It was an honor and a privilege to work and play with you all this past weekend. It was one of the sweetest experiences of my life, and I am so happy to have met you all.
I am still amazed and energized from the amount of courage, trust and vulnerability (in my judgment) I witnessed this weekend. Thank you all for sharing, and for the teachings I now embody.
You all hold a very special place in my heart.
I lost my dad this year and Journeymen helped me to see my pain and not feel so alone.
I want to share the deep gratitude I hold in my heart for each and every man who showed up this past weekend.
To be surrounded by men who live in service, act from their heart, speak boldly with passion, hear me when I share my truth, and support me in becoming the most authentic version of me possible, encourages me to share those gifts!
Being with you men reminds me that I am capable of stepping into these places of strength. So thank you for YOU, exactly as you are; you remind me of my own beauty and glory.
Wednesdays are my favorite day of the week because it’s when I meet with Journeymen. It’s the only place where I can truly be myself and I’m not forced to do anything I don’t want to.
I learned that I have so much to be grateful for. When I was out on my Journeymen Solo, sitting under my tarp, I felt more grateful than ever just to have a tarp. I felt grateful for everything that works together on this planet so that I can have food. This was the most supported and grateful that I have ever felt.
“Journeymen has helped me to learn how to use a variety of tools as well as skills. This gives me the confidence and inspiration to create and build according to my vision.”
Journeymen helped me deal with stress. I also felt seen and understood.
I wish all of my close friends were in this group because I would like them to know how to be real and to show up in more supportive ways.
It was cool getting to know everyone in the group more than we usually get to do in classes or sports.
I realized that I was failing math because I thought I didn’t care. I now see that I do care and want to do better.
My experience of the weekend was as a caterpillar building a cocoon, then fighting its way out, emerging as a fresh and new being, fluttering weakly with new wings.
At many points during the weekend, I was in awe of the power of the work that we did, and I realized the difference that could have been made if I would have had this initiation and support when I was a teenager.
I so appreciate seeing the beauty of eighteen boys stepping into their journey to manhood, and I am blessed to have found a place where I know that my showing up makes a difference.
Journeymen was fun and helped me to feel more free in myself.
You would have relished in hearing my son share his experience with Journeymen last weekend! He grew years in days! I’m so grateful for you connecting me to Skylar and giving me the confidence to send L to the solo weekend! You all are changing lives in incredible ripple effects I hope you realize!
The weekend was awesome and powerful for me. Although I do not think I can exactly put into words how it has changed me, what I do know is that I now walk in the world with a different perspective.
Something in my soul was affected deeply. I know that soul work is often unspoken and without words, and that this weekend was full of those experiences for the boys and for me.
Getting to be a witness to it and participate in the numerous rituals has had an impact on that part of me that is eternal and connected in oneness with each and every one of you and with all the sentient beings and even the rocks and plants on this planet. I know that may sound corny, but as I said, my perspective has been opened and widened.
I feel more connected to my ancestors and want to experience that more. For me, I have little connection with my dad and grandfathers and don’t know any ancestors past that.
So, the consciousness that was raised in me to imagine the men on whose shoulders I now stand and whose shoulders my sons now stand, as well, is inspiring and brings tears to my eyes as I think about my own mortality and what kind of world I am creating and will ultimately leave behind for the next generation.
I learned how to handle my anger better.
When I left the weekend I was full of awe, excitement, love, and in an altered state. I have been part of conscious initiatory experiences going on 18 years and I found this one to be one of the most potent, powerful, and loving.
I stepped into my elder and the elder role in a new way and am thankful for the opportunity to figure out what this is for me and how to share it.
On my journey through life, I have been mostly void of teachers and mentors to guide me along the journey. That scenario I believe is both due to myself and our culture at large.
I grew up not trusting men so I did not seek out mentors for fear of being controlled and shaped the way they wanted me to be rather than guided, coaxed, and encouraged into finding my creative expression in the world.
And I believe our culture let me down as well. Where were these men I needed? Once again I find myself out there piecing together the place of the elder and who I am as an elder. Where are the mentors? I find myself relating to these boys.
I left the weekend inspired to continue stepping up to the journey, being there for these boys, moving further into the place of the elder, and being present with what is.
I am grateful to all of you men for showing up, I am moved by these boys, and I give thanks to the ancestors and all that is.
Journeymen has helped me to feel more confident in expressing myself. I realize that I’m creative and can learn to do what I want in my life.
I learned in Journeymen to become aware of what I’m feeling and to ask for support.
I learned to believe in myself and have confidence and courage.
I just wanted to say thank you so much again for hosting the Integration meeting after the SOLO yesterday evening. I really enjoyed it, and I felt it was really helpful to get to share a bit, meet new people and hear some great stories/perspectives! So grateful for all that you do, Skylar… I truly hope that your work in Asheville continues!!!
Much gratitude for all of the words of affirmation from all the men towards me. I was seen, heard, and known. I’m so grateful to each of you and being involved in this work because it’s powerful and needed.
Journeymen was fun! It sounds dumb but there was a feeling of connection and respect that helped me.
Being a Journeymen mentor has given me an opportunity to impact the lives of young men I would never meet in my ordinary life, and share with them the passions and gifts that I am uncovering on a daily basis in hopes that they will be inspired to share their own.
It’s given me a chance to look at my own adolescence and ask how I wish that men had shown up for me at that time in my life.