Here is a meditation I wrote in response to the sad day in Nice and beyond. - Doug

July 14th, 2016

Happy Bastille Day. I hope it is a beautiful summer day there.
Viva La France!

(Words I typed in a quick note to an old friend last night.)

But now I sit and compose an evening note
because I thought of you all day. And you ought to know it.

Been following the news. I am so sorry.
It feels like there is so much madness in the world.

Sitting here, diminished.
Weakened, weighed-down.
In a distant land.
Yet I am with you. We are with you.
In Nice.
In Paris.
In Brussels and Bagdad.
In Turkey and Orlando.

Whoever said what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger
Forgot to mention that you may feel beat down and hopeless for a little while in between.

I spent the day thinking a lot about empathy. And about desperation and anger. Hatred, too. I try to understand it, but it does not lift the weight.

Can kindness calm the madness?

Well I suppose I am just writing to let you know
that I thought of you all day. And you ought to know it.

Viva L'espoir!
Viva La France!

Hello friends near and far -

After six months of relative hibernation, Urbanmonks re-emerges into outreach season with a few exciting announcements. And a huge opportunity for your support!

1) We are going to be using Facebook (and then hopefully Instagram) to connect with more people who might be interested in our projects and the growing Urbanmonks Thinktank organization.

So if you are on the facebook, connect with us here: Urbanmonks Thinktank on Facebook.

2) The Urbanmonks Thinktank has a tagline, check it out.

The Urbanmonks Thinktank
Creative Approaches to Anxiety, Depression, and Addiction

Nice, huh? I wanted to add ADD as well, but it really throws off the rhythm.

3) We considered running a fundraising campaign this spring, but instead we would rather convince you to purchase the awesome books we have for sale. So you will see the salesman-in-me emerge this outreach season. Let me start right now:

"I am proud to announce the pre-sale (we need to raise money for printing) of Wisdom Mini-Books - Series One. These are so good. I want you to buy them to help support the UMTT, but these are written to help support YOU. You see, we are trying to establish a little mutualism here. Please consider purchasing these books today. They will arrive in Mid-August."

Link: Mini Wisdom Books - Series One

4) The Big Project for the Urbanmonks in 2016
The Emotional Census
(and strategy session)

(... stay tuned... details to follow soon... )

5) Today is Henry David Thoreau's (199th) Birthday. The American Prophet of Retreat. He extolled the virtues of stepping back from culture in order to evaluate it. He remains an inspiration for this whole UMTT project.

Much love and peace -
Doug