Thank you for your interest in our Boys Coming of Age Group. It is a rich opportunity to honor the transition you are encountering as a family. We recognize what a privilege it is to be asked to step into this mentoring role with your sons and families. And we’re excited for the journey!

For centuries different cultures have recognized the importance of helping youth make the passage from childhood to adulthood. Around the world this transition has been marked by rites of passage ceremonies. Typically preceded by months or years of preparation, these rites challenged the young person and their parents to shed old roles and ways of being and step into new capacities and identities. In the latter part of the rite the initiate would go through a pivotal witnessing wherein the elders and the larger community would acknowledge the new adult in their selfhood and in their new capacity and responsibility. New privileges and responsibilities were bestowed at this time. Thus, it is into these widespread and long practiced footsteps that we step as we head into our 2.5 year-long coming of age group.

Our own practices are in many ways contemporary and modern, but they are rooted in archetypal human traditions and the need to have the next generation step forward to accept the blessing and the work of their family and community. This group is intended not only to bring your sons (and you parents!) into the next stage of their development but also to nourish this budding village of families that make such a journey possible.

To enroll, please complete the following application and send your first quarter’s payment ($600) to us at P.O. Box 311, Fairfax, CA 94978. (If you need or prefer to pay us monthly, please mail us three checks for $200, two of them post-dated for the latter months of the quarter)

Boys Coming of Age Group Application 2015

  • Dear Parents

    Thank you for your interest in our Boys Coming of Age Group. It is a rich opportunity to honor the transition you are encountering as a family. We recognize what a privilege it is to be asked to step into this mentoring role with your sons and families. And we're excited for the journey! For centuries different cultures have recognized the importance of helping youth make the passage from childhood to adulthood. Around the world this transition has been marked by rites of passage ceremonies. Typically preceded by months or years of preparation, these rites challenged the young person and their parents to shed old roles and ways of being and step into new capacities and identities. In the latter part of the rite the initiate would go through a pivotal witnessing wherein the elders and the larger community would acknowledge the new adult in their selfhood and in their new capacity and responsibility. New privileges and responsibilities were bestowed at this time. Thus, it is into these widespread and long practiced footsteps that we step as we head into our 2.5 year-long coming of age group. Our own practices are in many ways contemporary and modern, but they are rooted in archetypal human traditions and the need to have the next generation step forward to accept the blessing and the work of their family and community. This group is intended not only to bring your sons (and you parents!) into the next stage of their development but also to nourish this budding village of families that make such a journey possible.

  • Details

  • Please Note

    ** Please Note: Deposits are non-refundable and non-transferable. Quarterly payments are due by the first of the month of each quarter (Mar. 1, June 1, Sep. 1 & Dec. 1) and to be sent to Wilderness Reflections, P.O. Box 311, Fairfax, CA 94978. Quarterly fee is $600 fall, winter & spring quarters (unless group size falls below 8 students, in which case the quarterly fee is $675-750, sliding scale). (If you need or prefer to pay us monthly, please mail us three checks for $200 each, two of them post-dated for the latter months of the quarter). An additional fee will be due to cover the cost of summer trips ($50-200, depending upon trip length and logistical expenses (e.g., food, transportation, gear rental, etc.). Additional fees may also be due if the group chooses to engage in fee-based daylong activities such as renting sea kayaks, etc.)

  • Scholarship Fund

    To Make a Tax-Deductible Contribution to Our Scholarship Fund with our fiscal sponsor go to http://www.rosefdn.org/section.php?id=74 or contact us for details.

  • Parent Application

    Dear Parents, please take some time to reflect upon and answer these questions. And also take the questions as a primer for the journey to come over the next 2+ years. Know as well that there will be a lot more time in the coming years to get more familiar with these themes and how you want to respond to them.