Tuesday, December 6, 2011

Director's Message for December 2011

Greetings, Sacred Path Community,

As we turn our attention to the holidays, we need to wind our way through the hectic activities that comprise the stress-filled world as we connect with the true meaning of the season. This is a time that we especially need to go within and draw upon Spirit for energy, equanimity and guidance. As we light the candles in our homes and places of worship, let’s also remember that we are called on to be lights unto the world radiating peace, love and joy.

Jesus and other great sages spoke of an Inner Light. Jesus said, “I am the light and the way,” and went on to remind us to “let our light shine before others.” We speak of light in spiritual circles and of holding people in the light. We talk about seeing the light in each other when we greet one another with “Namaste,” meaning the light in me sees the light in you.

We are encouraged to rise up and express our higher self that knows its oneness with God presence, or the “inner light,” and to radiate that presence to others. Bringing our luminous nature into greater visibility requires awareness, focus and intention. In fact, becoming luminous beings involves the same intentionality that Jesus utilized through his teachings and acts of kindness. The light of divine presence that can illumine our lives can radiate outward to heal, comfort and bless the world.

As members of a spiritual community, we assist and support one another to stay on the Path and be on purpose. No one brings light into darkness without purposefulness and intentionality. Healing energy can’t flow through us until a way has been made clear for it by removing obstructions and opening our hearts and minds through practice. The more disciplined we are and the more we practice, the more liberated we become. As we cultivate experiential wisdom through sitting in silence, learning to monitor our thoughts, focusing on kindness, we find that our intuition grows stronger and clearer.

Through consistent spiritual practice we become more transparent, clarifying the dense emotional energy pollution that accumulates. Through meditation practice we can remove the dullness of negative thinking and transform the dread and worry that comprise a depressed and anxious mood. The more we practice spiritual purification through connecting with the elements of earth, air, water and fire, the clearer we become and the more our inner light can shine through us.

I am inviting 20 men to participate with me in a practicum at Holy Spirit Retreat Center on Saturday, February 18th, focused on the topic of developing your intuitive knowing through the cultivation of experiential wisdom. During this day we will work with Mindfulness practices including meditation and sacred breath work to clear your energy field and enhance greater luminosity. You can read more about this event in this newsletter and register to reserve your spot.

Mark your calendars for the 25th Annual Spring Sacred Path Call to Adventure Rites of Passage Retreat, April 12-15. This retreat will welcome fathers and sons, uncles and nephews, grandfathers, mentors and young men wanting to be in the presence of good men. We will create a profound experience as we provide some initiation of the younger men into conscious manhood. Our 25th Annual Fall Sacred Path Men’s Retreat will commence on Thursday, October 18 through Sunday, the 21st.

We’re bringing Leonard Orr back in June for an evening presentation on Friday the 8th, followed by a workshop on Saturday for those wanting to deepen their Conscious Breathing experience, and then an event on Sunday for those that simply want to go through the process. We had 50 in attendance last June, and many are working with the recommendations that Leonard offered for making spiritual purification an important part of one’s life.

The counseling field has dwindled with fewer men choosing to become therapists, and males in general resisting entering therapy. Similar to the educational system in this country, the field of therapy often doesn’t seem to be geared to help men in the ways men relate to being helped. That’s why I founded MCLA and the Sacred Path community with the intent of offering men an opportunity to get what they need in a user-friendly environment. Author and educator Michael Gurian has just published another book titled How Can I Help Him. Michael is a long time friend and author of approximately 30 books about men and gender. His latest book is designed to explore and reveal ways to help men and boys develop, grow and work through the issues that tend to plague us. I recommend this book to you and encourage you to consider this as a great holiday gift for anyone interested in helping males become better men. You can read more about this book and find the link with which to order it in this issue.

In the spirit of the season, the Sacred Path Wisdom Council and I are wishing you and your loved ones a very Happy Hanukah, a Merry Christmas and a blessed New Year.

Namaste,
Stephen

Special Event for Men with Stephen Johnson on Saturday, February 18th

How are you dealing with the stresses of life these days? Do you get enough sleep, relaxation and rest? Are your nerves constantly on edge and jangled? In terms of your mood, are you depressed and anxious? Do you feel irritable and tend to snap at people? Do you awaken not ready for prime time wishing you could spend the day in bed? If you answered yes to any of these questions, consider that you’re fully human and a charter member of the majority of humanity that feels plagued by the pressures and duress of trying to keep up with the fast and frenetic pace of life today.

Here’s another question: Would you like to feel more in control, more at ease and lighter with a brighter outlook? The answer may seem obvious, yet as clear as the answer is, the mechanism to attain it isn’t necessarily so evident. Consider this: we may not always be able to control what occurs in our life and what happens to us, but we can learn how to exert greater control over how we react to it.

Mindfulness training provides the strategies and practices with which to weatherproof your life as well as maintain and sustain greater balance, equanimity and serenity. Being able to ride the daily ups and downs without being thrown makes living much less effortful. Setting the worries aside while dealing with your concerns in a discerning manner supports your capacity for taking skillful actions and manifesting resourceful outcomes. Calming the nervous system and attaining a centered presence allows for poise, focused awareness and clarity to reign supreme. This is the mechanism upon which our soulful intuition rises to the surface, guiding us to be our personal best.

Mindfulness training is based on age-old wisdom principals. You can think of it as a blueprint that lays out the structure for crafting your lifestyle to fit your own unique design. The elements tend to rearrange and fall into place when we sit quietly in stillness and silence and allow the inner voice of our deepest intuition to speak to us. Learning how to incorporate Mindfulness meditation into a daily practice can go a long way in providing the context with which energy moves into place. Learning how to breathe effectively in order to clean and balance our energy body strengthens our life urge and nurtures the revitalization of our cells. Energy becomes what we think, and thought is a divine creative force that has power and potential for great change mentally, emotionally, physically and spiritually.

I am inviting 20 men to participate in a day of reflection, introspection and authentic self-examination of the blueprint underlying the foundation and structure of the lives that we’re living. During the time together we’ll explore Mindfulness strategies and learn useful spiritual purification practices involving the key elements of earth, air, water, fire and ether. You’ll have the opportunity to develop the powers of intuition through cultivating the deep experiential wisdom imbued with divine creativity and universal intelligence. During the event you’ll engage in experiences that are transformative and you’ll carry away the framework of a technology that is practical, useful and applicable on a daily basis. I invite you to be one of the men that will gather for this practicum.

To download the flyer/application, click HERE

Paulo Mattioli: December 31, 1969 - October 22, 2011

In 1987 I facilitated the first one-day Sacred Path Men’s Retreat in a silver geodesic dome house owned by Jerry Weinerth situated high atop Topanga Canyon overlooking the ocean. I initially positioned these one-day events for men about every 3 months. Sam Slonaker, Drummer and Rebirther, stepped up to assist me, and then others offered to help. I had also heard about an amazing drummer that lived in San Diego by the name of Paulo Mattioli. I connected with him and invited him to come up and lead a drum circle at one of my events.

Paulo had a wild mane of hair and a hugely radiant and magnetic personality. Our first meeting created a bond that would last for many years. I met dancer Riccardo Morrison at my first Mendocino Men’s Retreat featuring Robert Bly and Michael Meade. I invited Riccardo to participate in one of our retreats. Paulo and Riccardo held the beat and the movement for the Sacred Path Retreats as they expanded from the one-day events up at Jerry’s to two-day, then three-day retreats held at Camp Shalom, Camp Griffo, Cotton Tail, Hess Kramer and finally Gindling Hilltop.

As Paulo’s and Riccardo’s careers took off, requiring more extensive travel and commitments to perform, their presence at the Sacred Path events began to dwindle. We said goodbye to them and welcomed Christo Pellani and Fred Sugerman aboard to head up the drumming and movement. I haven’t seen or spoken to Paulo or Riccardo in years but knew that Paulo remained quite busy as his star was rising. You can read below what Christo has written about Paulo’s phenomenal talent and career.

At the last retreat, Christo asked me on Saturday if I had heard that Paulo was ill and had apparently been undergoing treatment for brain cancer. I had not heard anything about it and he said he would check it out and thought maybe it was a rumor. On Monday, following the retreat, Christo called to say that he just found out that Paulo had died on Sunday. We were stunned and saddened to hear the news.

Paulo was so vibrant and alive that it’s hard to conceive of someone so full of life being taken from us in the prime of his life. I went to his web site and reviewed his accomplishments over the years and looked at his pictures. We have lost another remarkable man, a true spiritual warrior. Like Timothy, Conrad, Walter and others that have touched our lives and left their own legacies with Sacred Path, Paulo was among the best. Even though our paths had not crossed in years, I had looked forward to sitting with him again and catching each other up on all that has transpired over the years. I will miss this opportunity, and yet he will live on in my heart and I’m sure within the hearts of those that knew him. Paulo radiated such vitality, love and passion.

Rest in peace, brother.
Stephen Johnson
~~~~~~~

Paulo Mattioli was recognized as a world-renowned multi-percussionist, educator and master instrument designer, with a special ability to inspire and empower others through drumming.

He was my friend and rhythm culture brother and colleague. I first met Paulo in 1992 taking a group drumming class, and I bought my first rope-tuned djembe from him. We trained together for the REMO Health Rhythms drum circle facilitation program, and we hung out in Topanga, swapped stories of growing up in Italian families, and played together on numerous occasions. We met up at the Sacred Path Retreats, and worked together for three retreats, cooking up the drumming activities for the community. I am fortunate to have had those powerful experiences drumming next to him, and to have inherited the community-drumming mantle for Sacred Path from him.

Paulo was a passionate and personable guy. He was one of the most well known, influential, and charismatic hand drummers in the nation.

He was an active drum teacher and facilitator who led Rhythm Journey drumming and dance workshops across the United States, Europe, Asia, Australia and Mexico.

He graduated with honors and held a degree in music, communications and visual arts from the University of San Diego. He also received a U.S. scholarship for his research in the use of drumming for communication within West African culture.

Paulo was the musical director of "Mystique D'Afrique," a West African drum and dance ensemble, and performed with artists such as Kenny Loggins, Sting, and Babatunde Olatunji as well as many others.

He was a REMO signature artist; designer of unique quality djembe drums, and authored the top rated instructional video series, "Hands-on Drumming".

Paulo also offered holistic services like drum meditations, Watsu and Waterdance and was a certified massage therapist, specializing in Sensate Shiatsu, a healing art which combined rhythmic massage with sound healing.

He was the creator of “FitRhythms”, an exercise program that combined the mind/body benefits of group drumming with aerobic movement.

Paulo was a leader and inspiration to a whole lot of drummers He will be remembered, honored, missed, and admired for his unique contribution to the modern rhythm culture as a true ambassador of the drum, and for his dedication to promoting community, creativity and global consciousness.

RIP, brother Paulo.
Christo Pellani
~~~~~~~

Hi Steve:

I was very sorry to hear about Paulo. He was such a happy and uplifting spirit. I’ll always remember that retreat when he was telling the story of being the only White guy drumming and dancing in the midst of a tribe of Africans IN AFRICA!!! I laugh out loud every time I think of the blind man in our group (Michael Tapia) surprised to realize that Paulo was not Black!!

Paulo had so much soul. I’m so grateful I got to know him and am a better person thanks to having him in my life. I went to the first retreat he put on solo in Hawaii. It was interesting. He tried to do it all – Drum Leader, Dance Leader and the Awareness Leader. What a stretch. I remember feeling uncomfortable with all he was taking on and rather than throwing myself into lots of group participation I wandered away from camp seeking loneliness and solitude.

Absolutely, I will be there for the 25th annual retreat in October. As soon as I hear the dates, they will be in my calendar. And I’ll commit to coming every five years forever long you find the energy to keep it going ☺. I’ve experienced so many wonderful people thanks to the space you’ve created -- now over a generation of time. My life is so rich and blessed now and I don’t even want to imagine what it would have been like if I didn’t find my way on your Sacred Path. If only, I could find the way to get my sons there.

Best wishes to you and your family for a very joyous holiday season and continued extraordinary new years.

Love to you,
Jay Berger

Thursday, December 1, 2011

Dr. Stephen Johnson: Men in the Counseling Room

On September 11, 2011, Stephen J. Johnson, Ph.D, MFT, founder and director of the Men’s Center of Los Angeles and creator of the Sacred Path Men’s Retreat, spoke to the SFVCAMFT Membership on “Males in the Counseling Room: Helping Guys Become Good Men.” He started with a moment of silence to acknowledge the 10th anniversary of 9/11, our national loss. Johnson mentioned the heroic men who gave their lives at the World Trade Center , saying that too often we hear only negative things about men, such as when they get into trouble. He went on to present a thorough, well-researched talk on the history of men and masculinity, their pressures and differences culturally, their socialization process, and some suggestions for both male and female therapists to help them achieve the best results working with male clients.

When Dr. Johnson was first licensed in 1972, it was during the Vietnam War, in which 57,000 men and 8 women died. The men who returned home weren’t celebrated as returning soldiers as they had been after World War II. Instead, they came back to anti-war protests and the feminist movement, told they should stop being war-like, get in touch with their innermost feelings, learn how to commit to relationships, share in housework, be nurturing to the children, curb aggression and violence, and integrate their sexuality with love. When men began to do these things and started becoming more passive, the women didn’t like that either. For men, it was a really confusing time. Not surprisingly, there was an increase in the divorce rate in the 1970’s, along with such self-destructive behaviors as addiction.

At that time, it was the women who began entering therapy in droves; but men did not. Psychotherapy, as traditionally practiced, didn’t serve these men well—and still doesn’t.
Men’s thinking has always been, “I can handle it (the “sturdy oak” approach to dealing with the problem).” They havedifficulty recognizing their feelings and expressing them (a
phenomenon termed alexithymia). Historically, men who have shared their feelings in public have been ridiculed, or dismissed as being weak, men such as Maine Senator and presidential candidate Ed Muskie in ‘68 and Missouri Senator Thomas Eagleton, who was dropped from the number two slot on the 1972 democratic ticket after admitting they he’d been treated for depression.

When some men tried to create a men’s movement to balance out the women’s movement and deal with some of their conflicts and issues, they, too, were ridiculed – especially for attending men’s retreats and “beating their chests in the woods.” The result: Men fled. But Johnson stayed put and continued on with his work with men, knowing how much they needed and wanted to better understand themselves.

Dr. Johnson remarked that we’ve made some progress as witnessed by how men like Speaker of the House, John Boehner, quarterback Terry Bradshaw, Howard Dean and Mike Wallace have been accepted despite public displays of emotion or admissions of suffering from a mood disorder.

Johnson outlined the characteristics that take a toll on men’s mental health and make it difficult for them to use psychotherapy readily, including gender role strain and conflict. He mentioned how masculine norms impact the therapy process and detailed the advent and development of the new psychology of men.

As the result of decades of working with men as individuals, in groups, and on retreats, Johnson has identified four crisis points in men’s lives (which he details in his upcoming book, Man Up). The four are The Identity Crisis (ages 15 to24); The Mid-Life Crisis (around age 40, which is when a man may first experience “the fall,” such as an affair); TheExistential Crisis (hits between the ages 55 and 65), and TheCompletion Crisis (occurs at some point between 75 and 85).

In a therapy situation, Dr. Johnson feels that cognitive behavioral therapy works best with men. Men like assignments and homework (such as watching a specific film), are able to gain insights from answering questions, and writing an anamnesis, a social psychological history of themselves. He finds that sharing experiences with male clients can create a therapeutic alliance, and he uses humor as an ice-breaker.

Johnson also talked about how female clinicians can best help their male clients. First, women therapists need to ask themselves questions, such as, “How do I view masculinity? Am I afraid of men, or do I dislike men on some level? Can I comfortably explore transference and counter-transference? Can I talk with men in their own language? Am I knowledgeable about the reasons behind many men’s resistance to understanding and experiencing their emotions?” He showed a video that helped us understand how much men can benefit from being in groups of men of all ages.

Therapists, both male and female, can help. “We need to help men explore the most vulnerable aspects of what it means to be a man, and offer compassion, empathy, patience, and a safe haven to explore this vulnerability.” It’s common knowledge that men don’t like going to the doctor, and put off their annual prostate or colonoscopy checkups. Nor do they tend to read or spend money on books, especially books about men. Johnson’s handouts included several pages of books and resources on the psychology of men, which will probably be read by women first, who will then hand them over to men. Hopefully the men will read them: “They need to learn better self-care and therapists can help teach them,” Johnson said.

Dr. Johnson, with the editing assistance of our own Sylvia Cary, is completing a book titled Man Up: The New Masculinity. The focus is on what it takes today to be a good man. Watch for publication in the first half of 2012.

Dr. Johnson offers individual therapy as well as men’s groups in two locations, Woodland Hills and Beverly Hills, plus annual fall and spring retreats. Contact him at www.DrStephenJohnson.com and www.MensCenterLosAngeles.com.

Michael Gurian's New Book: How Do I Help Him?

Males are underserved in the mental health and helping professions. Boys and men often feel that counselors, therapists, and mental health care professionals are not well informed or educated in what males need. Only one in ten new counselors and social workers is male. The counseling field is losing boys and men at exponential rates, and many parents are faced with taking sons to therapists who don't know how to work with boys as well as girls. How Do I Help Him? addresses the unique needs of boys and men in therapy, counseling and mental health services. Written by Michael Gurian, a mental health counselor for more than twenty years, and one of the world's foremost gender experts, this book provides brain-based gender theory, new science-based practical models, and outcomes-oriented strategic tools for transforming the counseling and psychiatric profession to work better with boys and men. This book is an invaluable resource for parents, as well, if they are taking a boy (or man) into counseling or therapy.

Click HERE for more information.

Daily Om: Who Am I?

The question of who we are is a seed that can bear much fruit if given the chance to unfold.

At some point in our lives, or perhaps at many points in our lives, we ask the question, “Who am I?” At times like these, we are looking beyond the obvious, beyond our names and the names of the cities and states we came from, into the layers beneath our surface identities. We may feel the need for a deeper sense of purpose in our lives, or we may be ready to accommodate a more complex understanding of the situation in which we find ourselves. Whatever the case, the question of who we are is a seed that can bear much fruit.

It can send us on an exploration of our ancestry, or the past lives of our soul. It can call us to take up journaling in order to discover that voice deep within us that seems to know the answers to a multitude of questions. It can draw our attention so deeply inward that we find the spark of spirit that connects us to every living thing in the universe. One Hindu tradition counsels its practitioners to ask the question over and over, using it as a mantra to lead them inevitably into the heart of the divine.

While there are people who seem to come into the world knowing who they are and why they are here, for the most part the human journey appears to be very much about asking this question and allowing its answers to guide us on our paths. So when we find ourselves in the heart of unknowing, we can have faith that we are in a very human place, as well as a very divine one. “Who am I?” is a timeless mantra, a Zen koan ultimately designed to lead us home, into the part of our minds that finally lets go of questions and answers and finds instead the ability to simply be.

Walk-on Punter Offers Inspiration for Free

by Bill Plaschke, Los Angeles Times

Kyle Negrete, who kept alive a scoring drive with a fake punt, has played all season without a scholarship. Yet he says, 'Being a Trojan is worth it.'

The ball was snapped to the USC punter and an old football movie broke out.

He tucked the ball high under his right arm. He pumped his legs as if riding a bike. He began running stiff-backed and straight, pumping, pumping through a giant hole in the stunned Washington defense. Only when the punter had covered nearly half of the field did a Husky finally jump in front of him, but the punter kept pumping, flattening his nemesis as they crashed together into 1940.

His first name is actually Kyle, but you get the grainy picture, a wonderful throwback play that was the turning point in USC's 40-17 romp over Washington on Saturday at the Coliseum. It was cool enough that Negrete's 35-yard gallop on a fake punt early in the second quarter kept alive a drive that ended in a touchdown that started the rout, but there's more.

At the end of one of the most disillusioning weeks in college football history, the USC game turned on a kid who plays for free.

Negrete is a walk-on who has punted all season without a scholarship. His father is paying thousands in tuition to give his son the privilege of calling himself a Trojan.

"But that's how I really feel, that being a Trojan is a privilege,'' Negrete said afterward with a sweaty, bearded smile worth millions. "In a way, playing here without a scholarship defines me."

Amid a college football season that has been all about money and its potentially corrupting power, the Kyle Negrete definition is a startling one.

Negrete has 33 punts and zero athletic dining-hall privileges. He has pinned opponents inside the 20-yard line 17 times, yet he receives zero housing stipend.

The fourth-year junior is the only integral part of this team who has to work part time to help pay the bills, which means that when he's not booming kicks, he's busing tables as a server at the Jacks N Joe restaurant near campus.

"Yeah, sometimes I have to serve some of my teammates," he said. ''It's OK…. What are you going to do?"

USC specialists occasionally begin a season without a scholarship. Yet it is unthinkable that one would be a contributor for a full season and still not get paid. But because USC signed a freshman punter last winter and faces future scholarship sanctions, Negrete's father might have to pay more than $50,000 next season before Kyle could take the field.

The only thing more compelling than this fact is Negrete's reaction to it.

"Being a Trojan is worth it," he says. "I'm blessed and thankful that my father can afford it, because you just cannot beat this place."

It was never more worth it to Negrete than in the second quarter Saturday when fullback Ross Cumming called for the fake when the Trojans were facing fourth and nine from their 45-yard line. Negrete knew they were probably going to run the play. Before the game, Coach Lane Kiffin had warned him about it while ordering him to slide as soon as he passed the first-down marker.

"He told me, 'No way am I going to slide,' " Kiffin recalled with a laugh.

Sure enough, he didn't slide, running up the middle and into the arms of cornerback Anthony Gobern, whom he promptly turned into a purple and white flapjack.

"No way was I sliding," repeated Negrete. "I haven't seen green grass like that since I was in high school."

Thousands roared for a kid who, like all walk-ons, does not have a biography in the football media guide. The Trojans found their breath, and five plays later Marc Tyler pushed into the end zone for a one-yard touchdown run to give them a 14-3 lead.
"My run felt like a crushing blow," Negrete said. "But it wasn't about me, it was about all those guys on the field who cleared the way."

Oh, c'mon, let's let Negrete feel as though he did a little crushing, just once, OK?

He is a Fresno kid, the grandson of former Fresno State coach Jim Sweeney, a hard-luck player who spent his first two years at the University of San Diego punting and playing linebacker until back surgery ended his defensive days. He decided to be strictly a punter, and decided he wanted to do it at the home of his childhood Trojans heroes.

He was allowed inside the Trojans' doors last year only because special-teams coach John Baxter was a family friend, then he watched for a season, then he won the job over the summer, and even with no scholarship, he says it immediately felt like home.

"I have never been treated different here because I'm a walk-on," he said. "When they talk about Trojan family, they mean it."

Negrete knows something about family. Before every game, he uses a Magic Marker to draw 5/17/2002 on his left forearm, reminding him of his mother, Patty, who died of breast cancer that day. Under his uniform he wears a white T-shirt that he once gave his mom, reading "Mom's the Bomb."

"I've got a chip on my shoulder to overcome all I've been through," he says. "My mom gave me that toughness."

After the game, it's all tenderness, as he will talk about the game in a phone call to his buddy Joel, a 20-year-old from Fallbrook with autism whom he has mentored for several years in a program he founded at San Diego.

"I'm lucky to be playing for USC, and I want to share that with others," Negrete said.

Lucky to play for USC? No, it is USC that is lucky. In a fake far more impressive than anything Kyle Negrete ran on Saturday, the kid who costs nothing is priceless.

Blind Perspective - Volume 2

by Michael Tapia, longtime member of Sacred Path

[The following article is the second in a chronology of Michael's progressive loss of his eyesight. They form a remarkable story of courage and an indomitable will to live.]

The drive home from the ophthalmologist took an eternity. I had just gone blind temporarily for ten days and had a lot to process. My friend Mauricio was deep in thought, and it felt strange not seeing anything out of the car window. I could hear the traffic around me and sirens in the far distance. Time slowed to a crawl and I was suddenly aware of living in the moment. I broke the silence and asked Mauricio where we might be.

“We’re near Normandie and Melrose,” he said.

“Close to City College?” I asked. I realized we were near the Braille Institute. I recalled I had often avoided blind people. I shuddered with guilt, surprised at my own phobia of people who were different. I counted my blessings that my blindness was temporary.

We arrived at my apartment. Mauricio was very careful to guide me to the living room and my favorite chair.

“Can I get you something to drink?” he asked kindly.

“Sure! How about a bottle of Kendall Jackson Chardonnay 1989?” I asked jokingly.

“There you go again, making light of things,” he said with concern.

“I’ll be fine. I just have to get in touch with my inner ‘Helen’ - you know – Helen Keller?” I said, goading him.

Just then, my cats jumped onto my lap, meowing with curiosity. Zacky and Momma Girl were brother and sister. I held them tightly and reveled at feeling something I could readily identify and recognize.

I convinced Mauricio that I needed time alone to plan my next ten days of blindness. I sat in my chair, in the silence, cuddled my cats and began to visualize my living room. I slowly got up, trailed the nearest wall, found the bookshelf, another wall, the doorstop, and the short hallway to my bedroom. I stubbed my foot on the nightstand and slowly approached my bed. I visualized the bedroom and the windows still open from the night before. I could smell the jasmine as I curled up against my favorite pillow. I was lying on my side when I felt Zacky jump directly on my thigh, startling me. He crawled higher onto my side and put his paw on my face. I patted his paw and reassured him that we were all going to be just fine. I felt Momma Girl curl up behind me. Nestled by my two Griffins, I squeezed the pillow tightly and wept.

Continued in next issue

Tuesday, November 1, 2011

Director's Message for November 2011

Greetings, Sacred Path Community,

Out of the 55 men who registered for the 24th Annual Fall Sacred Path Men’s Retreat, 51 were able to participate. The age range was from 19 to 81. We had a number of young men in their 20’s who have participated several times in past retreats and show an obvious connection to the community. Along with all of the great men who comprise the Wisdom Council, Andrew and Thomas poured water for Inipi Sweat Lodges, and we welcomed back Grandfather Soldier Bear, a Lakota Elder who came from South Dakota to participate for his second retreat. Dr. Ron Holman gave a presentation on his journey through India to meet Holy men and master teachers. He spoke about the power of setting intentions, and brought a gift of Navapasahanam water for any of the men who wanted to utilize it to anchor their intentions. This highly charged water is credited as being an elixir of life. The story behind the water is most fascinating and can be found in the October blog.

Men traveled from the east coast, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Arizona, South Dakota and outlying areas of California to attend. Clayton Norcross, who had been in Italy for a year and a half, was able to join us before returning to Europe. This was a very powerful retreat, and a lot of deep work took place on the mountain. There were fathers with their sons and the spirit of brotherhood was bountiful.

Mark your calendars for the 25th Annual Sacred Path Call to Adventure Rites of Passage Retreat, April 12-15. This retreat will welcome fathers and sons, uncles and nephews, grandfathers, mentors and young men wanting to be in the presence of good men. We will create a profound experience as we provide some initiation of the younger men into conscious manhood.

Mark your calendars as well for the next Men’s Center event that is scheduled for the weekend of February 18, 2012. It will be open to men and women and will take place at Holy Spirit Retreat Center in Encino. We are considering facilitating a two-day workshop that weekend. We’ll have more information later this month.

We’re bringing Leonard Orr back for an evening presentation on Friday, June 8th, followed by a workshop on Saturday for those wanting to deepen their Conscious Breathing experience, and then an event on Sunday for those that simply want to go through the process. We had 50 in attendance last June and many are working with the recommendations that Leonard offered for making spiritual purification an important part of one’s life.

As we are closing out 2011 and getting ready to enter 2012, a year that promises to present many more changes on the individual as well as global fronts, I want to wish you and your loved ones a very Happy Thanksgiving. In the spirit of giving, please consider making a donation to Sacred Path so that we can provide scholarships for the young men who will attend the Call to Adventure Retreat in April.

In brotherhood,
Stephen

Participants and staff of the Fall 2011 Sacred Path Retreat

Openings Available in Dr. Johnson's Evening Men's Groups

Currently openings are available in Dr. Johnson's Tuesday evening Beverly Hills group and his Wednesday evening Woodland Hills group. To obtain more information, e-mail Dr. J. at: DrJ@DrStephenJohnson.com, or call (818) 348-8948.

Comments on the Fall 2011 Sacred Path "Ashes" Retreat

Dear Brothers,

Some years ago Bob Fimiani gave voice to a sense of separation that I believe we all carry with us up to the mountain - he called it, "The Two Kingdoms". This split has many other names:

Masculine and Feminine
Sacred and Profane
Earthly and Heavenly
Visible and Invisible
Shadow and Light
Mountain and Valley

and so on...I'm sure you're adding to this list even as you read it...

These various distinctions attempt to give expression to a deep and profound sense of separation we carry as a fundamental element of our humanity, as well as a reflection of the journey we are taking, consciously or unconsciously, back home to our Oneness with all Life.

An exquisite result of that explosion we experienced years ago is that it brought this mostly unconscious split back into the light of awareness so we could give it meaningful and mindful attention.

Over the course of this last retreat I repeatedly observed and felt a current of bringing separated pieces back into wholeness. For example, I've noticed that Andrew and Thomas have chosen and worked to be integral parts of the community. When not conducting ceremony they are participating with us. Likewise, various splits between men, within men, between fathers and sons, were all being worked in conscious and extraordinary ways throughout retreat.

While I believe the sense of two kingdoms is inherent (or inherited?) in our nature, I'm delightfully participating with a group of men doing their work to dissolve separation and experience and express the deeper truth of our essential wholeness. I am very grateful. Thank you.

Wopila,
Tom Couper

~~~~~~~

Stephen and other brothers,

Words can’t fully express my gratitude to you, Steve B. and everyone for yet another
profoundly healing and rejuvenating retreat experience...Perhaps the expression on everyone's face can.
Here is the first of what I intend and trust will be a bi-annual group photo taken at 2PM every Sunday before closing ceremony.

Wopela,
Rob Bruce

~~~~~~~

Usually when we gather to end a Retreat there is music, and each man decides when he will leave the Container and return once more to the world below. At the end of this last Retreat, we had no music that was heard by the physical ear; a higher melody was playing. We gathered into a circle within the Container, arms around shoulder or waist; connected in an imperfect circle of life. Within was he who was physically challenged with each step, yet voiced the words of spirit that called the heart and soul. Within was he who was blind to the world; yet saw further than my eyes could see the horizon. Within were recent blooms of manhood with tales of the struggle of being a man, standing beside Redwoods of Life with tales of the glory of age. Within stood representatives of mankind as shown on the Medicine Wheel we studied in physical form and representatives of knowledge both near and far. In the formation of that imperfect circle we were the world in all its harmonious glory: One man holding up another with love, with honor and brotherhood. Tears came to my eyes then as they do now. There are rare moments when human hearts sing the same song – for me that was one of them.

I thank you for a most successful Retreat. It outdid April's. Scott, Tom and Grant - brothers what may I say: wopila, wopila, wopila.

Love,
Phillip Jennings

~~~~~~~

Dear brothers,

This retreat was my first after an absence of several years, and I felt a strong sense of love and belonging that I hadn’t experienced in quite a long time. I was overjoyed to see most of the same men with whom I shared my very first retreat and laughed harder and longer than ever before or since. I felt back at home in the rebuilt lodge that had burned to the ground and had been lovingly replaced. In many ways I needed time away in which to grow and learn to mesh with the spirit of the retreat in a brand new way, with openness, acceptance and a peaceful heart. In the past I was anxious to take the talking stick and speak; this time I was content to listen and soak in the deep energy shared so eloquently in the container. I also had the honor to room with Michael Tapia and learn from his experience in dealing with his vision loss. I’ve never seen a human being so energetic and involved with life! I am so glad to be back at the retreats once more, and just glad to be.

Namaste,
Rich Manners

Blind Perspective - Volume 1

by Michael Tapia, longtime member of Sacred Path

[The following articles comprise a chronology of Michael's progressive loss of his eyesight. They form a remarkable story of courage and an indomitable will to live.]

This is a true story. It was a balmy August night in Silver Lake Hills, California. The year was 1993. Sitting at my desk, I was reviewing my notes from the Rachel Rosenthal workshop I had attended that previous weekend on Performance Art.

All the remarkable people, men and women, living with HIV and AIDS had shared so much talent. What struck me in the notes was Rosenthal’s quote, “Every challenge in life is a prop, and it’s up to us to decide how to react to it.”

I thought of all the people I had served as a hospice worker for five years and all the props they had to negotiate. I crawled into bed and could smell the jasmine I had planted the previous spring. I heard wind chimes singing in the distance and fell asleep smiling.

The next morning I awoke, the mockingbird making a big fuss as usual at 5 AM, when I felt my right eye throb. I opened it, and to my shock, I couldn’t see a thing.

“Oh my God!” I yelled. “What the hell?” I kept blinking, thinking it would clear up somehow, but to no avail. I called my friend Mauricio, and he agreed to take me to the emergency room at Cedars-Sinai. By the time Mauricio had arrived, my other eye began to cloud up and I was totally blind. He helped me into the car in a panic as I tried to calm him down.

The experience was surreal. I thought I’d wake up from this bad dream at any moment. I wasn’t in the darkness one reads about, not some dark void; it was more like a very thick fog with the light trickling through it.

From the ER I was wheeled to the elevator, and I was tempted to feel the Braille by the numbers, but I refused to entertain the thought. Surely I wouldn’t need to learn that. We arrived at the ophthalmologist’s office and waited patiently for my name to be called, and I finally found myself face to face with another invisible doctor. He was rather matter-of-fact when he said, “You have uveitis from an adverse drug combination. Your vision will return in ten days.” I received a prescription for eye drops and was to return in 12 days. He recommended I stay close to home during that time. I reassured him that I wasn’t planning to drive or go dancing anytime soon. He chuckled, and we were on our way home.

“How can you joke at a time like this?” Mauri asked. “Mauri, it’s just a temporary challenge – a prop. We’ll get through this,” I assured him. We drove home. I took a deep breath, reached for his hand. We both grew quiet – the silence was deafening.

(To be continued next issue)

Monday, October 3, 2011

Director's Message for October 2011

Greetings beautiful people of the Sacred Path Community,

"The most beautiful people we have known are those who have known defeat, known suffering, known struggle, known loss, and have found their way out of the depths.

These persons have an appreciation, sensitivity and an understanding of life that fills them with compassion, gentleness, and a deep loving concern. Beautiful people do not just happen.” Elizabeth Kubler-Ross

We are a little under 3 weeks away from the kickoff of the 24th Annual Fall Sacred Path Men’s Retreat. There are some exciting updates to mention that assure that this retreat will be another extraordinary event.

Last month I announced that we were bringing Grandfather Soldier Bear back from the Lakota Reservation in South Dakota. He attended last year and shared the wisdom of the tribal elders. We plan to welcome the men that are 55 and older into the Elder Clan, and Grandfather will officiate that initiatory blessing. We also intend to honor the young men and those in the middle of their life spans who will be with us.

Andrew will be pouring water for our Inipi (sweat lodge) ceremonies and introducing the teachings of the Medicine Wheel. It’s my understanding that Andrew’s cousin, Thomas, will be with us again to pour water and, along with Andrew, offer traditional Lakota doctoring of the men. If you have a health issue (mental, physical or emotional) that has been plaguing you this is a good opportunity to gain some relief and healing.

I’ve also invited my friend, Dr. Ron Holman, to participate. Ron is another remarkable man. He has recently returned from a month-long journey through parts of India visiting teachers and Holy men that are remarkable in their own unique ways. Ron will offer a presentation on Friday night at the retreat chronicling his travels and sharing the intriguing experiences he had along the way. He is also bringing a gift to us that I can attest as being quite powerful. Read in this newsletter about Ron and his last trip to India.

Master drummers Christo and Grant will be maintaining the beat and enlivening the energy. We had one of the most extraordinary drum circles surrounding the fire and fire walk activity last October. We are planning to create a fire ceremony on Friday night that will incorporate elements of traditional Puja ceremonies held in other cultures.

Steve Branker will facilitate the “Love Letter” process to clear 5 areas of emotional congestion. This is especially helpful in getting unstuck, attaining clarity and moving from anger and resentment to forgiveness and loving compassion.

John Mafrici will facilitate the Sacred Breathing (aka Rebirthing) process to offer men an opportunity to move through grief and clean and balance their energy bodies as you release emotional energy pollution and attain a level of bliss. We’re all prone to have to deal with stressful situations these days so it’s great to be able to de-stress and attain a deep state of relaxation and rest.

You will be able to practice Yoga, Mindfulness Meditation and Martial Arts. We will be working with spiritual purification practices featuring the elements of earth, air, water and fire. I believe Herb Rubinstein will be on board once again with his remote controlled planes. Several men have experienced the fun of learning to fly the planes during past retreats. There’s nothing like being able to be a kid again. And, of course, the best part of the retreat is the collection of men that gather together for the purpose of bringing out the best in themselves and each other. There will be men flying in from several areas of the country.

This is just a sampling of what you’ll experience when you join us on retreat commencing October 20th through the 23rd. I hope you’ll favorably consider participating and if you are planning to attend please register now. I know that it’s tempting to wait until the last minute but it does create a lot more work for Annette when we get a flurry of enrollments during the week before the retreat. We have information to get back to you so please send in your registrations now.

On another note, mark your calendar for February 18 and 19. It appears that we’ll be presenting an event for men and women at Holy Spirit Retreat Center. As we work out the details we’ll let you know more. Also, mark your calendar for June 9 and 10. Leonard Orr will be returning to facilitate a day of training for those wanting to become more proficient in Rebirthing others and a day for those that want to experience the Rebirthing process. We will have a public evening on Friday the 8th in which Leonard will present on Spiritual Purification. All of us that participated last June and have altered our lifestyles to incorporate the practices that Leonard advised will have a chance to share what we’ve experienced over the year between his events.

In the spirit of brotherhood I wish you my best,
Stephen

To download the flyer for the Fall 2011 Sacred Path Retreat, click HERE
To download the fill-in application for the Fall 2011 Sacred Path Retreat, click HERE

No Man Left Behind

In the Spirit of No Man Left Behind, I am requesting that you consider making a donation to our scholarship fund. The Conrad Burke Memorial Scholarship Fund was established by one of our men, Mathew Burke, and his family to honor the legacy of their father, Conrad, who had attended a number of our retreats. Conrad graciously and generously supported all of the men in our community through his open and loving participation on retreat. He had become a central father figure and Mathew and the family had donated to us in his memory. Our coffers are now bare and we do have men that would like to attend the retreat but are at low ebb financially. If you will consider giving a minimum of $25, each donation of $25 or more will go directly to supporting a brother in need of financial support making it possible for them to join us. You can make your check out to Sacred Path Scholarship Fund and mail it to: Men’s Center of Los Angeles, Suite 214, 21243 Ventura Blvd., Woodland Hills, CA 91364. If you wish to use your credit card, send us an email message or give us a call at 818-348-9302 and we’ll assist you. I’m including this story below from Daily Om. I think it expresses what we need to consider at this time when resources are scarce for many. Thank you for your generosity.
Stephen

The Wisdom of Sharing
Stone Soup

Imagine a world in which we all shared our gifts and bounty with each other rather than focusing on self-preservation.


There are many variations on the story of stone soup, but they all involve a traveler coming into a town beset by famine. The inhabitants try to discourage the traveler from staying, fearing he wants them to give him food. They tell him in no uncertain terms that there's no food anywhere to be found. The traveler explains that he doesn't need any food and that, in fact, he was planning to make a soup to share with all of them. The villagers watch suspiciously as he builds a fire and fills a cauldron with water. With great ceremony, he pulls a stone from a bag, dropping the stone into the pot of water. He sniffs the brew extravagantly and exclaims how delicious stone soup is. As the villagers begin to show interest, he mentions how good the soup would be with just a little cabbage in it. A villager brings out a cabbage to share. This episode repeats itself until the soup has cabbage, carrots, onions, and beets; indeed a substantial soup that feeds everyone in the village.

This story addresses the human tendency to hoard in times of deprivation. When resources are scarce, we pull back and put all of our energy into self-preservation. We isolate ourselves and shut out others. As the story of stone soup reveals, in doing so, we often deprive ourselves and everyone else of a feast. This metaphor plays out beyond the realm of food. We hoard ideas, love, and energy, thinking we will be richer if we keep to them to ourselves, when in truth we make the world, and ourselves, poorer whenever we greedily stockpile our reserves. The traveler was able to see that the villagers were holding back, and he had the genius to draw them out and inspire them to give, thus creating a spread that none of them could have created alone.

Are you like one of the villagers, holding back? If you come forward and share your gifts, you will inspire others to do the same. The reward is a banquet that can nourish many.

Daily Om: We Don't Need to Suffer

We do not need to suffer or live in poverty to be a spiritual person.


The idea that we have to suffer or live in poverty in order to be spiritual is an old one and can be found in the belief systems of many philosophies. Most of us carry this idea around subconsciously, and we may be holding ourselves back from financial or emotional well-being, believing that this is what we must do in order to be virtuous, spiritually awake, or feel less guilty for the suffering of others.

While it’s true that there can be a spiritual purpose to experiencing a lack of material well-being, it is rarely intended to be a permanent or lifelong experience. What we are meant to find when material or emotional resources are in short supply is that there is more to our lives than the physical realm. Intense relationships and material abundance can distract us from the subtler realm of the spirit, so a time of deficiency can be spiritually awakening. However, once we recognize the realm of spirit, and remember to hold it at the center of our lives, there is no reason to dwell in poverty or emotional isolation. In fact, once our connection to spirit is fully intact, we feel so compelled to share our abundance that lack becomes a thing of the past.

If you find that you are experiencing suffering in some area of your physical life, perhaps your spirit is asking you to look deeper in your search for what you want. For example, if you want money so that you can experience the feeling of security but money keeps eluding you, your spirit may be asking you to understand that security is not to be found through money. Security comes from an unshakable connection to your soul. Once you make that connection, money will probably flow more easily into your life. If relationships elude you, your spirit may be calling you to recognize that the love you seek is not to be found in another person. And yet, ironically, once you find the love, your true love may very well appear. If you feel stuck in suffering to live a spiritual life, try to spend some time writing about it. The root of the problem will appear and it may not be what you expected. Remember, the Universe wants you to be happy.

Dr. Ron Holman, Speaker at the Fall 2011 Retreat

Dr. Ron Holman, President and CEO of the Holman Group, which provides mental health and human resource services to some 1500 organizations, has endured an arduous physical and spiritual journey to arrive at his present position in life.

He was caught up in the addictive lifestyle of the ‘60’s, finally breaking away and entering inpatient treatment for his addiction. During his 6 months of inpatient treatment, he realized that his life’s work was to help others who were on the same path of addiction turn their lives around. He joined AA, and after 15 years of sobriety, began a voyage of self-discovery. He received his PhD in psychology in 1983, and is a licensed MFT who has maintained his sobriety for over 35 years.

Ron began his worldwide search for knowledge as a result of his wife Linda’s illness; she had been diagnosed with stage 4 cirrhosis of the liver. During their wait for a liver transplant, they decided that Ron should begin a journey to obtain information from healers around the planet - medicine men and women, shamans, teachers, gurus, magicians and others – anyone who might be able to help him cure his wife, and due to his ministrations, his wife has remained stable for over 15 years.

Dr. Holman has studied Hindu, Christian, and Buddhist mysticism, and has found that they all lead to the same center, like spokes on a wheel leading to the hub. He has recently returned from a pilgrimage to India and has had many fascinating experiences to share.

To read Dr. Ron's article about his recent trip to India, click HERE

Book Review: Following Ezra

From the Gurian Institute Website

When Tom Fields-Meyer’s son Ezra was a toddler and showing early signs of autism, a therapist suggested that the father allow himself time to mourn. “For what?” he asked. The answer: “For the child he didn’t turn out to be.”

That moment helped strengthen the author’s resolve to do just the opposite: to celebrate the child Ezra was becoming, a singular boy with a fascinating and complex mind. Full of unexpected laughs, poignant moments and remarkable insights, Following Ezra is the riveting story of a father and son on a ten-year adventure, from Ezra’s diagnosis to the dawn of his adolescence. An engaging account of a father gradually uncovering layers of a puzzle, it rejoices in each new discovery and exults in the boy’s evolution from a remote toddler to an extraordinary young man, connected to the world in his own astounding ways.

Starting with the earliest indications that his son’s mind worked in unique and fascinating ways, the father describes in detail the challenges of autism, as well as his son’s often astonishing traits: his astounding memory, his deep connection with dogs and other animals, his obsessions with animated movies and breakfast cereals. He also reveals, with sensitivity and heart, the complexities of raising such a child within a family.

Unlike other parenting memoirs, Following Ezra isn’t about a battle against a disease, nor is it a clinical account of searching for doctors, therapies or miracle diets. Instead, Fields-Meyer describes—with humor and tenderness—the wondrous, textured, and often surprising life one experiences in raising a unique child. It’s a worthwhile and poignant read that will inspire parents to listen to, follow and celebrate their own children.

To link to the Gurian Institute website, click HERE
For more information about the book, click HERE

The Perfect Man Cave




The Real Reason Behind the 2012 Scare

Saturday, September 3, 2011

Director's Message for September 2011

September 2011

Greetings, Sacred Path Community,

There are some important changes to announce regarding the upcoming retreat next month. Our special guest presenter, Tolly Burkan, informed us that he would not be able to participate due to a medical condition requiring a surgical procedure. I had been in discussion with Charles Horton of FIRE, and we decided to not bring the fire walk, glass walk and other elements that they facilitate from their home base in Texas at this time. Due to this change of plans we’re reducing the price of the retreat from $495 to $425.

We are bringing Grandfather Soldier Bear back from the Lakota Reservation to officiate some ceremony initiating men into Mindful manhood. Andrew and Thomas will be pouring water for our lodges and doctoring all of the men and offering some formidable teachings and ceremony from the Lakota traditional ways. You will find in this newsletter what Grandfather taught us last year regarding the 7 essential standards for manhood in the Lakota community. We envision that men from Andrew’s Buffalo Warrior Society will join us on the hill. Perhaps some men from the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota will accompany Grandfather.

Please keep in mind that we are first and foremost a community of men. I stress the word “community” because we are not just in the business of putting on retreats. We have been offering our Sacred Path Retreats for the past 24 years. Since that time we have grown into a community of men that gather together for the purpose of putting our lives on track by following a Devotional Path. As we continue to expand our Mindfulness, strengthen our fellowship and recommit to our families, it’s apparent that we’re living the good life. We are in fact examples of our mission statement, “Bringing good men together and bringing out the best in them.”

Our community has thrived for almost 25 years, enjoying easy times and enduring tough times. Many of our men have handled their own troubles in large part because they have had this community to lean on and have experienced the support and love of brothers that understand and care. We are witnessing more young men come into our ranks now. They need what we have to offer and we are learning from them. They’re finding their own places with us.

The theme of this retreat is A Time of Ashes: Initiation into Mindful Manhood on the Path of the Spiritual Warrior. You can read about “ashes work” in a separate piece included in this newsletter. On the hill we’ll unite to create ritual ceremony to commemorate rites of passage for all of the men spanning the ages from youth to Elder. We can create ceremony for the young men that are finding their way in the world. We can create ceremony for the men in the middle of their lives that are traversing the tricky passage through midlife. We know how important the community can be when one is journeying through the dark part of the forest. Older men have much to offer to the men in the middle. That time of the dark night of the soul can be harrowing, and not having to go it alone can certainly bolster one’s spirits when the light at the end is hard to see.

As older men cross over into Elderhood we need to recognize accomplishments. We need to welcome our older men into the generational kingdom of the Elders. Grandfather Soldier Bear is the perfect Elder to initiate us into this higher realm of devotion. As a community we have witnessed many trials and tribulations and have been learning the lessons taught by each of the three levels of manhood.

I will facilitate a process that will bring into focus the significance of life’s lessons. It should clarify the timeframe that we have for accomplishing our destinies. There will be a variety of breakout sessions and a couple of surprises. Men have told me that they’re bringing new men with them. Our numbers were down for the April retreat because we had 14 men who needed to drop out due to the flu. Let’s boost our numbers in October. Invite one or more men to accompany you. Forward this newsletter and print out the PDF of the flier to hand out. Let’s join together to create the best retreat ever.

In brotherhood,
Stephen

To download the flyer for the Fall 2011 Sacred Path Retreat, click HERE
To download the fill-in application for the Fall 2011 Sacred Path Retreat, click HERE

A Time of Ashes: Initiation into Mindful Manhood

The Path of the Spiritual Warrior

The title and inherent theme of this retreat is: A Time of Ashes: Initiation into Mindful Manhood on the Path of the Spiritual Warrior. Robert Bly in his groundbreaking book about men, Iron John, published over 20 years ago, took up the issue of naïveté, numbness, depression and katabasis in the chapter titled The Road of Ashes, Descent, and Grief.

The Greeks spoke of katabasis as an abrupt drop when a man no longer feels like a special person. Bly states that these days katabasis comes about through addiction to alcohol, drugs, food, sex, etc. “The man loses his health and ends up with thin legs, flat energy, deprived of wife and children, deprived of friends, house, money. He loses his job, self-respect, and every mark of his former art and life.”

Bly goes on to say that in the nineteenth century, men characteristically failed to notice the female suffering, and in this century, men have added another inattention: they characteristically have failed to notice their own suffering. Men endeavor to stay above it, away from it rather than dealing with it by going down and into it, to learn from it. He encourages men to take the downward path as an elective to avoid the crisis or potential disaster that can arise from katabasis. Depression is a form of katabasis. The epidemic of anxiety is wreaking havoc in the lives of millions of men. Exploring one’s grievances and getting in touch with one’s grief can be the antidote.

It appears that psyche arranges a severe katabasis if the man does not know enough to go down on his own. Bly suggests that, “With intitiators gone from our culture, we do not receive instruction on how to go down on our own... To live the life of ashes is very different from dropping into katabasis. It doesn’t require a fall in social status. It is not so explosive; there is something about ashes that is steady, even lethargic... Ashes and cinders in fairy tales are code words for the ashy, sooty, depressed, ‘out of it’ time.”

“The word ashes contains in it a dark feeling for death; ashes when put on the face whiten it as death does...some men around thirty-five or forty will begin to experience ashes privately, without ritual, even without old men. They begin to notice how many of their dreams have turned to ashes.”

Bly gives us, “...By contrast, the old men in traditional initiation lead the young men to the Beneath Father, near where the ancestors live and where snakes are... Initiation asks the son to move his love energy away from the attractive mother to the relatively unattractive serpent father. All that is ashes-work. When a man enters this stage he regards Descent as a holy thing, he increases his tolerance for ashes, eats dust as snakes do, increases his stomach for terrifying insights, deepens his ability to digest evil facts of history, accepts the job of working seven years under the ground, leaves the granary at will through the rat’s hole, bites on cinders, learns to shudder, and follows the voice of the old mole below the ground.”

When we reach crossroads in life, we all search for answers differently. In one of the daily lessons in Science of Mind: A Guide for Spiritual Living, I read that when Jesus was facing the fateful hours preceding the culmination of his destiny he paced in the garden. Joseph Campbell went to a cabin for five years, the Buddha sat under a tree, some of us meditate or pray, others listen to music, and still others walk in nature. There is not just one way. What is important is that we make some time to go deep within to seek our answers. A retreat from the world offers that time.

Campbell writes that a young Native American was given this advice at the time of his initiation: “As you go the way of life, you will see a great chasm. Jump. It’s not as wide as you think.” We can become what we imagine if we have the courage to move into our dreams. Our October retreat offers you that opportunity.

This upcoming retreat will, for the 24th year in a row, bring together good men to bring out the best in them. We’ll assemble about 25 staff members and upwards of 75 participants. We dedicate this time for gathering the men of our community to receive great gifts. What can result from leaving your homeland and coming up on the mountain can make an immeasurable difference in your life. Those of you that have been here before know that to be true. Your homecoming will commemorate that which can be gained by your taking the path of ashes and doing good work in the way of the spiritual warrior. We’ll experience time for descent and ascent; time for self-reflection and expression; time for solitude and engagement; time to laugh and to cry; time for work and for play and ultimately time to bring out the best in your self.

Grandfather Soldier Bear will return from the Lakota Reservation in South Dakota to be with us again this year bringing the tribal teachings of manhood and will conduct a formal initiation into Elderhood. I know that our Lakota brothers, Andrew Soliz and Thomas Alvarez, will be pouring water for our Sweat Lodges. John Mafrici will travel down from Oregon to facilitate our Sacred Breathing Sessions. MCLA Associate Directors Steve Branker and Dan Franklin will be by my side to take the helm on guiding the flow of this retreat. Master drummers Christo Pellani and Grant Mays will build the energy. The devoted men of the Wisdom Council will be present as Tribe Leaders and to be of service as needed. Even though we assemble a coterie of remarkable teachers, it’s you and all of the other men that comprise the Sacred Path Community that render these retreats so successful. It’s not uncommon to hear the same comment year after year, “this retreat was the best.”

To download the flyer for the Fall 2011 Sacred Path Retreat, click HERE
To download the fill-in application for the Fall 2011 Sacred Path Retreat, click HERE

A Message from Andrew Soliz

Dear Brothers,

I am happy to say that once again we will be running sweats for the upcoming retreat in October. This will be our seventh year doing ceremony together. I have been honored to bring my loved ones to share their teachings as well. I hope to bring my cousin Thomas with me as well as Soldier Bear/Grandfather.

Since we met last, I have put together teachings from indigenous warrior societies from around the world with an emphasis on Native American cultures. I am grateful to say that Stephen has asked me to share this with the community this fall. We will be learning the Medicine wheel and its use as a tool in our lives for healing and direction.

The Medicine Wheel is a tool, a map of life and for life. It symbolizes the individual journey we all must take to find our own path. It is a physical manifestation of Spiritual energy, an outer expression of an internal dialog. It allows us to see what is going on inside us. It helps us with our vision to see exactly where we are and in which areas we need to develop to reach our full potential.

Along with an ancestral healing process and healing from the sweat lodges this will be a retreat of profound impact for us all. I look forward to seeing everyone again.

Peace,
Andrew

The Seven Ways of Life

By Grandfather Soldier Bear

1. WACEKIYE - Prayer to and for all of creation. Pray every morning and thank Creator for giving us another day. Before sleep time, thank Creator for giving us a good day. "Anpetu wasteh” means “good morning” in Lakota. Always remember and pray before meals. Pray that people will have open minds before meetings – we call meetings “omniciye”.

2. WAOKIYE – Be helpful to children and elders, and help every person in whatever way you can. We call children “wakaneza”. “Wakan” means sacred as well as meaning The Creator. As Lakotas, we chastise anyone who harms a child.

3. WAUNSILA – literal translation is to have pity for, to have empathy or compassion for someone. The compassion for a fellow human goes further and includes all of the living creatures in our universe.

4. WOWICAKEHonesty in all that you do and say. Be true to yourself and speak of things you know to be true. Not being honest with oneself is self-deception. Many things are the same - light and dark, heat and cold – these are the same thing and are different in degree only. Honesty and dishonesty are not the same – a lie is a lie and the truth is the truth.

5. WAOHOLARespect for all of the Creator’s children, i.e. mankind and all of the things in nature. Have and show respect for your elders. Especially have respect for the women, for they are your grandmothers, mothers, sisters and wives. Be like a man and protect women; never abuse them mentally, physically or spiritually. If you do, you will no longer be a man. That is our belief as Lakotas. I hope that every man could witness what happens when danger threatens a herd of elk or buffalo. [ed. - The males encircle the females and calves, horns facing outward, protecting them with their lives.]

6. WOKSAPAWisdom, knowledge that can help mankind. Wisdom does not come with age or with the accumulation of knowledge. Wisdom is the process of applying what knowledge you have in a good way for the benefit of your fellow man.

7. WAHWALAHumility is recognizing that in comparison to the Creator we know very little and understand even less. When we practice the first five ways and understand the significance of them in a spiritual manner, we may gain a little wisdom. When we actually use our wisdom to help someone and we do it without expecting any acknowledgment from anyone, and we do it with heart, then and only then will they say, “He is a humble person.” I have never heard a truly humble man say that he was humble.

Thursday, August 4, 2011

Director's Message for August 2011

Greetings Sacred Path Community,

Do you ever stop to consider the risks you tend to take or avoid in the process of navigating the day-to-day trajectory of your life? We humans are called on to make decisions on a daily basis that contain some element of risk. Even getting in the car and traveling a few blocks is not without some risk. There are those of us that are natural risk-takers or thrill seekers, and on the other end of the spectrum we find those of us that are considered risk-avoidant. Where do you believe you fall along this continuum?

Life seems to be predicated on a series of transactions that either maximize the potential for risking successfully or mitigate the pitfalls associated with the less than favorable consequences from a risk gone awry. How do you navigate this process? Do you find it relatively easy, inconsequential, or quite challenging to take the necessary steps to stretch out of your comfort zone? What’s at stake when you decide to take the risk to do something perhaps new or bold or daring?

I reflected on this the other day after reading the morning lesson in Daily OM, titled Risking to Take a Chance. The message contained the following information:

“If you are considering taking risks today, you may find the following exercise helpful: Give some thought to times in the past when you have taken on new challenges or responsibilities. Think about the adjustments you made to meet your new obligations. Recall how this experience helped you to grow and achieve your goals. This exercise can motivate you to push through with your risk-taking impulses. 

Reflecting on the times we succeeded in taking risks can give us the confidence we need to take chances in the present. We have a wealth of blessings in our lives now that came about because we were willing to take a risk. Though we had no way of knowing how our risks would turn out, we used our knowledge and a measure of faith to move ahead into the unknown. In hindsight we can appreciate that our willingness led us to successful outcomes. Remember the good that has manifested in your life as a result of the risks you’ve taken, and you will have the confidence you need to take more chances today.”

When you reflect on attending the Fall Sacred Path Men’s Retreat, do you consider the stakes or what might be at risk by participating? For newcomers, the risk might be connected to the unknown. For others, it might have to do with some component of the retreat that carries an element of risk. Maybe it’s to open up and communicate something authentic about yourself to the other men, or perhaps it’s to take the first step onto a path you never thought you’d be able to cross. What are you willing to relinquish in order to allow change to occur? Maybe the risk has more to do with what might be activated at home or at work as a result of your taking the time away for yourself from your normal activities. Maybe there is what you risk in not going to the retreat that contains aspects of loss, disconnection, isolation and loneliness. So, there may exist risk in going as well as the potential risk of not going.

As you contemplate whether you are registering for the retreat or not, please do give careful consideration to what you risk by going or not going as the case may be. I hope that you will conclude that the risk of staying away outweighs the risk of taking the leap of faith and joining your brothers for this community event. You just may discover that what you risk can be hazardous to your misery.

Read about what we are putting together for this retreat and let Spirit move you accordingly. I know it’s going to be great, now discover it for your self.

In brotherhood,
Stephen

To read about the upcoming retreat, click HERE
To download the fill-in application, click HERE

Openings Available in Dr. Johnson's Evening Men's Groups

Openings are now available in Dr. Stephen Johnson's evening men's therapy/support groups. There is one space available on Tuesday night in Beverly Hills, and two openings are available on Wednesday night in Woodland Hills. For more information, call Dr. Johnson at 818-348-8948 or e-mail drj@drstephenjohnson.com.

Tuesday, August 2, 2011

Men in Grief Seek Others Who Mourn as They Do

By PERRY GARFINKEL

In 1990, Sam and Gretchen Feldman cashed out on their share of a national chain of men’s apparel stores and retired to Martha’s Vineyard, Mass. There, they devoted their time to volunteer work and an active social calendar. The following years were golden ones for the Feldmans, but in 2007 Mrs. Feldman learned she had cancer. She died a year later. The Feldmans had been married 53 years, and Mr. Feldman’s grief was palpable to friends who knew him as a buoyant, resilient personality.
“There was a huge hole in my life that no amount of activity could replace,” said Mr. Feldman, now 82. “And except for my two daughters, there was no one I could turn to for solace.”

There was a local bereavement group for spouses, but Mr. Feldman opted out when he learned it consisted only of women.
“I just didn’t think women would relate to my pain,” he said. “And, frankly, I come from a generation that feels uncomfortable exposing our sadness and vulnerability to the opposite sex.” The loss of a loved one is a profoundly heartbreaking experience, but it is not the same for everyone. Research increasingly suggests that men and women experience grief in different ways, and the realization has bolstered a nascent movement of bereavement groups geared to men throughout the country. Many of them are affiliated with hospitals and hospice centers.

Concern about reaching men in grief has gained new urgency with shifting demographics. The number of men age 65 and older increased by 21 percent from 2000 to 2010, nearly double the 11.2 percent growth rate for women in that age group, according to census figures. As the gender gap in life span narrows, experts suggest that more men will be facing the loss of loved ones, particularly spouses.

Many will be not be prepared for the experience. The loss of a spouse often is crushing for men physically as well as psychologically. In a 2001 paper published in The Review of General Psychology, psychologists at the University of Utrecht in the Netherlands confirmed earlier data showing widowers have a higher incidence of mental and physical illness, disabilities, death and suicide than widows do. While women who lose their husbands often speak of feeling abandoned or deserted, widowers tend to experience the loss “as one of dismemberment, as if they had lost something that kept them organized and whole,” Michael Caserta, chairman of the Center for Healthy Aging at the University of Utah, said by e-mail.

The Harvard Bereavement Study, a landmark late 1960s investigation of spousal loss, found that widowers experienced the death of a wife as a multifaceted tragedy, a loss of protection, support and comfort that left many at sea. The men in the study relied heavily on their wives to manage their domestic lives, from household chores to raising their children, the researchers noted. The grief of men is compounded, Dr. Caserta added, by the fact that so many have been reluctant to directly address real feelings of deep sadness; until recently, men were expected to be emotionally controlled and inexpressive. Simply persuading grief-stricken men to attend a bereavement group is still no small challenge.

“While there’s strong indication that grief therapy helps men, historically men generally don’t join groups,” Phyllis Silverman, a grief researcher and an author of “Widower: When Men Are Left Alone,” said in a telephone interview.
There are also differences in the length of time men grieve, compared with women, and how long it takes to move on. An old axiom that “women mourn, men replace” turns out to be untrue.

“It used to be thought that men grieve acutely and heal more quickly, and that women grieve chronically over a longer time period,” said George A. Bonanno, a clinical psychology professor at Columbia University in New York. But now, Dr. Bonanno said, many researchers believe that grief follows a more complex pattern in both men and women. “No matter what sex, we oscillate between positive and negative emotions, between waves of sadness about the loss and hope for the future,” he said in a telephone interview. “This can be frustrating for men, who often seek the ‘quick-fix’ approach.”

Sherry Schachter, director of bereavement services at Calvary Hospital in the Bronx and a grief specialist for 25 years, said in a telephone interview: “While women grieve intuitively, open to expressing their feelings, men are ‘instrumental’ grievers. They’re not comfortable with talking about their feelings, and they prefer to do things to cope.”
In a men’s group she has run for the last few years, she said, “I never ask, ‘How do you feel?’ Rather, I ask, ‘What did you do?’ ”
In some cases, what men are doing is taking grief counseling into their own hands. Mr. Feldman started a biweekly bereavement group for widowers on Martha’s Vineyard, and two years ago spearheaded the Men’s Bereavement Network, a nonprofit organization seeking to establish and support grief groups for men nationwide. The network is helping to establish bereavement groups for men in places as diverse as DePere, Wis.; Clearwater, Fla.; and Danvers, Mass.

At a recent peer-led gathering of the Martha’s Vineyard group begun by Mr. Feldman, eight men in their late 40s to late 80s sat around the dining room table at the home of the session leader, Foster Greene. Dr. George Cohn, a local psychiatrist, sat alongside, for the most part a silent observer.
A retired fisherman, at 85 one of the older members of the group, spoke in a low voice, looking mostly into his coffee cup. His wife of 54 years died in 2010.
“I don’t know about you guys,” he said, quickly glancing around the table of men, “but for me it gets harder, not easier.” The other men nodded.
Later Dr. Cohn said, “Sometimes that’s all a man wants or needs — a sympathetic ear.”

Daily Om: Staying Conscious

Staying Grounded in a Big City or Busy World

For a more grounded life, choose not to get caught up in the fast-paced world around you.


1. Live simply and live deliberately. By choosing not to get caught up in the details of this fast-paced world, you are doing your part to slow down. You will discover that you have more time to enjoy being alive.

2. Stay in touch with yourself. Soul searching, meditation, and journaling are just a few of the many activities you can take part in to stay aware and learn as much as you can about your emotions, reactions, likes, dislikes, dreams, and fears. Having a solid sense of self gives you a firm foundation for living in this world.

3. Support or teach others as often as you can. This can help you form connections with people while also giving you an opportunity to make the world a better place.

4. Consciously choose what you will allow into your being. The media bombards us with visions of hate, war, and pain. Be judicious about what you read, watch, and listen to.

5. Acknowledge the beauty that resides around you. Whether you live in a sprawling metropolis or a stereotypical suburb, there are natural and man-made wonders just waiting to be discovered by you.

6. Nurture your ties to your tribe. If you don’t have one, create a community that you can belong to. Modern life can be isolating. When you have a tribe, you have a circle that you are a part of. Its members – loved ones, friends, or neighbors - can be a source of support, caring, guidance, and companionship.

7. See the larger picture. Remember the way that you choose to live is not the only way to live. Widen your perspective by exploring other modes of being through research, travel, and discussion.

8. Embrace the challenges that life presents to you, and challenge yourself often. After a time, even the most exciting jobs or lifestyles can seem routine. Never stop assimilating new knowledge about whatever you are doing, and your life will never seem dull.

9. Move your body. In this busy world, it can be easy to live a sedentary life. Movement reacquaints us with our bodies and connects us to the earth in a visceral way. It also restores our vitality.

10. Make time for stillness, silence, and solitude. The world can be noisy, and we are subject to all kinds of noises nearly every waking hour. We are also often “on the go” and unable to relax. Being alone in a peaceful place and making time for quiet can help you stay in touch with yourself.

Jeff Passero: KIKI BABY Invitation

Dear Brothers,

As you may know, my wife and I are producing the new Lonny Price musical "KIKI BABY," an absurdist musical about a child singing sensation and the desperate adults who hitch themselves to her money-making star. KIKI BABY has been invited to participate in the 2011 NY Musical Theatre Festival (NYMF) this fall. NYMF, the largest musical theatre festival in the world, is to new musicals what Sundance is to independent films.

Unfortunately, the cost of a production in this festival is at least $50,000, and so we are asking for your help to make this production happen! We are having a fundraiser on Saturday, AUGUST 13th at Hollywood Piano, 1033 Hollywood Way Burbank, CA 91505 from 6-9pm and we really hope you will come. It’ll be a fabulous evening of cocktails, dinner, a silent auction and great entertainment!

As my friends from the Men’s Retreats, we are offering you a half-price special of $65 per ticket. And if you bring a friend, the price drops to $50 per person!

We hope you’ll be able to attend our fundraiser, but if you can’t, won’t you please consider making a tax-deductible contribution to the NY Musical Theatre Festival to help underwrite this production of KIKI BABY?

Thank you!

All the best,
Jeff Passero

*NYMF is a non-profit 501(c)(3), so donations are tax deductible. Go to NYMF.org/KIKIBABY for more info.

To download the fundraiser invitation, click HERE

Tuesday, July 5, 2011

Director's Message for July 2011

July 2011
Greetings Sacred Path Community,

We are launching the promotion for the 24th Annual Sacred Path Men’s Retreat now to provide a preview of what we’re planning and to give you a jump on registering for this exciting event. You’ll receive the flyer/application in your e-mail shortly. We’re offering an array of safely challenging elements that will comprise this Spiritual Warrior Community gathering.

The title and inherent theme of this retreat is: A Time of Ashes: Initiation into Mindful Manhood on the Path of the Spiritual Warrior. Robert Bly in his groundbreaking book about men, Iron John, published over 20 years ago took up the issue of naïveté, numbness, depression and katabasis in the chapter titled The Road of Ashes, Descent, and Grief.

The Greeks spoke of katabasis as an abrupt drop when a man no longer feels like a special person. Bly states that these days katabasis comes about through addiction to alcohol, drugs, food, sex, etc. “The man loses his health and ends up with thin legs, flat energy, deprived of wife and children, deprived of friends, house, money. He loses his job, self-respect, and every mark of his former art and life.”

Bly goes on to say that in the nineteenth-century, men characteristically failed to notice the female suffering and in this century men have added another inattention: they characteristically have failed to notice their own suffering. Men endeavor to stay above it, away from it, rather than dealing with it by going down and into it, to learn from it. He encourages men to take the downward path as an elective to avoid the crisis or potential disaster that can arise from katabasis. Depression is a form of katabasis. The epidemic of anxiety is wreaking havoc in the lives of millions of men. Exploring one’s grievances and getting in touch with one’s grief and can be the antidote.

It appears that psyche arranges a severe katabasis if the man does not know enough to go downward on his own. Bly suggests that, “With intitiators gone from our culture, we do not receive instruction on how to go downward on our own... To live the life of ashes is very different from dropping into katabasis. It doesn’t require a fall in social status. It is not so explosive; there is something about ashes that is steady, even lethargic...Ashes and cinders in fairy tales are code words for the ashy, sooty, depressed, ‘out of it’ time.”

“The word ashes contains in it a dark feeling for death; ashes when put on the face whiten it as death does...some men around thirty-five or forty will begin to experience ashes privately, without ritual, even without old men. They begin to notice how many of their dreams have turned to ashes.”

Bly gives us, “...By contrast, the old men in traditional initiation lead the young men to the Beneath Father, near where the ancestors live and where snakes are...Initiation asks the son to move his love energy away from the attractive mother to the relatively unattractive serpent father. All that is ashes work. When a man enters this stage he regards Descent as a holy thing, he increases his tolerance for ashes, eats dust as snakes do, increases his stomach for terrifying insights, deepens his ability to digest evil facts of history, accepts the job of working seven years under the ground, leaves the granary at will through the rat’s hole, bites on cinders, learns to shudder, and follows the voice of the old mole below the ground.”

When we reach crossroads in life, we all search for answers differently. In one of the daily lessons in Science of Mind: A Guide for Spiritual Living, I read that when Jesus was facing the fateful hours preceding the culmination of his destiny he paced in the garden. Joseph Campbell went to a cabin for five years, the Buddha sat under a tree, some of us meditate or pray, others listen to music, and still others walk in nature. There is not just one way. What is important is that we make some time to go deep within to seek our answers. A retreat from the world offers that time.

Campbell writes that a young Native American was given this advice at the time of his initiation: “As you go the way of life, you will see a great chasm. Jump. It’s not as wide as you think.” We can become what we imagine if we have the courage to move into our dreams. Our October retreat offers you that opportunity.

This upcoming retreat will, for the 24th year in a row, bring together good men to bring out the best in them. We’ll assemble about 25 staff members and upwards of 75 participants. We dedicate this time for gathering the men of our community to receive great gifts. What can result from leaving your homeland and coming up on the mountain can make an immeasurable difference in your life. Those of you who have been here before know that to be true. Your homecoming will commemorate what can be gained by your taking the path of ashes and doing good work in the way of the spiritual warrior. We’ll experience time for descent and ascent; time for self-reflection and expression; time for retreat and engagement; time to laugh and to cry; time for work and for play; and ultimately, time to bring out the best in your self.

I believe that Grandfather Soldier Bear will return from the Lakota Reservation in South Dakota to be with us again this year bringing the tribal teachings of manhood and to conduct a formal initiation into Elderhood. I know that our Lakota brothers, Andrew Soliz and Thomas Alvarez, will be pouring water for our Sweat Lodges. John Mafrici will travel down from Oregon to facilitate our Sacred Breathing Sessions. MCLA Associate Directors Steve Branker and Dan Franklin will be by my side to take the helm on guiding the flow of this retreat. The devoted men of the Wisdom Council will be present as Tribe Leaders and to be of service as needed. Even though we assemble a coterie of remarkable teachers, it’s you and all of the other men that comprise the Sacred Path Community that render these retreats so successful. It’s not uncommon to hear the same comment year after year, “this retreat was the best.”

In addition to the Community Gatherings, the Tribe Meetings, the Conscious Connected Breathing Sessions, the Inipi Sweat Lodge Ceremonies, the Recovery Meetings, the passion of the drums and the delicious meals to name a few of the highlights, we are bringing back, by popular demand, Charles Horton and his F.I.R.E. team from Texas to facilitate another Fire Walk, Broken Glass Walk, Board Breaking Feat and perhaps a couple of other amazing breakthrough processes. And, our very special guest presenter is Tolly Burkan, the father of the Fire Walk. Read about Tolly later in this newsletter.

The fee for this retreat is $495. Over the years I’ve had men tell me just before the retreat occurs that they don’t have the money to register. We have done what we could to make it possible for those men to participate. With job losses and the downturn in the economy it has been very challenging for many, and we do need to prioritize where are money goes these days. And yet I find that there are those that seem to have difficulty budgeting finances under any and all conditions. Handling one’s money issues is one of the cornerstones comprising personal accountability, independence, autonomy and self-sustainability.

A few weeks ago I recommended that you get out a piggy bank and make donations to yourself each week so that your fee for the retreat is handled by the time the retreat arrives. It’s a really good strategy for those who wish to effortlessly deal with the finances in preparation for the retreat. At the time there were 20 weeks prior to the fall retreat. If you had made a commitment to put away $25 each week commencing at the point of my recommendation, the retreat would be fully paid for by the time it occurs. In fact you’d already have about $150 in place by now. If you start saving today you’ll need to set aside about $35 to $40 per week to have it covered. Chunk down the cost in bite size portions to make it more palatable.

Please don’t let money hold you back from attending. Money is the cheapest way to pay, and your life is more valuable than the money that you will invest to participate in a potentially life-changing experience. Amortize the cost in relationship to the value attained for the rest of your life. If you can sit in a sweat lodge, tell your truth to a community of men, walk across shards of broken glass or across burning coals, what else can you do?

Many men have told me about breakthroughs in their lives since the last fall retreat, and that includes enhancement of their prosperity and abundance. Consider sending in your deposit this month confirming your commitment to attend and reserving your place. The retreat begins when you make the commitment to be on the mountain with your brothers. I’m envisioning between 80-100 in attendance. The men that attended last October are coming back and have indicated that they are bringing family members and friends with them. Charles and his F.I.R.E. organization have already enrolled a dozen participants. Jump on board; join in the fun; you won’t regret that you did.

In the spirit of brotherhood,
Stephen