Men's Wisdom Council

Wisdom Council

From Menletter April 2005

By Tim Baehr

For over a decade, the annual Men's Wisdom Council at Rowe, Massachusetts, has provided men with a week of fellowship, fun, and spiritual growth. I've just signed up for my seventh year. It's an event I would not want to miss, and I want to share some thoughts about it with you.

As far as I've been able to determine, MWC is unique in the combination of activities it provides:

· A community of men. Newcomers and old-timers are equally welcome; in fact, the week would be a failure if there were anything like an old-guard/newcomer split in the community. The community is very diverse, encompassing all ages (late teens through eighties), gay and straight, married and single, professional and working-class, and so on. The group is small, around 25-30, and the seven facilitators often take part in activities they aren't leading.

· A safe environment for a man to explore who he is as a man, husband/partner, son, brother, father, grandfather, friend. This is one of the few times and places in his life that a man can simply be himself.

· Activities that do not espouse a particular theory or "right" point of view - psychological, religious, or social. The week can be deeply spiritual for a man who approaches it that way, but there is no right or wrong way to behave or interact with the other men, as long as it is respectful.

· Great humor and lots of activity. When men get together, humor and physical activity are practically inevitable. Think of the best of your summer camp activities as a kid, if you've ever had that experience: making things, hiking, exploring nature, staying up late talking, joking, telling stories, campfire discussions, even just running around in the woods.

· Ritual work. Rituals are the kinds of things that involve some kind of change or transformation. Some activities are grounded in mythology and ritual in a way that puts men in touch with spaces and time much larger than the narrow ones we live in every day.

· Emotional release work, as much or as little as a man wants or needs. Group and individual activities often bring a man to profound insights and healing of past wounds. This is not therapy so much as it is self-exploration in a safe community of compassionate men. Activities build during the week so that men are nearly always ready for the next step. No activity is ever required, however, and no man is ever ostracized or ridiculed for sitting out.

· An isolated, rural setting in western Massachusetts. Men stay in cabins and meet in a large, rustic conference center. Private rooms are available for men who may need them. This is a sacred space that enhances the experience in a way that a hotel ballroom or church basement couldn't begin to approach. Altered states of consciousness, brought about not by drugs but by ritual activities in a sacred space, are not uncommon.

· Great food, mostly vegetarian, cooked and served by professional staff. It's important to be fed physically as we are fed spiritually.

We live in a society, at least in the US, that devalues boys and men and then blames us for becoming caricatures of ourselves. Many of us feel lost - or worse, we have no idea of how lost we are but wonder why so many roads we take are dead ends and blind alleys.

The week at Wisdom Council is a journey, sometimes difficult but mostly entertaining, and often inspiring. Each man's story becomes part of a larger, shared, sacred story about the deep masculine - one that we take with us as we continue our journey into the so-called real world. I have seen and experienced improvements in relationships, careers, overall health, and more. It seems that getting away from the everyday can help men become more fully themselves, ultimately to the benefit of their families and communities.

This year's Men's Wisdom Council takes place from dinnertime on Sunday, June 12, to lunchtime on Friday, June 17. The cost for the week ranges from $430 to $505, depending on income. Scholarships and work/study are available. Work/study may involve some help in food preparation and the like, but it is scheduled so that it doesn't interfere with any Council activities.

(The Rowe Camp and Conference Center maintains a separate scholarship account for Men's Wisdom Council. You can make a donation by sending a check made out to "Rowe Camp and Conf. Ctr. - Men's Wisdom Council" and sending it to:

Rowe Camp & Conference Center

Kings Highway Road

PO Box 273

Rowe, MA 01367 USA

If you include a cover note, please mention Menletter. Thanks!)

(Disclaimers: I am not on staff at either the Rowe Center or the Wisdom Council. I do not get any compensation for promoting the Center, the Council, or the scholarship fund.)

I don't think any Council has turned a man away because the roster was full, but signing up soon is probably a good idea. For details, see http://www.rowecenter.org/schedule/camps/MensWisdom.html. I hope to see you there!