Episode #39 feat. Tony Murray

What happens when a man searching for a quick fix arrives in Aravaipa Canyon weighed down by too much gear and a heavy load of fear?

In this thirty-ninth episode of Follow Me to the M-R-O-P!, host Brian Mueller sits down with Tony Murray to discuss his April 2014 initiation in Arizona. Tony, who works in HR and analytics in Louisiana, opens up about the deep anxieties he carried into the wilderness—from sleeping arrangements to bug bites—and how crossing the river into liminal space washed those fears away.

Episode Highlights

• The Fear of the Unknown: Tony shares his hilarious and relatable anxieties about sleeping in the woods, the food, and bringing unnecessary gear to the canyon.
• The "I Am" Exercise: The vulnerability of sitting in a circle of strangers and realizing that once his titles (father, manager, HR director) were stripped away, he had to face his true self.
• Deepening the Practice: How an Arizona fireman taught Tony a simple trick with a yoga strap to support his hips, transforming his agonizing 20-minute sits into a daily practice he now craves.
• The Silent Drive Home: Why Tony's mentor, Joe Hebert, insisted on driving him to the rites, providing a crucial, unspoken buffer between the emotional exhaustion of the initiation and the return to the real world.
• Radical Self-Compassion: Tony explains how the rites ultimately initiated him into a path of forgiving himself and accepting his own flaws, which paved the way for a beautiful friendship with his ex-wife.brotherhood.

Links & Resources

• Brian Mueller (Host)
• BriansPoems.com
• Illuman MROP
• Choosing Presence
• Practicing Presence App
• The Universal Christ by Richard Rohr
• Adam's Return by Richard Rohr
• Breathing Under Water by Richard Rohr
• Trust Stillness by Brian Mueller

Credits

• First and foremost, thank you to Tony Murray 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.

Music Credits:

• Slow Mo Dreams by Soundroll
• Becoming a Legend by Vens Adams