Rites of Passage

This last weekend my dad, Ba (www.luvmourconsulting.com), went to Ashland to teach a group of FeelingBeing boys and their mentors (www.boystomensouthernoregon.org) how to use Natural Learning Rhythms in Rites of Passage for 9-12 year old boys. [For more on Natural Learning Rhythms and BodyBeing, FeelingBeing, IdealBeing and ReasonableBeing go to www.EnCompassInstitute.org and look for the first three chapters of the book Ba and I are writing coming soon to this blog.]

In my life I have participated both personally and professionally in many Rites of Passage. It is such an incredible opportunity to mark natural transitions in our lives. I have had several in my life: one marking my transition into womanhood at age 14, one at 19 marking the transition to “adulthood”, one as part of my wedding, and one on my 30^th birthday after we found out I was pregnant with our first child. These ceremonies are carefully designed with five steps to mark transition in a very sacred way. First there is the acknowledgement of the old (finding those things that no longer serve us), followed by the casting off of the old (letting said old things go), followed by the gap (moving into unknown territory), followed by the acknowledgement of the new (attributes and qualities we now possess or hope to), followed by the celebration (yay, you are you and oh how wonderful you are).

It strikes me that as a society we are seriously lacking in this department. We have graduations (a paltry excuse for marking a transition), weddings (usually only contain the last of these steps) and that about does it. No good. I have seen children and their families completely transformed through the Rite of Passage process. EnCompass used to run a Rite of Passage camp specifically designed to take the whole family through these steps, it was unparalleled in its transformative power. So when Ba came back from Ashland and told me about his weekend, I was reminded of the power these types of experiences hold. I am determined to have Rites of Passage play a role in my children’s lives. Specifically they will have one in each of the major developmental transitions of childhood, but I am also wondering if there is a way to include this type of experiences in the educational opportunity I design for them. Hmmm… food for thought.