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“There is in all visible things an invisible fecundity, a dimmed light, a meek namelessness, a hidden wholeness.
This mysterious Unity and Integrity is Wisdom, the Mother of all, Natura naturans.
There is in all things an inexhaustible sweetness and purity, a silence that is a fount of action and joy. It rises up in wordless gentleness and flows out to me from the unseen roots of all created being, welcoming me tenderly, saluting me with indescribable humility.
This is at once my own being, my own nature, and the Gift of my Creator’s Thought and Art within me, speaking as Hagia Sophia, speaking as my sister, Wisdom.
I am awakened, I am born again at the voice of this, my Sister, sent to me from the depths of the divine fecundity.”
~ Thomas Merton, "Hagia Sophia: The Expression of the Divine Feminine" ~
We are born with astonishing innate resources, honed and refined through eons of miraculous evolutionary processes. As we adapt to the demands of society or simply survival, much of our full human potential is suppressed or repressed so that we lose awareness of these inborn capacities - what Merton called our "hidden wholeness." As a result we experience disconnection, both within ourselves and with the natural world from which we came.
It is essential that we reclaim this hidden potential through self-reflection and deep inner work. The more we can become conscious of these unseen parts of ourselves, the more integrated we become, allowing our choices to be made with more awareness, maturity, and love. If we do this, the impact on all aspects of our lives—everyone and everything we touch—will be profound.
Illuman's annual men's gathering AWAKEN (formerly Soularize) offers us a serious and yet also playful container for risking such vulnerable work. We will call upon Story, Ritual, Image, Nature, and Council as our guiding lights for this transformative work. To do this in the company of others similarly dedicated and under the skillful guidance of wise facilitators is a rare and beautiful opportunity. We invite you to join us in it at AWAKEN 2023, September 14-17, at the foot of the Allegheny Mountains in northwestern Virginia.
Click Here for More Details and to Register
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