The Integral Warrior: On it's way to Cincinnati?

Anyaa has recently begun facilitating the Shamanic Priestess Process in Cincinnati to a large group of women, and we've just contacted them about the possibility of bringing the Integral Warrior-the masculine mirror to the Shamanic Priestess Process-there as well. We have been pleasantly surprised at the number of responses.

So I thought I would take some time to give an overview of what the Integral Warrior process is all about, and over a series of these articles, explore what men can expect from the program, and how the process will enhance and enrich their lives. I also want to let men everywhere know what I need to be able to bring the process to wherever they might live.

This committed program comes through the lineage of my friend and teacher, Brad Collins, the founder of the Shamanic Priest Process and one of the founders of Venus Rising Institute of Shamanic Healing Arts, which is headquartered at Isis Cove in Western North Carolina, the intentional community Anyaa and I live in. We have a workshop space in our home called Half Moon Temple.

Into this process I learned from Brad I have added cutting edge integral and developmental systems theory and other elements and processes I've picked up over the years from being associated with Integral communities.

The process begins with a stand-alone Introductory weekend, full days on Saturday and Sunday, that gives an overview of the entire process, as well as an introduction to the masculine archetypes with an emphasis on the KING archetype, an introduction to Integral Theory (the most comprehensive map of human consciousness yet) and the Spiral Dynamics developmental model. We'll also learn about how the masculine grows through three distinct stages, take a guided Shamanic Journey, and spend some time processing that journey.

The introductory weekend gives men a taste of what to expect from the remaining six weekends. At the end of the introductory weekend, men will have an opportunity to decide whether or not they want to experience the full process, which is spread out over several months so that everyone has an opportunity to integrate the realization of each weekend, and to make it as affordable as possible. The process is intended for men who are already on the leading edge of consciousness and not for everyone, even though it's accessible to anyone who wants to do the work. It's a party with an open invitation for anyone to attend.

Here are a few links, most from this blog, that will give you a bigger picture of my approach and what the Priest Process is all about.

My website
The Integral Warrior
The Shadow of the Spiritual Warrior
New Archetypes for the Masculine
Numen, Old Men
What is the new Masculine?

In order to bring The Integral Warrior to a city or town, it's necessary have to first have a date and a local coordinator, someone who can help with the local marketing and pretty much knows the lay of the local land. Sometimes that coordinator also provides a venue to hold the process, and a place for me to stay, often the coordinator's home. Generally, this man attends the full weekend series at no cost in exchange for being the local coordinator. If the coordinator doesn't have the room for 10-12 men to gather , it may be necessary to rent a venue, generally from a local spiritual community or the like.

Once we have a coordinator and a location in which to hold the series, we need men to attend, so the availability of local mailing lists of like-minded people is a huge plus. Depending on the circumstances and the quality of a mailing list, the person who has the mailing list can also attend in exchange for that list.

If you do any traveling, you know how expensive and demanding it can be. In order to make the Integral Warrior possible, we would need a minimum of 8 paying men, preferably 10-12, and some scholarships may be available if there are enough men. If you've ever put together a workshop you'll understand that these are very demanding to facilitate and a lot of work goes into putting the series together before anyone ever meets.

In my next article, I'll spell out exactly what we'll be doing each the seven weekends, including the Introductory Weekend, and layout approximate costs and expectations, and in a separate article, I'll address why some men should absolutely be doing this work.