Four movements across twelve months, held by land, circle, and the brotherhood vow
Welcome. Belonging. First experiences of what this is. The Opening Family Gathering on April 18th is the beginning. Immersion #1 in late May is where brotherhood truly forms, where the boys first sleep under the same sky, make fire with their hands, and begin to understand what they have been invited into. Through-line: I belong somewhere that takes me seriously.
Nature as mirror. Solitude. Beginning to see himself. The sit spot practice begins, a personal place in nature each boy returns to regularly across the year. The first dawn solo. The truth-telling practice. At Immersion #2, each boy writes a sealed letter to his future self. Through-line: There is more to me than I have been shown how to see.
Shadow. Difficulty. The encounter with what the boy has been avoiding. The darkest immersion of the year. An ordeal that is genuine, not manufactured. The mentors go in first. Through-line: I can go into the dark and come back. I am not alone in there.
Seeing the year. Making a conscious choice about what comes next. The Story Keeper reads the full arc of the year back to the brotherhood. Boys read their sealed August letters alone for the first time. The final ceremony at Immersion #4 in late February, with families invited to witness and welcome their sons home. Through-line: I have been changed. I want to keep going.
These elements are present at every gathering, every circle, every immersion across the full year.
“I see you. I am with you. What we do here matters.” Spoken together to open and close every gathering by both mentors and boys. By the end of the year it will have been spoken more than twenty times, and it will carry the weight of everything they have been through together.
Whoever holds it speaks. Everyone else listens. No interrupting, no fixing, no advice. The talking piece teaches boys what it means to be truly heard, and what it means to truly listen.
Built from objects each boy brings from his land or home. The altar grows across every gathering and travels with the brotherhood all year. It is the physical record of who they are and what they have brought.
The Story Keeper records one true thing at every gathering. The journal is read at every gathering close and becomes the source material for the final ceremony. It is the brotherhood's living chronicle.
At the first immersion weekend, each boy receives a role that belongs to him and no one else for the year. Roles are carried across every gathering.
Tends the fire during gatherings
Tends the water for the group
Opens and closes the circle space, holds the entry point, calls the group to gather
Helps orient the group in the land and in the arc of the year
Keeps the journal, records one true thing per gathering, reads at closings
Tends food and supplies for the brotherhood
First to rise at immersions, holds the dawn for the brotherhood
Last to sleep at immersions, holds the dark for the brotherhood
Observes and reflects something true about each brother at every gathering
Tends physical and emotional wellbeing of the group, first to notice when a brother is struggling
Boulder Creek, CA. Nine acres of old-growth redwood forest in the Santa Cruz Mountains, adjacent to Big Basin State Park. The land of mentor Chris Cobb. Site of the mentor retreat and the final Year One ceremony. At the center of the plateau stands a large hand-carved redwood heart sculpture that serves as the heart of the land's ceremonial space.
