Natural Passages Program

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Background

Indigenous cultures refer to medicine as the essence of the person, place or thing. In our terms it is the essence of being a man as a spiritual, physical, mental and emotional being. In today’s society it is not always clear what it means to be a man.

Moreover, it is not always clear how to be a man, nor is it always clear how to be the authentic self, fully present, regardless of circumstances. It seems that we have forgotten the essence of being a man, the medicine of being a man.

Hero’s Journey

In prior times, the creation and development of natural passages were done through various forms of initiations, now more commonly called Hero’s journeys. These journeys were structured rituals and ceremonies that brought the boy/man face-to–face with the boyish attitudes and beliefs that no longer served the evolving man.

These rituals and ceremonies were designed to ignite the deep masculine energies that would enable the boy to let go of the boyish ways that tended toward self–centeredness and move toward family and community responsibilities. These rituals and ceremonies often involved facing the deepest personal fears of boyhood. These processes would enable the man to evolve from the ashes of the boy and become a leader in life.

Secrets of Being a Man—A Leader

Hero’s journeys were catalysts to burn away the psychology of being a boy so that new paradigms or world views could evolve. For the initiation to be successful, the initiatory process required that sacred space be created and held by others. In this sacred space, the initiates would be able to discover and release the habits and patterns of the past to create a new way of being. New paradigms were taught to the evolving men so that they would understand the energies within themselves that could be birthed and developed into skills and ways of being complete within the world. These paradigms or world views were considered the secrets of manhood and are the heart of true leadership.

The Natural Passages Program

Natural Passages is a one year male initiation program. 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.

We Will Experience

Natural Passages will build a community amongst nature. We will experience the healing of reconnecting to the earth by living in harmony with nature. We will experience a purification sweat lodge every week-end to enable each man to shed old skins of being in the world and be reborn. We will experience being fully present with ourselves and with others so that we can make meaningful contact instead of talk at each other. We will experience talking circles to explore what it means to be a man.

We will experience the formation of a community and what it means to be a member of one. We will explore what it means to become a member of the male community. We will explore what is means to be a man that takes his place in the world and leads.

We Will Meet

The One-year Initiation Program will meet four times over the course of the year. Using archetypal models, it includes four in-depth experiences of cycles of life and the stages of change. Each weekend will explore one of four male archetypes. Beginning in the Spring, we will explore the energies of the warrior/wolf/hawk, including how we can become sidetracked into being a perpetual hero or an unconscious victim. In the Summer, we will explore, the energies of the Sage/Cougar/Raven, including how we can be consumed by the energies of the trickster or fool. In the Autumn, we will explore thePeacemaker/Bear/Owl energies where we come into our own sense of compassion and receptivity or become consumed by addictions or desensitization. Finally, we finish in the Winter in the world of the Sovereign/King/Buffalo/ Eagle, where we claim our internal power or become tyrants or wimps.

Who Attends

The program draws from a wide range of men throughout the country. We are diverse in age, occupation, orientation, race, income, culture, and ethnicity. Medical doctors, international consultants, computer programmers, college graduate students, business development directors, factory laborers, construction workers, various levels of management, and several CEOs from mid sized organizations have completed the program.

We Will Explore

We will explore the cycles of life and the stages of change.

Season	Spring	Summer	Fall	Winter
Direction	East	South	West	North
Element	Sun/Fire	Earth/Land	Rain/Water	Wind/Air
Original Nations	Yellow	Black	Red	White
	Asian	African	Americas	Euro (Celtic/ Germanic/ Viking)
Energy	Masculine	Children	Feminine	Ancestors
	Action	Innocence	Introspection	Silence
	New Beginnings	Growth	Harvest	Regeneration
Life Stage	Baby	Child	Adult	Elder
Bodies	Physical	Mental	Emotional	Spiritual
Archetype	Warrior	Magician/Sage	Lover	King/Queen
	Samurai	Shaman	Healer	Sovereign
Shadows	Victim/Masochist	Fool	Numb-Nuts	Wimp
	Hero/Sadist	Trickster	Addict	Tyrant
Great Values	Courage	Respect	Love	Generosity
Four Truths	Show-up and be Present without preconceived notions	Say What’s so when it is sow/o blame or judgment	Pay attention to What has Heart and Meaning	Be open to outcome
Laws of Change	Change comes from Within	Permanent change requires a vision	A great/shared learning must occur	A healing Force/forest must be present

The One Year Initiation

The One-year Initiation Program will meet four times over the course of the year. It includes four in-depth experiences of cycles of life and the stages of change. Each weekend will explore one of four male archetypes. Beginning in the Spring, we will explore the energies of the Warrior/worker/samurai, including how we can become sidetracked into being a perpetual hero or an unconscious victim. In the Summer, we will explore, the energies of the Sage, including how we can be consumed by the energies of the trickster and/or fool. In the Autumn, we will explore the Peacemaker/Lover/Healer energies where we come into our own sense of compassion and receptivity or become consumed by addictions or desensitization. Finally, we finish in the Winter in the world of the Sovereign/King, where we claim our internal power or become tyrants or wimps.

Initiatory Process: Examples

Psychosocial state prior to initiation	Psychosocial state during initiation	Psychosocial state after initiation
Period prior to significant personal event or loss	Period of mourning, the grief process	Reintegration into society after grieving is complete
Early adults settled period	Midlife Crisis: affairs, buying bigger toys, submersion into spiritual retreats	Entry into middle adulthood
Period prior to difficulties in early adult transition	Entry into a cult-like group (normal liminality) that contains the changes	Return to ordinary life outside the group
	Or stay chronically liminal, unable to reenter structure... Constant state of ecstatic awareness without ability to take action	Or group's status hierarchy functions as struycture and a whole new life is created, discarding the old life.

Your Investment

The fee for the One Year Initiation program is $2400 for individuals and $4800 for business and corporations. If the full amount is paid by February 1st of the program year, there is a $300 discount for individuals and a $600 discount for businesses and corporations, so that the program cost will be $2100 and $4200 respectively. Full payment is due March 1st of the program year.

There is a non-refundable $200 application fee for the One-year Initiation Program and the Intensive program. It will be applied to the program fee, if applicable. See application for details. Checks should be made payable to: Natural Passages–Herb Stevenson .

Payment plans are available, but must be arranged prior to the start of the program.

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We Will Send

Upon being accepted into the program, we will forward different materials to you, such as a suggested packing list, books and videos that may be of interest, and other applicable information.

Camp Set-up and Tear-down

Registration is from 8:00 am to 9:00 am. Camp set-up is from 10:00 a.m. The weekends will close on Sunday at 2:00 p.m. after the tear down of the camp.

Some Items You Will Need

We will be living amongst nature. Hence, you will need to bring a sleeping bag, ground cloth, and a ground pad or cot. You will need to bring rain gear as we will meet rain or shine or snow or sleet. You will need to bring clothing appropriate to being outside. Insulated boots would be appropriate for the winter. Flash lights, a knife with a three-inch or larger blade, washable eating utensils, including plate/bowl, cup, knife, fork and spoon. You will need to bring soap and shaving gear as desired. Be mindful that the walking path to camp is rough terrain. Each man needs to bring 2 gallons of water for each weekend, as well as dried fruits, nuts, protein or granola bars, etc. to be commingled into a community pantry.