Memorial Day Men's Conference on May 27, 2016 in Mendocino, CA : Holding Our Truth in a World Gone Mad
May 27-30, Memorial Day Weekend
Mendocino Woodlands Camp Two
We are assaulted every day with images that tear at our hearts. From the ongoing state of warfare and refugee crises, through senseless mass shootings, to police murders of unarmed African Americans, we must admit that most violence is perpetrated by men. Witnessing our world going increasingly mad, some of us are tempted to retreat into isolation, disengagement and/or a strictly spiritual, internal life.
Knowing that perpetrators were once themselves the oppressed victims, we ask ourselves what wounds of our own still fester, what unacknowledged resentment do we carry that might spill out into violence? How do our wounds determine our judgments of others? What stories are we living out? Why do we fear conflict? Avoiding it in our personal lives, do we then enable others – politicians, terrorists and the police – to act it out for us? What are our frustrated dreams turned to anger that contribute to the violence and madness of this world?
Rarely do we have the opportunity to explore the question of violence free from blame and with the invitation to know where it resides within our selves. We know the merit and benefit of exploring these facets of soul, when undertaken communally. The Redwood Men's Conference is a unique and an extraordinarily safe place to examine the roots of violence and hatred. Our participation, our willingness to look together at such daunting parts of our humanity and to grieve them collectively enables us to transform hatred toward compassion, connection and re-engagement with the world.
Please join us amidst old growth redwoods for our annual Memorial Day Weekend men's gathering. Over the past 26 years we have learned how ...read more