Registration is now open for the 26th Fall Conference scheduled for Thursday, October 21 through Sunday, October 24th at the Ghost Ranch Conference Center in Abiquiu, New Mexico.  The conference begins at 7:00 PM on Thursday and concludes shortly after noon on Sunday.

The conference theme this year is “Walking the Path, Fording the Stream.”

The path we’re on stretches before us.  How do we regard ourselves, the people we meet and the universe around us?  How well are these perceptions working?  How do we choose to react to the inevitable discord and conflict we encounter upon the path, and how do these choices define us?  Using experiential activities and exercises, creative expression and reflection, we invite you to explore with us the paths we’re on, our role in creating them, and the freedom and power that arises from the graceful dance with conflict.

Registrations must be postmarked by no later than September 30th, and early bird registrations postmarked by no later than September 15th. All registrants will receive a confirmation letter with more details about the conference.  This year confirmations will be sent only by Email (rather than postal mail) unless specifically requested otherwise. Registration is limited to 90.  Should we receive more than 90 registrations, they will be accepted on a first-received basis.

Click on Fall Conference Registration Form to download the registration.  The form is an Acrobat PDF form that can be filled out on your computer and then printed (or you may choose to print it out and fill it in on paper).  Regardless of how you do it, send the completed form along with your check made out to “New Mexico Men’s Wellness” to:

Shell Goldman
700 Pinon Drive
Santa Fe, NM 87501

For more information or if you have questions, contact either:

• Michael Wilkinson (Conference Leader) at (970) 259-2445 (lookfar99@gmail.com) or
• Shell Goldman at (505) 471-6479 (shellgoldman@gmail.com)

We look forward to seeing you!!

Planning meetings have been scheduled for the Fall Conference (Oct 21-24 at Ghost Ranch).  All are welcome to attend and participate in the planning process.  Here are the dates and locations:

• Friday, September 17th – in Albuquerque at Phil Davis’ chapel, 4207 San Isidro St NW
• Friday, October 1st – in Santa Fe at Gaylon Duke’s house, 46 Old Agua Fria Road West

Both meetings will begin with pizza at 5:30 pm, then start at 6:00, and go until 8:00. Directions can be easily obtained by putting the address into the search box at http://maps.google.com.  If you have any questions about the meeting, please contact us at the Email addresses below.

Registration materials for the conference will be available (sent out to the Email list and posted on the website) by no later than August 15.

We hope to see you at the meetings.

Michael Wilkinson (lookfar99@gmail.com) – Conference Leader
and Shell Goldman (shellgoldman@gmail.com)

The results are in and the three open seats on the New Mexico Men’s Wellness Board of Directors have been filled.  The newly elected members are:

President: Scott Dow

Secretary: Jim Connolly

At-Large Board Member: Phil Davis

Thanks to all who participated in the election.  The next meeting of the Board of Directors will be during the Fall Conference (Oct 21-24) at Ghost Ranch.  We will publish more information about the schedule and agenda as we get closer to the meeting.

Please keep an eye on the “About NMMW” section of this website (on the menu along the top of the page).  We will be augmenting and updating the information there to include by-laws, organizational goals and other material.

A message from the Summer Gathering organizing committee for the Men’s Wellness community . . .

Pre-registration for the Summer Gathering is closed, however the openness of the site allows for some last minute participants. These final pre-Gathering instructions are included here on this web page for those who chose to come but were unable to pre-register.

To help build on the theme of “Intuition and Inspiration”, here are some things to think about before you come:

• Think about a particular time or times when you trusted your intuition about a person or situation and followed up on it. Did it turn out positive or negative? Was it beneficial or a bummer to you? How did you feel about the outcome?
• Who or what is an inspiration to you now or in the past?

Some things you need to know for the weekend:

• Please bring:
  • Your own paper or notebook for taking notes–there will be extra pens if needed.
  • Tables — we don’t know if we will need them for the communal meal but you might want to bring them for your personal use.
  • Water — enough for drinking and washing your dishes.
  • Trash bags — you will need to haul your own trash out.
  • Drums or musical instruments to play (if you are so inclined).
• Communal meal Saturday night.  Delicious food will be supplied by Scott Sharot.   Help will likely be needed with setup and prep.  There may (or may not) be enough food for those appearing without preregistration (but we’ll have enough time to figure that out). You are on your own for all other meals.
• Groceries — There is a supermarket in Cuba in case you forgot something. We will be supplying firewood for communal fires but you can also buy your own for personal fires.
• Workshops for Saturday afternoon:
  • If you have the desire to conduct a workshop you will have a chance to announce your intention on Friday night or Saturday morning.
  • Saturday afternoon is also open for free time if you choose.
• Click on this link to download a detailed Acrobat PDF map and directions.

  We’re looking forward to seeing you at the Gathering.

  NAMASTE
  Love & Peace

  Dennis, Leo, Rich and Christopher
  Summer Gathering Leader and Committee.

  ---

  The 2010 Summer Gathering will be moving this year to an area in the Santa Fe National Forest just east of Cuba, NM.  This site away from the crowds and has been used for prior NMMW gatherings.  The change was required because we could not secure parts of the group campground at Jack’s Creek in the Pecos that we require to assure the privacy of our gathering. Regardless of the location, this will be a great gathering and one you won’t want to miss.  A big plus for the new site is that we are no longer limited to 30 men, and we can be more flexible about “last minute” attendees.

  We will explore and share our experiences of intuition and inspiration, and I’m sure many more things will be brought forth in the process. I know that we will be inspired by the beauty of the mountains and the green valleys of this beautiful place.

  This will be a time to share of ourselves with other supportive men in an environment of understanding and acceptance.  There will be morning meditations, talking circles, music and drumming, a couple of meals together, a sweat lodge and an event to lead us to intuition and inspiration.  Besides all that we will have free time to do with as we choose.

  The 2010 NMMW Summer Gathering Registration Form (as an Adobe Acrobat PDF form you can fill out on your computer) is available now.  This form now refers to the new location.  All who register will be sent detailed location information and directions well in advance of the gathering.)

  Please join us…it won’t be the same without you.

  – Dennis Brown, Summer Gathering Leader

  

  Registration materials (including useful logistical information) are available by clicking here.  Registration is easy — download the form and fill it out on your computer, print it and send it in with your check for $45 and you’ll be sure not to miss out on this great weekend.  Because of our change in location, we can no more easily accommodate late registrations and folks who can only attend for part of the weekend.

  Please Note that we have prepared a detailed map of the site location that includes detailed driving directions and Latitute/Longitute coordinates for the GPS-enabled.  Click Summer2010-Jemez-Directions to access the printable Acrobat PDF of the map and directions.

  For those of you who are traveling the back roads near Cuba (the one in New Mexico) heading to the summer gathering and you come to a fork in the road perhaps you will see a sign similar to the one pictured at right. For those of you who have an engineering degree perhaps no further instruction is necessary, but for the rest of you the arrow to the right is suggesting that you turn right. If the arrow should be on the left, you would be wise to turn your ride to the left and so on. We have only lost 3 or 4 guys on the road to the summer gathering in the past so the odds are in your favor of a safe arrival.

  Because our campsite is not an organized and reserved camping area, any men who could come on Thursday would be very beneficial in holding our space at the campsite.  The regular start of the Gathering will still be Friday evening.  Because of recent rains in the area, campfires are currently allowed in the National Forest.

  For Information Contact:
  Gathering Leader Dennis Brown (Phone: 970-728-0512; Email is brown.dennis123@gmail.com but phone calls are more reliable)

  (Email messages may be sent to Jim Connolly – jrc347@gmail.com — who will get them to Dennis.)

  

  (Photos from previous Summer Gatherings courtesy of Uwe Schroeter)