An Association in Sharing
denatuurlijketijd@gmail.com France, Vosges 88260, 2 bis Rue Thiétry Hennezel 0033-(0)3 29 07 87 32
WHO ARE YOU ANYWAY?
WHO DO YOU WANT TO BE?
THAT'S UP TO YOU.
NOT ME!
CONTINUED INITIATION YOUNG MAN
For boys there is no clear physical transition as there is for girls. One day they have their first menstrual period. When a boy becomes a man, it's more of a slow and sliding process. Many adult men are or often still feel like boys deep inside and are looking for their true manhood.
Evolution glides, but it also makes leaps. Initiation means'get started'and with a good initiation a leap in personal evolution is made. Towards a new consciousness.
What are we going to do during an initiation?
We get to work together. Minimum 3 hours* per working day. There is plenty to do at Natural Time. Carpentry, bricklaying, chopping wood (or perhaps chopping down a tree?) Depending on how long someone comes, there is more and more to learn:
Electricity, welding,knife forging, boot building, sculpting, woodworking, shopping for €20 per week, wild picking, cooking, clay construction, etc. Opart of the initiation -short term or longer- is nature. Besides sleeping in a tent, we also go on an adventure in the wild forests of the Wolf Valley. As the ultimate test and conclusion, the initiator goes into the forest in silence for 24 hours, possibly with guidance. A number of assignments are presented there for which the initiator must commit himself in order to claim the right to an honorary fire upon return.
To prepare the boy for being a young Man, we have the much-needed conversations. Of course we also have this when we are working, but at the end of every working day there is a standard chat about how the day went and what was learned that day. There is a theme evening two evenings a week. One evening I propose a theme; The other evening the initiators propose a theme. It doesn't matter what!
Of course I'm going to raise issues that a young manI think needs to know how to get through the tough adolescent years as best as possible, on the way to becoming an adult man. To this end, it is important to investigate the difference between child and healthy adult male psychology.
If you come as a boy without father and/or mother (see Father & Son Mother & Son initiation week), stay longer than two weeks and help 30 effective hours per week, an initiation process normally costs €5 per day.*For 15 effective hours of help per week, I ask for compensation of €10 per day.
The price excludes €20 p/w food. We have a Skype intake interview in advance.
It is important to read about being digitally accessible during an initiation.
Apart from mother's skirt, the house and the warm fireplace...
...is a saying that refers to the stage of self-reliance of the offspring. In the old days, a young person would (temporarily) leave home, far from home (on a ship, to a boarding school, in the army or to the blacksmith or farmer in another village, etc.). The distance was not only literal in kilometers, but due to a lack of means of communication, the boy was also 'loose from home' in a figurative sense. This was andis a very powerful aspect of an initiation into self-reliance and encountering yourself. Customary masks and habits are thus given the space to be reconsidered. Personal outer and inner boundaries can be better explored without father and mother. The home environment can be better viewed due to the distance.
In our time it is extremely different. It no longer matters where you are, the home environment is within reach in an instant with internet and mobile phones. That's how it isReal letting go has become an extra challenge and I have started a search for contemporary initiations that still entail the experience of being on your own. I believe I have found the solution in a Golden Mean. My hard 'traditional' position is:No direct digital contact with family, friends, etc. My point is that as many letters can be written as one wants. (So remember to bring addresses, envelopes and money for stamps.) I can pass on urgent messages immediately via e-mail. A mobile phone may be used as an alarm clock, camera, flashlight, etc. Depending on the duration of the stay, needs and level of confidence, it is possible to access WiFi at a certain time during the weekend. Of course, everything is different in times of emergency. I also recommend to family and friends about the -be off-line for a certain period of time- to inform.