Rites of Passage
Men's Vision Quest, October 22-30, 2011
With tuition based on Gift Community principles--see below.

 

 

Mike Bodkin 

 Mike

 

Munro

Munro

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   Rites of Passage

PO Box 2061

Santa Rosa, CA

95405

707-537-1927

Men's Vision Quest

October 22-30 

Funeral Mountains, Death Valley National Park

Staff: Mike Bodkin & Munro Sickafoose

Tuition:  $400, plus optional gift from the heart 

 

Funeral Mountains
Funeral Mts.

Are you feeling a call to quest? To discover your wild soul? To be initiated as a man? If so, join us in a deep, challenging and transformative rite of passage over 9 days, including 3 full days of solo time in nature.

 

We'll present tools from both indigenous and Western cultures, including the use of Council, teachings from the Medicine Wheel, and men's practices for the Vision Quest. We'll help you to clarify your purpose and focus your intent, and we'll prepare you to be safe during the solo time. This program, which is held in a powerful circle of men's community, opens a doorway to self-knowledge, self-acceptance and the capacity to give of your deepest gifts. 

 

The men's quest will be co-led by Mike Bodkin, the Director of Rites of Passage, and Munro Sickafoose, a husband, father, and men's group leader.   We have chosen to offer this program based on the idea of a "Gift Economy."  We wish to use this program to practice giving and receiving from the heart, with no set obligation. With this approach, reciprocity is a key element.  We will charge only $400 upfront, just to cover our basic costs.  At the end of the program, we'll invite members of the quest group to consider their ability to pay, value received, and willingness to support our work in the world, and to offer a reciprocal gift for what has been received.  This will be an opportunity to give without any coercion or expectation.  
 

This is the second program that Rites of Passage has offered in this way; the first was our Rocky Mountain Vision Quest in July.  The generosity and beauty of that experiment convinced us to present the Men's Vision Quest on the same principles.  As we stated then, this moves us away from the economic values prevalent in our culture and closer to an indigenous viewpoint, relying on the flow of each person's gifts to balance the circle.  It's an exciting opportunity for us to learn more about living our gifts as guides, building community, and trusting the Great Mystery to take care of everyone.  

 

Thanks to Bill Kauth for the lessons in Gift Community.

 

For more information, visit our website at

www.ritesofpassagevisionquest.org

Feedback from the Men's Vision Quest

 

Men's Quest

The Vision Quest experience has allowed me to access a deeper understanding of myself and how I am able to contribute to my own growth as a person and to the growth of those close to me.  The time spent in the bush allowed me to connect with the earth and through that connection take me to a higher level of consciousness.  The experience will have a lasting imprint on my being.  Thank you to Mike and Rob [co-leaders] for their insight and wisdom.

     --Michael Griffiths

        LEAP Management Consultants

 

I was feeling a bit lost in my life.  Even with all the activity such as work, family, friends and community interests.  Something just wasn't quite right. After the quest, I feel settled within myself, my self-confidence has been restored and my love of life has been reaffirmed in a way that really means something to me. I highly recommend the experience to anyone who feels the call.
     --Chuck Reimal

 

This program was a wonderful hugely transformative journey that I enjoyed very much.  I thoroughly recommend it for those seeking self-knowledge, acceptance and clarifying the way ahead.
     --David Mallard

        Australia Post


       

Munro's article on Men's Vision Quest

 

I fasted ceremonially for the first time at the age of 40.  Although far past physical adolescence, there was a part of me that felt like I had not really grown up yet.  I was scared to spend those days and night alone on the mountain, and even more scared that I would not be able to do it, that I would somehow fail. 

 

The first evening I was greeted by a violent desert thunderstorm, and the rain and lightning kept me awake much of the night.  I finally slept from exhaustion, and woke to deep silence under a brilliant moon and a black sky laced with fat white clouds on a stately wind-swept journey to the south.  The four days passed faster than I could have imagined.  In the end, I left the mountain like one of those clouds - light and airy, suspended between heaven and earth - and feeling very, very alive.

 

Follow this link to read more.... 

 

Mike: some thoughts on men's inititation

 

When I was in South Africa a few years ago, I had the opportunity to ask a Khosa man about his culture's initiation ceremonies into manhood.  Mark  about 30 years old, had been through the ritual at puberty and was concerned about the lack of qualified elders to continue the tradition. He explained that the ceremony served to lay up the young men for about a month, so they would be open to receiving important instructions from the elders--how to be a man, how to treat women, how to contribute to the community, how to carry oneself humbly.   Later, after looking into the initiation practices of different cultures, I realized that this sort of initiation into manhood could be called a "social initiation", reflecting the need to join with the men's culture and its traditions and expectations.  

 

There is another sort of men's initiation I have been studying over many years.  I'll call this "soul initiation", reflecting the need of men to listen to, and be guided by, their soul truths on the journey through life.  This kind of journey opens up the unique and individual gifts of each man, brought back to the community for the sake of the people.  It's not about how you "should" act, it's about your calling, the dream of your wild soul.  It's about recognizing why you were placed on this Earth, and finding the courage to follow that understanding.  For this initiation, the elders do not instruct in how to behave; instead, they hold space for the sacred vision to manifest, for the signs that the Mystery has given as to your nature.  I believe that the Rites of Passage Vision Quest is a vehicle for soul initiation, and I invite men who are hearing that inner calling to join us on the Men's Vision Quest. 

Other Upcoming Programs 

Including 9 day Vision Quest, 3 day Soul Quest, and a workshop in the Medicine Wheel teachings, presented in different locations.  Go to our website under Schedule for scheduling information and costs for each program.

 

Soul Quest

Seattle, WA, August 26-28

Staff:  Deb Zucker

 

Soul Quest

Kansas City, MO, October 14-16

Staff:  Tom Anderson 

 

Fall Vision Quest (co-ed)

Death Valley National Park, November 12-20

Staff: Mike Bodkin & Alison DeLong

 

Medicine Wheel / 4 Shields Workshop

Tecopa, CA, November 30-December 4

Staff: Mike Bodkin