New Years Day, January 1, 2008
Greetings,
Another year has passed into the archives of history, and now we look forward with anticipation to what 2008 will bring. I was speaking to a friend today as we discussed that it seems that so many of us, in addition to our family members, have experienced personal health challenges in 2007. We noted that as we are aging, or maybe as we’re gaining in Wisdom, we realize that less can be taken for granted and each new day offers the opportunity to count our blessings.
Two weeks before Christmas I was afforded one of those opportunities. My 23-year-old daughter Dana underwent a major surgery on the base of her cranium. She had been suffering a number of debilitating symptoms that had increased in intensity over the past several months to the point that she just couldn’t function normally. When her close friend suddenly died of a brain tumor she became increasingly concerned that her own symptoms might be the result of a brain tumor. The week after Brady died, Dana was getting intuitive messages, including a dream in which he spoke to her encouraging her to get a brain scan.
Dana went in for an MRI the very next day, and Dr. Todd Lanman, a good man and very talented neurosurgeon, diagnosed the problem and indicated that it could be corrected with a surgery. Without going into the details of the condition here, suffice it to say that we, as a family, went to full attention in assisting Dana to prepare for the procedure and what would turn out to be a 9-day stay in the hospital.
We put the holidays on hold and focused mindfully on Dana’s overall wellbeing. Friends and family members prayed and offered support in whatever ways they could be helpful to us. Dana came through the surgery and has been recovering well. Everyone agreed that this was the best present that we could have asked for this year.
My wife Fran stayed with Dana, sleeping in a reclining chair next to her bed for the 9-day hospital stay. This act of caring provided such comfort for Dana. Throughout the past more than 20 years, I have witnessed time and again selfless acts of compassion from this mother for her children. We have found that the love offered from family members, whether blood-related or spiritual, can make such a positive difference in one’s life, especially when facing a challenge or crisis.
People asked me if I was ever worried and how was I able to hold up through the ordeal. I would reply that I was concerned, but did not worry, and that my faith had bolstered me throughout. I had faith in Dr. Lanman, a man that I have known for 15 years, who had operated on my wife and other people in our community. And I have faith in the power of prayer and the unified focus of people’s positive thoughts.
Experiences like this one serve to remind me to practice the tools that I encourage others to practice. I’ve felt that my best teachers have also been the best students of life’s lessons and I have endeavored to follow their modeling.
I reflect on what I am to learn as I encounter each experience. I have realized that significant knowledge can be gained from experiences and that wisdom is the right use of that knowledge. In other words, wisdom is knowledge in right action. What good is a wise teaching unless we practice it? The series of Mindfulness Practicums and the Spring Call To Adventure Retreat this year will focus on practices that can bring more lightness, love and joy into your life even when dealing with life’s adversities. Watch for other workshops offered by associates of the Men’s Center on a variety of topics along the same theme.
At this time I wish to express my gratitude to all the men on the Wisdom Council and their family members who have supported the mission of the Men’s Center/Sacred Path community. I am grateful to those that have attended the retreats and workshops over the past year. It’s truly through your presence that we remain encouraged to provide the events that we believe can make a positive difference in your life.
Wishing you and yours a very happy, healthy, prosperous and joyful New Year.
Peace be with you,
Stephen
PS: The flyer/application form for the Practicum is included here as an attachment and can be downloaded and sent in ASAP. Reservations will not be held without an actual commitment, so please make yours today by completing the registration form. Click HERE
Saturday, January 5, 2008
Further Info on January 26th Practicum
Hello brothers,
For those of us who have already attended one or more of Stephen's colloquiums, you all know how much benefit we've gotten from going deep inside ourselves and sharing what we've found with men of the same mind and soul. The connections have been profound indeed. Now, he is ready to take us on the next step of the journey, the practicum. This will be an actual training experience in moment-to-moment conscious mindfulness, a practice session of constant living in the present. This, of course, is not as simple as it sounds; most people live entirely unconsciously, unaware that they can change their relationship to what goes on around them. The practicums will include procedures to help enhance our ability to be mindful and relate to reality in a deeper and more vital way. To read more about the exercises and curriculum, download the PDF of Stephen's letter. You can then download the flyer/application and reserve a spot. There have already been several reservations sent in, so be in on the first of the series! Reservations will not be held without an actual commitment, so please make yours today by completing the registration form. Click HERE
For those of us who have already attended one or more of Stephen's colloquiums, you all know how much benefit we've gotten from going deep inside ourselves and sharing what we've found with men of the same mind and soul. The connections have been profound indeed. Now, he is ready to take us on the next step of the journey, the practicum. This will be an actual training experience in moment-to-moment conscious mindfulness, a practice session of constant living in the present. This, of course, is not as simple as it sounds; most people live entirely unconsciously, unaware that they can change their relationship to what goes on around them. The practicums will include procedures to help enhance our ability to be mindful and relate to reality in a deeper and more vital way. To read more about the exercises and curriculum, download the PDF of Stephen's letter. You can then download the flyer/application and reserve a spot. There have already been several reservations sent in, so be in on the first of the series! Reservations will not be held without an actual commitment, so please make yours today by completing the registration form. Click HERE
Lost in Translation
by Dan Franklin, MFT
Associate Director
Something is always lost in the translation of the events, circumstances and people in our lives. That is to say, why do we not choose to live in real time, moment by moment, fully engaged and without attachment as the Buddha and others have preached for centuries?
Thought forms seem to have something different in mind. Yes, Mind….the ego-mind to be more precise. It loves to translate, interpret, analyze, speculate, postulate, guess, infer, prefer, judge, condemn, exaggerate and on and on. Are our thoughts or even our feelings who we really are? Is my body-mind the bottom line or perhaps the mere conduit for the expression of Spirit in form? Is this animating Spirit my true nature, the body-mind the vehicle but not really the driver?
What drives life? Who or what’s behind the wheel, watching and observing, turning, changing direction, speeding up and slowing down. What is this force that we all sense inside of us? And how regularly do we deny or forget its holy presence? Many call it God but it is called by many names.
In the end, isn’t existence it’s own reward? What exactly are we attempting to control with the use of our minds. Life becomes about hopes and dreams, and plans and successes and disappointments, impressions and projections. How much do we really live in touch with the moment, each moment its own reward?
Or do we compulsively, habitually translate everything. It’s good, it’s bad, it’s a problem, it could be a problem, it was a problem, it might be again, I love you, I hate you, you don’t care, I’m better than you, I’m superior to him. I’m a failure, I’m on top of the world, I’m screwed, just got lucky, she doesn’t deserve it, will he ever change, why did I have to go through that.
And we wonder why we get depressed, anxious, angry and nervous. We never stop scanning for answers, conclusions, perspectives and control. We never stop thinking, emoting, caught up in one drama after another.
I believe there is a relationship between Realization and Relaxation. If our minds are frantically trying to figure out life and our margins of safety within the experience, why wouldn’t we be nervous wrecks?
Relaxed Attention is a whole different ballgame from constant, compulsive thinking. It’s about seeing, watching, observing, investigating, all without judgments or agenda. It’s a way of accepting life on its own terms and knowing we are that which is occurring. All the translation comes after. It’s incidental, secondary. Not primary.
We are that which lives. And that can go all kinds of ways! It’s never been a smooth ride. I believe that experiencing the driver and the vehicle is what makes the journey so delicious and fascinating.
What if we learned to live life without all the translation? Who knows what it all means. What if we lost the translation? What if we lost ideas of being victims, guilt-ridden tortured souls? What if we lost the need or desire to control other people or submit to their whims? What if we felt the joy of mere being deep within our core and lived with gratitude and a sense of humor rather than resentments, regrets and embarrassment.
Notice the next time you translate anything, notice what happens. Does it take you deeply into the moment , into the richness of the experience or does it take you away from it, somewhere long ago and far away from the immediacy of the experience. Can we simply learn to drop the mind-bending, twisting each moment into something else and “let it be”.
I, for one, am becoming less interested in the history of me as time goes on. I recently heard it said that the Greeks didn’t believe in eulogies. They just asked the question… “Did he or she live with passion?” It would please me if upon my earthly demise, someone spoke for me in saying “ he was fully engaged and non-attached until his last breath.”
I can’t even explain my life to me, let alone anyone else. I’m not too interested in trying anymore. When I’m not relaxed and need to justify my existence, I try anyway. I translate. I’m trying to break that nasty little habit. All that’s at stake…. is our Enlightenment.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I’m conducting a workshop on Integral Life Practice scheduled for this coming February. Call the Men’s Center message center at 818-348-9302 and leave a message if you are interested or contact me at Danfranklinmft2@aol.com for further details.
Associate Director
Something is always lost in the translation of the events, circumstances and people in our lives. That is to say, why do we not choose to live in real time, moment by moment, fully engaged and without attachment as the Buddha and others have preached for centuries?
Thought forms seem to have something different in mind. Yes, Mind….the ego-mind to be more precise. It loves to translate, interpret, analyze, speculate, postulate, guess, infer, prefer, judge, condemn, exaggerate and on and on. Are our thoughts or even our feelings who we really are? Is my body-mind the bottom line or perhaps the mere conduit for the expression of Spirit in form? Is this animating Spirit my true nature, the body-mind the vehicle but not really the driver?
What drives life? Who or what’s behind the wheel, watching and observing, turning, changing direction, speeding up and slowing down. What is this force that we all sense inside of us? And how regularly do we deny or forget its holy presence? Many call it God but it is called by many names.
In the end, isn’t existence it’s own reward? What exactly are we attempting to control with the use of our minds. Life becomes about hopes and dreams, and plans and successes and disappointments, impressions and projections. How much do we really live in touch with the moment, each moment its own reward?
Or do we compulsively, habitually translate everything. It’s good, it’s bad, it’s a problem, it could be a problem, it was a problem, it might be again, I love you, I hate you, you don’t care, I’m better than you, I’m superior to him. I’m a failure, I’m on top of the world, I’m screwed, just got lucky, she doesn’t deserve it, will he ever change, why did I have to go through that.
And we wonder why we get depressed, anxious, angry and nervous. We never stop scanning for answers, conclusions, perspectives and control. We never stop thinking, emoting, caught up in one drama after another.
I believe there is a relationship between Realization and Relaxation. If our minds are frantically trying to figure out life and our margins of safety within the experience, why wouldn’t we be nervous wrecks?
Relaxed Attention is a whole different ballgame from constant, compulsive thinking. It’s about seeing, watching, observing, investigating, all without judgments or agenda. It’s a way of accepting life on its own terms and knowing we are that which is occurring. All the translation comes after. It’s incidental, secondary. Not primary.
We are that which lives. And that can go all kinds of ways! It’s never been a smooth ride. I believe that experiencing the driver and the vehicle is what makes the journey so delicious and fascinating.
What if we learned to live life without all the translation? Who knows what it all means. What if we lost the translation? What if we lost ideas of being victims, guilt-ridden tortured souls? What if we lost the need or desire to control other people or submit to their whims? What if we felt the joy of mere being deep within our core and lived with gratitude and a sense of humor rather than resentments, regrets and embarrassment.
Notice the next time you translate anything, notice what happens. Does it take you deeply into the moment , into the richness of the experience or does it take you away from it, somewhere long ago and far away from the immediacy of the experience. Can we simply learn to drop the mind-bending, twisting each moment into something else and “let it be”.
I, for one, am becoming less interested in the history of me as time goes on. I recently heard it said that the Greeks didn’t believe in eulogies. They just asked the question… “Did he or she live with passion?” It would please me if upon my earthly demise, someone spoke for me in saying “ he was fully engaged and non-attached until his last breath.”
I can’t even explain my life to me, let alone anyone else. I’m not too interested in trying anymore. When I’m not relaxed and need to justify my existence, I try anyway. I translate. I’m trying to break that nasty little habit. All that’s at stake…. is our Enlightenment.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I’m conducting a workshop on Integral Life Practice scheduled for this coming February. Call the Men’s Center message center at 818-348-9302 and leave a message if you are interested or contact me at Danfranklinmft2@aol.com for further details.
Upcoming LAMC Workshop - The Nature of Mind
COMING SOON IN 2008!
The Men’s Center of Los Angeles
Presents
The Nature of Mind
An Exploration of Consciousness
With
Dan Franklin, M.F.T, Associate Director
&
Albert Marrewa, M.A., M.P.H. Special Guest Presenter
It’s been said that the mind is a wonderful servant and a terrible master. Join our dynamic presenters in a profound adventure into the mysterious life of the mind and what lies beyond. The grand nexus of the so-called spiritual life and the practical functioning of mind meet at the cross-roads of consciousness. All the great wisdom traditions lead us toward a single goal. Our true nature. Awareness itself.
This seminar takes us on a journey into ourselves, pointing the way to that which has always been. Through instruction, inter-action, experimentation and mind/body experience, a glimpse of what we truly are has an opportunity to emerge. We will gain greater insight into the traps and pitfalls of the thinking process, how the stories we tell ourselves become our life experience and how the strategies for survival and problem- solving brilliance of the mind can lead us down an endless path of searching for happiness without ever finding it.
We will experience a relaxed attention, a fundamental “seeing”, through the stillness, silence and spaciousness that lies beyond the mind. If the truth about life is what you are after, you will find it. It is inevitable. Join with us in the possibilities. Need we wait? What we are is only a mindful moment away, and perhaps not even that! Perhaps it’s already here.
The Men’s Center of Los Angeles
Presents
The Nature of Mind
An Exploration of Consciousness
With
Dan Franklin, M.F.T, Associate Director
&
Albert Marrewa, M.A., M.P.H. Special Guest Presenter
It’s been said that the mind is a wonderful servant and a terrible master. Join our dynamic presenters in a profound adventure into the mysterious life of the mind and what lies beyond. The grand nexus of the so-called spiritual life and the practical functioning of mind meet at the cross-roads of consciousness. All the great wisdom traditions lead us toward a single goal. Our true nature. Awareness itself.
This seminar takes us on a journey into ourselves, pointing the way to that which has always been. Through instruction, inter-action, experimentation and mind/body experience, a glimpse of what we truly are has an opportunity to emerge. We will gain greater insight into the traps and pitfalls of the thinking process, how the stories we tell ourselves become our life experience and how the strategies for survival and problem- solving brilliance of the mind can lead us down an endless path of searching for happiness without ever finding it.
We will experience a relaxed attention, a fundamental “seeing”, through the stillness, silence and spaciousness that lies beyond the mind. If the truth about life is what you are after, you will find it. It is inevitable. Join with us in the possibilities. Need we wait? What we are is only a mindful moment away, and perhaps not even that! Perhaps it’s already here.
Spring Call to Adventure Retreat April 10-13, 2008
Mark your calendars now for the Spring Sacred Path/Call To Adventure Rite Of Passage Retreat for fathers and sons, young men and mentors, April 10-13, 2008. Further information and registration forms will be available within a few weeks. This will mark the 21st year that Sacred Path Productions has facilitated a Spring retreat and we have been holding Call To Adventure Retreats specifically since 2000. We look forward to having a great group of men both young and older with us on the mountain in April.
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