As a man, I saw many instances where men — including myself — acted poorly in community and professional work life. During my 20 years of international Community Development I sadly witnessed the Adolescent & Immature Masculine (& Feminine) consciousness disrupt our collective genius of our full human capacity. I was increasingly aware, that if men (and women) continued to act from “dominance”, the human race would be in serious trouble.
While supporting various international community development projects, in diverse cultural spaces (City, Rural, First Nation/Indigenous, 1st/3rd world), I was continuously heartbroken by the cycle of Dominance / Power-Over dynamic, rather then a more Partnership / Collaborative oriented ways of being & doing together.
However, Toxic Masculinity — although imperative to name, as history has shown us that women often suffer the most — often ended up making men “wrong”, so this was never my focus, as we all played a part in our collective healing. I also was asked by women if they could join my Healthy Masculine circles, and I have heard many men wanted to witness Women’s circles, while many participants did not feel that they fit into either context, and so I felt a new space was needed.
All Genders Welcome
So I began inviting All-Genders to my circles, after recognizing that there are already very well supported Men’s & Women’s Circles, but that we are not collectively discussing it together.
Within this context, a non-gendered conversation, recognizing that "masculine" & “feminine” qualities are embodied by all genders. It is not a "male vs. female" conversation – but one that explores the masculine & feminine aspects of being human, in all of us. It is a cultural shift away from "right/wrong" or "good/bad" ways of 'acting' masculine or feminine, and moving towards a balanced way of being moving into a more authentic, emotionally-connected and life-affirming full-spectrum consciousness.
Power With
I facilitate by holding a collective sharing in community, contributing to re-balancing of the masculine consciousness — which has been so destructive (Power-Over VS Power-WITH). Participants explore the many meanings of "the Healthy Masculine" and honour one another's experiences in order to harness a positive masculine presence in our families, friendships, and communities.
I stress that I have no “answers”, and that I am not “Teaching”, but rather I am holding space for this conversation; after years of working in Community Development & Collective Wellness, I am passionate to create conditions to support the co-mentoring of a Healthy Masculine & Feminine presence within all of us. This is in support of more & more partnership and collaborative modelling to garden our culture.
Archetypes Anchor the Cirlce
Although there are many Archetypes models, I ground this circle using a few accepted Archetypes of the Mature Masculine (Sovereign, Warrior, Magician, Lover). This helps us to explore & gain an understanding of how the Immature – or the shadow side(s) – show up in ourselves, and are often promoted in society. Doing so, invites an awareness to practice and integrate the Mature / Healthy sides of these archetypes.