A Letter to Men
6 days till the brotherhood journey begins + reflecting on the The Tao of Man retreat
This is a letter I wrote to the men who attended The Tao of Man retreat this past weekend. I’m sending it out to all of you as I feel there is relevant and valuable information in here for everyone, especially men in my audience who are considering joining Brothers of the Ever Innocent Heart.
Dear Brothers,
Just wanted to say THANK YOU once again to all of you who made it this past weekend — for showing up with such openness and courage to dive deep into this work.
The retreat was a beautiful and powerful experience for me, and speaking with some of you, it sounds like it was beautiful and powerful for you too.
As some of you know, I’m leading a longer brotherhood journey that begins in 6 days. It’s called Brothers of the Ever Innocent Heart.
This longer journey is intended to take the medicine of The Tao of Man much deeper, while building deeper brotherhood and friendship over a longer span of time.
The modalities we engaged this past weekend—the circle, shadow work, meditation, dance, poetry, embodiment practice, loving presence, speaking and listening from the heart, offering reflections to one another—will all be key aspects of Brothers of the Ever Innocent Heart.
The brotherhood will assist all of us in deepening along our awakening, healing, and empowerment journeys: This is the sort of container that can assist in deepening in self-realization, healing primordial traumas, and empowering one another to rise to truly live, be, and create our soul’s truth and vision in this lifetime.
As you felt this past weekend, doing this sort of work with other sincere brothers on a similar path, is uncommonly powerful. There is something ancient and sacred that is activated in the simple ceremony of men coming together in good faith to be radically honest and hold one another in Love.
The minimum time-commitment for the brotherhood is four months, to ensure a deep and substantive journey. We will meet weekly for ~1.5 - 2 hours to do this work (at an as-yet-to-be-determined time that will work for everyone). You will be asked to prioritize these meetings and to make a point to attend, unless something legitimate comes up. Often when we don’t feel like attending a session, is precisely the moment when the session will be most powerful.
Brothers who join this journey are asked to make a monthly financial contribution on a sliding scale of $111-$222, depending on their situation. There are also additional scholarship and work-trade possibilities if you feel a sincere calling yet truly find the requested contribution level prohibitive.
For the man who is ready for it, this journey will hold great alchemical power. For men who step earnestly into my containers and show up fully, large shifts happen.
Thank you, men, for reading and considering these words.
In your heart, you will know if you feel a spark around the idea of taking this brotherhood journey much deeper. If you do, take 10 minutes to presence deeply with the application: https://jordanbates.life/brotherhood
If your application resonates, I’ll do my best to hop on a 1:1 heart-to-heart with you in the next few days, to find out if it’s the right fit for both of us.
Once more, we begin in 6 days.
With Love,
Jordan