Cermony

WE HOLD A MEN’S CALL EVERY MONTH. SIGN UP FOR CALL-IN DETAILS

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I have been invited to participate in an indigenous ceremony on October 5. Let’s move the monthly call to Monday, October 12, which is Indigenous People’s Day.

Let’s talk about ceremony.

I contend that the crisis of masculinity is connected to modernity’s break from our practices of initiation. Initiation is but one form of ceremony. But it has historically been the central way in which boys are welcomed into manhood.  It is how we know we belong. It is how we learn of our responsibilities. It is how we connect to the cosmology of our lineage. 

Initiation can be a healthy way to harness the sometimes dangerous masculine energy that starts to move through us as testosterone floods our bodies. Modernity robbed most of us of the ceremonial rituals that help to define manhood.

Part of being conditioned as a man in our culture is to over rely on reason to understand the world. I have nothing against reason. God knows we need more of it these days! But reason is not enough. 

We need our bodies, hearts and intuition to make meaning of the world. To connect to earth and sky. To connect to those around us. To those that came before us. And to those that will come after us.

What are your rituals? Large or small. Individual or collective.
What are the ceremonies that you have been a part of? 
What rites of passage do you know of? 
Which of them have you experienced?

Light a fire. Or a candle. 
Pour some water. 
Sing a song. 
Touch the earth. 
Trust.

There is something we all know. And it’s time to bring it forth.

Saludos,

Gibrán