Illuman

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Illuman helps men become healthier, more authentic human beings through deep, spiritual inner work. We are seeking a life changing spirituality.

Illuman is a not-for-profit organization founded in 2012 by Father Richard Rohr OFM, for men who are ready to do the inner, spiritual work to become healthier and more authentic human beings. We do this work through our Men’s Rites of Passage experiences, council groups (both in-person and virtual), national gatherings, and local chapter offerings. We are a non-denominational and interfaith organization that welcomes all male-identified persons to our work without regard for your religion, race, ethnicity, class, education, sexual orientation or any other characteristic that might make you feel excluded. We are men transforming men through a power greater than ourselves. Our primary concern is inner work that makes a difference in the world. We are fed by the wisdom traditions of forgiveness and radical inclusivity. Our work recovers traditional patterns of male initiation, affirms a masculine path to healing, reveals the true and false self and honors the path of descent. We do this through the power of ritual, image, story and council. These are our five touchstones:
Centering – we are men grounded in the power of the here and now. Gathering – we are men who listen deeply to each other’s stories. Connecting – we are men who choose another to walk with - shoulder to shoulder. Releasing – we are men who let go of the ways that no longer serve us. Serving – we are men who honor the earth and serve the whole human community. We seek to form future generations of men who will restore these practices – building a world that celebrates the beauty of all beings.

10/23/2026

Sometimes the stories we’ve lived by can only take us so far. We need room to grow, new perspectives, and other men willing to walk (or ride) alongside us.

That’s what awaits you at Awaken: four days of honest brotherhood, inspiring conversations, Council, ritual, and time to reflect on the man you’re becoming, all at Camp Glorieta in the mountains near Santa Fe, New Mexico.

Join us November 5–8, 2026. Registration closes at midnight on October 23 at midnight. Save your spot at illuman.org/awaken.

10/21/2026

Sometimes we grow beyond the roles, expectations, and stories that once shaped our lives. But finding a new way forward can be hard to do alone.

At Awaken, you’ll gather with other men who are willing to ask hard questions, share their stories, and explore together what it means to live the sacred masculine. Four days of Council, ritual, inspiring speakers, and time in nature at Camp Glorieta near Santa Fe, New Mexico.

Join us November 5–8, 2026. Registration closes October 23 at midnight. Save your spot at illuman.org/awaken.

10/17/2026

Embracing the Call to Elderhood

The next chapter of life isn’t simply about growing older. It’s about growing deeper.

“What was great in the morning will be little at evening…” — Carl Jung

There comes a time when the familiar maps of our lives no longer serve us. The roles we’ve played, the identities we’ve carried, and the patterns that once guided us begin to change.

But what if this season of life isn’t simply about letting go?

What if it’s an invitation to become who we were always meant to be?

Illuman of Texas & Oklahoma invites you to Embracing the Call to Elderhood, a five-day immersive Rites of Passage experience for all genders, ages 55 and older.

Through ritual, storytelling, teaching, music, meaningful conversation, and solitude in nature, participants are invited to:

🌿 Honor the journey — Celebrate the life you’ve lived and acknowledge the transitions of aging.

🔥 Release what no longer serves — Face losses with courage, embrace grief, and lay down unnecessary burdens.

🌅 Step into conscious elderhood — Discover how your wisdom, presence, and gifts can bless the generations and communities that follow.

This is not a retreat about simply getting older. It is an invitation to embrace elderhood as a meaningful stage of spiritual growth, transformation, and service.

Rooted in contemplative wisdom and welcoming people from diverse spiritual traditions, this experience engages the whole person—heart, mind, body, imagination, soul, and spirit.

The world doesn’t simply need more older people. It needs conscious elders.

Perhaps this is your invitation to answer the call.

Learn more and register:
https://illumanoftexas.org/events

Cost: $600 suggested contribution. Those able to give more are invited to help provide scholarships for others. Financial assistance is available.

Scholarships: [email protected]

Questions or help discerning whether this experience is right for you?
Dwight Wolf
(713) 824-4775
[email protected]

An invitation to live abundantly, share your gifts freely, and bless the world with authentic elder energy.

10/16/2026

We all carry stories about who we are, where we’ve been, and what it means to be a man. Some have served us well for years. Others may have grown too small for the lives we’re living now.

At Awaken, we’ll look at those stories together through Council (a practice of speaking honestly and listening deeply), ritual, inspiring speakers, time in nature, and real friendship with other men. It’s a chance to unpack what you’ve been carrying, set down what no longer fits, and make room for what’s next, alongside men who are asking the same questions.

Join us November 5–8, 2026, at Camp Glorieta near Santa Fe, New Mexico. Registration closes October 23 at midnight. Save your spot at illuman.org/awaken.

10/09/2026

Most of us have wished for a life without conflict, or at least a way to settle it quickly and move on. Terry Symens-Bucher invites a different question: What if engaging conflict is itself a spiritual path?

Terry wonders whether there are gifts and capacities we can only receive by staying present in the hard conversation, and whether the people closest to us, our partners included, are in our lives partly to help us receive them. These are among the questions we’ll explore together at Awaken 2026.

Join us November 5–8, 2026, at Camp Glorieta near Santa Fe, New Mexico. Learn more and register at illuman.org/awaken.

What has conflict taught you that an easier road couldn’t?

09/22/2026

“One dark night, fired by love’s urgent longings, I went out.”

Centuries ago, John of the Cross wrote of a fire kindled in the dark—a deep longing that asks something of us.

We may call it eros, divine light, or life force. Whatever name we give it, that longing does not remain only a feeling. Over time, it becomes a story. And that story begins to shape how we live, how we love, how we relate to others, and how we carry what has been entrusted to us.

The question is: Is the story we are living big enough for our soul’s urgent longing?

At Awaken 2026, we’ll gather to tend that fire together—to listen for what is stirring, to notice the stories we have inherited, and to explore what it means to become a vessel through which life’s light can move into the world.

Come tend the fire with us at Awaken.

Learn more and register: https://www.illuman.org/awaken

09/18/2026

What if masculinity is less about striving and more about finding the rhythm that holds us?

At Awaken 2026, Ned Abenroth and Doug Shirley will lead Friday morning’s plenary, “Masculinity as Rhythm,” exploring how ritual, relationship, repetition, and rhythm can help us rediscover safety, belonging, and connection.

When we gather around a drum, a hearth, or in the presence of one another, something happens in the body. We settle. We remember. We are drawn back into connection with something larger than ourselves.

As Doug reflects, “There is no self-regulation without co-regulation. All self-regulation is remembrance of co-regulation.”

Join us Friday morning at Awaken 2026 as we explore a masculinity rooted not in isolation, but in relationship, rhythm, and belonging.

Learn more at https://www.illuman.org/awaken.

09/16/2026

What happens when we find the courage to listen to the story within us?

In “ONCE,” written by Mike Whitman during Awaken 2023, we encounter the tension between wanting to disappear and wanting to be known. His words invite us to consider the stories we carry, the voices within us we may have ignored, and what can emerge when we finally listen.

Poetry has long held a place in Illuman gatherings, giving men a way to express what can be difficult to name.

If you’ve written a poem during or inspired by your experience at Awaken, we invite you to share it with us. Selected poems may be featured on Illuman’s social media, offering other men a glimpse into the reflection, connection, and inner work that can happen when we gather.

Submit your poem at illuman.org/poetry-submissions.

And if you’re ready to experience Awaken for yourself, we invite you to join us for Awaken 2026.

Learn more and register: illuman.org/awaken

09/10/2026

What words did you carry home from Awaken?

Poetry has long held a place in Illuman gatherings, helping us give voice to grief, joy, longing, wonder, and transformation.

If you’ve attended Awaken and written a poem during or inspired by your experience, we’d love to hear it. Share your poem along with a few reflections on what inspired it and what Awaken has meant to you.

Selected poems will be featured on Illuman’s social media, offering other men a glimpse into what can emerge when we gather, listen deeply, and make space for what is stirring within.

Submit your poem at illuman.org/poetry-submissions

09/03/2026

Calling all Awaken poets. ✍️

Have you written a poem inspired by your time at Awaken?

Maybe the words came beside a campfire, during a quiet morning, after a meaningful conversation, or long after you returned home.

We’re inviting past Awaken attendees to share those words with the wider Illuman community. Selected poems will be featured on our social media, along with reflections from the men who wrote them.

Your poem may help another man imagine what he might encounter at Awaken.

Share yours at illuman.org/poetry-submissions

Address

500 Westover Drive, Ste 12690
Sanford, SC
27330

Telephone

+18432126830

Website

http://illuman.org/

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