69. Radical Responsibility as a Path to Wisdom w/ Dr. Fleet Maull

In this episode: Dr. Maull and I talk about his prison experience as a convicted drug “Kingpin”; what happened with his son both during and after his prison experience; about the importance of emotional intelligence as a foundation for healthy relationships; the need for men to gather with other men in doing essential personal growth work; of facing and integrating our shadows so that we don’t sabotage ourselves and the world with harmful, immature behavior; what it means to take radical responsibility … and so much more. My guest today is Dr. Fleet Maull. Dr. Maull is truly a wise man. Because he is a true elder. In a world of too few true elders. What really hooked me on his work was the fact that he spent 14 years in a federal prison on drug trafficking charges – he was actually convicted under the so-called “KingPin statute” by the government in 1985, and sentenced to 30 years without parole, when he was just 35 years of age.  In our conversation today, Dr. Maull takes us into that experience, and how it impacted and shaped him as a man, and also how it created a foundation for his life’s work. Because he didn’t just go to prison. In prison, he soon resolved to not let that be the end of his life, and with his pre-existing Buddhist practice as an orienting light, he set himself upon a path of profound service to humanity.  In both deepening his own meditation practice, and now teaching meditation and mindfulness to other prisoners, as well, he would eventually go on to found the Prison Mindfulness Institute and the National Prison Hospice Association. Later he also became the co-founder of other service organizations like the Engaged Mindfulness Institute, the Transforming Justice Initiative, the Rwanda Bearing Witness Retreat & Peace Initiative, and the Center for Contemplative End-of-Life Care at Naropa University. He currently serves as the CEO and Director of Training, Research & Development for Prison Mindfulness Institute, Center for Mindfulness in Public Safety and the Engaged Mindfulness Institute, as well as CEO and senior trainer for Windhorse Seminars & Consulting. The book I have of his, which we’ll dive into a little bit today, is Radical Responsibility, “How to move Beyond blame, fearlessly live your highest purpose, and become an Unstoppable Force for good”  Dr. Maull and I talk about his prison experience, what happened with his son both during and after his prison experience, we talk about the important of emotional intelligence as a foundation for healthy relationships, as well as the need for men to gather with other men in doing essential personal growth work, in facing and integrating our shadows so that we don’t sabotage ourselves and the world with harmful, immature behavior. Speaking of which … it’s a bit early to be announcing this, but ELEVATE 2022 – a year-long coaching journey for men committed to thriving – well, we are now opening up applications for consideration. We are limiting this to just 12 men, and we’ve already filled our first spot without even announcing it yet! Consider joining me for the adventure of a lifetime throughout all of 2022, and make 2021 extraordinary. And I mean extraordinary … because this is the most exciting experience I’ve yet created specifically for men.  It includes personal coaching with me, and also an intimate men’s group experience with the other men going through this year alongside you. These men, which might include you, I am ultimately selecting. It will be a curated group of men that I myself will be excited to spend the year with … because that’s exactly what I’m doing,