Alex arrives In San Esteban, Argentina, a small mountain town about 90 minutes outside of Córdoba Capital, in the ancestral lands of the Camiaré people. After 30 hours of travel his body and mind are mushy and he sinks into the bed in the living room of Daniel’s home. They celebrate coming together in brotherhood after many months living in different hemispheres, let the good times roll!
But then, Alex’s defenses start to arrive. Daniel is stressed from a variety of life’s curveballs, dealing with heartache and existential doubts. Alex begins to feel unwanted and slowly fades into the background of his consciousness. It’s an old story Alex has carried since childhood, amplified by Daniel’s avoidant coping strategies. Alex’s breath becomes shallower each day and by the fifth morning of his visit, he is merged with the impulse to protect by disappearing and resenting. For both of them, the loneliness and myopic vision of reality is crushing.
In moments of intense inner challenge like this, our prayer is to turn toward the shadow, to bring a pause, a breath, a loving voice to the darkness that hypnotizes us. This practice of bringing the light of awareness to the shadowlands within is neither easy nor simple. Having a friend who loves us through these passages helps us to stay with the practice. In fact, for the healing that we are interested in, it is necessary. Developing this type of intimacy with friends, not just partners, lovers or family members, has been profoundly liberating for us.
Jewish wisdom keepers teach that the miracle of Hanukkah is not just the oil lasting for 8 days. We are encouraged to consider the mythic symbolism of this sacred light – inner awareness. As the seasons turn and those in the northern hemisphere begin to experience longer days, we recognize the often slow and subtle path of fostering awareness. Just as the days only get slightly longer, so to our ability to sustain insight grows gradually and with practice.
We have traversed these shadowlands many times together in our friendship. Part of the prayer of Prophecy & Protocol (our upcoming men’s medicine group) is to create a space for men to cultivate relationship, first with themselves and then with other brothers who will walk these dark places with them. We believe we cannot do the healing asked of us in these times alone. The minyan, the sangha, the circle, is where we practice slowly building the light of awareness while loving ourselves, each other and the collective with all of its mishegas.
About Your Teachers:
Daniel Schindelman Schoen moves between exile and belonging, practicing the humility of yearning and sorrow while weaving vibrant circles of relationship. This dance of longing and connection shapes his work creating culturally innovative Jewish spaces with Medicine Minyan, Shoov, Manna Pilgrimages, and Wilderness Torah. As a ritual facilitator and wilderness guide, he leans in with teachings gathered along the way from the likes of trackers and fire tenders, poets and pilgrims, clowns and circle makers. Living between the quartz mountains of Córdoba, Argentina, and the redwood coast of Northern California, Daniel is a devoted father, a piano lover, and someone who finds joy in journeying through life’s mysteries.
Alexander was born into an Ashkenazi Jewish household where music and debate thrived. After 15 years as an opera singer, a “dark night of the soul” led him to don Oscar Miro-Quesada, who initiated him as a Mesa Carrier in the Peruvian Pachakuti Mesa Tradition. He later deepened on his path through initiation into “Stick Medicine” divination from the Dagara people of Burkina Faso. Through Manhood Embodied, an individual and group coaching program for self-identified men, Alexander integrates psychology, spirituality, nature connection, and indigenous traditions to help men reconnect with their bodies, relationships, and the Earth. An initiated song and medicine carrier for over a decade, Alexander’s work is guided by Internal Family Systems therapy, earth-based Judaism, and ceremonial ways.
