Did you catch Russ Adams’ Second Saturday workshop on rituals and rites of passages for men in recovery? It was awesome! I’ve been to a lot of these and found them interesting, but this time I couldn’t take notes fast enough.
Russ has studied rituals for a long time. He talked about communities that understand the importance of rituals as a way to pass life skills and life info to younger generations. He talked about what those rituals were and how having men pass the information along to boys gave them an understanding of their place in the world…leading to less alcoholism, drug addiction and need for treatment.
If you ever have a chance to participate in one of the workshops or rituals presented by Russ, take him up on it. Austin Recovery uses rituals, like drum circles and voluntary sweat lodges, in their experience-based treatment to help us better understand what they’re talking about in treatment and in the 12-Steps. In fact, the alumni group has a drum circle the last Saturday of every month for those in recovery or involved in the AA community. Check it out… Austin Recovery Alumni Drum Circle.