I made my rites in 2004 at Ghost Ranch, and at Richard Rohr and Stephen Picha’s request (Stephen was the former executive director of the Center for Action and Contemplation and M.A.L.Es coordinator). I returned the next 2 years as a team member who did the Grief Talk on Day 3. It was both a formative and transformative experience for me. More on that a bit later but first some further background.