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THE RITE PATH
TRAILING THE POETICS OF INITIATION
The RITE PATH is a mentorship exploring Rites of Passage as it largely pertains to male initiation. It has been specifically designed for men seeking to understand the inner story and unique lyricism of their lives through an initiatory and mythopoetic lens.
Poetry and myth-telling form a large part of the corpus as a way of cultivating a mythopoetic literacy, with real emphasis given to curating a language that can speak on behalf of the three pillars of initiation:
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SEVERANCE
THRESHOLD
RETURN
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Each pillar will be studied and explored through literature, story and ritual. The keystone of the mentorship is a Wilderness Vigil - an ancient rite of passage that holds the power to awaken mythological consciousness, otherwise known as Deep Time Dreaming.
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I'm looking for the face I had before the world began...
W.B Yeats
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The Wilderness Vigil spans nine days of which four-days and four-nights are spent fasting in the wilderness with essential items only: tarp, sleeping bag and mat. Starved of the periphery a hunger at the wild center awakens as the eye of initiation begins to open. Initiates return from their time on the mountain standing in their essential nature, some have caught glimpses of their true reflection, for others the inner genius may have revealed its true course. Understandably, it can be difficult to give language to what transpires and great care is given to holding ones gold to avoid speaking too early.
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Tell a wise man or else keep silent
because the mass man will mock it right away...
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Goethe
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After taking rest and nourishment back at camp, initiates have time to share their stories which the guide mirrors back through a mythic perspective. Given the appropriate stewarding the vigil can become an Axis Mundi - a reservoir laden with meaning, magic and power that can be drawn on for the rest of ones life.
The RITE PATH is a rare opportunity for men to work closely with mythologist, poet and storyteller Leon Cossar who has extensive experience studying and teaching Rites of Passage as it pertains to male initiation. It is open to all men with a sincere interest to deepen and enrich their lives through mythological thinking, ritual and committed discipline to ongoing custodianship of their time on the mountain.
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Winning does not tempt that man.
This is how he grows: by being defeated, decisively
by constantly greater beings.
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Rainer Marie Rilke
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DETAILS
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The mentorship combines online and in-person gatherings.
There are three online Zoom calls exploring the Pillars of Initiation: Severance, Threshold and Ordeal. The sessions are part lecture part group discussions and rich with resources and practices.
These sessions significantly support the serious nature of the initiatory undertaking and ongoing responsibility required to carry the experience back to the center of your life as a gift for the wider community.
The Wilderness Vigil spans nine days. There are two days of preparation before the four-days and four-nights of fasting in solitude. The remaining time is dedicated to rest, integration, group council and mirroring by your guide.
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At base camp the accommodation is either camping in tents or sleeping in rustic cabins. No prior experience with camping or spiritual retreats is necessary. All food and water is provided.
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Appropriate preparation for the Wilderness Vigil significantly deepens the capacity to behold and integrate the experience. As such applicants are encouraged to register at least two-months before the Vigil dates.
It is also acknowledged that some people are strongly called with unwavering conviction at the last minute and exceptions are made in these circumstances to suitable applicants.
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A detailed gear and preparation list will be provided upon registration.
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The Venue
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The Wilderness Vigil takes place on private property surrounded by Mt Barney NP in South East Queensland. The mountains and valleys around Mt Barney are the traditional homes of the Mununjali, Githabul and Yugambeh people.
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The land towers with old growth forest and brims with an abundance of native flora and fauna. It offers many different perspectives and topographical landscapes suitable for Vigil.
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Mt Barney Creek can be reached via a walking track and the spectacular Upper Portals can be accessed from the creek.
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Most importantly, the land is private, secluded, wild and incredibly evocative. It offers the perfect mirror and ultimate mentor for the Wilderness Vigil.
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The venue is approximately two-hours south- west of Brisbane airport.
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Four-Day and Four-Night Ceremony
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The heart of the Wilderness Vigil consist of a four-day four-night ceremony. During this time participants remain in a small circle in solitude while fasting.
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During the ceremony you are able to communicate indirectly to the guides should you need but effectively you spend the entire time in solitude.
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As the ornamentations and paraphernalia of modernity are slowly consumed by the wilderness, you are stripped back to your essential nature. At such times the personal soul and inner genius can reveal its truth, power and place within the greater dreaming of the earth.
There is a great shift from the idea of soul inhabiting some nebulous part of our bodies to the wider realisation that we are encompassed in soul and our psyches are as large as the earth.
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Your return to basecamp on the morning of the fifth day marks the end of your vigil but the beginning of a long apprenticeship to what transpired on the mountain.
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DATES
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Wilderness Vigil:
April 2024 (exact dates TBC)
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Online Calls:
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Severance: TBC
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Threshold: TBC
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Return: TBC
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Note: all calls are 1800 - 2000 AEST
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COST: $2200 (all inclusive)
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Registration
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Given the nature of this mentorship registration is by application and only serious applications will be considered. All applicants are required to have a fifteen minute call with Leon Cossar to ensure they are both fully informed and ready for a mentorship of this kind. Registration is via the contact page. Please go into some detail why you feel called to undertake THE RITE PATH mentorship.
DEEP TIME DREAMING
Acknowledging the reality that many men feel severed from an ancestry or cultural lineage that provides appropriate and meaningful initiatory experiences -
Deep Time Dreaming is the gesture of turning to face those who stand behind us.
In the face of modernity, it's a rebellious act caught up in the seeking and reparation of an old and rare memory strand.
Amidst the ancient triad of wilderness, solitude and fasting we go from
consuming to being consumed.
Dreaming to being dreamt.
Rights to Rites -
and grapple with what it means to steward these moves in our lives.
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Human beings are not born - they are made
Stephen Jenkinson
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Walking out of this time all together and toward the cave of forgotten dreams our grief becomes a song line to an old kind of beauty.
It has nothing to do with heroics or using nature as a warbling backdrop for our spiritual transformations.
It's a gritty, gutsy in the dirt attempt to become something quite remarkable - a human being.
Think of it as a wild wedding to the deep dreaming of the earth and the necessity to work for a time we'll never see.
Given the appropriate fidelity, there is the real possibility of braiding our lives to a way of living and dying that can walk alongside our ancestry.
In such a way we might begin the serious business of culture making again -
That is, not of waking up together but of dreaming together.
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That the heart will open
That the mountains will open
That wells will leap up
That the dream will open
That one morning we'll slip in
to a harbour that we've never known.
Olav H. Hauge