FIRMing RITUAL TESTED IN ARIZONA DESERT

Several men from northern and southern California joined in a test of the developing FIRMing ritual carried on by Fr. Richard Rohr and Stephen Picha last month. The location was a ranch in the Aravaipa river canyon deep in in the Sonoran desert of Arizona, a kind of huge oasis with cliffs reminding us of the Grand Canyon. It was a time of deep silence, grounding, affirmation and hope for us. For an explanation of the FIRMing, see the separate attachment to this e-mail,

FIRMing RITUAL WEEKEND COMING TO SOCAL

MEN AS LEARNERS AND ELDERS -- California is offering a FIRMing ritual weekend May 14-16 2009. Fr. Jim Clarke will be the teaching elder. Details and location will be announced soon. This gathering is designed for men who have been on the Rites of Passage offered since 1997, who have woven a set of spiritual practices into their lives in response to it, and who wish to celebrate and deepen their experience of what we are calling The Journey of Illumination. See the attached .pdf file by that name.

RICHARD ROHR HELPING INITIATE MROP PROGRAM IN
NORTHERN CALIFORNIA

Richard Rohr will be leading Northern California’s first MROP to be held at CYO Camp Occidental. The CYO Retreat Center is located amidst 216 acres of towering redwood forest and open meadow in historical western Sonoma County, just 6 miles from the Pacific Ocean. We will have exclusive use of the camp during this time and autumn along the Pacific Coast is often the best weather of the year for this region. For detailed information about this site go to www.cyocamp.org The camp is about 1 ½ hour drive north of San Francisco or Oakland airports.

Northern California MROP
Nov 15 – 24, 2010
CYO Camp Occidental
www.cyocamp.org
Cost $450.00

Anyone interested in signing up please send an e-mail to register@tracknet.org

SOURCES FOR SPIRITUAL DIRECTION

Men who have done the MROP and want to make spiritual practice a permanent part of their lives are urged to find a spiritual director. Someone you respect might serve as a spiritual director for you. It is a matter of being honest in the face of wisdom, of bringing beginner's mind to someone you trust --regularly. In southern California a fine organization called STILLPOINT offers formal training to spiritual directors and can help seekers make connections to one. Check out their website:
http://stillpointca.org/

WANDERING DAY -- IN THE WOODS WITH YOUR YOUR SOUL -- COMING BACK

This coming April 3-4 MEN AS LEARNERS AND ELDERS -- California will be holding another WANDERING DAY (in Bill Plotkin's sense of the word-- see his SOULCRAFT) similar to the In the Woods day we did in early October. We will once again be gathering Saturday morning, and staying until Sunday morning. This allows men from a distance to take advantage of the smoothest traffic periods of the week, to avoid 2 long trips in one day, and settle in to their souls for a whole 24 hours. These days are great preparation for the MROP, for the FIRMing, or to deepen your spiritual practice in any number of ways. October was great. Plan to join us.

SPIRITUAL OUTREACH TO MILITARY VETERANS BY
MEN AS LEARNERS AND ELDERS
SERVICE VETERANS

Are you a veteran who would like to make this happen? We want to help you get in touch with each other and back up your efforts. Contact elder Frank Waclawik: (714) 529-8306, fwaclawik@sbcglobal.net.

ACTION, CONTEMPLATION, ACTION

A few weeks ago I got a text message from Sam Pullen --

Join us for a reading of Thich Nhat Hahn on the nature of suffering. Tuesday night centering prayer, 7-9 pm at 1289 Bellevue Ave. LA 90026. Invite friends!

Paul Engler and Sam Pullen joined us for the Men’s Rite of Passage in 2008. They both live at a justice house called The Center for Immigrant Rights in the Echo Park district of Los Angeles, have worked as labor organizers in their 20's, and now are working to bring spiritual practice to their activist colleagues and friends through a weekly centering prayer evening. I've gone three times and was deeply impressed with all the participants and with the 12-step style format they have adapted from the Thomas Keating network via
www.contemplativeoutreach.org

These men are still activists -- they organized a fast for immigrant rights at Placita Olvera in downtown Los Angeles in the weeks leading up to the election. Paul took on some daunting responsibilities. A small tent village sprung up on the lawn there. I joined them for prayer one night. And the 10/20 announcement began: "Want to know what it’s like doing centering prayer in jail?" Sam spent 5 days in jail in a civil disobedience action for health care as a basic human right. Spend some time with these folks. It might make you more hopeful about the world's future. It does for me.

For more info call Paul Engler at 714 231-9013.

NORTHERN CALIFORNIA ELDER STEVE CONROY
with some timely words from his Firming Experience





From journaling I did while up in the mountains above Aravipa Canyon 
in Arizona during the Firming event, I created the following.


  Pushing Me to West
  
  The wind is blowing down the canyon, from east to west
  It makes a swooshing sound as it blows through the small trees and scrub brush
  The cactus trees resist and stand fast against the wind
  But the Cottonwood trees sound like they are clapping
  Quickly and lightly
  As if celebrating the wind and the end of a day
  
  I go up to watch the last vestiges of sunlight from the top of a knoll
  It is breathtaking yet I am trying to breath it all in
  I lean against my walking stick
  As the wind pushes against my back
  It fills my pants and shirt as if they are a parachute
  It pushes me to the west
  It pushes me to the sunset
  It is a warm wind and it feels good
  
  As the moments pass
  The colors of the sky change
  Amazing Bright Reds, Oranges and Blues
  Blend and fade over time
  The clouds in front of the twilight only enhance its beauty
  Creating a place to see the contrasting of Darkness and Light
  I look behind me and it is getting very dark indeed
  
  I remember sunsets I have seen in other places and other times
  All those evenings after Mount Saint Helens erupted
  Bay Saint Louis, Mississippi after the Thunderstorms
  Lookout point near Santa Cruz as the sun melts into the Pacific
  Hanalei Bay the night of my wedding…….
  The sadness of the last memory pierces my heart
  There is still much to grieve
  
  I try to let the sadness go as I return to what is unfolding before me
  And around me
  The hillsides and mountains are darker
  A planet is my first celestial visitor
  I mark it and intend to follow its path through the night
  
  I start thinking about what life will be like now
  After this event
  After I return home
  Knowing it will be just me and the dogs
  I think of Enoch who walked with God
  How far could he go?
  I wonder if he lived a life without borders
  Walking the Earth and feeling at home wherever he went
  I wondered about David hiding in a cave
  Probably in country similar to this
  But people brought him food
  They even came to stay with him
  Would God take care of me if I set out to wander as they did?
  
  Again I return to the present
  Scanning everything now
  Stars are beginning to blanket the sky
  My planet is obstructed by a dark menacing cloud
  The wind continues to push me against the walking stick
  It feels good after the hot day and the hike up the hill
  But the wind is gusting extremely hard at times
  Pushing me to the west
  Pushing me towards the sunset
  
  
  
  With gratitude

for the entire time in the desert,

for the dreams I had both during the day and during the night

and especially

for those moments at sunset.

Thanks be to God