From Social Action, Communities, and Spiritual Steppingstones August 8, 2008
Aug. 2007
I’d been trying to connect with the so-called “men’s movement” ever since reading the 1982 Robert Bly interview in New Age magazine and then seeing Bly on the PBS special Bill Moyers did with him in 1991. (Link to 1991 Sterling detour).
In 2004 I saw a flyer that said Michael Meade was going to be speaking at my daughter’s college and I remembered that he was a driving force in that movement. After a couple of years of scheduling conflicts I finally attended the weeklong retreat in Mendocino in 2007, led by Michael Meade, Luis Rodriguez, Orland Bishop, and Jack Kornfield under the auspices of the Mosaic Multicultural Foundation. It was a very powerful, definitely transformative experience.
I got a ride for the long drive from the San Francisco airport to the retreat center from a fellow who was attending for his twentieth consecutive year! He had some great stories about two teachers he was especially fond of who would not be participating this time – James Hillman and Malidoma Somé. When we finally parked in the dirt parking lot he led me on foot along some trails through the redwoods with no indication of where we might find people. The first person we saw was Jack Kornfield. My guide told Jack a little about me as he introduced us. When Jack heard I had lived at ZCLA for 28 years he surprised me by asking “Would you like to lead the meditation group every morning? I’ve been doing it for years and I’d like to sleep in this week”. What an amazing first encounter as I was about to start getting my bearings in a new community! What ensued with the meditation group is next on my todo list.
A small group of us met for a daily poetry workshop with Luis Rodriguez. This is what I wrote in the workshop.
Aug. 2008
About 8 months after the symptoms started I went to my second Mendocino Men’s Retreat, again led by the same four teachers, Michael Meade, Luis Rodriguez, Orland Bishop, and Jack Kornfield. I didn’t have a diagnosis yet, and the mysterious speech problem was still a minor annoyance, very much in the background.I didn’t speak as much in the main meeting room because I felt a little self-conscious, but it wasn’t a big deal. I have typed one section from my Daily Log so far.