Productions
Presents
The Mindfulness Practicum – A Day for Women
With
Dr. Stephen J. Johnson, Ph.D.
Saturday, November 8, 2008, from 8:30 am to 4:30 pm
Holy Spirit Retreat Center
4316 Lanai Road, Encino
For over 35 years, Dr. Stephen Johnson has been bringing out the best in people. In 1976 he co-founded The Center for Holistic Psychology in Beverly Hills. The early 1980’s saw the creation of Blueprint For Life Seminars for men and women and in 1984 he co-founded the H.E.A.R.T.S.WORK retreats also for men and women. In 1987 he was inspired to direct his attention to men’s work and created the Sacred Path Men’s Retreat and founded the Men’s Center Los Angeles in 1988. For the past 20 years he has focused his work largely on men and their relationships. Now it is once again the time to give back to women. This is your opportunity to participate in a life enhancing experience with Stephen and his staff. As one who is committed to living a conscious life, you are invited to attend this Practicum on the Spiritual Psychology of Mindfulness.
“ I have just completed a series of Practicums for men commencing in January. The overall goal of this year’s Mindfulness Training was to investigate how mind, brain and body work together in ways that enhance personal growth and healing through engaging in the practices of meditation, conscious connected breathing and enlightened discourse. Essentially these one-day events were opportunities for attention to Dharma, which is the basic ground underlying the contemplative teachings and practices which enlighten us to the transitory nature of all phenomena, including mental states. The willingness to be intimate with the mystical nature of one’s soul, in contrast with the mind’s tendency for attachment to the conceptual illusions about the world, allows us to more fully comprehend the distinction between self and selflessness and the true significance of walking the path of devotion. Our challenge today is how to find interior peace, compassion and wisdom within the heart of change as we engage with the exterior world. I have been inspired to present this training for women and am answering the call. I feel blessed to offer this work to those on the Path.”
In 1974, while a Doctoral Fellow in Rehabilitation Psychology at the University of Southern California, Stephen published his research on the Benefits of Yoga Therapy on Self-Concept, Conflict Resolution and Emotional Adjustment. He went on to study a post-doctoral curriculum for four years at the National Academy of Metaphysics and was one of a group of individuals assisting Leonard Orr during his pioneering work with the powerful breathing process called Rebirthing. This became the foundation for the blending of spirituality and psychology that has been at the heart of Stephen’s personal evolvement and his professional practice as a psychotherapist and educator.
Space is limited; enrollments will be accepted on a first come basis; please enroll early to reserve your spot.
Like Wandering Ghosts (part 3 of 3)
Edward Tick On How The U.S. Fails Its Returning Soldiers
by DAVID KUPFER
Edward Tick began counseling Vietnam veterans in the 1970s, at a time when the nation was trying to put the Vietnam War behind it and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) wasn’t yet a diagnostic category. Since then he has treated veterans of numerous conflicts, from the Spanish Civil War of the 1930s to the Iraq War of today. His methods are based on his study of worldwide spiritual traditions, indigenous cultures, mythology, and the role of the warrior in society. Key to the healing process for veterans, he says, is for them to experience the emotions that they could not allow themselves to feel in the war zone and to address the spiritual damage that they suffered during combat.
Tick turned eighteen in 1969, at the height of the Vietnam War, but he had a high lottery number in the draft and did not have to serve. Though he was against that war and active in the protest movement, he says he felt compassion, not anger, toward the soldiers who came home. In 1975 he moved to rural New York State and began working as a psychotherapist. He had not planned on specializing in veterans and trauma, but the region he had moved to was home to many who had served in Vietnam.
Tick has an M.A. in psychology from Goddard College and a Ph.D. in communication and rhetoric from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. He is also an ordained interfaith minister and has undergone a thirteen-year apprenticeship with a medicine man. He lives in Albany, New York, where, along with his wife, Kate Dahlstedt, he directs Soldier’s Heart www.soldiersheart.net, a nonprofit initiative to establish veterans’ safe-return programs in communities across the nation. “Veterans need a safety net when they come home from Iraq and Afghanistan,” he says, “so they won’t crash and burn like so many Vietnam veterans did. People in the community should be waiting to catch them.”
Kupfer: Do you encounter much resistance to your methodology from more-macho veterans?
Tick: Some deny the ptsd wound altogether, believing it to be evidence of cowardice or weakness. One veteran left a phone message for me recently, saying all my theories were “bullshit” and “the only cause of PTSD is losing.” Some think PTSD is real but don’t want to risk revealing their true feelings.
I often have to prove myself to veterans. They need to see that I am not afraid of them, that I have done my own form of service and walk in solidarity with them. I must accept the rage they sometimes direct at me, which they often feel toward society or protestors. I have to demonstrate that I will not break or abandon them. I strive to live up to their highest standards and to be worthy in their eyes of serving them and serving with them.
Kupfer: You write that war inverts good and evil. How does that affect a soldier’s understanding of right and wrong?
Tick: Almost all of us want to be agents of good. For many soldiers the motive for being a warrior is not to kill and destroy, but to preserve and protect. Then they find themselves in immoral wars where they are forced to be agents of destruction. I was recently discussing this issue with army chaplains, and I asked what they did to counsel soldiers who have just come back from a firefight or have committed atrocities. One chaplain said, “I teach my soldiers that they have to renegotiate their covenant with God.” The assumption that God’s going to forgive us for, say, killing a child just because we had no choice doesn’t wash with many soldiers. Their relationship with the divine is quite often damaged. As the chaplain said, they have to renegotiate it. Veterans and soldiers have to find ways to reconnect with the divine and undo that moral inversion and become again agents of creation.
Kupfer: You’ve written a book about dream healing. What is it?
Tick: Dream healing is practiced in many cultures around the world, but the tradition that I studied and wrote about is the ancient Greek version, well over three thousand years old. The Greek god of healing was Asclepius, and he visited his patients through dreams and visions. There was an extensive network of three hundred Asclepiad sanctuaries around the Mediterranean, from Egypt to Portugal, and from the Balkans to North Africa.
Dream healing was reserved for people for whom no other healing methods would work. They could travel to the sanctuaries of Asclepius and participate in a ritual process called “incubation.” First they were cleansed, purified, and treated with hydrotherapy, nutrition and exercise, acupressure, color therapy, and so on. These were used not as healing methods themselves but to prepare the patients for the vision quest. Then the patients would enter into incubation chambers, which in the earliest times were caves or holes carved into rocks. In later years the patients were swaddled on couches. Either way, they were put into intense isolation to fast, pray, and wait for a dream or vision in which the god of healing, or some surrogate, came and either healed them in the dream or gave them a prescription for how they could heal themselves later. We have records of more than a thousand of these prescriptions dating from 600 b.c. to 500 a.d., when the tradition was destroyed by the early Christian church. Then the church started to do its own form of dream healing, but now it was Christian saints who came instead of the Greek gods.
Kupfer: Have you found dream healing useful in your work?
Tick: Yes, I lead trips to Greece for veterans and nonveterans, and I use Asclepiad dream healing there. The healing dream is not an ordinary dream. It is a visit from an archetype. Jung said most of our dreams are minor, but occasionally we get a major one, which is a visit from an archetypal power or presence. Veterans often experience some form of warrior or war chief or medicine man coming to them.
The word psychotherapist comes directly from the Asclepiad tradition. It means “soul attendant.” Psychology literally means “the order and meaning of the soul.” It didn’t become a science until Freud and his followers arrived out of the medical tradition. Modern psychology left the soul far behind and has not yet reconnected with its spiritual roots, though it needs to, because psychological healing occurs at a spiritual level.
Kupfer: What is an “archetypal power”?
Tick: In neo-Jungian psychology there are four formative archetypes: the warrior, the magician, the lover, and the king or queen. All archetypes have their light and shadow sides. We need mentoring and initiation in order to become spiritual warriors. The shadow side of the warrior is violence and aggression and force and selfishness, all of which are rampant in our culture. Gang members are shadow warriors initiating themselves in the absence of an initiation by the elders. But the shadow warrior doesn’t always take the form of criminal activity or abusive or addictive behavior. Men in our culture, by and large, feel lonely, disconnected, and disempowered. That, too, is the shadow warrior.
Kupfer: And the archetypal warrior is betrayed by modern warfare?
Tick: Yes, our soldiers are not taught to behave as mythic warriors. The principles of the mythic warrior are that you never kill for vengeance or out of emotion. If you have to fight and kill, it is always for a cause that is morally sound and higher than yourself, such as defense of home and family. I know Vietnamese veterans who were at war for twenty-five or thirty years against the Japanese, the French, and the Americans. They are now healthy, happy men with no ptsd. I think this is because they were only defending their homes against invaders. PTSD seems to be more severe in the side that invades rather than defends.
Men’s-movement leaders, such as Robert Moore, Robert Bly, and Michael Meade, have been trying to bring back the idea of initiation and restore the spiritual warrior to American men. I have worked with Native American veterans who failed to find healing in the va system, so they went back to their reservations and worked with their elders and did achieve healing. There aren’t enough people working to bring spiritual warriorship to our young men, our veterans, and our inner-city populations. We need more.
Kupfer: Now that women are on the front lines, how can they fit into the traditionally male warrior role?
Tick: Many women are suffering terribly in the combat zone. One woman veteran I’ve met returned home from Iraq in a horrible depression because she had machine-gunned women and children. She refused help and was redeployed. She told her family she wanted the Iraqis to kill her as punishment for what she had done to them.
Some women veterans suffer because they feel they were created to be life givers, not life takers. So the moral trauma of war is more severe for them. But if we understand the warrior’s role to be not destroying and killing, but preserving and protecting, then we can find many women serving honorably in our military. Some of the most admirable women I have ever met are combat nurses, chaplains, and career officers.
There have been traditional cultures with women warriors and chiefs. Some Northwest Native American tribes had women warriors who were combatants. Among the Iroquois, clan mothers were given the ultimate power to declare war, because they were the ones who’d given birth to those who would be sent into battle.
Kupfer: Do you think war is innate to the human character?
Tick: Yes, in the sense that competition is built into nature, and we are a part of nature. Darwin said that if you want to understand war, look closely at a square foot of English lawn and see how the creatures there fight and devour each other. But the way we practice war is not the same as the competition for survival that we see in nature, because nature does not destroy more than it needs to in order to preserve itself. We’ve taken the competition and strife that is inherent in nature and inflated it to massive dimensions. And war is so damn seductive, because many of our primitive needs are met in its pursuit. We need to transcend both our innate tendencies toward competition and our socialized love of war.
Kupfer: What impact has this work had on you personally?
Tick: I have learned through all this that wounds are initiatory. When young men go through rites of passage, they need to be wounded in order to understand the fragility of life and to develop the powers and skills of full men. I’ve also developed secondary ptsd along the way. Psychologists can be traumatized by exposure to other people’s trauma. For a decade I had nightmares of war, sometimes intense combat nightmares. They helped me understand what veterans experience and what moral issues they have to work out. I can now tolerate even the most horrific war stories and stay connected to the heart and soul of the person telling them.
Kupfer: War is such a painful subject. Does it really help to keep talking about it?
Tick: Ironically, the way to heal pain is by diving deeper into it. Most of the pain we are in is caused by our resistance to and denial of it. To get off the suicidal path we are on, we have to feel the pain that we are in, that the earth is in, that our communities are in.
I fear for us, because the way we practice war is destroying everything. When we keep our mouths shut and don’t do anything about it, it damages every one of us, which creates more pain that has to be buried. It’s either dive into the pain or die from refusing to face it.
There are signs that people are coming to this realization. I am meeting activists on the Left who, frustrated that we have not been able to successfully protest this war and this administration, are turning their energy instead toward helping veterans. I also see people concerned about helping Iraq restore itself right now, and not waiting several decades, as we did with Vietnam.
Some in the military are saying that we need a military-civilian coalition to address the enormous problem of caring for veterans. That is good, because it truly is our responsibility too. Healing needs to be, in part, taken out of the hands of specialists and put back into the hands of the tribe, which can do a lot of things that specialists can’t. There is now less long-term isolation of veterans and hopefully less alienation among them. The public is more aware of ptsd and its consequences, such as veterans who commit suicide and homicide.
Kupfer: It must be hard to do this work. Why do you stick with it?
Tick: After the first Gulf War, I didn’t want to work with its veterans. I was war weary. I still am, but I am part of a brotherhood, and I have to keep serving. As I’ve gotten to know and respect veterans, their situation has become intolerable to me. They are home in body, but they can’t come home in mind or heart or spirit. My goal is to provide a road map to lead veterans and other survivors of trauma back into society.
So much love comes out of this work: the brotherhood that I share with veterans, the incredible forgiveness that we experience when we go to Vietnam. There are flowers in the depths of hell. Sometimes people have to walk through hell together in order to reach the deepest level of love and connection. That love is bigger and stronger than the anguish we face.
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
Director's Message for October
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Greetings,
Yesterday, with the biggest drop in the stock market ever, the light at the end of the tunnel may have seemed more remote or dimly lit for many. It’s times like these that test men’s souls. I am reminded that the measure of a man is not as much who he is on the way up as who he is on the way down and how he handles adversity and furthermore what he does with his life in the process of turning things around.
These certainly are interesting times that we live in and the opportunities abound for us to learn lessons concerning attachment, priorities and what really matters. There are lessons on all scales of importance, from alerting us to pay Mindful attention to shaking us into a state of urgent awareness.
I know many of you are aware that I’m a big SC football fan. If you weren’t aware of the huge loss to Oregon State last week for our Pac Ten opener, it was indeed a big disappointment since we were ranked #1 nationally, having won big our first two games and touted as being able to run the table making it to the BCS game and potentially maintaining our #1 ranking throughout the whole season. Due to the other upsets of top ten teams over the weekend we toppled to #9, saving us from falling out of the top ten ranking.
I observe myself carefully during the football season to make sure that I’m not investing too much attachment to the outcome. There was a time that I would get depressed after an SC loss and mope around for the entire weekend, but now I use my mindfulness practices of refraining and discernment to measure out the amount of emotion that I allow in the aftermath of an upsetting result. Not only do I consider how I want my nervous system to react and how I want to feel, but I also consider the lessons learned when facing adversity on minor levels such as this and on major levels such as economic losses, health challenges and other crises.
The Daily Om lesson yesterday was titled: The Light at the End of the Tunnel-- Nothing Is Insurmountable
The teaching presented the following: “When our next best course of action seems unclear, any dilemmas we face can appear insurmountable. Yet there is nothing we cannot overcome with time, persistence, focused thought, help, and faith. Whatever the situation or problem, there is always a solution. And if you remember to look within, even as you search around you for the ‘right’ course of action, you will be able to center yourself, clear your mind, and see that nothing has to be impossible.”
This lesson encouraged us to consider that, “The first step in overcoming any obstacle is to believe that it can be overcome. Doing so will give you the strength and courage to move through any crisis. The second step is to make a resolution that you can prevail over any chaos. Enlist your support network of family and friends if necessary. The more minds there are to consider a problem, the more solutions can be found. Don’t discount ideas just because they seem impractical or ‘unrealistic,’ and don’t keep searching for the ‘best’ alternative. Often there is no ‘best’ choice, there is only a choice to make so we can begin moving beyond whatever is obstructing our path. At the very least, making a choice, even if it isn’t the ideal one, can give you a sense of peace before you have to figure out what your next course of action will be.”
The lesson closed with the following words of wisdom, “If you feel overwhelmed by the scope of your troubles, you may want to think of other people who have turned adversity into triumph. We often gain a fresh perspective when we remember others who have overcome larger obstacles. It can be inspiring to hear of their victories, helping us remember that there is always light at the end of every tunnel. It is during our darkest hours that we sometimes need to remind ourselves that we don’t have to feel helpless. You have within and around you the resources to find a solution to any problem. And remember that if a solution or choice you make doesn’t work, you are always free to try another. Believe that you can get through anything, and you will always prevail.”
These words ring true for me and summarize the heart of the philosophy underlying the work we do to support men who participate in the Men’s Center programs. The theme of the October retreat is “Up against the wall with nowhere to turn.” We know that there are many who are feeling this way these days and we also know that there is a tremendous opportunity for men to work through their issues in the company of other good men. That’s why we gather on the mountain to do our men’s work. We know that men need to be heard. They need to express themselves and know that there are other men who get it and are there for mutual support and encouragement to stay the course and face whatever adversity or challenges they are confronting.
In another lesson, the Daily Om speaks about the importance of revealing and sharing ourselves authentically in the presence of other caring souls. “When we allow ourselves to be witnessed by another, we cannot help but be transformed by the experience. Whether we are sharing a personal experience, standing in front of friends to celebrate a special occasion, or expressing our unbridled joy or sorrow in front of a loved one, we are allowing ourselves to be seen and experienced in a very intimate way. Not only are we baring ourselves to someone else, but also we are allowing that person to hold a very specific kind of space with us so this powerful act can take place. To be witnessed is to let ourselves be seen as we truly are in that moment.
Our friends and loved ones can easily be witnesses for us, if only we are brave enough to let them… Anyone who has ever seen love, admiration, acceptance, or appreciation reflected in a friend or loved one’s eyes knows how transformative that experience can be. When you bare yourself to another, you are giving them the gift of you and showing them that they also matter. In letting yourself be witnessed, you are letting others into your intimate space, stepping in the sacred container they have created for you, and creating a cauldron of positive affirmation, support, love, and goodwill that will stay with you forever.”
We are three weeks away from the 21st Annual Sacred Path Men’s retreat. If you haven’t sent in your registration as yet and you are planning to attend, please take the time to handle it now and if you’re on the fence as to whether you’re going to participate this time or not, I hope that you will reflect on what you’ve gained from past retreats and know that this is another opportunity to give yourself something that you deserve and if it benefits you it will have a positive outcome on those whose lives you share. Let’s get through the tunnel of darkness together and be witnesses for each other as we transcend the turmoil and flow into the light of a new day.
In brotherhood,
Stephen
Greetings,
Yesterday, with the biggest drop in the stock market ever, the light at the end of the tunnel may have seemed more remote or dimly lit for many. It’s times like these that test men’s souls. I am reminded that the measure of a man is not as much who he is on the way up as who he is on the way down and how he handles adversity and furthermore what he does with his life in the process of turning things around.
These certainly are interesting times that we live in and the opportunities abound for us to learn lessons concerning attachment, priorities and what really matters. There are lessons on all scales of importance, from alerting us to pay Mindful attention to shaking us into a state of urgent awareness.
I know many of you are aware that I’m a big SC football fan. If you weren’t aware of the huge loss to Oregon State last week for our Pac Ten opener, it was indeed a big disappointment since we were ranked #1 nationally, having won big our first two games and touted as being able to run the table making it to the BCS game and potentially maintaining our #1 ranking throughout the whole season. Due to the other upsets of top ten teams over the weekend we toppled to #9, saving us from falling out of the top ten ranking.
I observe myself carefully during the football season to make sure that I’m not investing too much attachment to the outcome. There was a time that I would get depressed after an SC loss and mope around for the entire weekend, but now I use my mindfulness practices of refraining and discernment to measure out the amount of emotion that I allow in the aftermath of an upsetting result. Not only do I consider how I want my nervous system to react and how I want to feel, but I also consider the lessons learned when facing adversity on minor levels such as this and on major levels such as economic losses, health challenges and other crises.
The Daily Om lesson yesterday was titled: The Light at the End of the Tunnel-- Nothing Is Insurmountable
The teaching presented the following: “When our next best course of action seems unclear, any dilemmas we face can appear insurmountable. Yet there is nothing we cannot overcome with time, persistence, focused thought, help, and faith. Whatever the situation or problem, there is always a solution. And if you remember to look within, even as you search around you for the ‘right’ course of action, you will be able to center yourself, clear your mind, and see that nothing has to be impossible.”
This lesson encouraged us to consider that, “The first step in overcoming any obstacle is to believe that it can be overcome. Doing so will give you the strength and courage to move through any crisis. The second step is to make a resolution that you can prevail over any chaos. Enlist your support network of family and friends if necessary. The more minds there are to consider a problem, the more solutions can be found. Don’t discount ideas just because they seem impractical or ‘unrealistic,’ and don’t keep searching for the ‘best’ alternative. Often there is no ‘best’ choice, there is only a choice to make so we can begin moving beyond whatever is obstructing our path. At the very least, making a choice, even if it isn’t the ideal one, can give you a sense of peace before you have to figure out what your next course of action will be.”
The lesson closed with the following words of wisdom, “If you feel overwhelmed by the scope of your troubles, you may want to think of other people who have turned adversity into triumph. We often gain a fresh perspective when we remember others who have overcome larger obstacles. It can be inspiring to hear of their victories, helping us remember that there is always light at the end of every tunnel. It is during our darkest hours that we sometimes need to remind ourselves that we don’t have to feel helpless. You have within and around you the resources to find a solution to any problem. And remember that if a solution or choice you make doesn’t work, you are always free to try another. Believe that you can get through anything, and you will always prevail.”
These words ring true for me and summarize the heart of the philosophy underlying the work we do to support men who participate in the Men’s Center programs. The theme of the October retreat is “Up against the wall with nowhere to turn.” We know that there are many who are feeling this way these days and we also know that there is a tremendous opportunity for men to work through their issues in the company of other good men. That’s why we gather on the mountain to do our men’s work. We know that men need to be heard. They need to express themselves and know that there are other men who get it and are there for mutual support and encouragement to stay the course and face whatever adversity or challenges they are confronting.
In another lesson, the Daily Om speaks about the importance of revealing and sharing ourselves authentically in the presence of other caring souls. “When we allow ourselves to be witnessed by another, we cannot help but be transformed by the experience. Whether we are sharing a personal experience, standing in front of friends to celebrate a special occasion, or expressing our unbridled joy or sorrow in front of a loved one, we are allowing ourselves to be seen and experienced in a very intimate way. Not only are we baring ourselves to someone else, but also we are allowing that person to hold a very specific kind of space with us so this powerful act can take place. To be witnessed is to let ourselves be seen as we truly are in that moment.
Our friends and loved ones can easily be witnesses for us, if only we are brave enough to let them… Anyone who has ever seen love, admiration, acceptance, or appreciation reflected in a friend or loved one’s eyes knows how transformative that experience can be. When you bare yourself to another, you are giving them the gift of you and showing them that they also matter. In letting yourself be witnessed, you are letting others into your intimate space, stepping in the sacred container they have created for you, and creating a cauldron of positive affirmation, support, love, and goodwill that will stay with you forever.”
We are three weeks away from the 21st Annual Sacred Path Men’s retreat. If you haven’t sent in your registration as yet and you are planning to attend, please take the time to handle it now and if you’re on the fence as to whether you’re going to participate this time or not, I hope that you will reflect on what you’ve gained from past retreats and know that this is another opportunity to give yourself something that you deserve and if it benefits you it will have a positive outcome on those whose lives you share. Let’s get through the tunnel of darkness together and be witnesses for each other as we transcend the turmoil and flow into the light of a new day.
In brotherhood,
Stephen
Interview of Dr. Stephen Johnson in "The Ray"
by Chrysalis Hyon
Throughout the country in different supportive settings, men are participating in workshops to come to terms with what it means to be a man today, and in the process renew their commitment to themselves, their community and planetary stewardship. Psychotherapist Stephen Johnson, Ph.D. is the founder and director of the Men’s Center in Los Angeles, created in 1988 as “a vehicle for men to support each other and the women and children who love them.” He also conducts workshops nationwide. To learn more about Dr. Stephen Johnson’s Sacred Path programs in Los Angeles, please go to www.menscenterlosangeles.com.
Chrysalis Hyon: Stephen, you offer an unusual service in today’s world: men-only retreats not associated with any particular religion, for and by men. Can you share how you began this program? Why retreats for men only?
Dr. Stephen Johnson: Many men from my generation had close relationships with our mothers, and distant or uneven relationships with our post-World War II fathers. As we hit midlife coming from that earlier paternal history, some of us confronted a lot of internal ambiguity and did not know exactly how to navigate those waters.
We were quite confused about what it meant to be consciously mature men. We were becoming more defined by what we believed that women wanted in a man, as in passive or “feminized.” Women in fact wanted men who were conscious, who were in their hearts, who were spiritual and who were also self-confident. However, the leadership for consciously evolving men at the time was neither well defined nor integrated.
CH: So you were sensing there was a need for men to somehow define themselves, independent of women?
SJ: I was doing a lot of spiritual work to help both men and women contact their souls and to listen to and trust the voice of their intuition. During this period, an inner voice spoke to me and said, “Bring good men together, and bring out the best in them. And furthermore, when you bring these men together for the purpose of healing their wounds, they will naturally want to give back.” As a result of that direction, I created programs for men, their sons, and youth at risk.
CH: When and where did the retreats begin?
SJ: The first Sacred Path retreat was held in 1987, up in Topanga Canyon. Forty-five men participated. That was how the work commenced. And that was before I had heard of Robert Bly!
CH: Robert Bly’s Iron John seemed to make a momentary splash. Was there an intersection between your path and Bly’s work?
SJ: When I saw “A Gathering of Men”—the Bill Moyers interview with Robert Bly—I realized that Robert truly understood what men in midlife were going through. He understood that men had to have a place separate from women, to just do their own work. That validated the mens’ work I was facilitating.
When Robert was writing his breakthrough book, Iron John, he came to California to co-lead a weeklong retreat of 125 male therapists with mythologist Michael Meade and Jungian analyst James Hillman. During that retreat, we got into some very deep and soulful work stimulated by mythology, fairytales, stories and poetry. We explored what it meant to be a “conscious man.” The men who were doing this mythopoetic work were talking of a mature masculine – a deeper contact with one’s soul. Somehow, this distinguished what we were doing from the work of the women’s movement, which was inadvertently giving “masculine” a pejorative connotation. The challenge for us was: how do we reconcile the masculine/feminine duality without creating further bifurcation and estrangement?
Years later, Robert elaborated upon this approach in co-ed conferences he held with Jungian analyst Marion Woodman. In those retreats, men and women were first separated from each other to do their own work during the day. Later, they could listen to each other from a space of greater understanding and compassion.
CH: So is it that men must relate to the conscious masculine, and women to the conscious feminine? Don’t we all (men and women) have to integrate both our masculine and feminine?
SJ: Ultimately, yes—through traversing a sacred path and embracing the spiritual practices of Mindfulness we naturally tend to integrate the masculine and the feminine. That is what is really happening during the pursuit of personal transformation.
In our community, we say men become “elders” after 55. Men will experience their own male menopause changes. We help men understand more about what this means for them and to be better equipped to deal with their relationships as their wives age and undergo menopause. In our culture, everything’s disposable – you can turn around in the blink of an eye and get a new wife – ‘trade her in’ for a younger one. Many men are not prepared to be with women after they’ve had children and are entering their “crone” years.
What we’re constantly addressing is a pervasive sense of loss and longing, a profound longing we all carry inside. Many times, it becomes distorted and men get themselves into trouble from this unrequited healthy longing, unacknowledged or expressed.
CH: Is there a kind of unique acknowledgement that only men can give to each other, to address this longing?
SJ: Men have a need to be admired and to be recognized by other men— because men lack a blessing. When a father sends his son out into the world without a blessing, the son goes out as a prince, but without the capacity to be a king. The prince needs to be ordained. Where does the man find the blessing? I have met older men, men of accomplishment in the established industries of Hollywood, who sit with me and tell me they’re still a boy. When they admire someone, they want to be recognized by that person. They want to be beholden in the eyes of the beloved. Whether it’s through sports, or the auto show, or even a strip club, it’s about sharing an experience. There’s something we have in common—that even though we’re different, we can look around at each other, and recognize that we’re bonded in brotherhood.
At the same time, there’s a lot of polarization amongst men in the world. How do we unite enough to make a difference? That is the purpose of my work. Because civilization as we know it is at risk. So we’re reaching out to men, and helping them find their true destinies. To realize what it means to be a good man—to be the change they want to see in the world—to discover their personal significance and to live life fully and completely.
Chrysalis Hyon, M.A., is a freelance writer residing in Los Angeles. Chrysalis’ favorite topics include the spirituality of interconnectedness; well-being; and the integration of masculine and feminine energies. She has written on holistic health, feminine spirituality, Buddhism and yoga. You can email her at chyon@yahoo.com or visit ChrysalisHyon.com
New Book: LEADERSHIP AND THE SEXES
Using Gender Science to Create Success in Business
By Michael Gurian with Barbara Annis
“There’s nothing wrong about these differences,” the authors say, “but understanding them helps all of us work together more efficiently and effectively. This is truly a bottom-line issue.” Companies such as Procter & Gamble, Nissan, Deloitte & Touche, and Brooks Sports are already using their knowledge of brain-based gender differences to their advantage.
In the first part of Leadership and the Sexes, Gurian and Annis explore the science of gender. They explain, for example, that studies based on MRI, PET, and SPECT scans have been able to pinpoint the different ways that male and female brains function, emphasizing that neither way is superior to the other.
Differences include:
• In women’s brains, there are more active sensorial and emotive centers, and better linkage of these centers to language centers; men’s senses don’t generally work as well as women’s. Men don’t process as much emotion, and men don’t tend to link as much complex emotion or sensorial detail to words.
• In men’s brains, the cerebellum tends to be larger than in the female brain. The cerebellum is the center for action and physical movement. Thus, men tend to communicate more nonverbally, with more emphasis on movement and physicality than women’s emphasis on words.
• Men’s brains enter a “rest state,” a zone-out state, more easily than women’s. This happens many times per day naturally for men – comparatively, women’s brains do not shut off in this way except in sleep. Men’s brains also enter a rest state when quantities of words become overwhelming during communication.
• Men’s brains circulate more testosterone than women’s, as compared to women’s greater neural emphasis on oxytocin. Testosterone is a competition/aggression chemical. Oxytocin is a bonding chemical. Quite often during communication, men will try to compete while women try to bond.
Leadership and the Sexes then teaches readers how to use this scientific gender intelligence for business success. Based on their hands-on work at dozens of companies during the past two decades, the authors present tactics and tools to improve negotiation, communication, and conflict resolution skills with both genders. They also focus on best practices for retaining, motivating, and working with women. For example, respect women for who they are. Do not expect them to be more like men. The authors also discuss men’s issues, clarifying men’s strengths and leadership styles. Men, for example, are usually bigger risk-takers than women and tend not to hold long-term grudges. They are also constantly testing and being competitive – which is both good and bad – and often run counter to the way that women prefer to behave.
The final part of Leadership and the Sexes focuses on gender-intelligent mentoring and coaching with specific steps for creating effective programs. The authors warn that men and women need more than same-sex mentors. Cross-gender mentoring is also essential. “The mentoring programs of the future will move in the direction of providing both women and men to mentor both women and men…. As you are mentored and mentor others, you are participating in a profoundly important part of being a man or a woman,” the authors write.
Special Article: Like Wandering Ghosts (Part 2 of 3)
Edward Tick On How The U.S. Fails Its Returning Soldiers
by DAVID KUPFER
Edward Tick began counseling Vietnam veterans in the 1970s, at a time when the nation was trying to put the Vietnam War behind it and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) wasn’t yet a diagnostic category. Since then he has treated veterans of numerous conflicts, from the Spanish Civil War of the 1930s to the Iraq War of today. His methods are based on his study of worldwide spiritual traditions, indigenous cultures, mythology, and the role of the warrior in society. Key to the healing process for veterans, he says, is for them to experience the emotions that they could not allow themselves to feel in the war zone and to address the spiritual damage that they suffered during combat.
Tick turned eighteen in 1969, at the height of the Vietnam War, but he had a high lottery number in the draft and did not have to serve. Though he was against that war and active in the protest movement, he says he felt compassion, not anger, toward the soldiers who came home. In 1975 he moved to rural New York State and began working as a psychotherapist. He had not planned on specializing in veterans and trauma, but the region he had moved to was home to many who had served in Vietnam.
Tick has an M.A. in psychology from Goddard College and a Ph.D. in communication and rhetoric from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. He is also an ordained interfaith minister and has undergone a thirteen-year apprenticeship with a medicine man. He lives in Albany, New York, where, along with his wife, Kate Dahlstedt, he directs Soldier’s Heart www.soldiersheart.net, a nonprofit initiative to establish veterans’ safe-return programs in communities across the nation. “Veterans need a safety net when they come home from Iraq and Afghanistan,” he says, “so they won’t crash and burn like so many Vietnam veterans did. People in the community should be waiting to catch them.”
Kupfer: Tell me about some of the other veterans you’ve worked with.
Tick: I know a forty-year-old army captain who’s been back from Iraq just a few months. He’s a history teacher and has studied warfare all his life. He says he joined up because he wanted to be at a battle like the Bulge, the Somme, Gettysburg, or Thermopylae. He wanted to experience one of the great human adventures, something unforgettable, something with meaning. But all they gave him was “this dirty, stinking little war in Iraq, meaningless, based on lies.” He felt betrayed.
Another soldier, age twenty-one, has done three combat tours — two in Afghanistan and one in Iraq. This young man was able to resist committing atrocities when others in his unit were committing them. Sometimes he’d put himself between soldiers and civilians, or he’d get the information the soldiers wanted without killing anyone. He held his ptsd in check until he returned stateside. Then he lost it on his base and destroyed some property. At his court martial, the military prosecutors did all they could to deny and disqualify ptsd as a defense. The military’s position is that elite troops don’t break, and the atrocities he witnessed never happened.
Another Iraq veteran carried his personal camera everywhere in-country to document the lives of the Iraqi people. Some of his buddies made fun of him, but he says that getting to know the people and taking their pictures was his best protection against dehumanizing them. It reminded him that the Iraqis are fascinating people with a rich and ancient culture. By protecting their humanity, he was also preserving his own.
I’ve worked with an Afghanistan combat marine who was the first person in his state to enlist after 9/11. He saw severe combat, but he also learned to speak Pashto and in his off time dressed like an Afghani and made friends with the villagers. He, too, would not let himself dehumanize them. Upon his return home, he developed an obsession with guns and began collecting them — a common symptom of ptsd. He was busted by a federal agent who posed as a Vietnam combat vet with ptsd and asked to buy a gun, claiming he needed one to feel safe. The marine thought he was helping a brother. Now he is fighting federal weapons charges as part of our “war on terrorism.” He is a sweet, sincere, harmless, patriotic young man who deserves our gratitude and support, but he may go to prison instead.
Kupfer: Would you say that most veterans’ injuries are psychological?
Tick: Disabled American Veterans says the PTSD rate in modern wars is 100 percent. It’s not whether you get PTSD; it’s how severe your case is. The va, of course, tries to keep the numbers low, but they are counting only the cases they have allowed into the va system. Everybody who goes through a war is traumatized, unless they were already psychopathic or sociopathic.
Kupfer: Are the symptoms you’ve witnessed in combat veterans also present in the American civilian psyche?
Tick: All the symptoms of PTSD — substance abuse, domestic violence, sexual promiscuity, child abuse, employment difficulties, intimacy problems, high divorce rates, suicide, homicide — all are epidemic in our population. If we can diagnose an entire culture with ptsd, then the U.S. has it. The illness of the culture may be related to the way we are practicing war against other countries and the planet while denying responsibility for it.
Moral and spiritual trauma is at the core of PTSD, and no matter how well-intentioned various therapies are — such as cognitive-behavioral therapy, stress-reduction techniques, and medications — none takes on the moral and spiritual dimensions. Therapies like these can sometimes be helpful in restoring everyday functioning, but they do not bring healing. We need public apologies, public confessions, and public grief for all that we have done to our veterans, to other nations, and to the earth. When my wife and I make trips to Vietnam, we are not just trying to help our own wounded, but also giving back what we’ve taken from that culture and from the earth itself.
Kupfer: The title of psychologist James Hillman’s most recent book is A Terrible Love of War. Is there something in us that loves war?
Tick: I am convinced there is much about war that human beings love, seek, and crave. War provides challenges and rites of passage. It unites people who would otherwise be at odds. It gives us our most intense adrenaline-rush experiences. Nothing, not even the most passionate sex, comes near the intensity of the combat experience. War fosters the strongest brother- and sisterhood bonds that most people ever experience. There is an erotic dimension to war, to the taking of life, to having so much power at your command. It is seductive and addictive.
So, yes, there truly is a terrible love hidden in war. One Israeli paratrooper told me, “I both love and hate war. I both love and hate my ptsd. How can I heal from it when I still feel so much love for it?” We must develop peaceful practices that bring us as much love and solidarity and purpose as war does.
We could have a huge national service corps and train people to serve the planet in dangerous situations. We could call them into service during peacetime. We need people to work with gangs in the inner cities. We need people to respond to the crisis the earth is experiencing. We need people to go to disaster areas like New Orleans and repair the damage. But we have a long way to go, and we have to heal from wars as a first step on the way to peace. Since we have not had a generation without war, we don’t even know what peace really looks like.
Kupfer: What approaches do you take when you work one-on-one with veterans?
Tick: I use treatments given to warriors in traditional cultures, which expected that the invisible wounds of war would be deep, penetrating, and transformative. Indigenous cultures limited the extent of warfare and its damage, and they watched over their warriors in the midst of battle and after their return. For example, among the Papago people of the American Southwest, after a warrior had his first experience of combat, they held a nineteen-day ceremony of return. He might have been in battle for fifteen minutes, and for that he’d get almost three weeks of ritual healing and community support. He’d be put in isolation and not allowed to touch food or feed himself, because he’d been poisoned by the war experience. He couldn’t see his family, and he certainly couldn’t have sex with his wife, or else he would bring the war pollution back into the community. Elders and medicine people used purification techniques to cleanse him, and also storytelling techniques, which we would call “expressive-arts therapy.” The war dance wasn’t what Hollywood portrays it as: a bunch of savages whipping themselves into a frenzy before battle. It came after battle and was a dramatic reenactment of the conflict for the tribe.
Instead of having a parade and going shopping, we could use our veterans’ holidays as an occasion for storytelling. Open the churches and temples and synagogues and mosques and community centers and libraries across the country, and invite the veterans in to tell their stories. Purification ceremonies and storytelling events are also opportunities for the community to speak to veterans and take some of the burden of guilt off them and declare our oneness with them: “You killed in our name, because we ordered you to, so we take responsibility for it, too.”
The final step is initiation into the warrior class. We need to train our veterans in the warrior tradition and not just expect them to behave as typical civilians. Many of them can’t, but they are looking for ways to be of service. Labeling a veteran “100 percent disabled” only ensures that he or she is not going to do anything for the rest of his or her life.
Traditional societies understood that warriorhood is not soldiering but a path through life — a “warrior’s path,” not a “warpath.” In traditional societies, warriors strove to live up to the highest moral standards. They hated the destruction caused by war, and they sought to preserve what was precious to them. They served as police during times of peace and used violence only as a last resort. They had responsibilities that kept them busy throughout their lives, including mentoring younger men.
We could have a veterans’ service corps that would help other vets or go into the inner cities and the schools. The ability to serve on the home front would give the war experience meaning and let veterans demonstrate that they still have skills we value. When I take veterans back to Vietnam, we engage in philanthropic activities. When a Vietnamese child calls a veteran “Uncle” or “Grandfather” and thanks him for giving the community a school or feeding the child’s family, that is transformative.
(The final part appears in next month's blog)
Fred Sugerman's Message on the Upcoming Retreat
The Sacred Path Retreat is coming this Oct 23 -26. This is the twice-a-year gathering of men that you know (or may not know) that I attend; I have been on staff for six years now. It's 3 days of Council embodied by the Community's Circle and Talking Stick; we use fire, create ritual, eat good food together, and participate in smaller groups we call "tribes," where much of the best that happens, happens. The hilltop in the Malibu Mountains overlooking the coastline we commune on is phenomenal.
What does it mean to be a "good man?" How do I and how do I not interact with men? When I first stood in the middle of 90 guys, holding a talking stick, I realized that I had never done anything like that before. It felt like 90 Fathers/Grandfathers were putting their complete attention on me, which was highly uncomfortable and intimidating. After I lived through it, I realized it was one of the single most healing experiences of my life; I realized that my vulnerability, feelings of inadequacy, and underlying sense that I have not and will never live up to my Dad's expectations or desires does not make me less than a man. Over the years I have witnessed hundreds of men courageously put themselves into this situation, and speak of every normally-unspoken experience, fear, predicament, circumstance and life event imaginable. As you may guess, it all comes down to the ever amazing fact that we are all so different... and Soooo the same.
I do movement, Christo does drums, Ed Munter does songs and chants and sound, a great man named Strong Bear does Story, Timothy Aguilar does his Shaman-Man thing and last, but not least, my Friend and Mentor, Stephen Johnson holds the space. Stephen attended USC in the 70's when a lot of our current cutting-ege modalities that help to create non-rational ways of Being and shift consciousness were born. He knows a lot and is a great model for Power and Fluidity in leadership.
With love,
FLS
What does it mean to be a "good man?" How do I and how do I not interact with men? When I first stood in the middle of 90 guys, holding a talking stick, I realized that I had never done anything like that before. It felt like 90 Fathers/Grandfathers were putting their complete attention on me, which was highly uncomfortable and intimidating. After I lived through it, I realized it was one of the single most healing experiences of my life; I realized that my vulnerability, feelings of inadequacy, and underlying sense that I have not and will never live up to my Dad's expectations or desires does not make me less than a man. Over the years I have witnessed hundreds of men courageously put themselves into this situation, and speak of every normally-unspoken experience, fear, predicament, circumstance and life event imaginable. As you may guess, it all comes down to the ever amazing fact that we are all so different... and Soooo the same.
I do movement, Christo does drums, Ed Munter does songs and chants and sound, a great man named Strong Bear does Story, Timothy Aguilar does his Shaman-Man thing and last, but not least, my Friend and Mentor, Stephen Johnson holds the space. Stephen attended USC in the 70's when a lot of our current cutting-ege modalities that help to create non-rational ways of Being and shift consciousness were born. He knows a lot and is a great model for Power and Fluidity in leadership.
With love,
FLS
Cary Alburn's Comments on the Practicum Series
It is a pleasure to share my thoughts with you regarding the 2008 Mindfulness Practicum series, facilitated by Dr. Stephen Johnson. My interest in the series spawned from major life events occurring to me and a desire to learn new ways of possibly moving through those events, instead of holding on to the conditioned reactive responses that spring up so naturally, usually with little benefit.
Beginning in January and with the closing session on September 20, I found the series insightful, inspiring and beneficial, with noticeable tangible results as long as I remain mindful. Being in a mindful or present state is not yet an automatic frame in which to reference my world, however I am integrating many of the tools Stephen shared during these sessions.
The January opener was truly the foundation for the segments which followed through the months. I have been interested in Yoga, meditation, circular breathing and any knowledge which can be gleaned from wisdom cultures. This was an opportunity for me to belay the trepidation and anxiety related to questioning whether I was capable of properly executing these practices. That in itself has become some of the work for me to do as I walk my path.
I have experienced what a great tool the breathing exercise can be. It is truly one of the more dynamic experiences available to all of us. For me this exercise requires patience and assistance from the skilled and pliant hands of Rich Manners, Mitch Roth and Stephen.
I felt a strong presence with the group of men which gathered at these sessions, and I am grateful for the opportunity to grow as I sat and shared the experiences with my brothers. I continue to embrace the areas we directed focus on: presence, stillness, composure, kindness and discernment, to name few.
I keep Stephen’s compositions close at hand and usually read over the various handouts in the morning before I start work. I continue to hold the basic curriculum with me, in practicing truth, love and simplicity. I have also been receiving emails from the “Daily Om” and short quotes from Rhoberta Schaler, like the one below, which arrived today by email. These were steps suggested by Stephen and I have found them useful. As I integrated these small additions, they have acted as triggers which served in “reminding” me. The following quote pretty much sums up where I would like to be going and how these sessions have created value for me.
Regards,
Cary Alburn
Beginning in January and with the closing session on September 20, I found the series insightful, inspiring and beneficial, with noticeable tangible results as long as I remain mindful. Being in a mindful or present state is not yet an automatic frame in which to reference my world, however I am integrating many of the tools Stephen shared during these sessions.
The January opener was truly the foundation for the segments which followed through the months. I have been interested in Yoga, meditation, circular breathing and any knowledge which can be gleaned from wisdom cultures. This was an opportunity for me to belay the trepidation and anxiety related to questioning whether I was capable of properly executing these practices. That in itself has become some of the work for me to do as I walk my path.
I have experienced what a great tool the breathing exercise can be. It is truly one of the more dynamic experiences available to all of us. For me this exercise requires patience and assistance from the skilled and pliant hands of Rich Manners, Mitch Roth and Stephen.
I felt a strong presence with the group of men which gathered at these sessions, and I am grateful for the opportunity to grow as I sat and shared the experiences with my brothers. I continue to embrace the areas we directed focus on: presence, stillness, composure, kindness and discernment, to name few.
I keep Stephen’s compositions close at hand and usually read over the various handouts in the morning before I start work. I continue to hold the basic curriculum with me, in practicing truth, love and simplicity. I have also been receiving emails from the “Daily Om” and short quotes from Rhoberta Schaler, like the one below, which arrived today by email. These were steps suggested by Stephen and I have found them useful. As I integrated these small additions, they have acted as triggers which served in “reminding” me. The following quote pretty much sums up where I would like to be going and how these sessions have created value for me.
Regards,
Cary Alburn
“Your mind is where you live. Your world, your body, and your situation react in exact accordance to your mind. Not someone else's mind, your mind. An expanded consciousness expresses in an expanded experience.”
- Raymond Charles Barker
Info and Application for November WOMEN'S Practicum
Sacred Path Productions
Presents
The Mindfulness Practicum – A Day for Women
With
Dr. Stephen J. Johnson, Ph.D.
Saturday, November 8, 2008, from 8:30 am to 4:30 pm
Holy Spirit Retreat Center
4316 Lanai Road, Encino
For over 35 years, Dr. Stephen Johnson has been bringing out the best in people. In 1976 he co-founded The Center for Holistic Psychology in Beverly Hills. The early 1980’s saw the creation of Blueprint For Life Seminars for men and women and in 1984 he co-founded the H.E.A.R.T.S.WORK retreats also for men and women. In 1987 he was inspired to direct his attention to men’s work and created the Sacred Path Men’s Retreat and founded the Men’s Center Los Angeles in 1988. For the past 20 years he has focused his work largely on men and their relationships. Now it is once again the time to give back to women. This is your opportunity to participate in a life enhancing experience with Stephen and his staff. As one who is committed to living a conscious life, you are invited to attend this Practicum on the Spiritual Psychology of Mindfulness.
“ I have just completed a series of Practicums for men commencing in January. The overall goal of this year’s Mindfulness Training was to investigate how mind, brain and body work together in ways that enhance personal growth and healing through engaging in the practices of meditation, conscious connected breathing and enlightened discourse. Essentially these one-day events were opportunities for attention to Dharma, which is the basic ground underlying the contemplative teachings and practices which enlighten us to the transitory nature of all phenomena, including mental states. The willingness to be intimate with the mystical nature of one’s soul, in contrast with the mind’s tendency for attachment to the conceptual illusions about the world, allows us to more fully comprehend the distinction between self and selflessness and the true significance of walking the path of devotion. Our challenge today is how to find interior peace, compassion and wisdom within the heart of change as we engage with the exterior world. I have been inspired to present this training for women and am answering the call. I feel blessed to offer this work to those on the Path.”
In 1974, while a Doctoral Fellow in Rehabilitation Psychology at the University of Southern California, Stephen published his research on the Benefits of Yoga Therapy on Self-Concept, Conflict Resolution and Emotional Adjustment. He went on to study a post-doctoral curriculum for four years at the National Academy of Metaphysics and was one of a group of individuals assisting Leonard Orr during his pioneering work with the powerful breathing process called Rebirthing. This became the foundation for the blending of spirituality and psychology that has been at the heart of Stephen’s personal evolvement and his professional practice as a psychotherapist and educator.
Space is limited; enrollments will be accepted on a first come basis; please enroll early to reserve your spot.
Upcoming Sacred Ways Kayak Adventure
Hey there friends,
As you know, I coordinate retreats to the Colorado River with my friend Andrew Soliz, a Native American, Sweat Lodge leader.
The flier is attached.
I hope you’ll take a look and think about joining us. Not because I make money on these trips, but because they are life changing for the participants. That’s why we do them.
Namaste,
Scott Ewing
As you know, I coordinate retreats to the Colorado River with my friend Andrew Soliz, a Native American, Sweat Lodge leader.
The flier is attached.
I hope you’ll take a look and think about joining us. Not because I make money on these trips, but because they are life changing for the participants. That’s why we do them.
Namaste,
Scott Ewing
More Info on Nick Rath's Book, THE JOB OF PARENTING
I changed the ad I have for my book.
The old ad didn't have a picture of the book and the wording was different.
This would be a great gift for a family you know! You can go to EBAY and search for "Nick Rath" or you can order direct from me.
Nick
Get YOUR Children to Achieve Adulthood!
Stop Raising Children and Start Raising Men and Women!
· Would it make your life easier if you didn’t need to yell?
· Would it make your life easier if you didn’t need to threaten?
· Would it make life easier if you didn’t need to punish?
· Would it make life easier if you didn’t need to help so much?
· Would it make life easier if your children did what they needed to do to become adults?
In less than 135 pages Nick can assist you in answering “YES!” to those questions. “The Job of Parenting” teaches tools that will get your children to do what they need to do to become adults. You can free yourself from yelling, threatening and punishing !
Big promises? Yes! And, the thousands of parents that have implemented the strategies, guidelines and philosophy from Nick Rath will tell you “It works!”
If you’re raising children, what you’ll have in fifteen years is old children!
Raise Adults!
Nick is Dad to biological, step, adopted and foster children. He has worked for over twenty years teaching and coaching thousands of families to achieve adulthood for their children.
What’s in the Book?
Chapter titles include:
· A Philosophy of Parenting,
· The Job Description of Parenting,
· The Job Description of Childhood,
· What’s Love got to do with it?,
· Discipline vs. Punishment,
· Rules & Consequences,
· Sexuality and Gender,
· “Successful, Independent & Interdependent”,
· Assist or Help?,
· Education,
· Skills,
· Experiences,
· Drugs (including alcohol),
· Temptations for Parents
· Personal Independence Day.
Nick has also authored over a dozen articles about parenting. As a BONUS for You the first twenty people to buy the book will receive a dozen different articles on parenting written by Nick.
Monday, September 1, 2008
Director's Message for September 2008
Monday, September 1, 2008
Greetings,
22 men registered for the last Mindfulness Practicum on the practice of Refraining. The July Practicum was the 4th in the series that began in January, and I’m facilitating one last Practicum for men on Saturday, September 20th, focused on the practice of Discernment. Since this is the last one-day event for men before the October (23-26) retreat and actually for the remainder of this year, it will likely draw attendance from those that have participated in the whole series and those that have had to miss one or more events and those that are looking forward to participating in at least one of the Practicums before the series ends; therefore, if you plan to attend please register early to reserve your spot (new registration flier included with this message). We’re adding names to the pre-registration list now so indicate your intention to participate and we’ll add your name to the list. On the 20th we’ll be doing a review of the 4 practices and then focus on the practice of Discernment. The day will include Mindfulness meditation, conscious connected breathing sessions and discussion.
It’s important to understand the difference between judgment and discernment. The right use of discernment comes closest to what we refer to as exercising sound judgment as distinguished from being judgmental. For instance, we can discern that a person is overweight or that someone is thin. It’s when we have an opinion about whether that’s good or bad that we’ve traveled into the problematic realm of judgment. We can discern that we have a preference for people who believe as we do without judging those who don’t. We may prefer vanilla to chocolate, but that doesn’t make chocolate bad. When we release the judgment habit, we don’t discontinue having preferences, we just let go of applying negative labels and connotations to the things we don’t prefer. We’ll explore the practice of discernment, another facet of Mindfulness Training that allows us to balance our rational thought process in harmony between head and heart.
I’ve had a number of women remind me that I haven’t done an event for women in several years and they’ve requested that I put on some events to include them. With that in mind, I’ve decided to facilitate a Mindfulness Practicum focused on the 5 practices to be held at Holy Spirit Retreat Center on Saturday, November 8th. This event will be a day just for women participants. Rich and Mitch will assist me as we hold the space for the women to convene for their own day of exploration into the training of Mindfulness. More information will be forthcoming, however, feel free to let that special woman in your life know about this event. Further information will be forthcoming.
I have booked 6 more dates at Holy Spirit throughout 2009 commencing in January. My intention is to host a one-day event for couples as well as events to include men and women. I’ll be determining, along the way, how each event will be structured. I trust that you’re enjoying your summer and taking time to be Mindful along the way.
Our 21st Annual Fall Sacred Path Men’s Retreat is less than two months away. Though we were anticipating last April that we’d be in the new building at Hilltop, there were completion delays so that we were still in the tents. However, this October will be the first time in 4 years that we’ll be able to utilize the newly reconstructed facility. We are also excited about the expansion of our program to include US Veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan as well as Vets from previous campaigns such a Vietnam. You will find, included in this newsletter and on our web site, my pre-registration letter and the registration fliers that can be downloaded and printed.
We would greatly appreciate it if you would forward the retreat information to family members, friends and acquaintances. We’re in an expansion mode and wish to reach beyond our regular mailing list to invite new men to join us on the mountain. In addition to the Internet materials we have printed a quantity of hard copies, and if you’d like to have some fliers to distribute, please let us know.
In brotherhood,
Stephen
Greetings,
22 men registered for the last Mindfulness Practicum on the practice of Refraining. The July Practicum was the 4th in the series that began in January, and I’m facilitating one last Practicum for men on Saturday, September 20th, focused on the practice of Discernment. Since this is the last one-day event for men before the October (23-26) retreat and actually for the remainder of this year, it will likely draw attendance from those that have participated in the whole series and those that have had to miss one or more events and those that are looking forward to participating in at least one of the Practicums before the series ends; therefore, if you plan to attend please register early to reserve your spot (new registration flier included with this message). We’re adding names to the pre-registration list now so indicate your intention to participate and we’ll add your name to the list. On the 20th we’ll be doing a review of the 4 practices and then focus on the practice of Discernment. The day will include Mindfulness meditation, conscious connected breathing sessions and discussion.
It’s important to understand the difference between judgment and discernment. The right use of discernment comes closest to what we refer to as exercising sound judgment as distinguished from being judgmental. For instance, we can discern that a person is overweight or that someone is thin. It’s when we have an opinion about whether that’s good or bad that we’ve traveled into the problematic realm of judgment. We can discern that we have a preference for people who believe as we do without judging those who don’t. We may prefer vanilla to chocolate, but that doesn’t make chocolate bad. When we release the judgment habit, we don’t discontinue having preferences, we just let go of applying negative labels and connotations to the things we don’t prefer. We’ll explore the practice of discernment, another facet of Mindfulness Training that allows us to balance our rational thought process in harmony between head and heart.
I’ve had a number of women remind me that I haven’t done an event for women in several years and they’ve requested that I put on some events to include them. With that in mind, I’ve decided to facilitate a Mindfulness Practicum focused on the 5 practices to be held at Holy Spirit Retreat Center on Saturday, November 8th. This event will be a day just for women participants. Rich and Mitch will assist me as we hold the space for the women to convene for their own day of exploration into the training of Mindfulness. More information will be forthcoming, however, feel free to let that special woman in your life know about this event. Further information will be forthcoming.
I have booked 6 more dates at Holy Spirit throughout 2009 commencing in January. My intention is to host a one-day event for couples as well as events to include men and women. I’ll be determining, along the way, how each event will be structured. I trust that you’re enjoying your summer and taking time to be Mindful along the way.
Our 21st Annual Fall Sacred Path Men’s Retreat is less than two months away. Though we were anticipating last April that we’d be in the new building at Hilltop, there were completion delays so that we were still in the tents. However, this October will be the first time in 4 years that we’ll be able to utilize the newly reconstructed facility. We are also excited about the expansion of our program to include US Veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan as well as Vets from previous campaigns such a Vietnam. You will find, included in this newsletter and on our web site, my pre-registration letter and the registration fliers that can be downloaded and printed.
We would greatly appreciate it if you would forward the retreat information to family members, friends and acquaintances. We’re in an expansion mode and wish to reach beyond our regular mailing list to invite new men to join us on the mountain. In addition to the Internet materials we have printed a quantity of hard copies, and if you’d like to have some fliers to distribute, please let us know.
In brotherhood,
Stephen
Links to Fall Retreat and Practicum Flyers
A Message from Christo Pellani on the Upcoming Fall Retreat
Hello my brothers,
I writing to you since we have connected over the years in a conscious environment. I want to share with you an amazing experience that has impacted my life in profound ways... and I'm thinking of some of my brothers who may also benefit from it... you all came to mind.
This event, called the SACRED PATH MEN'S RETREAT, will take place on the 4th weekend in October: THURSDAY, OCT. 23 (evening), FRIDAY, OCT. 24, SATURDAY, OCT. 25, and SUNDAY, OCT. 26 (until 3pm).
These four days are life changing.... an intensive spiritual adventure of self-discovery and growth with an awesome conscious community of men. The facility is a beautiful fully- equipped camp called "HILLTOP" in the Malibu mountains,the environment is a pristine Chumash ceremonial site, overlooking the entire coastline, the food is great, the atmosphere is charged. This is an opportunity to give yourself a change of perspective and insight into the process of becoming a better man – period! There are many experiential activities and processes at these retreats as well as plenty of time for reflection and integration...
Please check this link for prices, more info, and to register for the retreat: http://www.menscenterlosangeles.com/sacredpath.htm
Some of the many insights I have received from my experience at HILLTOP include:
Obviously I know that when good men come together they bring out the best in each other. Consider where you are in your life right now, and go within for a moment to ask your self if you’re ready for a breakthrough. Life has been very complex and has its seemingly endless challenges – and opportunities. This may be one for you to give yourself the gift of an opportunity to move through your obstacles and grow into a new refreshed awareness of who you truly are.
Hey, do me a favor before you decide whether you want this experience. Let’s discuss it. Trust me on this.... the retreat is a truly unique experience; it will change your life. I will be happy to answer any questions or concerns you may have...
Your friend and brother in spirit, Christo Pellani
I writing to you since we have connected over the years in a conscious environment. I want to share with you an amazing experience that has impacted my life in profound ways... and I'm thinking of some of my brothers who may also benefit from it... you all came to mind.
This event, called the SACRED PATH MEN'S RETREAT, will take place on the 4th weekend in October: THURSDAY, OCT. 23 (evening), FRIDAY, OCT. 24, SATURDAY, OCT. 25, and SUNDAY, OCT. 26 (until 3pm).
These four days are life changing.... an intensive spiritual adventure of self-discovery and growth with an awesome conscious community of men. The facility is a beautiful fully- equipped camp called "HILLTOP" in the Malibu mountains,the environment is a pristine Chumash ceremonial site, overlooking the entire coastline, the food is great, the atmosphere is charged. This is an opportunity to give yourself a change of perspective and insight into the process of becoming a better man – period! There are many experiential activities and processes at these retreats as well as plenty of time for reflection and integration...
Please check this link for prices, more info, and to register for the retreat: http://www.menscenterlosangeles.com/sacredpath.htm
Some of the many insights I have received from my experience at HILLTOP include:
deeper understanding of my gifts to give to the world
improved communication in all of my relationships
enhancement of leadership and self expression qualities
tools to deal with issues around anger management
deeper understanding of my spiritual constitution
dealing with and overcoming self-imposed limitations and fear-based beliefs
and best of all for me... manifesting a FATHER who adopted me at one of the retreats!
Obviously I know that when good men come together they bring out the best in each other. Consider where you are in your life right now, and go within for a moment to ask your self if you’re ready for a breakthrough. Life has been very complex and has its seemingly endless challenges – and opportunities. This may be one for you to give yourself the gift of an opportunity to move through your obstacles and grow into a new refreshed awareness of who you truly are.
Hey, do me a favor before you decide whether you want this experience. Let’s discuss it. Trust me on this.... the retreat is a truly unique experience; it will change your life. I will be happy to answer any questions or concerns you may have...
Your friend and brother in spirit, Christo Pellani
PLEASE FORWARD THIS TO ANYONE YOU FEEL IS INTERESTED
Christo Pellani
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