We recently interviewed the famous author & wellbeing-facilitator, Frank .
Check out the interview :
Tention Free : Tell us a little bit about yourself. Your background, education etc.?
Frank : I was born in Italy, and lived a pretty quiet life. I benefited from the quietness of my hometown, being fully-immersed in Italian culture, including the magnificence of the Italian Renaissance that I witnessed in cities like Florence and Mantova. I also studied “oriental philosopies” quite a bit, like Taoism and Buddhism, and touched the surface of Esoterism and Kabbalah. Then, in my early twenties, I got bitten by the travel bug. And my cosmopolitan life started. I have been spending most of my adult life in North America, England and Estonia, and travelling around the World. This allowed me to meet many people, with many different lifestyles, and to understand that, almost no matter what the outside circumstances are, you can find joyful people (and some sad ones) everywhere.
My academic background is in Business, Dharma studies, and Diplomacy. I have been coaching and working in eCommunication since late 1995; I also studied nutrition, and I am a Chartered Herbalist.
Eckhart Tolle and Frank Ra in Vancouver
Tention Free : We been hearing a lot about you, and your EXSTATICA eCourse, so we notice your starting to gain a lot of attention how does it feel?
Frank : It feels great to be able to reach many people, at their own pace, with their own purposes and motivators. Helping them to expand their awareness about what matters for them, and facilitating their wellbeing in several spheres of Exstatic Living: meaning, cognition, emotions, behaviour. That’s what I have already been doing as wellbeing facilitator, but it brings this to an exponential scale. Online, through the EXSTATICA eCourse, this message can reach many more people than I have helped so far, on a one-to-one basis or in small groups. And they can “give back”, by being of service to other people, helping them to cultivate wellbeing for the benefit of all. The eCourse starts on March 8th. It is free for this intake, and requires a small time commitment, about twenty minutes per week for five weeks.
Tention Free : Abraham Abulafia’s Kabbalah seems to have a big influence on EXSTATICA. Can you tell us more about this?
Frank : Very true, the ecstatic kabbalah of Abraham Abulafia had a major impact on the Renaissance, especially on the work of Pico Della Mirandola, through his translator Flavio Mitridate and the activity of Yohanan Alemanno. The more familiar I became with Abraham Abulafia’s kabbalah, the more I started to see it as the spiritual sparkle of the Renaissance. While Abraham Abulafia is not the only ecstatic kabbalist, he was the first one – and for many centuries the only one – to make his teachings accessible to a wider audience. Considering that the Italian Renaissance inspired EXSTATICA, the work of Abraham Abulafia permeates EXSTATICA as well. The influence of Abraham Abulafia on the Renaissance, and our contemporary western society, would deserve an encyclopedia in itself. Many key thinkers and artists were familiar with Abraham Abulafia, but for some reasons his name hasn’t gone mainstream yet.
Tention Free : What has been one of the most exciting achievements of your career so far?
Frank : As a wellbeing facilitator, each and every person I interact with is the most exciting “achievement”. Also, starting from zero and growing the Eckhart Tolle Vancouver Meetup has been great. I am very happy that now the group is in wise hands, thanks to friends like Bob Molavi (the “happiness coach” who flourished despite cancer).
In my career in commitment, my most exciting milestones achieved so far include growing the affiliate programs of leading US companies in the real estate, SaaS, eCommerce space, and working with leading European luxury products designers.
At the intersection of mindfulness with eMarketing skills, I was very happy to have helped the team of the “Milton’s Secret” movie (released a few weeks ago) during the crowdfunding campaign, that turned one of Eckhart Tolle’s book into a great expample of mindful entertainment.
Tention Free : What are you working on now ?
Frank : Currently, I am active in scaling-up the outreach of EXSTATICA, through the upcoming and future eCourses plus the release of my third book (EXSTATICA). That will be followed by tour, in person, in North America and Europe, to meet eCourse participants and readers. I am also very active, through eMarketing, in helping the designers of quality wellbeing products to connect with their customers.
Tention Free : At what point did you decide to become an author/writer?
Frank : I like to think that writing chose me, and not the other way around. I’ve been putting my thoughts down in writing since I was 7-8 years old. I did win a few non-fiction competition in Europe. The most active time for me with writing have been my teenager years, and the last five years or so.
Tention Free : Please tell us more about your two previous best-selling books “A Course in Happiness” and “BioHarmonizing”?
Frank : “A Course in Happiness” started from the need to have a workbook to use during my wellbeing sessions. Far for being a masterpiece of literature, it is a practical tool to use, and reuse, to assess one’s wellbeing. On the other hand, “BioHarmonizing” is probably less about wellbeing science, and more about pointers to finding one’s subjective approach to wellbeing. Both books became best-sellers, and brought me to the spotlight in the international media, from the main Korean newspaper to local “spiritual” magazines.
Tention Free : What motivates you to do your best work as a wellbeing-facilitator?
Frank : The joy of seeing people succeeding in what matters to them. We are all on the same boat, we win together, or we sank together. Wellbeing facilitation helped me to understand there is no such thing as the “survival of the fittest”. It’s all about the flourishing of the most adaptable, which also happens to be Charles Darwin’s conclusion, before it got distorted for economic and political reason. Wellbeing is about caring for all, not about short-sighted egoism that often comes at big long term costs.
Tention Free : Everybody needs time out. What do you do in your free time?
Frank : I love to travel with my wife. Like every Italian, I love eating and arts. And like every Canadian, I enjoy spending time outdoors, especially near the sea.
Tention Free : How can people find you and follow you online?
Frank : The free wellbeing course, the first time EXSTATICA is presented to such a wide audience at once, is available on www.exstatica.org/wellbeingcourse If the readers would like to share their feedback, opinion, life experiences, etc. they can use the contact form on that site to get in touch. I will also expand www.frankra.com
