Fall 2024 - Embracing the Call to Elderhood (Elder Rites of Passage)

"There is a disturbing force that knows the closing chapters of life are too important to be left to chance.  It pulses through the universe, inviting and compelling us to 'grow up', to 'show up', to do more than just survive.  If we stop and think about it, none of us will survive anyway."    - Lou Flessner

Getting older is an epidemic.  About 10,000 people turn 65 each day in the United States, and by 20235, people 65 and older will outnumber those under 18 for the first time.  Elderhood, meant to be the culmination of human development, is not being described that way by very many people.  Negotiating the fourth quarter of life can be disorienting.  Things change.  Old patterns that functioned so well in adulthood aren't working so well.  When the world changes and we just keep bumping into obstacles or dead ends, it might be time for a new map.  When the game seems to have changed, we might need a new playbook.  

"Thoroughly unprepared, we take the step into the afternoon of life.  Worse still, we take this step with the false presupposition that our truths and our ideals will serve us hitherto.  But we cannot live the afternoon of life according to the program of life's morning, for what was great in the morning will be little at evening and what in the morning was true, at evening will have become a lie."  - Carl Jung, Modern Man in Search of a Soul, New York, Routledge, 2001, p. 111.

Illuman of Texas is pleased to offer a five-day immersive experience for men who are approaching retirement and those who are already in their elder years.  These Rites of Passage will include ritual, teaching, storytelling, music, conversation, and solitude in nature to help men:

• Review, celebrate, and say goodbye to their adult "working life" and younger years.
• Face their losses, hold them, and release unnecessary burdens
• Return transformed to their diverse communities as conscious elders members who bless the world with authentic elder energy

Embracing the Call to Eldershood is an organic experience that addresses the whole person - heart, mind, body, imagination, soul, and spirit.  It makes generous use of resources of the Western Christian tradition, but it also opens up the rich gifts of other global wisdom traditions for today's more diverse culture.  These Rites of Passage intend to draw participants into living abundantly - sharing their gifts freely for the sake of the world.

We recognize the cost may be a barrier for some men who want to attend, so there are brothers among us who contribute to make events like this available and to eliminate that barrier. Further assistance is available through scholarship funding. To request scholarship please email illumanoftexas@gmail.com