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2019 Franklin Merrell-Wolff Conference
April 22, 2019 / Leave a Comment / Trackback / Posted in News
The 2019 Franklin Merrell-Wolff Conference will be held August 8-11 at the Great Space Center. Our keynote speaker, Ryan Harvey, PhD, presents The Two Sides of Reason. He will discuss the generative and creative side of Reason–in the context of rationalism, vitalism and the transcendent–exemplified by such philosophers as Goethe, Schopenhauer, Nietzsche, etc. His concern is to reconcile this view with the understanding of reason that defines traditional rationalism. Ron Leonard, PhD, will present A Basic Guide to Franklin’s Philosophy as a Way of Realization, clarifying Franklin’s use of language, and showing how it is grounded in his two Fundamental Realizations. He will then lead the group toward realizing these states through guided meditation. Doroethy Leonard, M.Ed., MC, drawing on her personal experience and psychological studies, will present Franklin’s Feeling Side and compare & contrast this to Sherifa’s orientation to feeling. A more complete account of our event is posted under the Embrace tab in our franklinmerrell-wolff.com website. Contact Doroethy@cox.net for further information.
2018 FMW Conference Report
September 02, 2018 / Leave a Comment / Trackback / Posted in News
The 2018 FMW Conference was uniquely satisfying in so many ways. Last year’s pre-conference guest, Professor Richard Doyle, from Penn State University, returned—this time in the company of his delightful lady friend, Costanza. With her help he reprised his home cooked meal for Doroethy and me. In his role as keynote speaker he expanded on Franklin’s 1st Aphorism, namely, Consciousness-Without-An-Object (Still) Is: A Collective Experiment in Direct Realization. He began with a few minutes of resonant chanting before showing the rhetorical effect of Franklin’s repetition of Consciousness-without-an-object in his Aphorisms, and then leading us into depth. Very dynamically inductive!
Ron & Doroethy Leonard gave preliminary talks on Friday. In Consciousness, Nonlocality and Quantum Physics, Ron made the case that nonlocality is part of nature and that the universe is conscious. No longer can we hold that we are living the universe of Classical physics conducting experiments in quantum physics; we are living in a quantum universe with varying degrees of decoherence—which may be intentionally reversed. Doroethy went beyond her title, Intuition for FMW, CG Jung & Sri Aurobindo—after the exceptionally difficult task of sorting through multiple definitions of intuition—to explore the boundary with introception.
On Saturday evening, Jennifer Young conducted a Special Program, leading a powerful version of Active Listening in the form of triads. Kurt Vander Horst enhanced the ensuing Starlight Walk during the Perseid meteor shower by setting up a telescope so that we could view several planets, including a view of the rings of Saturn.
During the weekend our group engaged in two profound discussions, (1) on Franklin’s meaning of SPACE—as his complementary symbol to Consciousness-without-an-object (and without-a-subject)—and (2) the sharing of each participant’s favorite inspirational spiritual quote. We had a third lively discussion concerning the sense in which Absolute Consciousness could also serve as an alternative symbol.
The conference concluded in love with Baiba Strads’ Closing Ceremony—a group Sufi dance.
Other positive signs were several new participants in their early 30s and volunteers preparing Friday & Saturday dinners.
Ron Leonard
2018 FMW Conference
July 03, 2018 / Leave a Comment / Trackback / Posted in News
The 2018 Franklin Merrell-Wolff Conference will be held August 9-12 at the Great Space Center. The keynote speaker, Richard Doyle, PhD, will penetrate the essence of Franklin’s first aphorism: Consciousness-without-an-object is, moving beyond presentation to bring the group toward direct Realization. Ron Leonard, PhD, will explore the implications of Quantum Physics and Nonlocality for Consciousness and transforming our worldview. Doroethy Leonard, M.Ed., MC, will compare and contrast the idea of Intuition for Franklin, Jung and Aurobindo. Jennifer Young, MC, returns to conduct a special program. For a full account of our event, see the Embrace tab in our franklinmerrell-wolff.com website, and contact Doroethy@cox.net for further information.
Dave Vliegenthart’s Thesis on FMW
February 15, 2018 / Leave a Comment / Trackback / Posted in News
Dave Vliegenthart, PhD (2017), University of Groningen, is a Lecturer at University College Maastricht in the Liberal Arts and Sciences at Maastricht University, specializing in the study of eastern-inspired western gurus and new religious movements in modern western culture. He has just published his Doctoral Thesis, The Secular Religion of Franklin Merrell-Wolff. He says, “BRILL just published my intellectual history of the secular religion of American mystic Franklin Merrell-Wolff (1887-1985) and similar modern western gurus of new religious movements, who combine methods and theories from eastern and western religion, philosophy, and psychology to rationalize their alleged flights beyond reason.”
It is described as follows: In The Secular Religion of Franklin Merrell-Wolff: An Intellectual History of Anti-intellectualism in Modern America, Dave Vliegenthart offers an account of the life and teachings of the modern American mystic Franklin Merrell-Wolff (1887–1985), who combined secular and religious sources from eastern and western traditions in order to elaborate and legitimate his metaphysical claim to the realization of a transcendental reality beyond reason.
Using Merrell-Wolff as a typical example of a modern western guru, Vliegenthart investigates the larger sociological and
historical context of the ongoing grand narrative that asserts a widespread anti-intellectualism in modern American culture,
exploring developments in religious, philosophical, and psychological discourses in North America from 1800 until the present.
2017 FMW Conference Report
August 17, 2017 / Leave a Comment / Trackback / Posted in News
The 2017 FMW Conference exceeded expectations insofar as it overflowed its designed framework in unexpectedly delightful ways. Also because those here for the first time made unique contributions. A pre-conference guest—a professor from Penn State University—set the stage for the weekend with a dynamic discussion at the Round Table over his gift of a home cooked gourmet meal. Two attendees were thus inspired to make a spiritual pilgrimage to the Ashrama on Thursday, bringing a profound energy to the group upon their return. Later, a friend who had recently attained his PhD in England brought his lovely friend from Malaysia. The core attendees were comprised of only 3 astrological signs—with no fire signs among all who were here.
After several who were invited to be Keynote Speaker had declined, Ron reluctantly accepted, presenting an exploration of various notions of truth: refuting several defective approaches to truth, clarifying our common conception of truth as the correspondence of a proposition to the facts, showing how phenomenological reflection reveals an originary ground in intentionality—as the appearance of an object fulfilling to whatever degree the meaning intended—then culminating in a treatment of Transcendent Truth with special connection to FMW.
Although Mike Ellis did not feel ready to be Keynote Speaker, his Inversion Workshop was worthy of that venue. He guided us effectively through a version of Shankara’s Atmavidya that evoked a deep meditative state resulting in a sense of freedom from the habitual identification with objects, revealing the Subject-to-Consciousness.
Doroethy presented Sherifa’s Story, emphasizing her first half of life…prior to her marriage to Franklin. What a remarkable woman!
The Special Program on Saturday evening turned out to be a Healing Circle, as Ron found that (suggested by the group Tarot reading) there were several in the group—and more outside the circle—in need of healing energy…which the group then provided in powerful abundance. A heartfelt Candlelight Ceremony followed, transitioning naturally into a Starlight Walk during the Perseid meteor shower.
Other spontaneous developments during the weekend included a work party to complete one of Doroethy’s outdoor projects at GSC, and the selection of the most inductive part of Franklin’s “The Unconscious,” which sparked a discussion twice as long as the tape.
As has become traditional, Baiba led us in a Sufi dance of love for the Closing Ceremony, just prior to an intimate group sharing over a delicious potluck.
Ron Leonard