Male Bonding2
For those who like to explore the concept and dynamics of male bonding. Men are socialized in different ways in different societies, and so many men would like to have close male friendships, yet after spending time establishing a career, primary relationship and live in general, find themselves without close male friends. Many of us want male friends with whom we can share openly without...
- created by AZdesertman
Wild Man Weekend
Return to DiscussionsA long time ago, like about 1993, I did something called Sterling Mens Weekend. This is back in the day when guys were doing mens work, drum circles, dealing with the daddy issues, etc. It was really all about discovering the power to be gained by being in good relationship with a group of men. And from that, building a good a community.
It was a very long and intensive weekend. At times with emotion, celebration, discussion, ceremony and a bit of nudity. It was a powerful experience. And second only to learning Transcendental Meditation, probably the best thing Ive ever done for self-improvement.
Has anyone else ever done that kind of intensive bonding event?
I did a few of those weekends back in the late 80s and early 90s. They were amazing experiences and really the first time I was affirmed as a man (I was in my early 30s). Some AMAZING Men, incredible conversations and insights into being a man in our society at that point. Particularly enjoyed the sweat lodge experience. HIGHLY recommend an experience like that if you can find one. I wrote a long narrative about that experience the entire next week so I'd never forget it. Happy to share it with those really interested----it's long! (Private message me about it).
Closest I've found in recent years, (comes close in intensity and meaningfulness though it doesn't really come close in terms of breadth and number of experiences overall through the weekend) is Body Electric/Body Erotic weekend.
Scott
In 2010 I did he New Warrior Training Adventure which is done by The Mankind Project. It changed my life. The organization is still very active and does these weekends several times throughout the year in different locations. They also sponsor local men's groups. You can search them online or you can find some of the local groups through Facebook or meetup.com.
Ive done quite a bit of men's work over the years and the best organization I can recommend is Mankind Project. I imagine that all of them are powerful as long as you come open to change and learning. The problem I've always faced is how to integrate that change and insight. The weekends can end up being like that cool shirt you bought on your exotic vacation: they get hung up and stay in the closet of your everyday. What makes MKP different is that the New Warrior Training Weekend is considered an initiation, a framework of learning how to deal with yourself in the world. The real work happens later in small groups which they refer to Integration or I groups. As such groups ebb flow and make new consolidations, its great to have a larger community around to do this ongoing work. I can't say MKP is the only one which has it, but it has been the only one I've been aware of. Good luck.