Do you feel that slight, yet persistent, existential gnawing in your gut - the grief of the world, and the sense that there’s something bigger, more vast, minute and mysterious that your life, and humanity, is meant for?

Have you experienced synchronicity - moments where you felt perhaps something was leading you in this life?

Are you feeling the uncertainty of these times, and know, despite your many failings, that coping mechanisms no longer serve?

Are you ready to truly commit your life to service, also because you know that is the most enjoyable life anyways?

Do you long deeper to connect with and even dream with the Earth, but yet feel some-sort of broken attachment, likely ancestral in origin, and aren’t totally sure the way to heal that?

Are you ready to step into your brilliance, your gifts, and know that the path there leads through your darkest pain?

Despite it being a contradiction to the times, are you ready to slow-down and truly listen to what your body, the Earth, and your ancestors are asking for?

Join me for a course that will give you the tools and support to step powerfully into your Adulthood Initiation journey.  

Your wild genius awaits you.

MODULES

# 1: Death of the Hero: Liminality as The Soul’s Fertile Ground

• An overview of humanity’s Threshold into Collective Initiation through climate disruption and Collapse.

• Liminality as the overarching quality of the “spiritual work” of our generation

• Compositing of the Hero/Martyr Narrative back into it’s rhizomic roots, opening space for.. (we’ll discover the various fruiting narratives emerging from this renewal process)

• A dive into the realm of Soul, with various arguments for and against this prime materia of human existence

• Rites of Passage from a Transcultural and Transcorporal perspective

  
  

# 2: Courtship of the Core: Trauma to Transformation - From Wound to Gift

• The Necessity of Trauma - what trauma is, why it exists, and the contours of it’s organic healing intelligence

• The Wound as Womb - Wounds as Ancestral Inheritance of Lineage Gifts

• Nervous System Regulation and Polyvagal Theory

• The Mechanics of the Emotional System from an Earth-based Perspective and how to properly digest emotion through Self and Co-Regulation

• Attachment Theory - The dynamic nature of Love, and how unlocking the keys to our Embodied Safety in relating is necessity for Expansion, Freedom and Soul-Evolution

# 3: The Art of Anchoring: Part 1 - Nature and Myth as Elders

• What is Anchoring - Why we need a Guide-rope to go into the Depths

• The Origins of Western Cosmology and where it’s incomplete

• Uncertainty and the Panpoly of Quantum Physics (Why Light is really Queer)

• How the Brain Works - Pattern Tracking and our Ancestral Inheritance of Birdsong

• Nature Speak: Questions and Riddles

• The Matrix of Meaning and Immersive Story

• Metaphor, Mythology and the Crossroads

# 4: The Art of Anchoring: Part 2 - Mentorship + Ancestry

• Before There Was White - Ancestral Reckoning in the Time of Nation-States

• Mentorship as a Fundament of Ecology - and how to grow and tend your own mentorship garden

• The Denial of Death and the Loss of Village

• What Actually Happens When we Die

• Food for the Ancestors - Feasting, Foraging and Flame

• Family Trees, Generating our Genealogy, and Imaginal Memory

• Ancestral Pilgrimage

# 5: The Road to Magic: Ritual, Altars, Prayer and the Imaginal Realm

• Self-Organizing Systems and Emergence - How to Partner with Life

• Reciprocity (and why we were taught a Kindergarten version of God)

• Imaginal vs. Deductive Knowing and why both matter

• Initiation into the Mysteries

• Becoming Transparent to the Transcendent - Ritual Magic

• Constellations of Power - Altar Magic

• The Power of Praise - Prayer as Activism and Self-Responsibility

  
  

# 6: Beloved Death: Impermanence, Intimacy, Integration

• The Alphabet vs. the Goddess (And other false dichotomies that failed our Culture)

• Anima, Animas, and Animism

• The Shadow as your Inner Beloved

• Dancing with Death (Even if you have 2 left feet)

• Integration as the Quest of our Time

• Vision Quest and Viral Questions

• Next Steps - What is your responsibility of Initiatory Bridge Building in 2022 (and how not to fuck this process up)

Why Adulthood Initiation?


Adulthood initiation rites of passage are an ancient pan-cultural phenomenon the world over. These initiation rites were what allowed the self-absorbed state of adolescent ego separation to — like a caterpillar entering its chrysalis — be held in a structure, where it can melt and die, only to be reborn as an entirely different cosmological possibility, one truly capable of serving and sustaining culture. Indigenous peoples across the world knew that initiation rites were the central key to cultural renewal, and thus, why these initiation rites often were fiercely protected against the tides of colonization, some surviving, often in hiding, to this day.   

Perhaps it could be said that initiation rites were what connected the human being to the greater Mystery, initiating an individual to the depths and responsibility of the union of the cosmic and earthly powers. Initiation demands resiliency within the uncertainty — and thus life becomes a wave to continually ride, rather than something to figure out, or a problem to solve. Most modern humans cannot bear any measure of uncertainty, and thus our current global-cultural crisis can, at its roots, be understood as uninitiated humans continually grasping for control, in a universe, on a planet, which fundamentally is wild, alive and emergent. 

We need initiation. But the cultures we came from, the cultures that carried this knowledge and practice have (mostly) long been uprooted and destroyed. So what then?

Thus, we come to a threshold — a potential evolutionary bifurcation point — where humanity, and individual selves, must become conscious of their own initiation processes. 

But let me be clear: you cannot initiate yourself. 

Let me also be clear: no one, no elder, no shaman, no mentor, is coming to steal you away in the night to initiate you.  

So, as modern people, we face the dilemma of how to approach our own initiations without a clear model or framework.

I’ve walked this dilemma, danced across this knife edge, fallen many times, and ultimately, found a path to initiation, which yes, like any true rite of passage, does bring one to an other-side.

And despite what Joseph Campbell and J.R.R. Tolkien may have written — this is not a hero’s or heroine’s journey — in fact, this is the death of the Hero/Heroine within you. In this new story, in this journey, you, and other humans, are not at the center.

In this course, we will explore a mycelial map of initiation. Questing with this map, we will encounter themes, challenges and tasks necessary to mature as human beings. Some we will share in common and some will be unique to you. We will explore the theory and practice behind adulthood initiation, evaluate where we each currently stand in relationship to this journey and place ourselves squarely on the path. This series will be interactive — with homework, ritual elements, council and an online forum to post content, reflect and share between classes.

TESTIMONIALS

“John's facilitation of the Initiation Rites course was exactly what I needed. He was very down to earth and present in his space holding and in the sharing of the knowledge. I was always so curious to hear more from him as he implemented great techniques in storytelling and the use of analogies to really ground in these large, complex and revolutionary ideas. I highly recommend taking this course, it may just change your life like it did mine!” - Nature Mbanefo

“I came to John’s initiation rites as an older person craving ritual and deep exploration into mental and emotional conditionings that prevent full maturity. I was amazed at how this brilliant one articulates the potential snags and blocks along the way to adulthood. He has a very sweet but rigorous way of analyzing and synthesizing cultural psychological ecological factors involved in full thriving humanness.” - Joni Cooke

“John's Adulthood Initiation series was soulful and provocative. His dedication to this journey was evident through his deep knowledge and curiosity. There were so many seeds planted and threads exposed and I am grateful for the map he provided as I feel more confident to continue navigating the process myself now that the series has wrapped up. Especially poignant for me were the pieces related to ancestry and the dance with death. Thank you John!” - Ashley Flemming

“John’s introduction to Adulthood Initiation was a potent catalyst for personal growth and discovery in my life. This is a first step towards something bigger, and John’s offerings are a beautiful portal to a new understanding of what it means to be initiated in these turbulent times.” Gil Shefer

REGISTRATION AND RECIPROCITY

One-time payment: $97

5% of all course proceeds will be donated to local Indigenous Land Rematriation Project.

COURSE OPENS EARLY 2023!

Register Now to Secure your Spot!

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need to take The Foundations of Adulthood Initiation at a specific time?

Nope! This class is delivered asynchronously, which means you can start it whenever you want, at your own pace. You have lifetime access and we encourage you to return to the content many times throughout your initiation process.

Will there be any in-person class sessions?
No. All class videos are available immediately once the course goes live in early 2023.

Who can I practice the assignments with?

This course will be training how to build a powerful inter-relational web of support around you, where you will share your learning, receive questions and feedback. We also highly encourage you to take the course with a friend or small group for a more powerful learning integration journey.  

How long should it take me to complete the course?

The full course content lasts about 5 hours, and the assignments will take longer depending on your readiness and enthusiasm for transformation. We recommend waiting at least a week between each module, and some participants have taken one module a month, really working deeply with the content and assignment.

You’ll have lifetime access to the course, so you can feel free to break up the modules according to your schedule, and repeat videos to let the content sink in deeper.

What equipment do I need to access the course?

This course is 100% online and you can access the course materials from a laptop, tablet or mobile device. Because this is a video-based course, you will need an internet speed of at least 1.5 Mbps to stream the videos. Dial-up or satellite internet may slow down access to the materials.

Can I teach these tools to my friends? 

Please, please, talk to your friends about these tools and perspectives. Our deepest desire is to build a global culture around the revitalization of rites of passage and adulthood initiation.

Cool! So can I share my login info with friends?

We’ve put a lot of time, thought and care into the Foundations of Adulthood Initiation Course, and we’re charging for it because we believe it has value for life. We ask that you respect the effort that went into the course and do not share it without permission.

Can I host a group training session?

If you’re interested in hosting a group session, contact us below. 

What if I still have questions?

Send us an email using the form below and someone from our team will be in touch shortly.