|  There is something in the nature of nature, in its presentness, its seeming transience, its creative ferment and hidden potential, that corresponds very closely with the wild, or green man, in our psyches; and it is a something that disappears as soon as it is relegated to an automatic pastness, a status of merely classifiable thing, image taken then. ‘Thing’ and ‘then’ attract each other. If it is thing, it was then; if it was then, it is thing. We lack trust in the present, this moment, this actual seeing, because our culture tells us to trust only the reported back, the publicly framed, the edited, the thing set in the clearly artistic or the clearly scientific angle of perspective. One of the deepest lessons we have to learn is that nature, of its nature, resists this. It waits to be seen otherwise, in its individual presentness and from our individual presentness.
— John Fowles Wilderness Drum, Inc., is in the process of developing a series of wilderness adventures, workshops, and seminars that we plan to offer over the next few years. We’ve had lots of ideas that we think visitors to this Web site will find interesting and exciting. We describe these programs below; there are no firm dates yet, but we would really like to hear from you about the ones you might want to particpate in. As the programs get scheduled, we will make an appropriate announcement on the home page. We are eager for feedback; let us know what you think. |
|  Vision Fast Are you ready to discover your life’s true purpose? We fast in solitude in the wilderness to seek a vision, to gain greater clarity regarding our life's purpose and meaning, to find our unique gift, which we can bring back for the benefit of our people. This wilderness adventure lasts ten days. First there are three days of preparation, sharpening our intention, and learning the ways of the wilderness. Then there are four days and nights of solitary fasting in a sacred place; and, finally, three days of telling our stories, celebrating our adventures, exploring our visions, and committing ourselves to bringing the unique gifts we have found back to our people.
The Conscious Passage into Elderhood Elders are wise, strong, and full of life; deep inside, you know you are an elder. Elders are not simply old in years; they are those who have discovered their greatest gifts and use them to serve their people, who heal what is broken and nurture the life-giving spirit. It is time for us, as emerging elders, to seek new, creative, and vital models for our own elderhood, drawn from other cultures and – most important – from within ourselves. This week-long adventure into the wilderness will utilize council, dreamwork, ceremony, poetry, storytelling, mythmaking, shamanic journeys, drumming, shadow work, soul work, nature experiences, dialogues with the natural world, and contact with the spirits of the wilderness to draw out a new vision of elderhood, and a new commitment to use our unique gifts as elders to help our people. When we return, we will know what it is to be elders – strong, wise, and filled with life. Becoming Elders, Becoming Men Discover the special gifts you bring, as a man, into your elderhood. As we enter into elderhood, we know, deep inside ourselves, that the richest parts of our manhood are just now coming into bloom, and that our gifts as male elders in a confused society are more vitally important than ever. This weeklong wilderness trek is designed for men over fifty who have little or no previous backpacking experience. Our mastery of new skills, our growing comfort in the wilderness, our discovery of our inner strength – all these become metaphors for our new adventure into elderhood and our ultimate journey into death. This wilderness adventure will utilize council, dreamwork, ceremony, poetry, storytelling, mythmaking, shamanic journeys, drumming, shadow work, soul work, nature experiences, dialogues with the natural world, and contact with the spirits of the wilderness, so that we return as true male elders, endowed with the valuable gifts of strength and wisdom which our people need so desperately. Deliberate Passages: Creating Wilderness Ceremonies of Transition Embrace your changes, determine your path. Our lives are full of transitions – marriage, divorce, abortion, illness, recovery, bereavement, job loss, retirement, elderhood – yet we have lost the skills that create new lives and new purposes from the ashes of the old. The purpose of this wilderness journey is to explore traditional ritual, find the sacred time and space within which to create our own rituals and ceremonies of transition, to leave the old behind and embrace the new, and to seek out the dreams and visions we will enact in our ceremonies. We will bring back with us a commitment to our new life, to be renewed in the world with ritual and ceremony integrated into our daily lives. Closer to the Earth, Talking to the Spirits Find your true home in the wilderness. In order to grow into our full human potential, we must open ourselves to the Sacred Other – that which we might otherwise call spirit, nature, the spirits of the wilderness, our own soul. This week-long adventure will take us into raw and inspiring wilderness, where our dreams, visions, journeys, and stories can open us to the sacred wonder of the natural world. We will sleep out under the stars, and spend our days in dialogue with the natural world and with the spirits of the wilderness, learning to expand our senses, see and hear with new eyes and ears, form a personal relationship with nature, and find our true place among the creatures of the wilderness. Team Building in the Wilderness Is it your job to create a team? Teams can produce results superior to the sum of individual contributions. Leaders in team-based organizations need to know how to build trust, facilitate group decision-making, anticipate and influence change, and empower people to achieve high levels. The wilderness is the great team builder. From council to campfires, from cooking to drumming, this week-long wilderness adventure – designed for leaders and potential leaders in all walks of life – will help us learn, through discussion, exercises, and our own experiences, the ways in which an effective leader can build a team out of a group of individuals. Meeting the Spirits of the Jungle Take the ultimate journey – a vision fast in the Amazon jungle with traditional shamans. The vegetalistas or plant healers of the Peruvian Amazon combine an encyclopedic knowledge of medicinal plants with an ability to communicate with the plant spirits in order to heal the sick. This wilderness adventure is the first to combine traditional vision fast practices with the ayahuasca ceremonies of a traditional jungle shaman – a unique opportunity to use the visionary and healing power of ayahuasca and other plants of power with your personal vision quest alone in the jungle. Vision Quest in Bhutan Undertake a vision fast in a Buddhist mountain paradise. The remote Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan, with its steep valleys, majestic mountains, and profoundly Buddhist traditions, provides a unique setting for a vision fast. Bhutan lies in a hidden corner of the eastern Himalayas. It is the least visited of all the Himalayan countries, offering some of the most spectacular and unspoiled trekking in the entire Himalayas. On this wilderness adventure, we will combine high-altitude trekking, personal interaction with Buddhist ceremony and meditation, and a period of solitary fasting in awe-inspiring surroundings. |
