Francis Dale Bennett

Francis “Fran” Bennett was an ordinary, sociable young man who answered the call to a life of spiritual adventure as a contemplative in the monastery of the Order of Cistercians of the Strict Observance, commonly known as Trappists. Thomas Merton, the pioneering Christian mystic of the twentieth century, was Bennett’s inspiration, and it was Merton’s influence that led Bennett to explore the deepest reality of being, within the frameworks of Christianity, Buddhism, and Advaita Vedanta or non-duality.

Bennett worked with the sick and dying in parishes, hospitals, and hospices after he moved away from the monastic life. In 2010, while in the middle of mass, there came what Bennett describes as “a radical perceptual shift in consciousness” that made it clear that the pure awareness at the heart of all is no different from the presence of God.

In recent years Bennett transitioned to female. It was a milestone in her personal quest for deep authenticity. As a retreat leader and spiritual director she emphasized the importance of being, in her words, fully human, fully divine. Fran Bennett died in January 2022 (www.fullcircleawakening.com).