Natural Passages

In This Issue

Upcoming Programs

Natural Passages

Read more about all of our workshops, retreats and resources on our website.

Natural Passages Newsletter

NOVEMBER 2008

In this issue we discuss the King energy, where we claim our right to fully be a man in this world, including all of the responsibilities we must assume to ensue a generative world.

I also included the prayer of the king. If read aloud for 30 consecutive days, it will change your life.

We are fast approaching the next year’s program. The dates are listed below.

Bountiful Blessings
Herb Stevenson


The King in His Fullness

Sacred Kings

The Sacred King brings an integrating possibility into the Self and his kingdom, wherein the four quarters of manhood--Warrior/Wolf/Hawk, Magician/Cougar/Raven, Healer/Bear/Owl, King/Buffalo/ Eagle--are brought into alignment such that access to any or all of these energies are available at all times. A blending of human and "divine energies" is essential to the experience of mature masculinity. A man deprived of the inner experience of himself as the Lord of the Four Quarters in his own right and in his own realm is a man impoverished and limited.

Phantom and Shadow Kings

Whenever a man neglects the throne offered him by the archetypal King in his psyche, he leaves that throne open to a usurper--a phantom tyrannical king that ragefully claims all rights to the throne and scours the "realms" for those that "surely seek to undermine his authority." Similarly, whenever a man cannot claim his king and projects it onto some else, he abdicates his throne and becomes a mere shadow of himself, a weakling or weak king that is unable to claim and integrate his rightful place in the world.

The phantom and the shadow are each one half of the king energy, both exaggerations and totally dependent upon each other. Where a man is possessed by the Weakling Shadow king, he carries a wound the exact size and shape of the tyrant’s sword. Such men always have tyrants in their lives that they hate and fear. The man possessed by the tyrant phantom king has a wounded vulnerability that causes him to hate and fear the weak men in his life because these men remind him of his own secret underlying weakness. In their bipolar dysfunctional system, phantom tyrant and shadow weakling need each other to remind themselves of their other half.

When the phantom king captures the throne, a man believes that he is acting with free will, but close examination reveals that he has acted under an inner compulsion. The ancients called compulsive, emotionally charged behaviors demons and they recognized the power of "demonic possession" to ruin lives. These phantoms are exaggerated energies that must be restored to a realistic relationship with man and life. Yet, as a tyrant, he will always be defensive and paranoid, so releasing the hold on the throne will be difficult because true humility, the most feared experience of the tyrant, is what is required.

When the shadow king sits on the throne, any forceful personality that comes along will bully and control him. The shadow king is inept, being filled with sloth and lethargy. Lacking any courage or will, he abdicates his maturity and therefore his masculinity. He is quick to blame others or to blame himself for he is shameless. He tends to prefer ignorance, greed and unchasteness rather than diligent, sober, and faithful. He prefers to sit in his mindless wasteland than to set boundaries, create order, tell the truth or make contact with life. Assuming direct responsibility for one’s acts and life is how the shadow is chased from the throne.

Noteworthy is the ancient truisms. Scratch a tyrant and you’ll find a weakling. Pressure a weakling and you’ll find a tyrant.                 

Generative

Generative man is the foundational aspect of every man in every culture. The generative man accesses the King within and becomes the protector, provider, and procreator for himself, his people, and his world. Generativity is the manifestation of the human imagination--cultural, religious, technological, ecological--via virtues of love, care and wisdom. The basic trust and hope of the generative man...gives him the trust not only to continue his own existence but to share in the generation of succeeding generations and to help care for and sustain their lives with hope.

Trust and hope are products of strength and maturity. Out of strength and maturity, Generative man can draw upon inner resources of autonomy and will. Out of his autonomy and will, he desires and has capacity for intimate relationships. In personal relationships, as far as social hierarchy will allow, he beholds the true worth of others. He provides a "confirming face" by mirroring and blessing through his ability to see and hear others. He confirms their individuality and the reality of their suffering and joy. He is conscious of and sensitive to their underlying feelings and motives. He blesses their lives by sanctifying the fruits of their inner and outer labors.

Generative man has a vital identity that incorporates flexibility with integrity and fidelity. As such,  generative man is able to make commitments to his family, his community, and ultimately to his God in whatever form it exists.

He is not easily thrown off balance by others. He can manage his legitimate personal boundaries firmly, and without hostility. Yet, when a wrathful response is called for, he is able to act aggressively by accessing the Warrior within.

He speaks the truth, and the truth he speaks gives a firm basis for self-evaluation and self- affirmation. His truthful words and actions help others feel their own reality and get a sense of their own authentic being. He deflates grandiosity and enables others to discover realistic greatness.

His self awareness leads to a familiarity to the inner landscapes, its dangers and pleasures, its angles and demons, and its illusions and truths. With this wisdom, the generative man supports others in their efforts to integrate and find their true self.

The generative man has achieved a rich masculine identity by building his inner masculine structures and by valuing his inner feminine characteristics. He has come to know the mystery is as much of the joy of life as it is the suffering. Neither is good or bad, just different aspects of the wonder and mystery of being human.

Birthing the King

The awakening of the four quarters of male maturity leads to a strong King and a balanced and centered  mature man. Nothing less. Nothing more.

Adapted and/or summarized from Robert Moore and Douglas Gillette, The King Within: Accessing the King Within the Male Psyche, 1992. New York: Morrow and Company.


Daily Prayer of the Mature Male

I call to those who went before me for guidance to travel this day’s path.

I ask those who are yet to come what this day holds for me.
Of maturity and Man is what I seek.

I ask for the king within me to be at one with the Man that I am and for the Man to walk beside the king within.

Long Version or skip to short version

I ask for The Ability to Initiate, Support and Create Order while being open to outcome.

I ask--

  • to develop and maintain a High sense of self-worth
  • to Believe in myself and my abilities
  • for a clear sense of my place in the world
  • to Have a sense of vision for my life
  • To be calm and centered
  • to be able to entrust responsibility to others
  • to ask for what I want
  • to Accept a Higher Power beyond myself
  • to motivate, empower and bless others
  • to be at ease receiving and accepting praise, thanks or blessing from others
  • to Live life from a sense of service or stewardship for the whole (beyond myself)
  • to sustain A deep love for my "realm"
  • to be Calm; reassuring to others during crises
  • to Bless, support, mirror and affirm others
  • to Guide, encourage and nurture others
  • to embrace what is healthy and good, and let go of what must die
  • to Experience joy.

Skip to here for short version

I offer this prayer to the Spirits above and humbly ask for their divine help to live my life to the fullest and bring honor to myself and my people. In gratitude,

ah ho or amen or "I am done" or "So be it! So it is! So I am!"


Upcoming Programs

Natural Passages

One-Year Initiation Program for Men
Starting in Spring, April 16, 2009
4 Seasons, 4 Weekends:

April 16-19
June 25-28
Sept 10-13
Nov 12-15

Natural Passages one-year program is a 4-session male initiation. It is a program that enables the core integrity of the man to surface. It is designed to awaken, develop, and nurture the essence and fullness of being a man in today’s world. Our focus is developmental. We seek to invoke the unfoldment of mature masculine energies. Our goal is specific. We seek to assist each man to find his place in the world. Our hope is honorable. We seek to fill the void of mature men that can stay within the center of whom they are regardless of circumstances. Our dream is selfish. In helping you to find your place in the world, we envision your helping others to do the same. Therein, we can build community and make a difference in the world.

Find out more...

Download the PDF brochure