One of the questions that we are asked frequently is, “How can I find other open-hearted men to connect with?” Perhaps it’s difficult for you to attend a local gathering or you just don’t know other men nearby who can form a small group. Or maybe you recently attended a Men’s Rites of Passage and want to maintain a deep connection with other men with whom you shared that experience.

Illuman has been working to address these issues of connection by conducting Council Circles online—what we’ve been calling Virtual Men’s Council Circles. We use an Internet video conferencing system (Zoom) to connect with one another from anywhere in the world. These virtual Councils are conducted in much the same manner as in-person Councils would be: with an opportunity for some grounded contemplative time, some reflective readings or poetry, and some time wrestling together with challenging prompts. We typically break the larger group into smaller Councils of four to eight men, so that everyone has plenty of time to respond and be present to one another.

While it may seem a bit incongruous at first to look to technology to help us connect with others, we’ve all been positively surprised to see how quickly the technology can fade into the background and facilitate deep connection. These Virtual Councils aren’t meant to be a replacement for gathering face-to-face, but rather a supplement. It is an amazing gift to have the opportunity to connect with men around the world, in addition to the other times with local brothers.  Here is a link to the ZOOM Training videos if you want to learn more about the software we are using.

Please Join Us!

1st Sunday of Each Month
Central (CDT/CST)
8:00- 9:30PM CT

To Join, click on the the following link:
https://zoom.us/j/788537807
Meeting ID: 788 537 807