Bob Bickner

Glorious Eagle

I have served as Ritual Elder more than twenty times, in five MKP communities. I’ve taught a bit and learned a lot with each of those experiences. The single most important lesson I’ve learned, the one that I feel to be the most significant to my role as elder, is that every man wants and needs to be seen, just exactly as he is. I strive to establish a deeply empathetic connection with each man and to validate and accept the truth of his life, the bad as well as the good, the sadness as well as the joy, the disappointment as well as the aspiration.

My intention is to empower that man to ground himself fully in his truth and so enable him to move forward guided by his heart. Among all of the responsibilities of the Ritual Elder this one, this blessing presence, seems to me to be the most important, and it is the one that calls to me deeply in my soul. That is why I choose to serve as elder.