Ukilái: Annual Gathering of Men

Ukilái: Annual Gathering of Men
Utah Painted Desert
May 31 - June 4, 2018

In the face of all the change in the world, how do we keep our orientation and move in a good way? It’s not that traditional societies didn’t have their challenges. But they knew that if they could connect to their core as men, they would always know who they were and, therefore, their purpose and direction. Spirit would take care of the rest. In the remote Sierra Madres of northwestern Mexico men still come together with the help of their elders to re-forge and deepen this awareness for the benefit of themselves, their families and their communities. The word they use for this gathering is ukilái.

We have this same opportunity to join as men: To shake off whatever is blocking our view and be better prepared to work with whatever challenges are coming our way. The Sacred Fire Community is offering this men’s work led by don David Wiley. Don David is a fully initiated elder in two ancestrally-related traditions. He does teaching, healing, and ritual work around the world and has provide ukilái gatherings to men for over 15 years. Being born and raised in our modern western culture, yet being steeped in traditional wisdom, he brings a unique grounding to what it is to be male.

This will be the second time the program will be offered in the Painted Desert south of Moab, Utah—not far from the Colorado River canyons and Arches National Park. This magical part of the world was once home to the Ute people and is an amazing setting for this work! Past ukiláis have been held in the Catskills of New York, the mountains of Northern California and Utah, the mountains of Mexico and the Australian Outback.

Here is what past participants had to say:

“I have noticed a profound shift in the way I move in my daily life. The simplest routine tasks elicit deep emotions of reflection and peace.”

—Alan Kerner, Traditional Healer (mara’akame in the Huichol tradition)

“I had an amazing time at the men’s retreat.  It inspired me to live my life differently, prioritizing values, like my family, which are very dear to me.”

—John Huang, Sacred Fire Community Firekeeper

“Situations can be met directly and openly, without a strategy and without aggression. This feels both powerful and gentle at the same time; an expanding of awareness of what it is to be ‘male’.”

—Tom Edwards, Moab resident

In these videos, David Wiley talks about the need for gatherings like Ukilái to help men connect with the wisdom of what it means to be a man so they can bring forth the courage to meet the challenges of their lives fully from the Heart.