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

Links to Fall Retreat and Practicum Flyers

For the flyer/application to the Sacred Path Fall Retreat, click HERE

For the flyer/application for US Veterans to the Sacred Path Fall Retreat, click HERE

For the flyer/application to the September 2008 ManUp Practicum, click HERE

To read Dr. Johnson's Pre-Retreat Letter, Click HERE

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:

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

Special Article: Like Wandering Ghosts (Part 1 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.”

Tick’s first book, Sacred Mountain: Encounters with the Vietnam Beast (Moon Bear Press), chronicles his early years working with veterans. Subsequent titles include The Golden Tortoise: Journeys in Vietnam (Red Hen Press) and The Practice of Dream Healing: Bringing Ancient Greek Mysteries into Modern Medicine (Quest Books). His book War and the Soul: Healing Our Nation’s Veterans from Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (Quest Books) is used by combat soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as by veterans, military chaplains, social workers, and healing professionals. His latest, Wild Beasts and Wondering Souls (Elk Press), deals with shamanism in the treatment of PTSD.

Tick has led numerous reconciliation trips to Vietnam, not just for veterans and their families, but also for peace activists. He is cofounder of the Sanctuary International Friendship Foundation, a nonprofit organization that helps the Vietnamese recover from the damage caused by the war. He and I sat down to talk last October, a few hours before he and his wife were to fly to Vietnam to lead a seventh reconciliation tour. Tick had just spoken on “the warrior’s path to redemption” before thousands at the Bioneers Conference in Marin County, California. We found a sunny spot overlooking the marshland near San Pablo Bay, and I turned on the digital recorder. Like the veterans he works with, Tick sometimes finds it painful to relate the horrors he’s encountered in his profession. At several points he choked back tears.

Kupfer: Though you treat PTSD, you’ve said that it is not a mental illness. Why do you believe this?
Tick: We pathologize everything in this culture. We think anything that ails us must be a medical condition that can be treated. Veterans are angry or sad because they have been through horrors, but we say it’s got to be a pathology. This is exacerbated by a profound alienation between our warrior class and our civilian class, which have almost nothing to do with one another. We don’t even think we have a warrior class, and we don’t teach our service people to think of themselves as warriors, even though societies throughout history have almost all had warrior classes and reciprocal relationships between warriors and civilians. Soldiers have a responsibility to defend their country, and it is our responsibility as citizens to heal those who have put their lives on the line for us, even if they fought a war for the wrong reasons or for lies. And we’re not doing that. Many sincere people in the veterans’ healthcare system want to do well, but the system is doing an awful job. We need to keep veterans in the community and develop new ways of responding to their pain and suffering.
Kupfer: Besides the inherent medicalizing of suffering, is there anything else wrong with a ptsd diagnosis?
Tick: PTSD is presently classified as a “stress and anxiety disorder.” But “stress and anxiety” does not begin to describe the emotions people experience during warfare. We don’t really have words for it. Also PTSD classifies veterans as “disabled” by how far they are from the civilian norm. But veterans are not disabled civilians. They are war-wounded soldiers and have different values and expectations about life. When we require that they get on with “business as usual” now that they are home, we put the blame on them for having broken down in the first place, and we pressure them to take sole responsibility for their healing. But everyone who participates in a war is changed. No one comes through unscathed.
My best understanding of what we call “PTSD” is that it is an identity disorder and soul wound that has its source in moral trauma. It is also a social disorder arising from the broken relationship between our society and its veterans. The standard clinical viewpoint on PTSD is that there can be management and control of symptoms and readjustment to life, but no healing. I believe, though, that if a veteran makes the difficult inner pilgrimage to discover the sources of the suffering, and works hard to give meaning to the wounding, and finds ways to reconcile and forgive, then healing is possible. I have seen a number of veterans fully heal their PTSD. They have satisfying lives, marriages, and jobs. They are of service to their communities. And they sleep like babies.
Kupfer: Is there a stigma attached to having a “mental disorder” rather than physical wounds?
Tick: Yes, mental disabilities are far more difficult for both the survivor and the society to accept. Veterans often feel they should be stronger, or that their loved ones don’t believe they are suffering because there’s no visible wound. Many veterans hate the PTSD label and prefer other terms, like the Civil War–era expression “soldier’s heart,” because it is symbolic rather than medical.
Kupfer: Vets used to be honored in this country. When and why did that change?
Tick: Actually veterans in the U.S. have been honored only while they are serving, to keep the patriotic fervor up, but not after a war is over. The World War ii veterans’ welcome home is the exception, the only time in U.S. history when vets were thanked and honored and given decent benefits. The typical treatment of veterans, from the American Revolution to the present, has been denial of their pain and refusal of support. Veterans of World War i were not given benefits, and when they protested in the streets of Washington, D.C., some of them were shot. There are two holidays honoring veterans in this country, but we have betrayed their sacred meaning. A lot of veterans are angry that Veterans Day, which was originally called “Armistice Day,” has become an excuse for patriotic displays. We have a parade and shoot off fireworks, which scare the hell out of many veterans. A better way to honor them would be to listen to their stories. We should give them new ways to serve and an honorable place in our communities.
Kupfer: How did you get into this work?
Tick: In the mid-1970s I heard a public-service announcement on the radio. The U.S. Veterans Administration [VA] was looking for volunteer therapists to work with returning Vietnam veterans. Though my regional va did not need me, they passed my name on to Vietnam Veterans of America [VVA]. One veteran who came to me for therapy was an old high-school friend I had last seen on the softball field. He and I had similar backgrounds, but when he walked into my office, the difference between us was obvious. War had turned him into a ravaged shell of a person.
I was so disturbed by the suffering of the veterans I was treating that in December 1980 I wrote an editorial for the local newspaper about how difficult Christmas was for them. Post-traumatic stress disorder had just been added to the diagnostic manual, and the president of the local chapter of the VVA read my editorial and invited me to talk to the veterans about this new diagnosis. I said I wasn’t qualified: I had treated only a handful of veterans. He said, “That makes you a regional expert!” No other doctors or therapists in the area wanted to touch the issue. When I told him I just couldn’t do it, he said nobody had asked him if he wanted to go to Vietnam; he’d been drafted. The moment he said that, I felt called to serve.
I wanted to know more about what my peers’ experiences in Vietnam had done to them. I certainly didn’t love war, but I did have a deep love of warriors, and I saw important values in them: self-sacrifice and devotion to each other and to some higher ideal. These are values that we need as a society, but the ends to which they are applied in the military are often horrific. On the other hand, many civilians and people on the Left desire good ends but lack self-sacrifice and discipline. I take my values from both camps, and a lot of vets have told me that I am proof a civilian can understand them.
Kupfer: Even though you’re opposed to war.
Tick: Yes, I am still protesting the Vietnam War, and all war. There are two things we have to do as a culture to end war: One is to take full responsibility for our wounded. It’s not enough just to “bring the boys home,” because they aren’t boys anymore, and getting them home physically does not do it. We need to help them heal and help shoulder their burden. The other thing we need to do is take responsibility for the damage we have done to other countries and their people. I bring veterans to Vietnam to heal not only them but also the Vietnamese. Americans do not realize the monstrous damage we do with technological warfare. I want to bring that reality back home and educate Americans about civilian suffering in war. 
Kupfer: Do you think veterans have been made scapegoats for the U.S. government’s foreign incursions?
Tick: Yes and no. Certainly the Vietnam veterans were made scapegoats for many of the illegal and brutal tactics of that war. Then there are the veterans of all the little forgotten wars: Grenada, Somalia, Lebanon, El Salvador, the secret ops in Africa and Eastern Europe. They are like wandering ghosts, neither honored nor recognized. Many of them are not even classified as combat veterans. I worked with one man who’d been in Somalia and taken part in the fighting around the U.S. Black Hawk helicopter that went down there. He isn’t classified as a combat veteran, and other combat vets don’t accept him because he was “in the shit” for only thirty hours. But anyone who knows the story of what happened that day in Mogadishu can see that it was enough to traumatize anybody.
The one thing we may have learned from Vietnam is not to blame the veterans for decisions made by our leaders. By and large the country is not blaming Iraq veterans for this war, but they still suffer terrible neglect upon their return. The burden of this war is falling on the shoulders of a relatively small number of people, who are sent on multiple deployments so that our leaders don’t have to institute a draft. This itself is a form of scapegoating.

Part 2 continues in next month's blog)