The Way of Council: A Sacred Circle of Transformation

How Men's Circles Help Us Heal, Listen, and Awaken Together

This past Mother’s Day weekend in 2025, I walked away from my Monthly Men’s Circle with a deep sense of hope—for myself, for my brothers, for my country, and for our shared humanity.

Every second Saturday of the month, we gather in Griffith Park in Los Angeles, continuing a practice that began in a small park in the city of Alhambra in the summer of 2009. We call ourselves “Men on the Journey.”

My name is Samuel Pérez. I experienced MROP – Mens Rites of Passage in 2011 in Julian, California. As we often introduce ourselves in council and in AA, I say, “I’m Samuel and I’m an alcoholic.” But to be honest, my path to awakening began long before 2011… although I’m not exactly sure when.

Maybe it started when I was initiated into my false self in the military, or when I got married and became a father at 19. Maybe it began through seeking acceptance in service—through church, the Boy Scouts, and community work—trying to earn a living and discover who I really am.

What I do know is that I received many gifts during my Rites. One of the most enduring was the path of Council, a sacred practice of gathering with like-minded, like-spirited, and like-hearted men.

Council showed me that I had been walking through life without clarity, purpose, or true intention. It opened my eyes to a different way of living. It reminded me that the path of transformation is not walked alone. It is a path of connection, of shared vulnerability, and of community.

The Way of Council isn’t just something we do—it’s a way of being, of showing up… together. It’s about listening deeply and speaking honestly from the heart. It’s about recognizing that wisdom doesn’t reside in one person, but in the sacred space between us.

Illuman teaches that Spirit often speaks—not through grand proclamations—but through the quiet wisdom of a circle of men who dare to show up with open hearts.

In council, I have found healing. I have found brothers. I have found myself. I’ve come to believe that small Men's Groups are the heart and soul of our path toward illumination.

This journey has truly been a source of life. Every step—both beautiful and painful—has felt sacred, revealing itself to me in its own time. Something in me has softened, changed, awakened.

I am no longer the man who first sat in that circle 16 years ago. And as I stay on this path and continue gathering with my brothers, I hope that in a few years from now, as I continue to allow a “Higher Power” to transform me, I will not be the same man who writes this today.

And for that, I am deeply grateful.

To any man seeking meaning, wholeness, or a place to be fully seen—I invite you to find a circle. Sit down. Speak your truth. Listen deeply.

This journey is not meant to be walked alone. That’s why the Filipino journalist Maria Ressa emphasizes a profound truth in her words:

“I am because we are.”