Veteran Men of Integrity Retreat
A small-group Men of Integrity retreat for veterans who want to do this work among men who understand the particular weight of service and transition.
Created for veterans within the Men of Integrity path.
The Veteran Men of Integrity retreat offers the established MOI model in a cohort shaped around the lived experience of military service and the transition that follows it.
The core path is the same: preparation, a four-day rite of passage, structured integration, and ongoing brotherhood. What changes is the context, including veteran-informed facilitation, and a group of men who do not need the realities of service explained to them.
The retreat is not built around a single story of what military service means. The team brings veteran-informed experience while making room for each man’s own history, strengths, losses, questions, and reasons for being there.
Why a retreat specifically for veterans.
Many veterans carry shared, yet deeply personal experiences that often remain unresolved in civilian life:
A space built for that reality
These themes are not identical for every veteran, but they are widely present and often unspoken.
The retreat is four days. The arc is seven weeks. The brotherhood is lifelong.
Seven weeks per retreat: preparation, four days on-site, then integration.
3 weeks before
Three Zoom sessions — one per week. Set intentions, build trust, arrive ready. The group is already a group by the time you arrive.
Arrival + foundation
Settle in, share a meal, and begin with gentle facilitator-supported Gratitude and Training Ceremonies. Orientation, not intensity. The first evening is designed to help the group settle in and build trust before the deeper work begins.
The Deep Dive
The central experience of the retreat: a guided sacred ceremony supported by multiple facilitators, with space for each man to encounter the work directly rather than only talk about it.
Integration
A day without ceremony. Group sharing, workshops, and structured support to begin translating experience into language and lived commitments.
Heart-Opening Closure
Witnessing, gratitude, and closure with the brotherhood. Leaving with clarity about what you’re bringing home.
3–4 weeks after + ongoing
Group Zoom calls and one-on-one integration sessions continue after the retreat. The retreat is not the end of the work. The continuity matters just as much.
A peak experience fades without people to hold it.
A weekend opens something up, and then a person goes home to a life with nothing built to hold the change. Six weeks later, the old patterns are back, and the experience becomes a story they tell instead of a life they live.
UAF is built the other way around. The 7-week arc — preparation, retreat, integration — is the rite of passage that brings someone in. After that, they join a community of people who share the same foundation: not a doctrine they agreed to, but an experience they've actually had.
That shared ground matters. It means you're not explaining yourself from scratch. Everyone there has been through their own version of the same doorway, and has met the Cosmic Mind firsthand rather than been told about it — a shared ground each person understands in their own way.
The retreat is the door.
The community is the home.
The relationships do not end when the retreat does. Completing the arc makes you a member of UAF, and members stay connected through the wider fellowship, with regular opportunities for conversation, growth, gathering, and support in ordinary life.
💬Community Chat
Every dayDaily connection, local meetups, growth practices, and Reach Out when a member needs support.
Reach Out posts receive a response within 24 hours, usually sooner.
🌱Growth Groups
Twice a monthTwice-monthly facilitated groups that help keep the work active in everyday life.
🏕️Member retreats
Seasonal gatheringsGatherings that bring members back together for continued practice, connection, and shared experience.
And beyond the formal structure, members organize their own hikes, dinners, local meetups, and time together. That part matters too: the community continues because people genuinely want to stay connected.
A proven structure, refined across every retreat.
This is a spiritual rite of passage, not clinical treatment, and participation does not require adopting a doctrine. The retreat is built around screening, preparation, informed consent, careful facilitation, and structured integration.
A spiritual practice held with preparation and consent.
Some retreat ceremonies include sacramental practice as part of UAF’s spiritual tradition. Participation is never assumed. Before acceptance, applicants go through screening and preparation that includes discussion of medications, health history, psychological history, prior experience, and individual fit.
Ceremony is held within the larger seven-week arc, not as a standalone experience. Participants receive preparation beforehand and structured integration afterward.
Screening and individual fit
Every retreat application is reviewed for individual fit. Screening includes relevant medical and psychological history, current medications, and other factors that may affect whether participation is appropriate. Acceptance is not automatic, and UAF may ask for additional information or consultation before confirming a place.
UAF retreats are spiritual offerings and are not a substitute for medical care, psychotherapy, psychiatric care, or addiction treatment. If an applicant’s needs fall outside the scope of the retreat, UAF may recommend that they seek appropriate professional care instead of, or before, participating.
Questions about safety or screening? Contact UAF.The team holding this retreat
Michael Tierno
Co-Director of UAF and co-founder of Men of Integrity, Michael brings more than a decade of expanded-state experience, a background in social psychology, and a deep focus on integration to his work guiding retreats and helping participants bring what they experience into everyday life.
Yoni Havana
Co-Director of UAF and co-founder of Men of Integrity, Yoni guides retreats and works closely with members to bring spiritual experience into relationships, purpose, and everyday life.
Matthew Goldberg
Lead Facilitator with UAF, Matthew Goldberg is a 22-year U.S. Army Green Beret veteran with three combat tours in Iraq, a master’s degree in conflict resolution, and certification as a substance abuse counselor. He brings lived military experience and leadership to Veteran Men of Integrity.
Billy Evans
Lead Facilitator with UAF, Billy Evans served as a Navy Corpsman during Operation Iraqi Freedom and works as a peer-support specialist and coach for veterans and first responders. He brings firsthand military and peer-support experience to Veteran Men of Integrity.
Michael Van Eps
Board Member of UAF, co-founder of Men of Integrity, and lead facilitator on more than 15 retreats, Michael Van Eps brings over a decade of inner work, including 12 years of close work with Dr. Aubrey Degnan and formal training with her. He helps men bring greater honesty, responsibility, and awareness into their relationships and everyday lives.
Practical details
Veteran Men of Integrity Retreat · Next dates to be announcedReady to begin?
Start with a short application. When you submit it, you can book a free 45-minute conversation with a facilitator to ask questions, talk through fit, and understand the retreat before deciding what comes next.
The contribution and reduced-rate options are discussed during that conversation. Reduced rates are available for veterans who need them.
Universal Awareness Fellowship, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. A retreat contribution is not a donation in full: only the portion above the value of what you receive may qualify as a charitable donation, and the remainder reflects value received. Tax treatment can depend on individual circumstances — please consult your tax advisor.
Complete the arc and become a member of UAF.