Who we are
The Cascadia Men’s Conference is stewarded by collective of men inspired by the rich mythopoetic tradition, dedicated to stewarding a culture of emergence, depth, and healthy relationality.
We are fathers, brothers, sons, craftsmen, artists, writers, farmers, therapists, poets, and lovers of the wild. A shared love of story, wisdom, and ancestral remembrance animates our understanding of what it means to be a man today.
Robert Bly, author of Iron John
An old idea says that spirit moves up and out, reaching upwards to the sky like embers floating out of fire. Soul, on the other hand, moves down and in, flowing into the deep places of the earth, like cold water.
Our culture is great at going up and out, escaping it all, and flying away. As men, many of us have perfected that dance move. But a mythopoetic lens asks us to do something different. To slow down, to dig in, and to find warmth closer to the ground within a circle of trusted brothers.
We are honoured to continue the legacy of our elders–Robert Bly, Michael Meade, James Hillman, Malidoma Somé, Martín Prechtel, Miguel Rivera, Martin Shaw, Stephen Jenkinson, and so many other men.
This is work that asks for courage, imagination, and humility, not perfection. It is work best done together, in a circle, in a way all of our ancestors would recognize.
The Mythopoetic Tradition
The Cascadia Men’s Conference is rooted in the deep soil of the mythopoetic tradition, which established everything we now call “men’s work” today.
Initiated by Robert Bly, Michael Meade, and James Hillman in the late 1980’s, the “mythopoetic men’s movement,” as it came to be known, ignited the sleeping masculine psyche of North America, revealing our unconscious storylines, beliefs, and unacknowledged wounding.
This tradition of men’s work asks us to dig downwards, into the unconscious, into grief, into the body, and into the earth. Mythopoetic men’s work is ultimately soul work, and the soul can only be reached by going “down” into the dark soil of our grief, longing, and inner depths.
Michael Meade
James Hillman
Malidoma Some
Why Myth?
Once upon a time, our ancestors looked into the glimmering tapestry of nature and felt that the world was speaking to them. The hidden patterns of the stars, the ominous outline of a distant mountain, the snakelike flow of a river—all became gods and goddesses, mythic beings full of personality and meaning. No matter your recent heritage, this is a cultural and psychological fact.
Myths never were, but always are. Or, in the words of James Hillman, are “lies that tell the truth.”
There is something magical that happens when a story is told in a room full of men. We might find ourselves revisiting an old hurt, a moment of doubt, or a time when we should have turned and walked the other way.
Slowly, we find that instead of working on a story, the story is working on us.
Myths can offer us doorways into the dark interior of our hearts and souls. Places we’d rather not look. They hold up mirrors to our shadows, and reveal to us where we have avoided looking.
We honor the wisdom of our elders and ancestors, which we believe can be found living within myths and stories. And we honor the stories told by the many teachers who walked this path before us.
Myth asks us to listen with more than our ears, but with the body, with memory, with instinct, and with imagination. Myth reminds us that we are not alone, that others have walked this road before us, and that our personal struggles are woven into a much older, wiser story than just our own
Our Pillars
Healthy Masculinity
Masculinity, at its core, is noble and good. Yet all men need mentoring, guidance, and positive examples to be able to unfurl to our full potential in serving life.
Deep Diversity
Differences are sacred, inevitable, and healthy. True diversity is not based on a unified viewpoint, ideology, belief system, or outlook. The male side of a healthy culture is made up of men of many denominations, delineations, ages, and identities.
Affinity
Affinity-group work is vital for (re)conciliation with any other group inside or outside of the larger culture. The affinity group for this event is simply, men. Though attendance may skew towards any number of affinities within that larger group, our aim is that we are coming together so that we may better serve those that are outside of the gathered group.
Self-Responsibility
We welcome all men, and this event may not be for you. Your decision to attend is yours alone, yet it requires that you come prepared and ready to engage in inner work. Self-responsibility and accountability means that we expect the men present to look out for themselves, while looking out for each other. (More on this in a separate page/link to FAQ)
Security vs. Safety
Gathering together in a group of men entails risk. There is a tendency in our modern culture to seek safety and comfort, over security and depth. We embrace the fact that men’s work is often not safe. We strive to be trustworthy, not perfectly safe or comfortable. That does not mean that this gathering is dangerous, or that we actively court risk. Rather, our team strives to create a secure container so that if unsafe elements show up, they can be worked with in the container, together. This is how we learn and embody safety.
Ancestry
We seek to include local and indigenous people and perspectives in a meaningful way, while strongly advocating for each person’s responsibility to connect with and learn the practices of their ancestors. People that are connected to their ancestors and their ancestral stories make the best allies.
Wholeness
We strive to have offerings that touch each of the four facets of wholeness: mind, body, spirit, and soul. This includes but is not limited to: intellectual discourse, movement practices, ritual, myth-telling, poetry, grief and praise, and celebration.
We vs. “Me”
Our focus at this event is towards tending the health of the culture rather than the personal growth of the individual. Of course these are connected, but again and again we will encourage the work and learning we do together to be turned outwards and offered to your community and to the earth.
Right Relationship with Nature
Cascadia itself, the mountains, crystalline rivers, dark forests, and rugged coastlines, is one of our primary teachers. We honor the natural world as animate, intelligent, and alive. Reconnection with the living earth is essential to reconnection with our own inner wilderness.
Initiation
Modern culture offers men countless entertainments but very few initiatory thresholds. Mythopoetic work restores the necessity of crossing from one stage of life into the next with intention, risk, humility, and community witness. While this conference is not an initiatory event, we believe that men ripen through meaningful trial, honest reflection, and sincere ritual.
Emergence
We embrace the unexpected, honor what is emerging in the present moment, and adapt to skillfully respond to whatever spirit brings. Sometimes this might look like taking longer to conclude a conversation or talk that requires more time. This might look like changing the flow of the day in order to respond to the needs of the group, or doing a different type of ritual because of what has emerged during our time together. We embrace flexibility and what spirit reveals to us all.
Embodiment
As men, many of us have lived from the neck up, dissociated from our instincts, grief, longing, and vitality. We value practices that return us to our bodies and the intelligence they carry by connecting to breath, movement, with the elements, and with the still presence within ourselves.
Grief & Praise
A we make room for both grief and praise. Grief waters the roots of our humanity; praise feeds our capacity for wonder, gratitude, devotion, and “The Holy in Nature.” When men gather to speak honestly of what has been lost and what still remains, a deeper ground of brotherhood becomes possible.
Service
The measure of a man is not how much he accumulates but how he devotes himself to something larger, be it family, art, community, land, or future generations. Service is the backbone of cultural renewal, and we encourage every man to leave the gathering with a renewed commitment to the people and places that depend on him.
Elderhood
While many of us long for elders, we also recognize that elderhood is not an age but a practice.
We value the cultivation of wisdom, humility, mentorship, and stewardship–qualities that allow men to become trustworthy guides for those who come after us.
Conference Stewards
Ian MacKenzie | Co-Founder
Ian MacKenzie is a mythosomatic guide, filmmaker, and founder of The Mythic Masculine, a platform devoted to aligning masculinity with thriving life. For over 15 years he has tracked the emergence of imaginal culture—from the desert of Burning Man to the heart of Occupy Wall Street. His films include The Village of Lovers, Lost Nation Road, Amplify Her, and Sacred Economics. Ian brings myth, story, and embodied presence to his work, inviting groups into deeper coherence, creativity, and collective attunement.
Contact: contact@cascadiamensconference.com
Website: The Mythic Masculine
Trevor Mervyn | Co-Founder
Trevor is a father, ritualist, storyteller, and vision fast guide whose midlife descent at 39 opened him to a deeper life shaped by ritual, myth, grief, and reverence. Since 2021 he has been hosting culture-tending gatherings in the qathet, BC region—from Medicine Story nights and Grief Rituals to Ancestor Feasts and welcoming visiting storytellers. Trained through the School of Lost Borders, Orphan Wisdom School, and multiple mentors in ritual leadership, dreamwork, and council, he completed an 18-month initiation culminating in a four-day vision fast. Guided by a devotion to the mysteries and the more-than-human world, Trevor’s lineage threads back through Canada, England, Ireland, Scotland, and Germany.
Contat: trevor@cascadiamensconference.com
Website: Sacred Gestures
Simon Yugler | Collaborator
Simon Yugler is an internationally experienced psychedelic therapist, educator, and author of the book, Psychedelics and the Soul: A Mythic Guide to Psychedelic Healing, Depth Psychology, and Cultural Repair.
With a master’s in depth psychology from Pacifica Graduate Institute, he has taught for some of the leading five psychedelic facilitator training programs in the US.
With a background in anthropology and experiential education, Simon has traveled extensively, learning from Indigenous traditions throughout the world.
Integrating Jungian psychology, masculinity, mythology, and animism, Simon is passionate about helping his clients and students explore the liminal wilds of the soul.
Website: SimonYugler.com
Why We Gather
We gather because men need other men –not as competitors, but as mirrors, allies, challengers, and companions. We gather because the world is rapidly changing and systems are crumbling, and because we believe that the times ask for men who are capable of depth, discernment, and the right kind of strength.
We gather to remember what has been lost, to carry forward what is essential, and to practice the kind of culture we long to see in the world.
We gather to become “good ancestors.”
Honoring the Land
We also gather to honor the lands and waters of Cascadia,
and the Indigenous peoples who have tended these territories since time immemorial.
This gathering is held on the traditional territories of the Chi'yakmesh
people of Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish) Nation in the heart of the newly designated Átl’ka7tsem/Howe Sound UNESCO Biosphere Region.