Episode #2 feat. Dan Vanoli

What happens when a man discovers that the life he has built is no longer the life his soul is asking him to live?In this second episode of Follow Me to the M-R-O-P!, host Brian Mueller sits down with Dan Vanoli for a deeply honest conversation about his experience of the Men’s Rites of Passage. Dan shares how he arrived at the rites carrying anger, disappointment, and a growing awareness that something in him needed to change. What he found was not simply a retreat, but a threshold experience—an awakening that began to loosen the grip of ego and open him to humility, brotherhood, and a more grounded spiritual life.Dan reflects on the power of ritual, the stillness of the contemplative sit, the unexpected calm of drumming, and the way the rites continued working in him long after the weekend ended. He also speaks candidly about how this journey reshaped his understanding of masculinity, helped him confront patterns of ego and toxic conditioning, and led him into lasting community with other initiated men.If you’ve ever felt the quiet ache for a new direction—or sensed that real transformation might begin with surrender—this conversation is for you.Episode HighlightsWhy MROP became a “doorway” into a different lifeEntering the rites with fear, trust, and a hunger for changeThe impact of ritual, drumming, and the contemplative sitHow the rites challenged ego and toxic masculinityWhy brotherhood and community helped the transformation take rootLinks & 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/47qLNVpHost: https://brianmueller.comCreditsFirst and foremost, thank you to Dan Vanoli 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