James Finley, Noted Contemplative, Author, & Clinical Psychologist, Offers Retreat in Twin Cities MN

July 23, 2012 - PRLog -- Noted international lecturer, author, and clinical psychologist James Finley will visit the Twin Cities October 11 – 13, 2012, for two events exploring how contemplative practices can transform lives and aid in healing.  Both events will be held at the DoubleTree by Hilton – Minneapolis Park Place in St. Louis Park.
A former Trappist monk at the Abbey of Gethsemani in Kentucky for nearly six years, Finley was influenced by his spiritual director, Thomas Merton, arguably the most influential American Catholic author of the 20th century. Merton’s autobiography, The Seven Storey Mountain, has sold more than a million copies and has been translated into more than 15 languages. He wrote more than 60 other books and hundreds of poems and articles on topics ranging from monastic spirituality to civil rights, nonviolence, and the nuclear arms race.
Finley went on to write Merton's Palace to Nowhere and The Contemplative Heart, among other lauded written and recorded works, and has led meditation retreats in the United States, Canada, and California.  He has applied contemplative approaches in his work with clients as a private clinical psychologist for many years, gathering an impressive body of findings. The Fetzer Organization has given him a grant to develop and promote his approach to the contemplative, compassionate dimensions of healing trauma and all forms of suffering.  
Thursday Evening - Transforming Trauma: The Spiritual Dimensions of Healing
From 7 – 9 p.m. on Thursday, October 11, Finley will conduct a dialogue with social workers, psychologists, other health professionals, and the general public about how a contemplative approach can help heal trauma. Concepts he will explore include:
•   How contemplative clarity and compassion guide and enhance healing;
•   The nature of contemplative experience (mindfulness) and how it spontaneously arises in the healing encounter;
•   Learning to be a contemplative clinician and a contemplative client.
Documentation will be provided for two CEUs for Psychologists, LICSWs, and LMFTs.  
Friday and Saturday: Learning to Live a Contemplative Life
On October 12 - 13, Finley will lead a two-day retreat on “Learning to Live a Contemplative Way of Life.”  In the spirit of his spiritual mentor, Thomas Merton, attention will be given to the affinities that exist among Christian, Buddhist and the other non-Christian mystical traditions.  Time will be given for silent group meditation, personal reflection and discussion of the themes presented, which include:
•   Find your practice and practice it.  Find your teaching and follow it.  Find your community and enter it;
•   Learning to ground in the simplicity and silence of wordless prayer and meditation.
•   Respecting all traditions as deeply as one respects one’s own.  Breathing the air of the Heart Sutra, the Upanishads, Meister Eckhart, Rumi, Buddha, John of the Cross, Jesus, Moses, Teresa of Avila, and others whose understanding offers trustworthy guidance to spiritual awakening.
•   The dark night of the soul, the great death, and other modes of inner purification.
•   What is enlightenment, mystical union, non-dual consciousness, and how does the path marked out by the mystics help us awaken to these states?
•   The relationship between mystical awakening and the social justice dimensions of a compassionate response to suffering within each person and all living things.

All sessions will be held at the DoubleTree by Hilton – Minneapolis Park Place. Attendees who wish to stay overnight will receive special conference rates from the hotel. Parking is free.

Finley, who practices clinical psychology with his wife, Maureen, in Santa Monica, CA, was invited to the Twin Cities by a consortium of churches, yoga centers, and individuals. He limits his fully subscribed engagements to about ten per year. For more information about these events, email info@greenlotusyogactr.com; call 952.373.0055, or visit www.greenlotusyogactr.com.

Green Lotus Yoga & Healing Center is the premiere integrated yoga and complementary wellness center in Minnesota. In addition to weekly classes, Green Lotus brings in noted speakers and authors to the Twin Cities and holds workshops and events open to the public. More information at www.GreenLotusYogaCtr.com