This, the fifth retreat in a series exploring four common male archetypes: The Lover, The Warrior, The Sage & The King. The series began in 2009 with an overview of the four archetypes, each archetype was then explored in turn. Now the King will be delved into in detail. Join us for this journey to understand this universal and intriguing look at male nature.
Facilitated by: Dave Wenger & Indiana-Michigan M.A.L.E.s Elders
Retreat Review
Eighteen men gathered at The Hermitage on May 15-16 to consider together the King archetype. Richard Rohr writes in Adam’s Return, “A king is not just a leader, he is not just a father, he is our contact with the holy and with the universal. The kingly part of a man connects heaven and earth, spiritual and material, divine and human, inner and outer.” Through ritual, story, teaching, and group interaction we each sought to access the King within us. Richard Gibson opened the retreat with a session on identifying with our hunger for something or someone who is greater than us, a longing for the Holy. Often we look for the King in our fathers, a coach, relative, or pastor/priest. We long for this man to give us what we feel is lacking in ourselves. In our seeking we are blind to the reality that what we seek is already within us.
On Saturday morning Mike Whitman led us in looking at the shadow king who emerges when our wounds corrupt the goodness of kingly authority and power. Ted Reeves shared his continuing journey from father wound to sacred wound. Tom Pawlak focused our attention on the centered and grounded quality of King energy. This kingly quality is usually developed by life experiences of great joy, suffering, and mystery.
I led the final session on blessing. The King is confident in himself so that he is able to see and bless the goodness in others. We chanted a mantra from Sufi wisdom, “When the power of love overcomes the love of power, there will be true peace.”
After the retreat I was aware of living in great love for my family, friends, IN-MI M.A.L.E.s and so much more that bring richness and meaning to my life. This was the greatest testimony to me of the valuable work we did together in Accessing the King retreat.
David Wenger, david@hermitagecommunity.org