The Illinois M.A.L.E.s chapter sponsors the Men's Rites of Passage as well as a lot of terrific programs and events. This September they are hosting a weekend retreat called Nature and the Soul: A Sacred Mirror. Pilgrim Park is a wonderful place to engage in spiritual exploration while also enjoying the beauty of the surrounding fields and forest. More details below...
This special weekend is coming up – and by August 25th we need to confirm the number of men attending – if you are attending, please register by August 24th. No walk-ons!
Nature and the Soul: A Sacred Mirror, Weekend
- September 11- 13, 2015 (starting at 7 PM – finishes after lunch on Sunday)
- Led by Gerry Aylward, with Brian Stafford
- Pilgrim Park - Princeton, IL
- Registration
- Cost: $200
A consistently observable feature of Nature is that when we are in Her presence, particularly for an extended period of time, something awakens within us. Some vestige of our forgotten humanity is remembered and we are changed – in some cases radically. What is evoked in these moments is the stuff of poetry, art and music, where we find ecstatic joy standing side by side with the poignant sadness of great love and loss. This is the mystery of life and death mirrored back to us in images that our soul recognizes and remembers.
During our time together we will explore these themes and the possibilities they hold for our individual lives, our people and the earth community.
Oh Joy! that in our embers
Is something that doth live,
That nature yet remembers
What was so fugitive!
- William Wordsworth