Illuman East Coast Colllaborative Viewpoint
Change. It’s often called the only constant. If it weren’t so true it would be trite. Our work is to bring about a deeper level of change. Metanoia is the introductory word to the Gospels. Meta meaning beyond; and noia meaning mind. Metanoia means ‘think beyond your mind, ’think in a new way,’ ‘adopt a different way of seeing.’
Are you ready to make some changes in your life?
Are you being called to address changes already underway?
Do you have unresolved “shadow” issues, perhaps from the earliest days of your life, that adversely impact your identity, behavior, relationships?
A natural question is, “how can I recover from, or cope with, my current situation?” Perhaps a better question is, “how can I learn to be free from the pain I’m living with?”
The pain we do not transform we transmit.
Richard Rohr
When you look back on your life, what negative, repeating patterns of your thinking, emotions, and behaviors do you see? A powerful spiritual exhortation is, “Lord, let this crisis not pass me by until I have learned the gift it contains for me.”
You may be carrying unresolved grief, internalized anger, shame or guilt, loneliness, personal family traumas, and all kinds of societal pressures. We know how debilitating this can be. For many men their wounded souls may not be recognized until midlife.
The injury to men’s psychological and spiritual state, and the wounds of the world, cry out for healing. The men of Illuman offer a pathway and support for healing. This leads men to become whole, loving, generative men who are capable of caring for and eldering others. Life-long attention, commitment, learning and practices produces compounding benefits.
Your work will begin by learning how to bring healing to your wounds, addictions and trauma. It will extend to learning how to become a whole, fully human and fully alive man. This is spiritual work. The culmination will be when you become a healing agent, a “wounded healer,” with the ability to elder others along their life journey.
Our viewpoint and approach is guided by the insights and wisdom from our founder, Fr. Richard Rohr (founder of the Center for Action and Contemplation).
Most problems are interpreted psychologically today,
but the real solutions are almost always spiritual.
Spiritual is a bigger realm than psychological because
the individual psyche is precisely that.
It's too individualistic. It's too small.
It's text outside of context.
It's individual outside of participation.
Richard Rohr
Illuman men steward this process. Our primary focus is inner work that expands the depth and breadth of love in men and makes a difference in the world. We use the ancient tools of relationship, nature, ritual, image, storytelling and council to help one another reclaim the soul’s wisdom and the gift of joy.
Our brotherhood is fed by the wisdom traditions of forgiveness and radical inclusivity. Throughout this lifelong journey of illumination, many men experience transformation through a power greater than themselves.
When you attend to intentional work on yourself, and begin to act with an open mind and a posture of curiosity, you are on the path to live the truth at the center of the image you were born with.
Everything we do starts with a conversation to develop a relationship. Let’s talk.
Dave Kraybill, ECC Convener, kraybill.1@gmail.com
We invite you next to read: Who Are You Being?