Art of Waking Up

JASON GENTILE

Founder/Facilitator/Brother/Father

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A Firekeeper's Tale:

In the year 1986, beneath the wide American sky, a boy was born carrying a hidden ember. For many years, he walked like other children, growing in strength, ambition, and curiosity. His early path was bright with structure and striving, yet in his heart he sensed there was more — a deeper fire waiting to be revealed.

Then, in his twenty-first year, without warning, the heavens split open. The boy was struck by lightning not of the storm but of the spirit. A blinding vision of unity flooded him — a taste of the Infinite. But he was unprepared. No elder stood beside him, no circle of men to guide him. He held the fire as Prometheus once did, stolen and ungrounded. The gift burned as much as it illuminated. What had begun as ecstasy led him into collapse, shadow, and despair. For four years he wandered the underworld, unclear, stripped of illusions, until he emerged humbled, scarred, and carrying the seed of true wisdom: that power without humility is ruin.

Years passed. He married, he built his work, he shouldered responsibility. Yet the ember within still called. And so, in his twenty-ninth year, another gate opened. This time, the young man prepared himself. Surrounded by brothers in men’s work, anchored by his marriage, he journeyed to the jungles of Peru. There, he entered into dieta — fasting, silence, communion with the vine of souls.

Again, he was brought to the edge of sanity, to the same abyss that had nearly destroyed him in youth. But now, he did not face it alone. He had a circle. He had elders. He had the humility carved into him by his first fire. And so, when the visions came and the trauma of his past returned, he surrendered — not as a victim, but as a pilgrim. The fire no longer burned him. It transformed him. A "JUNGLE MAN" emerged carrying the fire reverently, like one entrusted with a sacred flame.

From then on, he lived as both householder and guide. He built a family. He cultivated land. He led circles of men into their own depths. He walked two parallel paths — the corporate and the sacred — weaving them into one. This was the season of integration, where the lessons of fire became daily bread.

And now, as he approaches his fortieth year, a third fire has appeared. Unlike the first, it is not lightning. Unlike the second, it is not a trial. It is a hearth. A steady, enduring flame that does not dazzle or terrify but warms. This is the fire of the elder-in-training — the one who tends the flame not for himself but for the village.

No longer does he ask, “Who am I?” or “What must I prove?” The question now is simpler, deeper: “How do I keep the fire alive so that others may be warmed, guided, and initiated?”

Thus his story bends toward elderhood. He who was once the youth struck down, he who chose the quest of surrender, now stands as firekeeper. His gift is not just what he saw in lightning or vision, but the presence he carries now — spacious, grounded, humble, enduring.

And the tale is not finished. For the elder’s true task is only beginning.

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Jason's Approach

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I’m passionate about helping people grow resilient, awaken their truth, and integrate lasting change. My path hasn’t been linear—I spent years struggling with imposter syndrome, shame, and the belief that I was too weird or broken. I wore a mask of “I’m fine” while carrying deep self-doubt.

 

Through years of men’s work, spiritual practice, and mentorship, I learned to let go of those stories and embrace unshakable self-love and courage. That journey allows me to guide others through their own. I lead by example, with humor and humility, embracing the messy, beautiful human experience.

 

My work blends discipline and play, accountability and compassion. I believe life is both a great mystery and a great adventure, meant to be fully lived—even when it’s hard.

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Training & Lineage

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Jason is an integrative resilience trainer with a degree in psychology. He is a certified self-leadership coach, rock climbing adventure guide, yoga teacher, and natural foods/supplement development expert. For more than a decade, he has trained clients and built communities in Boulder, Denver, Los Angeles, and globally online.

 

Masculine Alchemy

• Went through Men's Initiation Weekend in 2015, sat in weekly centralized circles for 6.5 years, 3 years and counting in current decentralized circle

• Co-leading Men’s Initiation Weekends since 2016 in the Remarkable Men’s Practice lineage, with mentor Paul Bob Velick.

• Began facilitating men’s circles in 2017.

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Yoga

• Teaching Holistic Flow Yoga since 2013.

• Mentors: Travis Eliot, Lauren Eckstrom, Vytas Baskauskas.

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Breathwork

• Mentored under Michael Stone since 2012; co-facilitating workshops in the Holotropic lineage of Stan Grof.

• Active leader in Stone’s current Neurodynamic Breathwork Community.

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Transpersonal & Integral Psychology

• Deep immersion in Stan Grof’s mapping of the unconscious and Ken Wilber’s Integral Operating System since 2010.

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Visionary Medicines

• Working with plant and fungal medicines since 2007.

• Ayahuasca practice with José Campos in the lineage of Don Solon Tello, Peru.

 

Today

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Through steadiness and fire, Jason offers practices that help clients align with their deepest truth—whether through men’s circles, rock climbing, yoga, or integrative coaching.

 

Alongside building communities and training, Jason holds a corporate executive role in the food industry and has built sustainable global supply chains for more than 30 natural product brands. He weaves his expertise into both careers, emphasizing the role of functional foods, reciprocity and healing plants in human resilience.

 

He shares life in the Colorado mountains with his partner (a Doctor of Chinese Medicine), their two daughters, son, and two pitbulls.