By Stan Crow, 1939 - 2009, Director Emeritus, Rite of Passage Journeys
In a recent seminar, someone said, "You have said, several times that a good mentor challenges the mentee to meet various goals, do their best, etc. That sounds combative to me, is that what you mean?"
I had to admit it could sound that way, and, I guess at times it could even look that way, but it certainly isn't my stance.
The work of it is powerful yet simple: a process of severance, threshold, and incorporation. There is no dogma, no 'right' way to do ceremony. There is council, community, intent, solo time (questing) in self-generated ceremony, and mirroring. These are the barebones of both the Adult Mountain Quest and Adult Wilderness Quest ceremonies.
A tendency towards polarization – division between sharply contrasting ideological perspectives – is very alive in today’s world. When we reduce each other to ideological labels – leftist, right-wing, communist, racist - we fail to see each other as humans. Whatever “side” we are on, a polarized approach to healing our world still perpetuates a culture of separation, supremacy and domination. Judging, labeling, and shaming people with different perspectives feeds polarization, but there is another way. Recent studies in deep canvassing show that when we deeply listen to each other, even to people with perspectives that we believe may be bigoted or misguided, both of our perspectives actually evolve. Bridging across polarization is challenging, but possible.
Singing with others. Community singing has become a medicine to shift my energy. It isn’t a panacea for grief. I still sometimes end up on the floor in my sorrow. But in that heaviness of heart, I am not alone. I am surrounded by a village of song that supports the metabolization of the emotions that are waiting to move through me.
To dreamwalk, we must first realize that the Earth has a consciousness and soul with which we can build a relationship. Philosophers often call this world soul the “Anima Mundi.” Although it may not speak to us in full, grammatically correct sentences, the Anima Mundi does communicate with us. It speaks the language of the dream world, sending messages through our experiences in waking life, which can then be explored as symbols, metaphors, images, emotions or tones. These types of coded messages speak to a deep space of inner knowing – one that is also engaged when we are dreaming, imagining or creating. We can therefore explore them in many of the same ways that we might explore the symbols from our night dreams.
And, often overlooked, there is another gateway to mystery and higher wisdom, accessible to all of us, 4-7 times every night... our dreams.
Dreams are inherently transformative and initiatory in that they always come, as my late mentor Jeremy Taylor would say, just at the edge of our conscious awareness. "No dreams come to tell you what you already know. They always break new ground and open access to new layers of consciousness," he said. For this reason alone, though there are many others, directing energy towards improving access to the dream state and cultivating skillful means for understanding them (what some call "dream interpretation methods") is an endeavor very much worthy of one's time and efforts.
In this blog, Randy Morris offers his thoughts on the question of “Who am I?”, archetypal patterns of human development, and how they relate to our thinking and practices at Rite of Passage Journeys. He writes, “I offer the following reflections as a step in the direction of clarifying the basic principles and assumptions that guide our work. I often refer to these assumptions as the Center Pole of Journeys. The image of the Center Pole marks where we stand most authentically as a non-profit organization and as an earth-centric community. A well built Center Pole tells us what we are, and what we are not. To articulate a Center Pole is to encourage and foster a community of learning.”
Today, Journeys remembers our founder Stan Crow, who passed away on November 15th, 2009. Stan was an outstanding mentor for many in their youth and young adulthood, devoting much of his life to providing them meaningful coming of age experiences. One of those young people is our former Executive Director, Darcy Ottey, who in her new book shares the impact Stan had in her life and the lessons on mentorship his legacy left behind.
Our small group of elders included past and present Journeys Board members, former trip participants, and supportive volunteers like myself. We assigned ourselves in groups of 2-3 to be present to witness and honor the journey of summer participants (we dubbed them “Questers”) before they depart and to recognize and celebrate them on their return.
In this blog submission, Zach Gardner offers some insight into the ways in which the aesthetic appreciation of natural environments can enhance our relationship with nature. He provides a perspective that unites ethical consideration with aesthetic engagement, resulting in an approach that revitalizes human interaction with the natural world.
For the past six months, each member of the leadership team, both board and staff, have engaged in individual study and personal reflection on the themes of racial justice, historical oppression and our own individual biases. Each board meeting has included a relevant reading and a group discussion of progress toward fulfilling our goals. In addition, thanks to a generous matching grant from an anonymous dedicated support family, and the continued matching support of our donor community, the Board of Directors has engaged several professional development training opportunities in the coming months….
By Evie Toland
…I decided then, to make the commitment that felt absurd, scary, and truly impossible to undertake: every decision would be based on the question, "Does this help heal my body?" If the answer was yes, I would do it. If the answer was no, I wouldn't. It seemed simple enough for things like food or the appropriate bedtime, but what about when I applied it to my romantic relationship? My job? My house? Every aspect of my life - big or small, simple or complex - could be looked at through this lens and suddenly, the work felt really clear. If I wanted to heal, to truly heal, I had to get committed to radically changing my life…
By The Reverend Jennifer DeBusk Alviar
There are many stories about gardens. Some are of paradise. Others are of despair. I’d like to share with you a story about one particular garden that lies somewhere between the two. Because, life is like that. We experience our joys and sorrows. We hope to make a difference in the world. We’d like to think that we have not lived our lives in vain.
By Jakob (Osiris) Ledbetter
…we live in a sort of intergenerational, cultural amnesia – unaware of the belonging we’ve long forgotten – known as shifting baseline syndrome. Though many of us in the modern world lack a lineage of intact culture to remind us of our ecological belonging, we still carry the indigenous memory in our DNA, waiting to be reawakened.
By The Reverend Jennifer DeBusk Alviar
The shadow-side of a circle, however, is that it can serve to demarcate center from margin, insiders from outsiders. Consider the power of the mythic imagination to shape the narrative of the Great American West. Who gets to tell the story has everything to do with who wields the power….
By Stef Frenzl
I’m drawn to wild, medicinal herbs. There’s something about them that captivates me more than the cultivated varieties. I believe it’s because I see parts of myself in these wild beings, as though they are a mirror for me to deepen my own understanding of myself. I’m drawn to them because they have what I long for…
