In this 30-minute teaching session from the June 2022 EMLT Intensive in Beyul, Colorado, John and guest teacher Eli Buren offer wisdom and insights, and answer questions on how to write a profoundly healing “Thank You” letter to your father.

Whether it's the weight of unspoken words, unresolved conflicts, or the void left behind by physical or emotional absence, the relationship we hold with our fathers shapes much of our journey into manhood as well as our capacity to connect with other men.

After watching this video, you’ll be able to powerfully write your own Thank You letter. This practice is a journey into the heart, where you may spontaneously soften as old wounds are met with love, understanding, and transformation. By taking this exercise on, you have the opportunity to rewrite your story of your childhood and the father you had, and shift your karmic lineage not just for you, but for generations to come.

Instructions for writing a Thank You Letter to your father:

Write a letter to your father thanking him for everything he's given to you - his generosity, gifts, values, experiences, the ways he tried to love you and ways he tried to lead you. You can do this whether your father is alive or deceased.

Here are some questions to answer to help guide your letter:

What's your biggest judgment/wound around your father?
How do you create that/see that in your relationships with the masculine? How does that impact your capacity to trust the masculine?
What was your dad’s deepest wound growing up?