Are you seeking support in your spiritual journey? Are you seeking a haven to sift through work, relationships, and your emotional life? Are you longing for deeper support along your path? You are not alone.
You may find that you belong at Men’s Estuary.
Estuaries are places where rivers meet seas and regions of intersection. Estuaries support life as “sheltered waters” and are nutrient-rich. Recover The Wild’s Men Estuary, in. the spirit of biomimicry, is a set-apart gathering of possibilities. Through ritual, nature time, drumming, meditation, brotherhood, and council, men are invited into the new life process. In the melding of recovery intelligence and ancient wisdom, an opportunity for change and greater aliveness emerges.
Is the Men’s Estuary for you?
Are you sensing a call to step out of your comfort zone and into a deeper connection to Life? As allied men, we gather to grow together in the foothills of South Carolina in our in-person gatherings and around the country through our online gatherings. With prayerful intention, we listen, discuss, and discern.
Enter a purposeful gathering of challenge,
deep listening, joy, and companionship.
Gatherings
Monthly on the 2nd and 4th Tuesday, 2pm EST
Solitude vs. Loneliness
Out of loneliness and into solitude, silence, and intentional time. This is contemplation.
Friendship vs. Isolation
Allied men connecting. Be immersed in a network of guides and companions.
Reflection vs. Numbing
Letting go of escaping and emphasizing prayer, meditation, slowing down, and paying attention.
Curious?
Schedule a free 20-minute call.
Meet your companions
Matthew Ray Lyda has been guiding men for more a decade (and more), is a certified Spiritual Director, Author, Retreat Leader, PSAP (Pastoral Sex Addiction Professional), RAE (Rainbow Advocate Educator), husband of one, father of three, lover of lands, and pickleball player.
He has lived in Bangladesh and India and is trained by IITAP (International Institute for Trauma and Addiction Professionals) and Oasis Ministries. Matthew also serves as an initiator in Men's Rites of Passage work worldwide.
My name's Eric Slabach and I'm thrilled to be in this Men's Estuary with you. I've been on a wild adventure since 2015 (and even beyond that), exploring the terrain of grief, trauma, and how it manifested in my masculinity into my adulthood.
I know a good bit about living through unexpected, life-altering situations.
Through much counseling, spiritual direction, trauma therapy, contemplative practices, masculine spirituality, and engaging with others on this transformative path, I've experienced a deepening and healing I never knew was possible.
I'm a 2023 Sendee of the Living School (Center for Action & Contemplation), living in Boise, Idaho, with my soulful (and adventurous) wife - Annie. Oh, and I enjoy road cycling and backyard barbequing :)
Chris Ross, psychotherapist and spiritual director, lives in Auburn, Alabama, where he specializes in working with those impacted by trauma.
Chris helps brave souls “get the junk out of the way so they can see God more clearly.” With an MS in Community Counseling, MDiv from a Christian seminary, a National Certified Counselor (NCC), and a Certified Spiritual Director, Chris has worked with males over the past 13 years.
He enjoys spending time outdoors with his wife, son, and daughter, particularly on the soccer field.
Ancient Wisdom: We pair the treasures of science with the gems of ancient wisdom. Whether it be time-worn Judeo-Christian practices, lessons from indigenous peoples, spiritual community, storytelling, or heroic journeys, we root our work in a grand story. Considering meaning, purpose, vision, and values.
Vintage, an age-old path.
Body-Based: This stance is faithful to mindfulness, experience, the sensual, and the imaginative; all elements oft-neglected by pseudo-masculinity, and white-washed spirituality. As the wisdom of the body is accessed, an opportunity to heal age-old rifts between the sexual and the spiritual opens
Hospitality: Unsubscribing from perfectionism and backspacing the blunting of empathy (mostly resulting from numbing behaviors Ad nauseam), this posture is faithful to see wounds morph into sacred wounds, a with(ness) to suffering, common humanity, and kindness. This is the call of hospitality to self and others.
Trauma-informed: This stance is a commitment to address systemic issues, hone honesty, craft ‘safe-enough’ settings, and foster collaboration. Dipping deeply from research-based recovery intelligence.
Embrace the Unexpected: The predictable, comfortable, and business-as-usual is death to our souls. The deepest transformations often occur outside of our expectations, and all our oh-so-cherished ways of thinking and behaving. Often, what is needed is the unexpected, the ridiculous, what’s ‘off the beaten path.’
Belonging: the domestic takes us only so far. As Thoreau said, “In the wilderness we have our tonic.” Nature is more than “out there”, but a reality that pushes past the boundaries of our skin, including us! Encounters with land, with more-than-human realities of life are Non-Negotiables to heal outdated myths of man greater than nature and man vs. nature. What we discover is: we belong to this organic reality, awe, and wholeness. We are more connected than we could ever have imagined.
In every gathering:
Our work will be influenced by teachings, small groups, soul work, challenges, partner sharing, centering and mindfulness practices, and fieldwork to put our conversations into practice. We will soak in the deeper truths of intimacy, belonging, connection, and being known. Each man will be immersed in a web of ancient wisdom and recovery intelligence.
Curious?
Schedule a 20-minute call.
Why men?
We can all use help finding our way from time to time - men are no different. Men need the support of one another, to be honest, and real about life. Through small group discussions, contemplative practice, men are encouraged to know themselves, listen to the still small voice, and to honor their souls. The result could change lives and lead to a whole new world.