I saw this quote in the picture below and I love it. In the crazy, burdensome, busyness of life, I lost my ability to really make any much of a practice of being still to tap into a “world of magic things”. Stopping to read anything of much length. Stopping to enjoy nature. Stopping to tap into my inner voice like I used to and my connection with God. Stopping to breathe and relax. When Covid hit, one sliver of lining it had for those of us who weren’t severely affected was that it forced us to slow down and tap into ourselves. I had hoped I would continue to do that but as things have returned to normal, I went right back to old patterns. What about you?
For me, my spiritual life has been a conundrum as of late. I was fortunate as a young boy to have special spiritual experiences that not everyone has. Everyone has a different experience and definition of Spirit as well. Mine is my Christian faith but also Shaman beliefs around nature. I’m okay with things some Christians are not, and well, a big one would be that I am gay. When I was forced to accept that after many years in ex-gay and reparative therapy camps, all the fundamentalist beliefs that helped me feel I knew that I knew who God was, fell apart. All my connections and close relationships in those circles were over in a matter of a day. It was a horrifying free-fall as all I knew about God crumbled and there was nothing left, and I had no support. For years now, I’ve been trying to pick up the pieces. There’s been ups and downs and sometimes just stalemates.
The question came to me this year, is there any path to spirit I can get to where I can have clarity again? I felt so stuck, confused, and lost. Dare I say, even unmotivated to leave my distractions and pick up a Bible. A friend of mine over a series of months kept nudging me about this men’s retreat called Path to Spirit Warrior, and I eventually had a call with the enrollment coordinator of it, Bill Costantino. Listening to Bill’s authentic story of being stuck, lost, and confused in his spiritual life was the 1-2-3 punch I needed to know I was ready to give it a try. Also, it was tied to the Mankind Project which I was involved in back in the early 2000s– also transformational for me. What felt safe also was this wasn’t ‘Spirit’ in the sense of any particular religion or even a particular Christian denomination but just whatever your sense of spirit is.
Now, you may know or not know of the Mankind New Warrior Training Adventure but I’ll explain my experience of Path to Spirit compared to the two trainings and this way you will get a sense of both of them.
Oh goodness, I took the MKP training as a frightened, closeted young man in his late 20s. This particular weekend focuses on Carl Jung’s idea of the wounded son in need of righting his father, mother, and peer attachments and being reborn so to speak into manhood. As in other cultures that have rich traditions of bringing their youth into manhood, we do not do that here in America. We say it is when you have your first beer, get laid, or get your driving license. Hardly anything that gives a sense of man being a man. So, a New Warrior Training Adventure, just like other male initiation rituals in foreign countries, strips a man down to his bare essence and builds him back up, grounding him on strong ideas of warrior accountability, wisdom, compassion, and mystical energy. These are explored in many ways among a community of men. I was a part of this for years in leadership roles and on the board here in Michigan. I had the great privilege of having our foundational men’s group of Ann Arbor Oaks mentored by the original founders of MKP in Michigan like Rich Tosi, John Phelps, Fitzpatrick, and Josephson. I still have the staff that they gave to us from their original group sitting right across from me as I type. I can hold it and visualize the men of my I Group in the home we used to meet for so many years. It was as a result of the Mankind Project, the many workshops I went through, and the men’s stories I heard that I eventually came out as a gay man. The Mankind Project will always, for these reasons, have a special place in my heart.
However, I eventually backed away from MKP because after many years there really was no centering force to keep toxic masculinity out of the picture. Without any sense of compassion or spirit involved in some of the men’s lives who got into leadership roles, and a heavy sense of “warrior” energy, even with accountability, I found myself repeatedly de-neutered as a man. I left an all too often contentious board that argued and belittled more than they got things done in clean and healthy ways. I started going backward rather than forward in my growth. And, if I heard it was different for others I might question my judgment but others in the area felt the same. Process and language were used as weapons in place of compassion and that’s a sad component that can exist in some spots in the organization and did at that time in our area.
Path to Spirit Warrior has some similarities to the New Warriors in its program design and processes, but is a lot more personal, and compassionate, and has its own type of intensity that is different than the New Warrior Training Adventure. Both are intense in their own way. Path to Spirit has a smaller group of men being trained on a weekend so you get specific focus and care. That’s huge right there. You are assigned a mentor who travels with you through the whole thing that actually facilitates some of your process work, unlike a mentor on a Warrior weekend.
On Path to Spirit, they take time to really cover a good overview of your entire life and do some process around which is phenomenal to have men hear your story. I have always wanted to enter into a circle of men and have my story heard, feel safe and listened to, cared about, get to my emotions, and in this case get to what was blocking my spiritual path. All of this “dream come true” happened this weekend. I remember after doing one piece of work and these guys were surrounding me in an embrace, I looked up at them and said, “I want to pinch myself. This feels like a dream.” A guy replied, “This is very real, Larry. Believe it.” And it is, you can see it with every man, how authentic and how invested they are. Not to say, that isn’t the case on a New Warrior Training Weekend either but here, there is no toxic masculinity creeping in. We also talked about sacred things, shared sacred gifts, made and created sacred things. More importantly, we entered something important: a community of men who care. That is truly a sacred space.
I feel like I can’t recommend Path to Spirit Warrior enough because they respect your belief about this concept of “spirit” no matter what. They go out of their way to not define it for you. We had devout Christians, Muslims, Atheists, Agnostics, Shamans–it didn’t matter. It’s just about you being able to reconnect to yourself within and they give so, so, so many opportunities for you to get in touch with that. If one thing doesn’t work, you’ll find something else that probably hits. It’s like an Olympic Marathon the staff does and they treat you like Kings while you are there.
RECOMMENDATIONS TO YOUR PATH TO SPIRIT JOURNEY
Overall, I think both New Warrior Training Adventure and Path to Spirit Warrior are way worth a man’s investment. The New Warrior Training is focusing more on the rite of passage for a man into manhood and an introduction to the integration of parts of himself that are divided or suppressed. High-focused on accountability and warrior-type challenge type of men’s work. Path to Spirit is about releasing what is blocking you from a more centered, spiritual connection in your life. If you have hit a stalemate and can’t go forward in your life, this is a great weekend for you. Particularly, if you have done New Warriors and you need something deeper at this point. This is a fuller integration.
If you are planning to do both weekends and aren’t sure which weekend to do first: I would recommend New Warrior Training Adventure first because it is more introductory and a sort of “birthing” experience into the practices that Path to Spirit uses. Next, do Path to Spirit, which will go much deeper and you’ll be used to the processes. *If you are hypersensitive to your religious beliefs, the New Warrior Training Adventure may challenge you, so be ready to reframe some things in there if needed. If you are hyper-sensitive to being challenged in front of another person, again that is something to consider going into New Warriors Training Adventure.
If you can only do one weekend I would choose: I would first note the differences between the two and go with what speaks to you. Path to Spirit gave me everything I had ever wanted from a group of men. I never felt safer. The most critical work that is done there is the same kind of critical work done at NWA Training Adventure just a little different, so you aren’t going to miss any critical work. Plus you will come out feeling like a better leader for your life from it. Stronger, more confident. However, they have different energies and the NWTA covers some things that Path to Spirit Warrior doesn’t IF you are looking specifically for more of rite of passage and rebirth into your manhood rather than into a spiritual center. My viewpoints and experience expressed here are mine alone and won’t necessarily be yours. I do not promise or guarantee anything by sharing my perspectives. Your place in life will determine which one fits your path.
In closing, there is a path to spirit out there now. Haven’t we all, for the most part, wanted to explore that big question? You don’t have to stay lost, stuck, confused, or even alone! I wished had known about Path 2 Spirit Warrior years earlier! You can check out both Path 2 Spirit Warrior and The New Warrior Training Adventure below.
Jamison's Writing Jams 