Twin Spirit Tribe
is a not for profit group that harmonizes the energies between the gay and straight community, in the Chicagoland area, through retreats, workshops and events.
Our focus is on Camaraderie (building healthy friendships within the community), Ceremony (ceremonies that promote self healing), and Service (giving back to the community).
Our Vision As human beings, our quest is to fully connect all parts of our personal, individual identity – our body. mind, and soul. However, just as powerful is our desire to connect with others. Twin Spirit Tribe gives unique opportunities to achieve both goals. Through camaraderie, ceremony and service, Twin Spirit Tribe provides an affirming atmosphere where everyone can comfortably explore and grow as individuals within a protective and supportive community. As we connect with one another, we are able to realize our own gifts and honor them by sharing them with others.
Our Values Twin Spirit Tribe’s Core Values can be expressed in the context of our major objectives:
Camaraderie (Community)
We provide a means of connectedness.
We strive to remain grounded.
We develop coach/mentor relationships.
We respect the sacred self.
We work toward building and maintaining healthy relationships.
We believe in feeding the soul through fun and a sense of humor.
Ceremony (Spirituality)
We nourish our souls by providing retreat opportunities.
We provide space for one another within a sacred circle.
We believe in the power of the healing circle.
Service (Giving Back to the Community)
We strive to give back to the community.
We give to ourselves and each other.
We feed the spiritually hungry.
We honor the Masculine/Feminine - our Twin Spirit - through teaching.
Our Goals The work that we do comes from our passion to reconnect the gay community to our roots. To become stronger so we are not only able to help ourselves but to help one another. By doing this we also help harmonize the energies between the gay and straight community. We feel that if we can focus on our hearts and see one another as a support system, a teacher, and a mirror for our journey through life, we can then learn extensively from one another. We believe that our gay community can be a strong, healthy and vital if we have an increased connection with our core. If we respect ourselves, we can then respect each other and become this ideal. Our goal is to continue to connect our communities to a way of tapping into their own inner strength and beauty and letting go of old patterns which no longer serve us.
TWIN SPIRIT TRIBE HISTORY
Twin Spirit Tribe began with a vision that Co-Founder Elias Patras experienced while taking part in an apprenticeship program in Shamanic Studies with Rainbow Journeys, LLC, founded by Susan Lipshutz, LCSW and Dr. Tom Voitas. The program not only allowed Elias to come to understand the teachings of indigenous tribes but also to learn more about his own personal healing and how this could help other gay men on their own journeys towards empowerment. It was very apparent to Elias that this perspective could make a difference in the gay community and find common threads within the straight community.
Elias and his life partner Gary came to start a retreat weekend for gay men whose purpose was to focus on self-love, self-discovery and self-awareness. Prior to the retreat, Elias communicated with many gay men online discussing the retreat weekend and the vision of focusing on empowering ourselves and connecting to other gay men on an intimate yet non-sexual level. Over 200 men expressed interest in the retreat across the Midwest. In October of 2003 ReAwakenings Retreats was launched.
The men from that first retreat weekend met one month later to reconnect and talk about how things had changed and shifted for them due to the experiences and connections they made during the weekend. This then led Elias & Gary to continue meetings on a monthly basis to continue the wonderful bond that was made from the weekend. Some of the men have been meeting for almost 5 years now. After a weekend retreat, several of the men were motivated to begin discussing how to make a difference on a bigger level. We decided to become a not for profit organization. We changed our name from ReAwakenings to Twin Spirit Tribe. The weekends purpose is to focus on self-love, self-discovery and self-awareness. Over time, the retreat weekends have been expanded to include gay and straight men and women. Some remarkable changes that focus on our commonalities as whole spiritual beings have empowered retreat participants and fostered connections and communication between the gay and straight communities. Our “tribe” is a community like the tribes of old and reminds us that we are all connected. We can focus on our roots as we come together through camaraderie (community), ceremony (spirituality), and service (giving back to our community). By being of true "community" we can honor one another, gay and straight, acknowledge and respect our difference and celebrate our similarities.
We all have the same dream, the same vision, to make sure that other gay men do not feel like they are on their journey alone. There is strength in community which allows us to grow on all levels. Elias and Gary thank everyone who have been involved in Twin Spirit Tribe’s growth.
Twin Spirits Defined Historically, Twin Spirits are individuals often viewed as having two spirits occupying one body. Two-spirited individuals perform specific social functions in their communities. In some tribes male-bodied two-spirits were active as healers or medicine persons, conveyers of oral traditions and songs, nurses during war expeditions, foretold the future, conferred lucky names on children or adults, wove, made pottery, made beadwork and quillwork, arranged marriages, made feather regalia for dances, special skills in games of chance, and fulfilled special functions in connection with the setting up of the central post for the Sun Dance. In some tribes female-bodied two-spirits typically took on roles such as chief, council, trader, hunter, trapper, fisher, warfare, raider, guides, peace missions, vision quests, prophets, and medicine persons.
Read the exciting new article written about Twin Spirit Tribe www.meefers.com/features.asp