Stories

Praveen - on the 2009 Men's Vision Fast

The men's gathering and fast in the Inyo mountains was for me a watershed event. Looking back at it months later, I’m shaking my head in wonder and smiling in gratitude. I’m still incorporating the lessons from it into my daily life.

It was my second fast with the School of Lost Borders and I went with some foregone assumptions. For one, I was sure it would be a pretty placid experience. After all, I had already faced most of my inner demons the first time around. It would probably be less rewarding, there was just no way it could match the incredibly raw primacy of my first awakening. Diversity would no doubt suffer given only one side of the gender coin would be present.

Wrong on all counts.

Testimonials: Beyond Our Borders

The Four Shields of Leadership retreat opened my heart and soul in ways I never would have dreamed possible. Susanna is a deeply caring, highly gifted guide on the journey within. The Four Shields framework fooled me – at first I thought it overly simplistic. Was I ever wrong! Doors look simple, too, but they can lead, as this retreat did, to amazing new pathways of understanding, insight, and growth.

~ Maryn Boess, President/CEO of GrantsUSA LLC and Aramaic Teacher; Phoenix, Arizona

The Four Shields of Leadership retreat had a profound effect on me as a leader. It went beyond an intellectual understanding of leadership to give me an embodied experience of my own unique leadership style. I was able to transcend what I thought a leader “should do” to appreciate who I am and who I am becoming. I also have new tools to guide others to bring all that they have to offer to their leadership. I would highly recommend the Four Shields of Leadership retreat to anyone who is in a position of leadership. It is a deeply personal experience that will challenge and reward on every level.

~ Holly Foster, Director of Organizational Development for Coconino Country; Flagstaff, Arizona

Testimonials: The Practice of Living & Dying

John, USA
During the last two months I have written letters of Thanks, Forgiveness, Asked for Forgiveness and said I love you. The process continues...

Penelope, USA
My journey through the dark night made me come out with it: I love the people I love, and I can't wait to be sure they will love me back.

Hannah, USA
My old defenses are gone, and I don't expect them to return. I'm learning to practice compassion and forgiveness every day, toward everyone... including myself."
 

Testimonials: Vision Fasts & Training

Suzie
It is difficult for me to express in words the impact this ceremony has had on all aspects of my life, it is easier to simply see the change in my actions.

I have been given a great gift. It is so great because I am able to share this gift with my community. In the eleven days I was training with the School of Lost Borders, my life changed. And now less than a year later, because of the opportunity I was given, up to 40 more young lives have the opportunity to be changed.

Ira
As a urban guy who grew up in NYC , this has been a wonderful adventure of learning to feel safe and connected in the natural world along with a very deep kind of homecoming. With your help, I have come to feel a profound sense of belonging and peace in both the wildness without and within.

Having you there as trusted and skillful guides  helped me to let go and allowed nature do the rest.

I have never felt so listened to and so loved as in the mirroring upon my return from the Fast and in the extended workshop last summer. Words can not convey the sense of feeling so deeply known, of expanding what had already felt so spacious and joyous, and of bringing stunning clarity to a bunch of seemingly disconnected experiences.You were poets, magicians and shamans and through modeling, active guidance, and a clear structure, you taught me to wade into the same intuitive realm to begin to do the same for others.

The changes continue to work in my life and are  benefiting my family and friends,my psychotherapy clients, and my students.

Who are my People? Brian 2011 Men's Fast

No yearning for an afterlife,
no looking beyond,
no belittling of death,
but only longing for what belongs to us
and serving earth, lest we remain unused.

Ranier Maria Rilke