Episode #9 feat. Bill Prindle

What happens when a man who has spent 75 years "creeping south" realizes his greatest journey is the inward descent from anger into the well of grief?

In this ninth episode of Follow Me to the M-R-O-P!, host Brian Mueller sits down with Bill Prindle for a deeply honest conversation about his 2024 initiation at Shrine Mont. Bill, a poet and hospice volunteer, shares how a simple "GPS snafu" revealed a reservoir of anger that led him to finally seek the rites at age 74 . He reflects on the "gentle death" of a beech tree shedding its leaves and how that image helped him unlock ancestor grief and a new way of being among men .

Bill recounts the power of Jungian archetypes, his experience as a hospice volunteer, and the "Jeffersonian inclusivity" of Illuman that welcomes men of all faiths or none . He speaks candidly about entering the "Fourth Quarter" of life—a time for letting go of fixed identities and finding the courage to show up with presence . If you have ever felt trapped by your own "need for certainty" or wondered if it’s too late to start the inner work, Bill’s perspective is a grounding invitation to take the risk.

Episode Highlights

• Peace with Anger: Admitting the need to work through outrage and annoyance.
• The Well of Grief: Watching nature's gentle shedding to understand personal and ancestor sadness .
• Snap Judgments: How the rites confront our inner critics to reveal the human being behind our labels .
• The Fourth Quarter: Turning 75 and exploring what remains when beliefs and identities are loosened .
• Inclusive Spirituality: Why a radical, open welcome is the "spirituality-forward" core of this work.

Links & Resources

• Choosing Presence (Sponsor): https://choosingpresence.org
• Practicing Presence App: https://choosingpresence.org/app
• Illuman MROP page: https://illuman.org/mrop
• Adam's Return by Richard Rohr: https://amzn.to/3PzVESH
• Falling Upward by Richard Rohr: https://amzn.to/4uUM64P
• Breathing Under Water by Richard Rohr: https://amzn.to/47qLNVp
• Host: https://brianmueller.com

Credits

• First and foremost, thank you to Bill Prindle 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 Soundroll
• Becoming a Legend by Vens Adams