We’re just under 30 days out from my upcoming Cascadia Men’s Conference, a first-of-its-kind mythopoetic gathering happening August 6-9 in the Squamish Valley, north of Vancouver.
In the lead up, I’ve been hosting live conversations with our presenters - previous episodes have included men’s author Matt Sturm, indigenous poet Cliff Taylor, and later this week Scottish storyteller Dougie Mackay.
Yesterday I connected with Satyen Raja.
Satyen is the founder of Warrior Sage, a master martial artist, and one of the keynote presenters at the conference. He’s been showing up in FB with what I can only describe as fiery transmissions - dispatches on men, presence, and the particular weight of this moment in history.
“Without a deep purpose - a purpose of depth that comes from the soul - we flounder. We gravitate toward the superficial. We can enjoy it, but we can’t live there. It will never touch the deepest core of our being.”
We talk about distraction as a slow theft of life force, about what brotherhood actually offers that no amount of solo self-improvement can replace, and about the three pillars Satyen will be bringing to the gathering: presence, claim, and penetration.
Men, if you’re stirred by what you hear, consider this your summons.
"We just need to do it for the freaking hell of it. That's it. Just that - for the joy of being with men together in a good way, not just in a competitive beat each other up way, but in a way that we bring the fullness of our human spirit."
The conference is August 6-9. Details and tickets at cascadiamensconference.com
