Episode #14 feat. Jeffrey Batstone

What happens when an Enneagram 7 psychotherapist who has spent his life running from grief finds himself howling in the desert, realizing he needs to trade his "rock-hard" exterior for a fleshy, fertile heart?In this fourteenth episode of Follow Me to the M-R-O-P!, host Brian Mueller sits down with Jeffrey Batstone for a profound conversation about his 2016 initiation at Aravaipa Canyon. Jeffrey shares how he arrived at the rites as a curious young father and therapist, only to be "manhandled" and turned upside down by a wild God. He reflects on the archetypal symbol he received during his solitude—a rock cracking open with water pouring out—and how that image has evolved over a decade from jagged stone to a soft, open solar plexus.Episode HighlightsThe Cracking Rock: How an archetypal image of water pouring from stone guided a decade of inner transformation.The Dropkick of God: Embracing the hard, meaningful, and gentle process of being turned upside down.Birthing Grief: Moving through physical postures to release decades of unwept tears and howling madness.Locking Horns: The powerful moment of pushing against a brother before finally allowing himself to fall apart and be held.Links & ResourcesChoosing Presence (Sponsor): https://choosingpresence.orgPracticing Presence App: https://choosingpresence.org/appIlluman MROP page: https://illuman.org/mropAdam's Return by Richard Rohr: https://amzn.to/3PzVESHFalling Upward by Richard Rohr: https://amzn.to/4uUM64PBreathing Under Water by Richard Rohr: https://amzn.to/47qLNVpFrom Wild Man to Wise Man by Richard Rohr: https://amzn.to/3PKkHmjDr. Jeffrey Batstone: WaterWays Psychotherapy: https://waterwaystherapy.comBrian Mueller (Host): https://brianmueller.comCreditsFirst and foremost, thank you to Jeffrey Batstone for sharing his journey and his heart with us today.Thank you to Fr. Richard Rohr and the men of Illuman who have stewarded the Men’s Rites of Passage since 1996.Thank you to Jim Heaney and Jim Taylor for their dedication to Choosing Presence.Music Credits:Slow Mo Dreams by SoundrollBecoming a Legend by Vens Adams