FIRMING

Your Personal Invitation to the Firming 11th-14th July 2019

If you have participated in the Men’s Rites of Passage (MROP) you are one of a growing group of initiated men and an important part of a worldwide movement working to awaken men everywhere to the truth of the masculine soul. Its work is to reveal to men the richness of their humanity, the power of their masculinity and the depth and wonder of their spirituality.

The MROP is a time of liminal space. It is not only an end but also a beginning of a spiritual journey which lasts for the rest of your life; the Journey of Illumination (JOI).

The men who were involved with the running of the early MROPs became concerned that the Rites were very powerful at ‘deconstruction’ but it was only on the last day that they helped men to turn the corner towards ‘reconstruction’.

The significant work that has been expended into nurturing and growing small groups was one of the responses to meet the need to help men ‘post-Rites’. The other response was to develop and run Firmings.

The Firming is a four-day intensive event comprising periods of solitude, fasting, silence and ritual experiences. Specifically, it involves a long period of around 24 hours alone in nature. Like the MROP, it draws on various spiritual traditions and, unlike the MROP, it can be repeated from time to time to refocus your spiritual journey.

The last Firming in these islands was held in 2014 at the Bield, Perthshire and it is with great pleasure that we can announce that 2019 will be seeing our third-ever Firming. It will be at the Bield in Perthshire where a number of MROPs have taken place over recent years. The dates are from Thursday 11th July to Sunday 14th July. The 2019 Firming will follow themes of Facing the Shadow, Going Deeper, Embodying Experience and Refocusing Intention through working and experiencing our relationship with nature and its interface with our physical bodies and is based on work developed by our German brothers.

Solitary camping is an integral part of the Firming and it is therefore essential that you have sufficient mobility to camp throughout the 4 days (Please contact Nicholas This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. if you wish to participate and because of your situation you feel adaptations could be made to accommodate this). You will also need to bring a suitable tent – i.e. not a ‘festival’ tent or a 6-man ‘family’ tent – for the overnight time in the wilderness.

Applications to the 2019 Firming are now open. 

If you would like to apply for one of the 30 available spaces then please complete the form and email it to Nicholas Freeden at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

If you find it is totally impossible for you to do this electronically then please contact Nicholas who can email it to you as a PDF so you can print it out and complete it by hand or he can mail you a printed copy.

This invitation to the 2019 Firming is being sent to the 500+ men who have been initiated in the UK and Ireland and applications are being processed on a first-come-first-served basis. Please do not use this as a reason to rush your application, your answers to the three key questions in the form will be assessed and so it is important you give it the time it needs. The cost is £330.00. A bursary fund is available to help men for whom this is an issue and we are also asking men who are in a more favourable financial position to consider assisting their brothers who need to ask for assistance from the bursary fund.