Doré Frances, Author at Dore Frances

About Doré Frances

Doré Frances is a retired educational consultant, mental health advocate, and founder of Mental and Health Awareness—a platform dedicated to empowering individuals and families with compassionate, accessible resources. With decades of experience supporting young adults, caregivers, and behavioral health programs, Doré now focuses on community engagement and promoting meaningful change through education, storytelling, and collaboration. Known for her direct yet deeply empathetic approach, Doré brings a lifetime of lived experience to her writing, blending professional insight with personal reflections on resilience, trauma recovery, and personal growth. She is especially passionate about youth advocacy, emotional wellness, and amplifying the voices of those often unheard. When she's not writing or connecting with like-minded advocates, you can find Doré exploring the beauty of Colorado with her service dog, Aspen. Let’s build a more understanding, mentally healthy world—one story at a time.

Treat Yourself with the Same Care You Give Others: A Simple Ritual of Self-Respect

When you invite friends over for lunch or dinner, do you prepare a thoughtful meal, tidy up your home, maybe light a few candles, put on some music, and create a warm, welcoming atmosphere?

There’s something natural about wanting others to feel comfortable and cared for in our space. But here’s a question worth asking:

How often do you extend that same care, respect, and attention to yourself?

The next time you make a meal for yourself, resist the urge to eat it while standing at the counter with your phone in one hand and fork in the other.

Instead, take ten minutes to set the table, […]

By Doré Frances|2025-04-13T10:55:43-06:00April 13th, 2025|Dore Frances, Why Wisdom Is Harder Than You Think|0 Comments

When Love Turns Dangerous: My Escape from a Cult-Influenced Relationship

Ron had invited three members of the Rajneesh movement to move into our home. I didn’t want any part of it.

He said they were teaching him about life and wanted to include me in that journey; however, I was not interested in what they offered.

Their beliefs clashed with mine. They spoke to Ron about how society conditions us to live a certain way, but I had spent my whole life pushing back against those exact expectations.

I was raised by parents who tried to shape me into someone I was never meant to be—urging me to conceal the very gifts that made me unique.

Deep down, I had always embraced the unknown and moved through life with openness and flow.

Ron was now […]

By Doré Frances|2025-04-12T11:23:35-06:00April 12th, 2025|Dore Frances, Relationships, The Sixties and Seventies Counterculture, Why Wisdom Is Harder Than You Think|0 Comments

Living in the Redwoods: A Tribe, a Guru, and a Truth I Couldn’t Ignore

We watched the last of them drift out the door, laughter echoing faintly as the house finally quieted. Another long, lazy party had come and gone in our rambling house just beyond Big Basin State Park, tucked in the Santa Cruz Mountains off Highway 9. We were about 45 minutes from Santa Cruz, living amid the towering Coastal Redwoods—some of the most awe-inspiring trees on earth, found nowhere else but California.

The house was a sprawling 5,000-square-foot haven on eight acres, with a vegetable garden out front, composting toilets, a deep well we had to monitor, propane for heat, and a gas stove that got heavy use. An expansive wooden deck wrapped halfway around the […]

By Doré Frances|2025-04-12T11:13:52-06:00April 5th, 2025|Dore Frances, Relationships, Spirituality, The Sixties and Seventies Counterculture, Why Wisdom Is Harder Than You Think|0 Comments

From Bend to Boulder: A Journey of Spirit and Self

On August 1, 2011, I packed my Toyota Solara and left Bend, Oregon, bound for Colorado with my friend Jason. I had shipped a few of my larger belongings to his home, sold the rest, and fit everything I owned into the car.

The road ahead felt full of possibility — I was excited, curious, and maybe a little nervous.

What would life in Colorado be like?

What kind of energy would Boulder hold?

Jason had offered me a place to stay until I got settled, and while I didn’t know how long that might take, I was grateful for the chance to land somewhere soft.

By Doré Frances|2025-04-04T12:04:52-06:00April 4th, 2025|Bend, Oregon, Dore Frances, Spirituality, Why Wisdom Is Harder Than You Think|0 Comments

Esalen: A Spiritual Journey Through Big Sur

My recollection begins at the Esalen Institute in Big Sur, California—the cradle of the human potential movement and the place where the spiritual energy of the Sixties first took hold along the California coast.

Esalen is more than a retreat center; it’s founded on the idea that human consciousness and potential constantly evolve.

The spirituality of the Sixties resembled a journey through comparative religion—a quest to find the mystical core shared by the world’s great faiths.

At Esalen, and within the broader Sixties spiritual movement, the focus wasn’t on believing in God.

It was about experiencing the divine firsthand.

I first visited Esalen in 1980, at the age of 27.

There, I encountered fellow baby boomers — Baptists, Catholics, Episcopalians, Jews, and Protestants — […]

By Doré Frances|2025-03-30T11:36:24-06:00March 30th, 2025|Dore Frances, Spirituality, Why Wisdom Is Harder Than You Think|0 Comments

Do Signs from the Afterlife Exist?

Can we be sure something exists just because we believe it does? Consider a picture of a meal — the aroma, flavor, and texture aren’t captured, yet we still understand they’re part of the experience.

Our vision is limited to three dimensions—much like how a camera captures only two.

So whatever animates life likely exists beyond what most of us can perceive. The force that sustains us operates outside the reach of our five senses, remaining a mystery to many.

Yet, despite not fully understanding it, we trust in it, believing it will carry us into the next day. Whether we recognize it or not, we all live by faith.

We place immense trust in an invisible force—that the earth will keep turning, the […]

By Doré Frances|2025-03-29T11:07:27-06:00March 29th, 2025|Dore Frances, Frances Cascinai (Mom), Spirituality, Why Wisdom Is Harder Than You Think|0 Comments

The Truth About Grit: Real Resilience When Life Falls Apart

The Truth About Grit: What You’re Not Being Told

Grit matters. Sure—we all know that. However, let’s be honest: most advice on building grit? Kinda useless.

In clinical terms, it’s often called resilience—that inner strength that helps you keep moving when life punches you in the face. And since pain and setbacks are part of every human story, you’d think the advice would be more grounded. Yet too often, it feels like the people writing about grit have never faced a challenge they couldn’t solve with a fat bank account and a few deep breaths.

Let’s get real:
Better budgeting doesn’t erase […]

By Doré Frances|2025-03-25T11:25:31-06:00March 25th, 2025|Dore Frances, Why Wisdom Is Harder Than You Think|0 Comments

A Soul’s Journey: Embracing Life as a Sacred, Temporary Experience

We are wanderers in the ever-shifting landscape of existence, passing through this world like a breeze through leaves, touched by its beauty and shaped by its impermanence. This realm, with all its mystery and majesty, is not our final dwelling but a luminous waypoint on the unfolding journey of the soul. Our presence here is no accident.

We’ve come with the intention—to observe with open eyes, feel with open hearts, and awaken through the experiences life places in our path.

Each dawn carries a message, every encounter a mirror, and every hardship a quiet teacher. We are here to be changed—to let joy soften us, let sorrow refine us, and let life sculpt […]

By Doré Frances|2025-03-23T10:44:21-06:00March 23rd, 2025|Dore Frances, Spirituality, Why Wisdom Is Harder Than You Think|0 Comments

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