Chester shares how the rites transformed his understanding of himself and led him from the corporate world to co-convening Illuman of Illinois.

Dan reflects on what drew him to the rites and the lasting shift the experience brought to his daily life and relationships.

Charlie opens up about finding his soul brother at the rites and how the experience redefined masculinity from strength to vulnerability and genuine love.

A Carmelite priest with 58 years in religious life, Fr. Bob shares a deeply moving account of his grief ritual and discovering he is the beloved of God.

Mick, a member of the Southwest Ohio Illuman Council, reflects on how the rites deepened his presence after more than five decades of marriage.

Mark describes his 2024 rites experience in the Arizona wilderness and the profound inner shift that followed him home to Dayton, Ohio.

From Richmond, Virginia, Bill recounts his 2011 rites in the Catskills and the ways the experience continues to shape his life over a decade later.

Elias shares his journey of walking away from a devout religious background and finding a profound new depth of spirituality and connection after the rites.

Bill reflects on his realization at age 74 that he was still losing his temper over everyday frustrations, and how the rites helped him embrace the contemplative path.

Ramiro discusses his experience in long-term recovery, and how the rites provided a profound new framework when the language of his sobriety had begun to feel rote.

Steve opens up about navigating clinical depression and a failing marriage, and the transformation that began when he realized he was the common denominator in his life's struggles.

A retired business owner, John reflects on his 2012 initiation in the Texas wilderness and how solitude and centering prayer filled the "God-hole" that professional success could not.

Gary shares his 2008 initiation at Pilgrim Park, Illinois, and how the rites pulled him out of his "thinking head" into vulnerability—leaving him with three North Stars that still guide his life.

A psychotherapist initiated at Aravaipa Canyon in 2016, Jeffrey describes how an archetypal image of a rock cracking open to pour out water has guided a decade of moving from a hardened exterior to an open heart.

Rich describes riding his motorcycle three days to reach his 2006 rites at Ghost Ranch, New Mexico, and why a healthy male identity has to be nurtured shoulder-to-shoulder with other men.

Rich shares his 2014 initiation at Pilgrim Park in his early 70s, the deep welcome he felt as a gay man entering the rites, and the healing of a 45-year father wound.

A first responder initiated in 2024 at Deroche, British Columbia, Brody reflects on moving past the Hollywood model of masculinity toward human wholeness, and why younger men need wise elders they can trust.

A recently retired federal mediator from Seattle, Tom shares why Father Richard Rohr told him in the 1990s that he wasn't "old enough" for the rites—and how making his official initiation at age 64 finally delivered the deep transformation he had been seeking.

An academic, therapist, and convener for Awaken 2026, Doug recounts arriving at his 2016 rites at Aravaipa Canyon under crushing dissertation pressure and discovering that real transformation rarely feels glamorous in the moment.

Bill reflects on his 2004 initiation at Ghost Ranch, New Mexico, where a search for a mystical desert vision instead surfaced an intergenerational wound he chose to end with a single pound of his fist—and why he keeps returning year after year to set up chairs for new men.

An ex-SWAT officer, former college football player, and first-responder chaplain, Matt shares his initiation in Big Bear, California—and why men need to trade their reflex to "fix" each other for an experience of mystery, awe, and communal vulnerability.

A spiritual director from Spartanburg, South Carolina, Matthew describes arriving at his 2018 rites at Pilgrim Park in the midst of the "full catastrophe"—and the visceral moment he laid face down in a dry creek bed and finally let his body do the weeping.

A 60-year-old youth minister and Enneagram One, Mike recounts arriving at his 2008 initiation at Pilgrim Park certain he had his spiritual life figured out—and how learning to ask for "radical inner honesty" finally dropped a lifetime of faith from his head into his heart.

A retired engineer initiated at a YMCA camp in Oracle, Arizona in 2005, Al recalls the mystical desert vision of quaking leaves and running water that led the Arizona chapter to Aravaipa Canyon—and the quiet, generational power of running the kitchen and holding space for 90+ men year after year.

A retired agricultural economist who spent eleven years working in Africa, Dave reflects on his 2024 initiation at Aravaipa Canyon—how a major heart attack found him still frantically emailing coworkers from his hospital bed, and how a plant flourishing in a desert rock became his metaphor for the second half of life.

An 8th-grade math teacher who often felt more at ease around women than talking sports with other men, Ken shares his 2013 initiation at Osprey Wilds in Minnesota—overcoming Midwest "John Wayne" stoicism, releasing a long-held shadow in council, and discovering his own flavor of masculinity.

A filmmaker, recovering alcoholic, and advocate for wild salmon and indigenous communities of Bristol Bay, Mark describes his May 2024 initiation in Deroche, British Columbia—seven months after his father's death, seven years into sobriety, and assigned to cabin seven.

A freelance creative and touring worship leader from Dodge City, Jared shares his 2012 initiation at Pilgrim Park—laying prostrate in a meadow letting ants crawl over him, running out of dictionary-ready adjectives in council, and being ruined for the fog-machine performance of Sunday morning ever after.

A retired naval pilot navigating PTSD, divorce, and the unraveling of his old life, Jay describes his 2024 initiation at Shrine Mont, Virginia—the shock of the "mirror gauntlet," a hard-won move from head to heart, and why radical inclusivity in men's work needs to consciously make space for veterans and first responders.