THE LION HUNT - RITES OF PASSAGE

Do you dare to make the following statement to life..."I will not waste you ...I will no longer squander my valuable time and my vitality ...It is time that I name what is most important to me ...It is time to pursue it ...I am ready."

If so ...the journey starts here.

Prepare yourself for a hunt that will begin with an excavation into your deeper core. The aim is to see yourself ...who you are, where you come from ...and to allow the natural calling that comes from within you to emerge. This is THE LION. It comes from within you and it aims to pursue that which is outside of you. So it is both an origin and a destiny.

In this Rites of Passage Journey, you will go inside and then you will take a sustained leap forward with other men on this same hunt.

PREPARATION

An inquiry will begin before arrival into details of your own past and your lineage. Everyone will arrive with the yarn of their own history to work with and to weave a path forward.

DAY 1 - LANDING + ORIENTING

The beginning of this lion hunt will take place 2.5 hours from Toronto & from Ottawa at our In-The-Wild Retreat, just outside of the town of Madoc. Arrival will include time for everyone to settle into and prepare the space for our 4 day ritual. It will be a time to become acquainted with the other men and to become oriented with the flow of our journey.

We'll eat together and then make our way to our rooms for sleep.

DAY 2 - THE LION WITHIN

Know Thyself. What can sustain you through this passage way if you do not at least know who you are, know what you come from and how you operate? On this first day we're going to go to the center, because it is essential to this journey. Once you discover this, you will have the opportunity to name it and to clear out what may be in the way of this emerging Lion within you. As this inner energy is discovered, we'll take to task moving it out into the world.

Sauna & quiet contemplation will end this first day.

DAY 3 - THE LION WITHOUT

A hunter has a feeling of their needs and follows the scent of their purpose. They become in tune with the forces and the flow of nature in order to join their inner with the outer. This 2nd day is about defining the excavated inner self and creating a vision to orient ourselves towards the outer hunt. A declaration of this path forward will be made and we will bring it and move it out into the physical once again.

We'll end the day with sauna & food.

DAY 4 - YOUR CLAN

This 4th day does not conclude your Rites of Passage experience. It represents the completion of the map to initiate The Lion Hunt in your life.

This is not a task meant to be done in isolation. There is enough isolation in the lives of men today. On this final day comes the plan for the organization of your clan ... the brotherhood of like-guided men who will become the collective foundation for and the way to stay accountable to your individual journey.

We will have the opportunity to share our individual experiences on this last day and end with a dance of recognition and celebration of our discoveries and our pursuits.

The Rites of Passage Ritual will end by 2pm where we part ways and take our hunt into the world.

Schedule:

Friday, June 21, 2024

4-6pm : Arrival

6-8pm : Acquanting & Orientation

8-9pm : Dinner

Saturday, June 22, 2024

7-8:30am: Morning Movement

8:30-9:30am: Breakfast

9:30am-12:30pm: Inner Excavation

12:30-1:30pm: Lunch

1:30-5:30pm: Visioning

5:30-7pm: Sauna

7:00-8pm: Quiet Contemplation

8:00-9pm Dinner.

Sunday, June 23, 2024

7-8:30am: Morning Movement

8:30-9:30am: Breakfast

9:30am-12:30PM: Self Representation

12:30-1:30PM: Lunch

1:30-5:30PM: Visioning Part II

5:30-7PM: Sauna

7:30-8:30PM: Dinner

Monday, June 24, 2024

7-8:30am: Morning Movement

8:30-9:30am: Breakfast

9:30am-12:30pm: Planning Forward

12:30-2:30pm: Lunch Snack & Departure

WHAT'S INCLUDED IN YOUR STAY?

This gathering is designed to comfortably hold up to 10 men in our home's semi-private rooms. Your enrollment includes accomodations and dinner on the first night, 3 meals on days 2 & 3, and breakfast and a snack on day 4. Meals will be paleo with special dietary considerations accounted for.

The Lion Hunt Rites of Passage will be taking place in Madoc, ON in a region known as "The Land Between" which extends up to the Canadian Shield and down to the St Lawrence Lowlands, spanning from Parry Sound to the Ottawa Valley. We are tucked away in Cooper Hamlet on the west side of the Black River, which flows from an unnamed lake in the Cashel Township covering part of the western border of approx 30,000 acres of protected crown land. It is still raw and wild here. Coyotes howl from the endless forest and fields about every night. We are surrounded by a large pond on one side and springs on the other where all our delicious water is sourced. On this land, the brilliance and richness of life is felt profoundly and we are reconnected to what is simple and meaningful.

Full Address provided upon registration

Facilitation

The Lion Hunt Rites of Passage program is facilitated by Ian Ruckenstein. Ian is a 35 year veteran and teacher of martial arts and co-creator of Ecstatic Dance Toronto, a community dedicated to freestyle & authentic movement gatherings.
Ian maintains his own modality of movement for self-discovery and for healing called TAO’OM – The Tao Of Movement. Ian has been both drawn to and called into men’s work and has a strong orientation towards movement based practices as a portal for the authentic discovery of our being.
The Lion Hunt Rites of Passage program has emerged from Ian’s re-rooting journey as both a human being and a man and his desire to help others reclaim their own natural and necessary human & masculine traits.Ian has been called into men’s work and has a strong orientation towards movement based practices as a portal for the authentic discovery of our being and a revelation of our most meaningful callings.