About the Men's Work

These are notes sent out to our gathering of men about to engage in the Sacred Masculine Retreat.  I am making these notes available to the public, because I feel this work is important.  We are in a time in which we hang precariously close to the edge of a potential collective suicide, in great part because the men in our societies, throughout the world, have not known or honored themselves, the nature of Creation, or the Sacred Feminine, which is an equal and equally important ingredient in life and society.  Many of us know and understand this, and have worked for solutions for our societies throughout their lives.  Others have not.  While I have conscientiously  worked toward our evolution as individuals and as a society, I have never offered a program for just one gender.  I know we shall find our way into a New Era and a New Earth, I feel it important to acknowledge the danger men have brought our world so close to, and discover a path to equilibrium, balance, harmony, that incorporates an understanding and honoring of All Life.

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This is the first time I have offered a retreat solely for men.

That is mostly because I identify this work equally for all of us, regardless of gender, race, or creed. 

This work is about Self Realization, and draws from ancient traditions world wide, living traditions of Tibetan Bon/shamanic and Buddhist lineages, Native American, South and Central American, Ancient Egyptian, Hindu, and Judeo-Christian mysticism, among others.
The practices and principles they carry are very similar in many ways, as I often share in our practices.  The work is about self discovery and self empowerment.  It is about Divine Purpose.
But, in these special times we are in, it is time we, as men, discover more distinctly our essence, nature, and role in this society, and in this world.

We have too long been blinded and led astray by a society, by men in our lives, and by male role models in all levels of our society, who are often driven by their own needs, wounds and shadows, their own suffering and misunderstanding of our nature and place here, not only as men, but as Divine Beings.  They are not in alignment with the Principles of the Cosmos, which is fundamental to the teachings of most spiritual/mystery/wisdom schools of the world, even as our own greater spiritual teachers have guided us, for centuries.  We simply have not followed the path.  Many in our society do not recognize the path; many do not even know it exists.  In many ways this misbehvior has evolved from times in which survival alone was key, seemed of the utmost importance.  But, much comes from not being well guided or nurtured by our ancestors and their roots.  Much is about a mis-owning of power and mis-identifying with sorrow, anger, envy, greed, or other negating energies, beliefs, and other factors in our life and in our world, including shame, fear, judgment and condemnation.

The need to be better than, to overpower, or to conquer others comes from a lacking within the self, a non-identification of our own authentic nature, of not experiencing or believing in our connection to each other, and the greater Web of Life.  When we experience that connection, we feel whole and at peace.

Many of us feel we are not good enough, or there is not enough.  We extend our energies looking for security, prosperity or fulfillment too often in material terms only, or hoping to find love or be loved outside of ourselves, or to claim our own power or will over others, without discovering its true nature or origins within us.

We, for the most part, have not been initiated into the ranks of an empowered society, but left to thrash and discover for ourselves the nature or purpose of life, in the discord of that dis-empowered and dis-ingenuous society.  We have built our lives too often with too much stress and chaos, clouds of doubt, shame, or confusion, and disconnection from others.  We have not learned or been taught established practices to abide, to stabilize and thrive in peace and clarity, abundance, harmony and connection, much less to see into the inner worlds of beauty and clairvoyance, to touch into the worlds of sound and light where those guiding us into a better world, a more evolved place, wait for us to vision with them, to receive their grace, and to know our purpose and place.

This we shall do in these days together.

I have worked with elders of many cultures who hold explicit prophesies related to these times we are in.  There is a world wide transformation occurring.

We are part of it.
And while all human beings have a part to play, and a potential to reach, we as men must redefine ourselves, our core values, and purpose.  And we must generate markers for our youth to strive for, reach, and understand, with those of us who have achieved some level of wisdom and self generation, assisting them in the transition and transformation, into their acceptance and realization as authentic and empowered men.

The lack of initiation in wisdom paths for our young men drive them to the violence we see ringing through our society.  Every indigenous society on the planet, that I am aware of, has offered wisdom and initiatory methods for its youth, to reach, at the threshold of their adulthood, an understanding of who they are in the greater cosmos, and how to create or develop relationship with that Living Cosmos.
We, as men, have a role to play, to guide, nurture, and stand in a unified field of understanding, empowerment, and wisdom, to assist our youth, and all beings, all genders, all races and ethnicity through these times.  But, our youth, especially, are calling for that understanding and empowerment, now.

Let us proceed.

I ask of you to come fully prepared to participate in this work.

I ask that we, together, explore the meaning of the Sacred Masculine, the roles and goals we may play.

I ask that we discover and articulate the wounds and suffering, no matter its source, that have led us astray, that blind or bind us from clear perception and choices in our lives.

And, I ask, that we, together, stand ready to discover, allow, receive, and claim our divine birthright as children of the living cosmos, and men standing in our sacred nature.

I ask we be ready to embrace, hold, or nurture those of us who meet their deep wounds and pain while we are gathered for this work, and exalt with those who find their true place.

I will be our guide and escort.
But we cannot do this unless we each are ready to fully come forward and look at all of this, disclose our wounds. our disappointments, our doubts and confusion, and our vulnerabilities, in a safe and sacred container, and be ready to be held or embraced by others like ourselves, as we lift into the higher realms of our potential as sacred beings.

The empowerments ready to be offered will be best received by those able and willing to dissolve that which binds and holds us back, as best we can, from being truly luminous ones, wisdom carriers of our own innate nature.

Let us truly awaken the Sacred Masculine, and carry it forward into the world, meeting our sons, brothers and fathers, wives, mothers, lovers, sisters and daughters, throughout the world, in our daily lives, and do our part to birth this world into its New Era.

Please spend some time to look at these two sides of this equation for healing:  the wounds, suffering, and mis-beliefs that bind us and keep us from being aware or fully present, awake, and aligned with our highest essence;  and, the nature of that highest essence, of who we are as spiritual beings, and sacred men.  Who are we truly?  And, why are we here?  What is our true essence and purpose?

How can we define, articulate, and integrate this into our daily lives?

What is the difference in what we see in our lives, and in our society and world around us.
Who and what are examples of both the wounded and sacred masculine we see, or have experienced?
What holds us back from discovering or integrating that sacred essence within ourself, on a daily basis?

It is we, collectively, that will make it work, and bring the most to each of us.

Thank you so much.
I send my love and blessings, 

and, welcome you into this body of work!
Zacciah B