The Bridge

Getting To The Truth:

A Mystery School for the Heart Warrior

July 20 – 22, 2012

Kansas City, MO

Click Here to read the words of our brothers who have attended a Bridge event.

What is The Bridge?
The Bridge is a sacred gathering of men, a 3-Day Initiation Ritual which takes place in Nature.  This Spring, we will be gathering once again in Baldwin, KS, just outside of Kansas City.  Only men participate in the event and men lead the event.

The Bridge is an opportunity to stop, reassess, and powerfully move forward in your life with a renewed and fully aligned vision.  And we do it in a life affirming environment, with a sweat lodge, a labyrinth, the ocean, redwood trees, candles, incense, stars and stones, our fellow brothers, Mother Earth, wind, fire, and above all else, spirit guidance.

The Bridge takes place away from all the reminders and demands of our society. We select a location seeped in Nature and isolated from the “real world.”   The Bridge is a rare opportunity to focus on yourself and take a searing look at your life. One fundamental component of The Bridge is “Know Thyself.”  We’ll focus our efforts on our mission, our gifts, our fears, our inspirations, in short, what makes us men.

In Spring 2012, we are scheduled to return to The Light Center in Baldwin, KS. We will all truly be away from it all. There are several photos on this page taken during a recent visit to the venue. This venue is magical.  Last year, in May, we experienced a tornado first hand, were visited by a kingly owl, and had a rollicking good time.

Another key component of The Bridge is Initiation.  Initiation is the process of letting go of something in your life that is not working or causing you pain and suffering, and then calling in something supportive and powerful to take with you.  We call on the wisdom of our ancestors, those that came before, and have shared simple and profound teachings.

“Bring all the dualities nearer, closer, and let them merge. Let the good and bad merge into each other, the darkness and the light merge into each other, life and death merge into each other. Then there is Advaita, then there is oneness. That oneness brings freedom, transformation. ” Osho

What happens during the event?

All men who attend a Bridge event are sworn to the highest degree of confidentiality. As with all initiation processes throughout history, confidentiality is maintained. In general terms, you will spend your time with men, interacting in-group and one-on-one situations, in ritual and in nature.

“A most astounding phenomenon has happened to us; we have had an experience which makes Love, fame, rank, ambition, wealth, look like thirty cents; and we begin to wonder passionately, “What is truth?”  The Universe has tumbled about our ears like a house of cards, and we have tumbled too.  Yet this ruin is like the opening of the Gates of Heaven!  Here is a tremendous problem, and there is something within which ravins for its solution.”  Aleister Crowley from Book 4

What can I expect?

As you will read on the “Brother’s Words” page, each man has his own varied and unique experience, so it is difficult to predict exactly what to expect. All men experience a breakthrough in the level of power they bring to bear on the world, a breakthrough in their understanding of themselves and their fellow man, and a profound clarity in their relationship to the feminine. It is our intention that the following is transmitted over the 3 day event:

* Rediscover The Inner Magician / Wizard.

* Realign One’s Relationship To The Earth And Her Energies.

* Reawaken A Knowing Of The Spirit Of Nature.

* Death To The Old Self  and Rebirth To A New Self.

* Expand Perception Through Exposure To Initiation.

* Understand And Practice  The Discipline Of Ritual.

* Explore Deeply Held Beliefs And The Nature Of One’s Truth.

* Open One’s Heart And  Express One’s Deepest Self.

* Purify One Self – Physically, Emotionally, and Spiritually.

Expect to be moved, to be inspired and to be deeply touched. Expect to experience fear, laughter, compassion and ecstasy. But mostly, expect to feel a new level of groundedness or wholeness as a result of more fully integrating the various components of your masculine essence.

And this event, unlike any we have experienced, will work to enhance your subtle energy perception. It will draw out the wizard in you, the magician who can sense with his sixth sense, what is happening in his world and then respond accordingly. There is a mystical nature to the Bridge, and like all mysticism, words cannot express its true nature.

During one remarkable evening, all the men will participate in The Bridge Ritual . It is a process, an experience, in which you will die to your old life and be reborn into a new life. What aspects of yourself you choose to die to and be reborn into are up to you. The Bridge Ritual is a process that will humble you and inspire you and allow you to re-establish your relationship with the life force that is called among other things, The All, Grandfather, Divinity, God, or The Divine Masculine. By getting clear about this core relationship, all your other relationships, particularly with women, will transform as well. The Bridge event provides an opportunity for each man to more fully integrate all aspects of his masculinity and experience his true nature.

How is this different than other men’s events I’ve heard of?

One of the foundations of this event is unflinching and compassionate honesty. What that means is that all the men who participate will tell you the truth. And you will tell the truth for all the other men. We are not the best judge about what is or isn’t the right choice for us. Our self perception is usually fairly clouded. By learning to accept another man’s criticism, you will begin to understand your world much more clearly.

And this event, unlike any we have experienced, will work to enhance your subtle energy perception. It will draw out the wizard in you, the magician who can sense with his sixth sense, what is happening in his world and then respond accordingly. There is a mystical nature to the Bridge, and like all mysticism, words cannot express its true nature.

Embracing  and deciphering your psychic world are seminal steps on the most exciting path one may pursue in this lifetime, the Golden Path. Otherwise nothing that happens to you in the psychic world will seem real.  Rather you will have doubts and explanation and no great change will occur.  At the Bridge, during our 3 days together, we undertake to pass through this crisis in which the inner world, the psychic space is dominated by the  objective world, and in dissecting the crisis, and exposing ourselves to mystery, and observing the laws and patterns of the universe, we begin to reclaim our birthright as magical, psychic beings, capable of joy and wonder which we naturally express with those with whom we share our lives.

Who can attend?

The Bridge is open to any man, aged 21 or older, who has a strong and sincere desire to take a powerful new step in his life.  This event is not for the faint of heart, the wishy washy, nor the dabbler.  There are only 10 participants in each event, which provides each man with an opportunity to be fully served.

Who can attend?

The Bridge is open to any man, aged 21 or older, who has a strong and sincere desire to admit to and confront his issues – head on. This event is not for the faint of heart, the wishy washy, nor the dabbler. The event is physically intense, as many rituals demand your full physical and mental focus. This event is designed to be physically, mentally, spiritually and emotionally challenging. For most men who have participated, it is one of the seminal experiences of their lives. The Bridge event is to be taken seriously. We are calling upon very powerful energies to facilitate our transformation. When you are ready to commit to the dedicated work that is to be done, we welcome you.

What is required to attend?

Contact the event organizer (Jay Cradeur at 707 540 3595 or email at jay.cradeur@gmail.com), complete the application, make your deposit or full payment (via check  or Pay Pal), and commit to attend the complete event.  If you are coming from out of town, you will need to make travel arrangements. You will need to arrive on Thursday afternoon, as we begin Thursday evening with an Inipi (Sweat Lodge) ceremony. We complete on Sunday afternoon. All food and beverages and supplies during the event are included in the event fee.

Click here for The Bridge Application July 2012 in MS Word Format

Click here for The Bridge Application July 2012 in PDF Format

What does it cost to attend The Bridge?

The fee for The Bridge is $795 and your place is secured by a non refundable, non transferable deposit of $495.  This event is limited to 10 participants.  As this is a residential event, there will be an additional cost of $195 for meals and 4 nights accommodations Thursday through Sunday.  You will need to arrive Thursday late afternoon, and depart Sunday evening / early Monday morning.  Partial scholarship funds are available.  On receipt of your deposit, you will be sent all the introductory and preparatory information required.  If you have any questions, please contact the Organizer:

You may commit to attending The Bridge by visiting our Shopping Cart page.  There you will have several options for making your commitment.  Click here or click on Shopping Cart above in the navigation bar.

 Why is the event called The Bridge?

The Bridge is a symbol. A bridge is a tool which one uses to move from one place to another. Crossing a bridge requires action, direction, and intention. We have called this event The Bridge because it is our purpose to provide an opportunity for each man to experience his mastery of the space between this physical dualistic world and the world of mystery. That in between place, that place that shaman must learn to inhabit, that is the place we call the bridge for it is truly a bridge between worlds. Everyday we have bridges to cross. We have the bridge to cross from a closed heart to an open heart. We have the bridge to cross from shrinking away from fear to marching valiantly through fear. We have the bridge to cross from withholding our truth to unflinchingly speaking our truth. Ultimately, we are all the bridge. Each bridge contains elements of both sides. We are the unification of the light and the dark, the God and the Goddess, the masculine and the feminine, and the yin and the yang. All of these facets live within us. A role of The Bridge is to begin the work to make everything whole again.

Click Here to view a photo album from the June 2009 Bridge event

Click Here to read the words of our brothers who have attended a Bridge event.

Crossing The Bridge - Photo: Nat'l Geographic

Lying Motionless And Surrendered, Stuck In The Ground.

Warm And Secure And Still, Feeling Mother Earth’s Embrace.

In My Noisy Head, I Replayed All Joys And Sorrows Of My Life.

Now Knowing Myself As One Who Had Lived And Is Now Dead.

Visions Of Reality And Beings And Stars And The Moon Did Mystify.

I Died, I Cried, I Rejoiced, I Trembled, The Great Unknown Besides.

I Awoke Anew,  Simply And Plainly Being Under The Black Sky