Imbolc   Waxing Wild Moon

Blue Cloud Abbey

We met with five monks:  Fathers Michael and Chris, Brothers Bob and Benet and Abbot Denis.   The conversation had a lot of heart, touching on why each of us belonged–and continued to belong–to our respective communities.

We discussed with them the creation of a rule, a Way of the Woolly Mammoth.  If done well and distributed widely, it might have an impact on those men who now live solitary male lives.  A solitary male life, we believe, is the norm.

As Father Michael suggested, the man who says his wife is his best friend puts a burden on the marriage relationship.  That is, in fact, a solitary male life with work and family being places where the man has definition by role:  husband, employee or owner, but has no place  as a man.   This may seem peculiar or idiosyncratic to our perspective, but we know the richness of having significant male relationships held together over time.

That richness informs the gender specific aspects of our life by giving back to those roles a renewed sense of what it is to be a man, a man in whole, in relationship with a woman or a business or another partner.  A renewed sense of what it means to be a father, grandfather, uncle or mentor also grows with organic vitality from this soil.

More on this later.

Imbolc      Waxing Wild Moon

Blue Cloud Abbey

We gathered this AM and heard from Paul.  They’re selling their house and downsizing to a rental.  He’s thinking about consulting.

Time for an inter-fraternal dialogue with the monks here.  Bye for now.

Imbolc     Waxing Wild Moon

Blue Cloud Abbey            Marvin, South Dakota

A group of about 30 Missouri Synod Lutheran church women have come for retreat.  Their energy differs from ours.   A lot.

Frank played a wonderful adagio movement by a Spanish composer named Rogdriguez.  A very moving piece.

We have a conversation started about a Woolly Way, a brief evocative expression of our Tao.   Our 20 + years together commend us by their evidence of stablity, intention, commitment.  We have never tried to spread or split ourselves, though we have taken on the occasional international associates.  We have two in St. Petersburg and one somewhere else I can’t recall right now.

Blue Cloud Abbey has a distinctive Plains Indian imprint.  The American Indian Cultural Resource center has a collection of Lakota beadwork, parfleching and quill work that contains several museum quality pieces.

The Wild Moon has grown fat, swelling almost full.  It colors the clouds and gives the night sky a romance.  Venus also hangs in the northern sky.   Here the sky runs on and on, the earth gives little obstacle to the eye.  The spirit takes a breath here, fills my lungs with the light of the Wild Moon.  Tonight we dance on the prairie, the wind in our hair and moonlight shining out through our eyes.

Imbolc      Waxing Wild Moon

Somewhere in the Coteau Hills.  Blue Cloud Abbey sits on a prominence great enough to give a view of the plains in all directions.  To the east, back toward the Twin Cities, the city of Milbank glimmers in the night.

We have been here since last night, Thursday and will stay through breakfast on Sunday.  This retreat has a much freer form than our usual scheduled time with each person.  Much has been said already, enough to make the heart open and tears to flow.

More on that at another time.

The Abbot spoke briefly to us at lunch yesterday.  He said they had an interest in us, the Woolly Mammoths, since we, too, are men on a journey together, a fraternity.  His comments have sparked some interesting thoughts already.

Later, I’ll tell you of Frank and mine’s encounter with Bud of Peterson Earth Movers.  Time to huddle up.