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so is the soul hungry with spiritual needs. |
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- What is a Soul Awakening?
- Rites of Passage and the Purpose of Soul Awakening
- Adolescent Rites of Passage
- Mid-life Directions
- Passage from Early Life Problems
- What is the Soul Awakening Process?
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A Soul Awakening is a modern day Rite of Passage, an honoring of transitions in our lives through ritual and ceremony in a wilderness setting. A Soul Awakening is for those who seek to kindle a psychological and spiritual relationship with meaning and purpose. Your wilderness Rite of Passage may be to seek answers, say goodbye, kick an addiction, honor deep transformation, celebrate a renewal, or receive affirmation. It is a time of doing without modern conveniences and living simply in the forest.
Being in the woods, in living relationship with the earth, engages the whole person. The objects of our attention (trees, wild animals, weather, etc.) join our intention (our purpose for coming), and the results can be transformative. As the hours unfold into the night, nature continues to reflect our truths back to us. As we deal with and heal our inner selves, we in turn help to heal all our relations. As we settle into the cycles of nature our personal cycles become clearer and we find balance, and fear no longer controls us. |
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Through introspection, meditation, and self directed ceremony, a spiritual catharsis often occurs that brings us to our higher purpose in life.
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“People who have achieved high levels of self-actualization have had peak experiences during which lasting cognitive changes were made, often in a matter of seconds or minutes.”
Abraham Maslow |
Our lives are filled with change. If those transitions are not understood, emotional problems can remain for years. Soul Awakening is a method for achieving a transition from one stage of our lives to another, whether that time of change was in the past, is now, or is to be in the future.
Father and Son Rites of Passage
Today’s teens have few healthy rites-of-passage. Soul searching and heart-felt discussions have been replaced by drinking, driving, and sex as the thresholds to adulthood.
We are pleased to help young adults and their families as they search for ways to honor their changing relationships and the transitions to healthy adulthood.
As Dave said about his experience of enacting a self-directed ceremony five years ago, “It was really important for me to tell my family something I had never told them before... it was cleansing!”
Another young man, interviewing for prep school was asked what his biggest achievement had been and answered his time with Israel Helfand, coming into healthy manhood.
This summer a 13 year old (and his Dad) will come to spend 24 hours alone in the woods as they honor his transition into manhood.
Israel Helfand and Jon Bliss wrote an article From Boys to men: Rediscovering Rites of Passage. To see the article click here.
Mid-life Directions
Many people who come to be with us are exploring the many possibilities of mid to later life transitions, looking for vision, meaning, and new direction in their life. Many are going through personal changes, health problems, feelings of being useless or unappreciated. They may be unfulfilled in their careers or in retirement, and aware of a need for constructive change.
The Soul Awakening process is a wonderful way to mark the passage to elderhood. It is an opportunity to connect with one’s higher self through the use of ceremony and introspection during the the Soul Awakening process.
Professor of Developmental Psychology, Erik Erikson, described the task of the final stage of life as “finding a sense of integrity, and dealing with despair.” It is a time to look beyond oneself, to the nature of our society, and to the world in which we live.
There is so much wisdom and love within today’s elders, which has had little chance for expression in our culture. Elders need to take their proper place in society, as teachers and role models. If we expect them to show honor, responsibility, and love to others, we need to find ways to help them feel honored and blessed themselves.
Rites of Passage and the Purpose of Soul Awakening
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Solo
This is a powerful time of solitude, being in relationship with yourself, Nature and spirit for a 24 to 48 hour period. A time to explore the depths of our being through enacting the ritual we worked on, as well as being open to the spontaneity of the moment. It is time to work on your interpersonal and transpersonal relationships. In this fast paced life, the experience of slowing down and being filled with quiet energy, for many, is powerful enough. For many a spiritual catharsis often occurs that brings us to our higher purpose in life. Like Outward Bound programs this is an opportunity for leadership training. Unlike Outward Bound programs this is not about physical endurance but emotional psychological and spiritual strength. |
on their separate solos |
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Reincorporation After your Solo we review your experience to give you a better understanding of its significance. This is the time to incorporate into your everyday life all of the lessons learned during the Solo, and to celebrate our “rebirth”. It is important to “bring back” your gifts to others, to make our world and “the world” a better place, and to live your truth. Reincorporation continues after the Solo, with new insights and challenges occuring for many seasons to come. |
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