Director's Message for December 2009

Tuesday, December 1, 2009

Greetings,

2012 is now on everybody’s mind. The release of Roland Emmerich’s film, 2012, has popularized this date on a planetary scale. What does it mean? Where did it come from? As awareness of 2012 becomes an event of mass consciousness, we begin to sense something of the greatest magnitude, a veritable world shift. The ripples from this shift are already creating waves washing up on the shores of the old consciousness. What is behind December 21, 2012, and what does it really augur?

“For millennia, mankind had wandered in the darkness…but now, as had been prophesied, there was a change coming. After hurtling blindly through history, mankind has reached a crossroads. This moment had been predicted long ago, prophesied by the ancient texts, by the primeval calendars, and even by the stars themselves. The date was specific, its arrival imminent. It would be preceded by a brilliant explosion of knowledge…a flash of clarity to illuminate the darkness and give mankind a final chance to veer away from the abyss and take the path of wisdom.” —Dan Brown, The Lost Symbol

You can read in this newsletter what modern day prophet, Jose Arguelles, has to say about the next three years and the approaching Apocalypse which many have predicted as the “end times” foreboding disaster of a global magnitude. In actuality the word apocalypse is Aramaic and literally translates as the great revealing or unveiling, a time of a mass awakening of consciousness. It does foretell of a time of endings as well as a time of new beginnings. What does this mean for humanity? What does this have to do with you?

Amidst concerns over global warming and fears of everything ending by 2012 the age of anxiety is gaining momentum. When it appears that there is very little time left, Mythologist Michael Meade, suggests that, “It isn’t time that people need, but the touch of the eternal that renews imagination and reveals meaningful and healing paths even in the darkest times.”

Michael goes on to say that, “Everyone now suffers from over-exposure as Culture and Nature, the ‘two great garments of life,’ seem to unravel at the same time. Culture no longer protects against growing threats of global terror, while Nature becomes increasingly endangered by the effects of climate change. Science and religion, so often opposed, arrive at similar conclusions as statistics and scriptures each predict the ‘end of the world.’ Is it the end of all time or a time of many endings secretly seeking the vital ground of renewal?”

Michael posits the notion of an intelligent light hidden in the darkness addressing the increasing troubles throughout the world and pointing to the importance of increasing soulfulness at this time. “The soul is the secret connective tissue of life and the essence of community. Soul is the glue that holds things together, the ‘stickiness’ of life, and the deep root of grassroots movements. When there’s enough soul present, people stick together and stick it out no matter what. Amidst the speed of changes and the depth of current troubles, soul often goes missing just when more soul is needed.”

Michael reassures us that in dark times things become both impossible and more possible at the same time. Heralding a return of wisdom and encouraging a need for more Eros and relatedness, he suggests that more soul can lead us to the spirit of renewal.

As we look forward, Sacred Path will be hosting a day-long event for men at Holy Spirit Retreat Center in Encino on Saturday, February 6, 2010 followed by our longer retreat in April, the 15th-18th. Both of these events will focus on the importance of self-renewal, the unveiling and expansion of consciousness and increasing the amplitude of Soul in your life. You can read about and register for the Day for Men in this newsletter and mark your calendars for the 23rd Annual Spring Sacred Path Men’s Retreat, April 15-18, 2010.

We need your feedback and support if we are to move forward with a combined Sacred Path Men’s Retreat and Call to Adventure Rites of Passage Retreat for Fathers and Sons, Boys and Mentors. We have no money in the scholarship account at this point. We awarded several thousand (what was remaining in our account) in scholarships last April and now our coffers are empty. We had hired a grant writer to secure funding for us but due to her personal and compromised integrity issues we were required to sever the contract after having paid her a retainer of $1,000.

We are not in a position at this point to provide scholarships to the youths and men from South Los Angeles or other areas and agencies. Unless we are gifted donations to support this program and unless we have commitments from fathers and sons, boys and their mentors indicating that they are planning to attend the CTA portion of the retreat, we will not conduct the CTA this year but we will hold the men’s retreat. We need to have assurances before January 1st that we will have the scholarship funds available and the commitments to attend before we will green-light the CTA for this year. We acknowledge that money is tight and that is why we have kept the fees low for our retreats. Perhaps during the month of December the spirit of giving will prevail and we’ll get a clear signal to move forward with the CTA part of the retreat for this April.

Wishing you and your family a Very Merry Christmas and a Happy Chanukah! Peace and Light,

Stephen

To Download the Flyer/Application for the February 6, 2010 DAY FOR MEN, Click HERE

A Day for Men - Saturday, February 6, 2010

In January of 2007 I conducted the first of a series of 6 colloquiums for men that were offered throughout the year followed by a series of 12 Mindfulness Practicums during 2008 and 2009 for men, women and couples. A Colloquium is an informal conference in which deep conversation can take place concerning issues pertinent to our lives today and the Practicums were opportunities to experientially work with the Mindfulness practices. The age range of those in attendance spanned the teen-age years up through the 70’s. The general consensus of the participants was that each man had been in the company of other good men.

I was struck by how many of the men indicated that they left the workshops feeling a heightened sense of gratitude for their lives. Not necessarily because they compared themselves to others and felt better than, but because they felt like they weren’t alone or different. There was an awareness that something could be gained from what each man was sharing. It was apparent that everyone had something that they were contending with like a health crisis, relationship issue, parenting challenge, concern about work and money, unrequited longing, dealing with growing older, retirement, the quality of life and facing mortality.

General anxiety about age and the passage of time was indeed a topic of discussion. One of the men in his thirties told me that it profoundly affected him to hear the older men talk about how they are dealing with aging. He said, “I never consider that. I’m too busy thinking about my work, my marriage, my children and other responsibilities. I have other anxieties.” He also said that he greatly benefited from the comments offered by the older men who shared insights from their own learning experiences when they were younger.

During the first Colloquium, the challenges that men confront within their primary relationships became the main thrust of the afternoon discussion in Council format. Relationship struggles do seem to dominate men’s lives. I was told that a number of men left with a more focused sense of clarity about what needed to be done to deal with the relationship issue presented. One man remarked that he awakened to a clearer understanding of what integrity really means and what he needed to do to bring his life into greater alignment.

It’s been my experience that things start taking on a trajectory and pulling you forward in a certain direction. Then you sit back and examine what you are doing, and it can be unnerving. There are many ways that people are trying to keep up with the pace and demands that life puts on them today. Men shared about their coping mechanisms. Some seem to be working well and others not so well; however, many men left the event with a renewed sense of how they wanted to redirect the focus of their concerns and reduce the stress that leads to their feeling depressed and anxious.

I was pleased with the level of candor and honesty expressed by the men. It seemed that any tendency to judge oneself or others harshly was buffered with empathy, understanding and compassion. The expressed humor helped to lighten the more serious aspects of the day. A little levity goes a long way. I heard from many that they returned home with an openness and loving attitude that they shared with loved ones.

I have reserved the dates for 3 events in 2010 to be conducted at Holy Spirit Retreat Center in Encino. The first of these will be a day for men on Saturday, February 6th. The event will commence with a meditation and my opening remarks. I will offer commentary on a variety of topics throughout the day. Then we’ll proceed with a round of check ins allowing each man to introduce himself and speak briefly about whatever has been on his mind. We have a morning snack followed by lunch at noon and an afternoon snack. We’ll break into discussion groups based on age and topics of interest and concern. We’ll conclude the day with bringing the whole group back together to review the topics of discussion, work with the suggestions and potential solutions to dealing with the challenges confronting the men and have a round of check outs focused on take-aways.

The $125 fee for the Colloquium includes program, snacks and lunch. We would like to introduce new men to our community. I truly hope that you will consider registering for this event and bringing a man with you that has not participated before. One-day events are great opportunities for men to get a sense of what we do on our longer retreats. This can also serve as a day to reunite the men that were together on the October retreat and get a leg up for the Spring Retreat, April 15-18, 2010.

In brotherhood,
Stephen

To Download the Flyer/Application for the February 6, 2010 DAY FOR MEN, Click HERE

Lakota Nation Files Lawsuit in Sweat Lodge Incident

by Nina Rehfeld
SEDONA, AZ (November 12, 2009) - In the aftermath of the tragedy at Angel Valley Retreat Center, where an incompetently conducted “sweat lodge” held by Californian self-help guru James Arthur Ray killed three participants, political steps are being taken by several native people across the United States. While local Indians from Arizona are forming a Council for Indigenous Traditional Healing to reclaim native ceremonies, the Lakota tribe of North and South Dakota has filed a lawsuit against the United States, the state of Arizona, James Arthur Ray and the Angel Valley Retreat Center.

Ray had conducted a five-day “Spiritual Warrior” seminar at Angel Valley on the first weekend of October, during which his more than sixty participants had been fasting and wandering in the desert. He then assembled them in an incompetently constructed “sweat lodge” that, according to eye witnesses, was turned into a two-hour endurance competition and left three people dead and nineteen injured.

The Lakota Nation considers its sweat lodge ceremony, the Oinikaga, one of the seven sacred rites of the Lakota. “This is a way of life, not a religion”, said Sam Longblackcat, who introduced the lawsuit to the public at a press conference in Phoenix on November 2nd.

The lawsuit refers to the Treaty of Fort Laramie between the United States and the Lakota Nation from 1868, which states that “if bad men among the whites or other people subject to the authority of the United States shall commit any wrong upon the person or the property of the Indians, the United States will (...) proceed at once to cause the offender to be arrested and punished according to the laws of the United States, and also reimburse the injured person for the loss sustained.” The plaintiffs hold that James Arthur Ray and the Angel Valley Retreat Center have “violated the peace between the United States and the Lakota Nation” and have caused the “desecration of our Sacred Oinikiga by causing the death of Liz Neuman, Kirby Brown and James Shore”. The lawsuit further holds that James Arthur Ray and the Angel Valley Retreat Center have committed fraud by impersonating Indians and must be held responsible for causing the deaths of the victims and injuries of the survivors, and for the destruction of evidence through the dismantling of the sweat lodge.

Longblackcat, who spoke with the approval Lakota leaders, said the lawsuit is meant to reinstate the protection of the Lakota sacred way of life. “We Lakota people continue to fight for our way of life. The sweat lodge – we call it Oinikaga or Inipi – is a purification ceremony, to make life. Our sacred way of life was desecrated by a non-native man. This is our property, and there are laws in the United States and in the United Nations that state that these customs are ours and that they are to be protected.”

Also at the Phoenix press conference, Chief Anselmo Candelaria, Apache and Olone of Phoenix and Daniel Bejar, Mescalero Apache and Mexica Apache of Prescott, announced the formation of the Council of Indigenous Traditional Healers to “provide guidance and oversight in regards to sacred healing ceremonies.”

Bejar said that the purpose of the council is to “protect people, protect our ceremonies and see what can be done to keep this from happening again.” He also stressed that this is not an attack on the Sedona retreat industry. “We do not want to badger people or protest, we want to approach this in a good way. We want to check into the authenticity of people offering sweat lodges. We want to confront people who are doing these ceremonies about taking money for them and about not being properly trained. And we want to let people who come in seeking know that we have qualified water pourers.” The goal of the Council, Bejar said, is not to shut down non-native lodges. “My belief is that anyone is entitled to pray, no matter where they come from. But ceremonies like the sweat lodge have to be conducted by the appropriate people – and not for pay.” Current members of the Council are Chief Anselmo Candelaria, Daniel Bejar, Luis Viniegra, Juan Guevara, Pete Jackson as well as two more, and others, including people from the Yavapai Apache tribe, will be approached, said Bejar. “We want to take ownership and responsibility for our region.” The Council can be contacted via theeaglelodge@aol.com or 928-776-8692.

The 2012 Prophecy

Jose Arguelles, Ph.D.

Galactic Research Institute

2012 is now on everybody’s mind. The release of Roland Emmerich’s film, 2012, has popularized this date on a planetary scale. What does it mean? Where did it come from? As awareness of 2012 becomes an event of mass consciousness, we begin to sense something of the greatest magnitude, a veritable world shift. The ripples from this shift are already creating waves washing up on the shores of the old consciousness. What is behind December 21, 2012, and what does it really augur?

It is generally known that this date is related to the Mayan calendar and the Mayan prophecies. How did the Maya come to this date, and what do their prophecies say about it?

The Maya, whose civilization reached its heights in Central America and Mexico between AD 435 and 830, were expert mathematicians with a unique calendar system. How did they come to be operating with a sophisticated sense of time far beyond anything known even today?

In The Mayan Factor, Path beyond Technology, 1987, I concluded that the primary intention of the Mayan calendar system was not to measure time but to record the harmonic calibrations of a galactic synchronization beam, 5,125-years or 5200-tun (360-day cycles) in duration. According to the time science of the ancient Maya, a great moment of transformation awaits us at 2012, when we pass out of that beam.

For humanity this beam constitutes the wave harmonic of history. 5,125 years in diameter, this beam commenced 13 August B.C. 3113, a date marked by the Mayan calendar long count as 13.0.0.0.0, 4 Ahau. This precise date 13.0.0.0.0, 4 Ahau will occur again on December 21, 2012. Exactly 1,872,000 days will have passed, a cycle of 13 baktuns of 144,000 days each.

This interval, B.C. 3113 - A.D. 2012, comprises the totality of history as we know it – from the First Dynasty of Egypt to the Twin Towers, hence wave harmonic of history. During this cycle, humanity has gone from a tribal creature just learning how to live in cities, to being a full-blown planetary organism.

In this process, humanity learned how to mechanize time. The mechanization of time created an unconscious mental field in which the human systematically separated itself from nature for the purpose of creating a vast industrialized order, the technosphere - a sphere of artificial time cast over the biosphere. Since 1618, the human species has been living in its own artificial time, apart from the rest of the biosphere that continues to operate in the natural cycles. The dissonance between artificial and natural time has brought about the present crisis - and pushed mankind toward a new condition of being.

The conclusion of the cycle in A.D. 2012 bodes a return to natural time and an evolutionary upgrading of planetary life. A resonant frequency phase shift will usher us into the brilliance of galactic-solar-planetary evolution. We shall pass not only into a post-historic, but a post-human, or super human phase of our evolution.

In fact, the entire 5,125- year cycle - hardly an instant of geological time – is but a mutative phase. This phase complete, a new evolutionary stage begins. This is known as the noosphere, literally, the mental sheathe of the planet, the mind of the Earth, where we think and act as a single planetary organism - a new race of bio-solar telepaths. With the advent of planetary consciousness will come, not destruction, but, at long last, universal peace.

For more information, click HERE

"Molly" - Directed by Jeffery Passero

A group of us, including yours truly, my wife Fran, as well as Steve and Jamie Branker, Mark and Mary Kreher, Clayton Norcross and his guest, had the opportunity to spend a wonderful evening of theatre in Burbank as we were thoroughly entertained by Jeff Passero's presentation of "Molly". The production was engaging, the acting superb, and what a pleasure to support one of our own community members whose directorial skills were most evident. May I encourage you to take in this play before it closes on the 20th. You'll receive a big hug from Jeff as he greets you in the lobby and get a chance to meet his lovely wife Liz who provided the set design. Stephen

THE VICTORY THEATRE CENTER

PRESENTS

MOLLY

BY SIMON GRAY

Directed by

JEFFERY PASSERO

Starring

GISELLE WOLF,

ANNE GEE BYRD, DON MOSS,

MAX ROEG, GEOFFREY WADE,

BRYANT WEBER

Produced by

MARIA GOBETTI & TOM ORMENY

Previews Nov 7,8

Runs: November 13 — December 20, 2009

A Limited Run

Set in London’s 1930's, inspired by the notorious Rattenbury Trial case, MOLLY is the story of a love quadrangle gone awry. Renowned writer Simon Gray’s plays are notable for their wit and emotional incisiveness.

Fridays and Saturdays at 8:00 pm

Sundays at 4:00 pm

Tickets:

Regular Seating Fri, Sat, Sun - $22

Preferred Seating Fri, Sat, Sun - $34

Group and Senior Rates Available

Save money by purchasing our new FLEX TIX!

For theatre information and ticket reservations call 818.841.5421

3326 West Victory Blvd.

Burbank, CA 91505

Winter Solstice Celebration December 20

Medicine Dance

&

The Winter Solstice Project

present

Winter Solstice 2009

Holiday Party/Gathering

-Connection-

with

Christo Pellani

&

The Winter Solstice Project Band

&

Master of Ceremonies

Fred Sugerman

The WSP was conceived in 2007 and birthed in 2008, 5 years before December 21st, 2012, the end of the Mayan calendar.

Some perceive these to be the Dark Ages, the Descent before our Final Fall. Armageddon? Apocalypse?

I have always been fascinated by these words and peoples’ perceptions of the end of our times. The end of Us. Us Humans.

But ever since I was a kid; ever since I first entered into backcountry wilderness. Land where mountains and Trees and Waterways and Wildlife have been untouched by human development…

Ever since I felt the pangs of 1st Love; of Crush…

Ever since I perceived I knew what a Friend was…

Ever since I had the 1st inkling of Me. Of Me unadorned, and O.K. and a Child of Spirit…

I Believe. I have Believed in response to these Human Knowings of Love---

I Believe We can not perish. I believe in alternatives to war. I believe our relationship to the Earth and Her inhabitants are Sacred. I believe we walk on Hallowed Ground and that Jesus was saying We are all God’s Daughters and Sons.

The intention of our gathering on Winter Solstice is to remember the Power of Ritual.

To remember who we are.

And to remember our connection to our Selves, to Others, and to the Spirit that Connects us All.

The equation for Remembering:

Live Drums and Music + Transformative Movement + Raging Fire + Council = Remembering

Simple.

In other words, we are putting on a kick ass, merry-making, sacred and profane Party and we want you to come.

We want to invite old Friends, Family and Strangers (you may be any of the above).

We want you to come a Lone with your most significant Self (You) or we want you to bring everybody you love the most and you want to celebrate being A Live with.

This is a Gathering of the Tribes.
This is a Gathering of Lone Wolves.
This is a Party.

Come!!!

Let us Celebrate our Lives…

The Winter Solstice Project 2009

December 20th 1-7pm

***only $25***

Upper Davies Community Building in Farnsworth Park

Altadena

if you buy a ticket before November 15th, you get one Saturday morning Medicine Dance class FREE

send a check to:

Fred Sugerman

@Quest Ranch 4101 Topanga Canyon Blvd.

Woodland Hills, CA 91364

or

paypal fsugerman@yahoo.com

Responses To Questions Asked at the Fall Retreat

1) Was this your first time attending the Retreat? If not, how many Retreats have you attended in the past?

Ans. Yes...found you on Google.

2) What did you like best about the Retreat?

Ans. Easy one - Sacred Breathing.
Also liked container time, Dr. Johnson's talks, Fred Sugarmans movement times, parenting class with Nick, the sweatlodge experience, and pretty much everything. Location is incredible!

3) What did you like least about the Retreat?

Ans. The discussion with Dan Franklin about relationships. Love Dan, but the discussion was not deep enough as
I would have expected. I seemed to align with Rob Bruce and Clayton Norcross(based on the comments that were said)...I wonder if they felt the same about the discussion as I did? I still think this topic is super important, just the way the discussion went did not sit well with me. Dan recorded it if you want to see what I mean.

4) What topic(s) would you have liked to have been covered at the Fall or future Retreats?

Ans. I have to trust your experience for this one. I am just enjoying the real growth as a man...the comraderie, the wisdom, and the truth that has been shared; The changes in my life and relationships as a result.

5) What suggestions do you have to make future Retreats even better?

Ans. I believe every retreat takes on a life of it's own, you plan it with all of your wisdom and experience and then present it as planned...the men make the retreat by being open and in the present and in the flow of the spirit. The power generated and passed between men is supernatural and the way it is supposed to be. Not really explainable to those who have never experienced it. We cry together, we laugh together, we are safe together, we heal and grow together. No matter what you do, that will still happen on the mountain when men come together in this way because the Tribe time covers anything that get stirred up or is in need of attention.

6) Would you consider attending another Retreat in Spring 2010?

Ans. I will.