Hi friend,
My wish is that you are surrounded by loved ones, regardless of the circumstances. I was in London last year to see my friend Henry Shukman (his website). He was presenting a Weekend Retreat at the Meditatio Centre London, set within the historic St Mark’s Church in Myddelton Square.
Some friendships arrive in our lives like the unassuming breath before dawn—quiet, yet profound. My friendship with Henry Shukman, the Zen master, unfolded in much the same way, carrying within it the soft tremor of something both ancient and ineffable.
Zen, after all, is not about declarations; it is about arrival, so I’ve been taught. Henry, with his careful words and presence like an unhurried river, embodied this perfectly. And yet, in a world that thrives on noise, silence can be misinterpreted. It reminds me of a simple koan that Henry said to me one day out in front of the Yoga Mandiram:
“What happens when the finger pointing at the moon is mistaken for the moon itself?”
In the public sphere, distortion thrives when people forget to look beyond the finger, preferring scandal over subtlety. Zen, on the other hand, invites us to turn inward ( I love that little line), where no reputation exists, only the quiet presence of being itself.Henry and I spoke about the paradox of silence in a world addicted to commentary one day, as he inquisitively scanned my bookshelves. “How does one navigate the waves of misinterpretation without drowning in the need to correct the record?”
– Henry Shukman – Which brings me to Franz Kafka’s The Lost Doll.
p.s there is an outline of Kafka and “The Lost Doll” in the footer below Dennis’s image for reference.The story tells of Kafka’s final days, when he discovered a little girl mourning the loss of her doll. Rather than confess the truth of its disappearance, he crafted a new one and a series of letters from the doll herself, explaining that she had set off on a journey. Each day, the girl received a new letter, chronicling the doll’s adventures. In the end, he gave her a new doll and she said that this wasn’t her doll and he said the doll had changed.
In Kafka’s hands, absence was not loss, but transformation. The doll had not disappeared; she had simply stepped into a new narrative.”I need solitude for my writing; not ‘like a hermit’ – that wouldn’t be enough – but like a dead man.”
– Franz Kafka What, then, is defamation but a stolen narrative? A tale told not by its rightful owner but by another, reshaping the image in their own likeness? And what is Zen but the silent refusal to defend that which never belonged to the self in the first place? It’s easy to laugh at the absurdity of it all—the way the world clings to identity while Zen whispers, let it go. Defamation and distortion become powerless when there is no self to defend.Kafka, too, seemed to know this.
The Lost Doll’s journey was never about deception, but about liberation. In giving her a story, he gave the child a way to release what she thought she had lost. Perhaps Zen masters and Kafka share more than we think.
Perhaps the final lesson is this: if they take your name, your story, your reputation—give them another. And then walk on, unburdened, into the silence that knows no defamation at all.—-I would love to go again this year, but it is sold out.
Lucky for the rest us we have Henry’s “The Way App.”
I will find a way to sit with Henry this year.
Somewhere somehow.
You may want to consider doing the same.
carpe diem.
His, “The Way” App can be found on his website here. Enjoy.
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Things I’ve Learned
“Consider The Source”
I first learned about “Consider the Source” from my dear friend, scholar, master sculptor & gentleman Rory Young.
I lived with him and his wife in Cirencester, England, serving a short apprenticeship when I was 25. His wife Mary Young found the book next to my bed one day while I was out working with Rory, which was unusual because I always carried it with me.
“All Men Are Brothers” by Mahatma Gandhi-
More on that+ in the “This Week’s Read” section below.
The book was handed over to Rory and after he devoured the book (it is a very thin book), he commented “consider the source.” I asked him to elaborate and there you go. Dennis was educated in the find art of “considering the source.”
Now, 39 years later I present you with:
Three Key Reasons why you need to always “Consider The Source” and a series of questions to ask yourself to keep you on track.
🔥 Freedom From Emotional Burden – When you “Consider The Source“, you free yourself from the unnecessary weight of others’ opinions, judgments, and projections.
🌿 Clarity and Discernment in Decision-Making
Not all advice, criticism, or praise carries the same weight. By considering the source, you cultivate discernment—
🌀 Compassion Over Conflict
Understanding that people’s words and actions stem from their own conditioning allows you to replace frustration with compassion.
Applicable Questions:
Each question is unique to how I practice, spend time to adjust to your own needs:
Pause & Identify The Source:
Who is speaking? What is their perspective? Why are they saying this?
Filter & Weigh the Value of the Information:
After identifying the source, evaluate: Does this feedback come from a place of wisdom and experience? Or is it rooted in negativity, misunderstanding, or personal projection?
Respond with Awareness, Not Emotion:
choose how to engage.
* Am I grounded and representing who I really am?
Choose Understanding Over Defensiveness: Am I choosing to be defensive? Or am I choosing to be understanding and compassionate?*Mastering the “Consider The Source” mindset isn’t about ignoring people—it’s about knowing whose voice truly matters.
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The Pranayama PodcastWalking In Nature:
A conversation with The Universe.
This is a narrative and visualization video that represents a portion of our Mission Statement for Pranayama.com.
We are just warming up my friends. 4 decades in the making. Yes, 4.The YouTube Video can be found on our channel Here. We are currently adding new video recording equipment to our studio so that we can have a multi camera environment for you & our podcast guest to enjoy.
The guest request list has organically grown exponentially and we are doing what we can to accommodate the growth.
Grateful we are 🙏 oxo
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This Week’s Read:
When I first moved to Europe I was 23. I had just read “The Road Less Traveled” by Scott Peck which can be found here on Amazon. I was given the book by my good friend Susan Cooper.
Honestly, I think a better read than The Road Less Traveled is: A Path with Heart by Jack Cornfield which was not available at that time but it’s more applicable and a great segway into Buddhism.
She suggested that I follow it up withAll Men Are Brothers: Life and Thoughts of Mahatma Gandhi, as told in his own words. I found All Men Are Brothers at a garage sale in Cardiff by the Sea not too much later which was the perfect book for me to travel with. Thank you again, Susan.
I would suggest getting all three and putting them right in front of your bathroom door, just stack them up & leave them right there. They all have their important points to make.
It’s just really up to you, to receive them or not. 🌻🌞EnjoyMusic Groupie InsightAlchemy by Al Marconi – song(s) by the same name “Alchemy” or Shades of Grey which is much better. Just go get it. carpe diem – You Tube Music | Apple Music | Amazon * Just a side note: I’m a Krishna Das groupie – have been for many years and always will be. You can find him here.
p.s I have a wonderful story about Krishna Das, Tim Miller and I that I will share at some point.
“If you plan on hurting yourself, loving yourself or just being yourself, do it to music”
-Dennis DeanStay in the light of love my friends. It’s always worth it. Dennis* An overview: The Last Doll is not a book written by Franz Kafka. However, the story is often associated with a well-known anecdote from Kafka’s life. Near the end of his life, Kafka is said to have encountered a little girl who had lost her doll. To console her, he told her that the doll had not been lost but had gone on a journey, and he wrote letters from the doll to the girl, detailing its adventures.This story has been retold and fictionalized in various forms, such as Kafka and the Doll by Larissa Theule ( Audible | Amazon) and Kafka’s Doll by R. M. Romero.While there is no direct evidence that Kafka wrote these letters himself, the anecdote has become a powerful literary legend, embodying themes of loss, storytelling, and transformation—very much in line with Kafka’s philosophical outlook. oxox carry on…
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