While it is certainly a difficult task to try and reclaim the word 'macho' as anything other than the stereotypical violent and out of touch guy portrayed in much of the media, the articles make some good points. One thing that we notice in reading them is that many of the men we know, respect and love in the ManKind Project represent the idea of the "The New Macho" very well. We call these men New Warriors. So bravo, men, keep on evolving!
We are teaching Emotional Integrity and Radical Personal Responsibility. We are helping each other become more resilient, more awake and more inspired to follow our purpose and live our mission. Here are some characteristics that a member of the ManKind Project has put forward as part of the'New Macho' paradigm.
The New Macho
He cleans up after himself.
He cleans up the planet.
He is a role model for young men.
He is rigorously honest and fiercely optimistic.
He holds himself accountable.
He knows what he feels.
He knows how to cry and he lets it go.
He knows how to rage without hurting others.
He knows how to fear and how to keep moving.
He seeks self-mastery.
He's let go of childish shame.
He feels guilty when he's done something wrong.
He is kind to men, kind to women, kind to children.
He teaches others how to be kind.
He says he's sorry.
He stopped blaming women or his parents or men for his pain years ago.
He stopped letting his defenses ruin his relationships.
He stopped letting his penis run his life.
He has enough self respect to tell the truth.
He creates intimacy and trust with his actions.
He has men that he trusts and that he turns to for support.
He knows how to roll with it.
He knows how to make it happen.
He is disciplined when he needs to be.
He is flexible when he needs to be.
He knows how to listen from the core of his being.
He's not afraid to get dirty.
He's ready to confront his own limitations.
He has high expectations for himself and for those he connects with.
He looks for ways to serve others.
He knows he is an individual.
He knows that we are all one.
He knows he is an animal and a part of nature.
He knows his spirit and his connection to something greater.
He knows that the future generations are watching his actions.
He builds communities where people are respected and valued.
He takes responsibility for himself and is also willing to be his brother's keeper.
He knows his higher purpose.
He loves with fierceness.
He laughs with abandon, because he gets the joke.
This is the Mature Masculine - it is the redefinition of masculinity for the 21st century. By no means is this list complete. You are welcome to come and add your gifts to this community. - Boysen Hodgson
read more: http://mankindproject.org/#ixzz1SqTNkkhy
Friday, July 22, 2011
Sunday, July 17, 2011
Prejudices
An Introduction to Power, Privilege and Difference.
You are invited to take part in an evening of exploration into our conscious and unconscious attitudes, beliefs and actions and the impact that they may have, whether intended or not.
COMPLETE THE SENTENCE:
Wearing that kind of dress she was….
He’s as tight as a…
The trouble with gays is that they…
Black people tend to be…
They drink too much, those…
Children should be…
That Arab with a beard looks like a…
Women drivers are…
Were you surprised or even shocked at how easily the words came..?
Do you struggle in your relationships?
Do you find yourself thinking or muttering things that you would be embarrassed to say out loud ?
Do you want to liberate yourself from prejudice?
You are invited to take part in an evening of exploration into our conscious and unconscious attitudes, beliefs and actions and the impact that they may have, whether intended or not.
COMPLETE THE SENTENCE:
Wearing that kind of dress she was….
He’s as tight as a…
The trouble with gays is that they…
Black people tend to be…
They drink too much, those…
Children should be…
That Arab with a beard looks like a…
Women drivers are…
Were you surprised or even shocked at how easily the words came..?
Do you struggle in your relationships?
Do you find yourself thinking or muttering things that you would be embarrassed to say out loud ?
Do you want to liberate yourself from prejudice?
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
Nelson Mandela
"If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his
head. If you talk to him in his own language, that goes to his heart."
Nelson Mandela
head. If you talk to him in his own language, that goes to his heart."
Nelson Mandela
Sunday, July 10, 2011
The MKP Adventure
The ManKindProject
Empowering men to live their true potential
The Adventure (The New Warrior Training Adventure) is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to challenge your limitations, your wounding, and your impaired vision of your life as a man. It is a space to discover what it is that holds you back from being the man that you could feel truly proud of. It is an intense and carefully choreographed event designed to help you see how you hurt yourself and those you love, to face the pain you may experience for yourself or impose on others, and to learn the art of transforming it into personal responsibility – for this is the gateway to liberation from the past.
The great disappointment of modern masculinity is that there are so few mature, wise men to show us the way. Most men can admit they did not get enough fathering; many feel that they grew from boy to man without much guidance. The ManKind Project cannot replace these missing elders but it can empower men to father themselves and, in time, become themselves the elders and fathers of the future. Together, we can positively change the future for other boys and young men. Together, we can positively change the way girls and women are impacted by boys and men. Together, we can play our part in creating a future that we can feel proud of.
The Adventure is a modern male initiation and self-examination. We believe that this is crucial to the development of a healthy and mature male self, no matter how old a man is. It is the “hero’s journey” of classical literature and myth that has nearly disappeared in modern culture. We ask men to stop living vicariously through movies, television, addictions and distractions and step up into their own adventure – in real time and surrounded by other men.
“The only devils in the world are those running around in our own hearts. That is where the battle must be fought.” — Mahatma Ghandi
from the MKP-UK homepage.
Empowering men to live their true potential
The Adventure (The New Warrior Training Adventure) is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to challenge your limitations, your wounding, and your impaired vision of your life as a man. It is a space to discover what it is that holds you back from being the man that you could feel truly proud of. It is an intense and carefully choreographed event designed to help you see how you hurt yourself and those you love, to face the pain you may experience for yourself or impose on others, and to learn the art of transforming it into personal responsibility – for this is the gateway to liberation from the past.
The great disappointment of modern masculinity is that there are so few mature, wise men to show us the way. Most men can admit they did not get enough fathering; many feel that they grew from boy to man without much guidance. The ManKind Project cannot replace these missing elders but it can empower men to father themselves and, in time, become themselves the elders and fathers of the future. Together, we can positively change the future for other boys and young men. Together, we can positively change the way girls and women are impacted by boys and men. Together, we can play our part in creating a future that we can feel proud of.
The Adventure is a modern male initiation and self-examination. We believe that this is crucial to the development of a healthy and mature male self, no matter how old a man is. It is the “hero’s journey” of classical literature and myth that has nearly disappeared in modern culture. We ask men to stop living vicariously through movies, television, addictions and distractions and step up into their own adventure – in real time and surrounded by other men.
“The only devils in the world are those running around in our own hearts. That is where the battle must be fought.” — Mahatma Ghandi
from the MKP-UK homepage.
Sunday, July 3, 2011
Confronting whiteness
How should I live in this strange place? This deceptively poetic question
captures an existential journey on which a white South African philosopher
and colleague of mine, Samantha Vice, has recently embarked.
She thinks white South Africans should feel shame and regret for the past
and for the fact that their whiteness still benefits them unjustly. She is
grappling with what it means for her to be a white person in a country that
is still deeply racialised, deeply political and deeply unjust. Her
reflections drip with an intense honesty that is too rare in the South
African academy. Sadly, it is an honesty often culpably missing from the
lives of too many white South Africans.
You might never have heard of Vice, in part because she does not think that
whites should participate in the public political processes of this country.
She is therefore tentative about placing her work in the public space, but
has started a conversation within the academy, a space in which she feels
she has the skills to make a contribution and is less burdened by her
whiteness than she might be within the public political arena.
In a dramatic way, her reluctance to step into the public space is an active
silence that is part of her argument. But I also think our country has long
needed brilliant and honest academics, such as Vice, to place their ideas
within the public space where they could have the greatest reach. No topic
deserves such treatment more urgently than the permanent elephant in any
South African room -- race. So, allow me to rehearse Vice's reflections and
to engage them.
Vice argues that the moral selves of whites are deeply stained by the unjust
system from which they have benefited. Whiteness, for her, is implicated in
the injustices that the black majority continue to experience 17 years
later. Whites should feel shame and regret, and make amends for being unjust
beneficiaries of whiteness. They should also withdraw from the political
space and live "in humility and silence", embarking on personal journeys,
inwardly focused, aimed at repairing their damaged moral selves.
By "whiteness" Vice is referring to the fact that a white skin has resulted
in benefits for the person who is white. This just is a historical fact. The
entire system of anti-black racism and apartheid benefited those who were
white. Whiteness became the norm of society.
Being white in all sectors of society was as advantageous as being male or
being masculine in the corporate sector. It was the "norm" and anything that
deviated from the norm was non-white, a negative description capturing the
judgment that non-whites are defective. Being non-white is as defective as
being gay or bisexual in a world in which heterosexuality is the norm.
Vice acknowledges that many whites resent the fact that they did not choose
to be white or to benefit from being white. Indeed, some whites opposed
apartheid. But shame and regret are not moral emotions that you should feel
only when you did something wrong yourself.
You should also be ashamed of benefiting unjustly. Feeling shame as a white
person is a way of acknowledging that you have been living in a world filled
with an injustice rooted in your whiteness. Shame is an acknowledgement that
the world you live in is not as it should be -- just and nonracial. Regret,
too, is appropriate. Vice regrets her own whiteness, not because she chose
it (which she could not have) but because her whiteness is what keeps the
unjust system, in which blacks are still socially and economically worse off
than whites, going.
Whiteness is not a historical fact only living on in history textbooks. It
continues to benefit whites. Indeed, one of the most profound observations
Vice makes is precisely the fact that South African whites are so
unconsciously habituated into an uncritical white way of being that they
fail even to acknowledge how being white continues to represent massive
social capital.
Just as a sexist black man or a homophobic white woman might never
acknowledge how they benefit from patriarchy and hetero-normativity (after
all, we live in a liberal society now, don't we, in which men and women and
gay and straight people are equal), so many whites take little care to
acknowledge the benefits of whiteness. Some will have the audacity to
respond to this article by claiming, in fact, to be victims, to be the new
blacks of South Africa.
They will argue that "the system" has now changed, because St John's College
in Houghton has now had a black head prefect, and most new BMWs are bought
by black professionals, and victims of anti-white racism now exist. Yet the
brutal, cold facts about poverty, inequality and unemployment, when analysed
along racial lines, underscore Vice's more honest view that whiteness
continues to represent unjust benefiting in post-democratic South Africa.
Whiteness remains the norm. Whiteness remains hip. And that is why it is
praiseworthy that Vice feels shame and regret for her whiteness.
Vice's reflections should resonate with whites in general. But they will
not. Shame and regret are difficult emotions to own up to. It is easier to
focus attention on others, like pointing out how corrupt this "black
government" is or how difficult it was for Johan, the neighbour's son, to
get a job despite having an engineering degree. Confronting your own self,
and being ashamed of benefiting unjustly from your whiteness, is too painful
for many to manage.
Vice's only mistake is her decision to withdraw from the public political
sphere. It is not black South Africans' turn to be political. It is all
South Africans' duty to engage each other as equals both within the public
and private spheres. Whites need to engage their whiteness publicly.
I do not want to be shielded from whiteness. I want to be given the space to
rehearse my own full personhood as a black South African by engaging Vice
publicly; it is the only way healthy relationships between blacks and whites
can develop.
Vice should, instead, have given slightly different advice to whites. This
is what I say to whites: "You have an unqualified political and ethical
right to engage in the political and public spheres of (y)our country, but
be mindful of how your whiteness still benefits you and gives you unearned
privileges. Engage black South Africans with humility, and be mindful of not
reinforcing whiteness as normative, just as a loud, boisterous,
rugby-obsessive chief executive should take care of his unearned privileges
as an aggressive, masculine male in the boardroom."
The journey will be worth it. But it requires discomforting honesty. We owe
it to ourselves as a nation in the making.
Eusebius McKaiser is a political commentator and an associate at the Wits
Centre for Ethics
captures an existential journey on which a white South African philosopher
and colleague of mine, Samantha Vice, has recently embarked.
She thinks white South Africans should feel shame and regret for the past
and for the fact that their whiteness still benefits them unjustly. She is
grappling with what it means for her to be a white person in a country that
is still deeply racialised, deeply political and deeply unjust. Her
reflections drip with an intense honesty that is too rare in the South
African academy. Sadly, it is an honesty often culpably missing from the
lives of too many white South Africans.
You might never have heard of Vice, in part because she does not think that
whites should participate in the public political processes of this country.
She is therefore tentative about placing her work in the public space, but
has started a conversation within the academy, a space in which she feels
she has the skills to make a contribution and is less burdened by her
whiteness than she might be within the public political arena.
In a dramatic way, her reluctance to step into the public space is an active
silence that is part of her argument. But I also think our country has long
needed brilliant and honest academics, such as Vice, to place their ideas
within the public space where they could have the greatest reach. No topic
deserves such treatment more urgently than the permanent elephant in any
South African room -- race. So, allow me to rehearse Vice's reflections and
to engage them.
Vice argues that the moral selves of whites are deeply stained by the unjust
system from which they have benefited. Whiteness, for her, is implicated in
the injustices that the black majority continue to experience 17 years
later. Whites should feel shame and regret, and make amends for being unjust
beneficiaries of whiteness. They should also withdraw from the political
space and live "in humility and silence", embarking on personal journeys,
inwardly focused, aimed at repairing their damaged moral selves.
By "whiteness" Vice is referring to the fact that a white skin has resulted
in benefits for the person who is white. This just is a historical fact. The
entire system of anti-black racism and apartheid benefited those who were
white. Whiteness became the norm of society.
Being white in all sectors of society was as advantageous as being male or
being masculine in the corporate sector. It was the "norm" and anything that
deviated from the norm was non-white, a negative description capturing the
judgment that non-whites are defective. Being non-white is as defective as
being gay or bisexual in a world in which heterosexuality is the norm.
Vice acknowledges that many whites resent the fact that they did not choose
to be white or to benefit from being white. Indeed, some whites opposed
apartheid. But shame and regret are not moral emotions that you should feel
only when you did something wrong yourself.
You should also be ashamed of benefiting unjustly. Feeling shame as a white
person is a way of acknowledging that you have been living in a world filled
with an injustice rooted in your whiteness. Shame is an acknowledgement that
the world you live in is not as it should be -- just and nonracial. Regret,
too, is appropriate. Vice regrets her own whiteness, not because she chose
it (which she could not have) but because her whiteness is what keeps the
unjust system, in which blacks are still socially and economically worse off
than whites, going.
Whiteness is not a historical fact only living on in history textbooks. It
continues to benefit whites. Indeed, one of the most profound observations
Vice makes is precisely the fact that South African whites are so
unconsciously habituated into an uncritical white way of being that they
fail even to acknowledge how being white continues to represent massive
social capital.
Just as a sexist black man or a homophobic white woman might never
acknowledge how they benefit from patriarchy and hetero-normativity (after
all, we live in a liberal society now, don't we, in which men and women and
gay and straight people are equal), so many whites take little care to
acknowledge the benefits of whiteness. Some will have the audacity to
respond to this article by claiming, in fact, to be victims, to be the new
blacks of South Africa.
They will argue that "the system" has now changed, because St John's College
in Houghton has now had a black head prefect, and most new BMWs are bought
by black professionals, and victims of anti-white racism now exist. Yet the
brutal, cold facts about poverty, inequality and unemployment, when analysed
along racial lines, underscore Vice's more honest view that whiteness
continues to represent unjust benefiting in post-democratic South Africa.
Whiteness remains the norm. Whiteness remains hip. And that is why it is
praiseworthy that Vice feels shame and regret for her whiteness.
Vice's reflections should resonate with whites in general. But they will
not. Shame and regret are difficult emotions to own up to. It is easier to
focus attention on others, like pointing out how corrupt this "black
government" is or how difficult it was for Johan, the neighbour's son, to
get a job despite having an engineering degree. Confronting your own self,
and being ashamed of benefiting unjustly from your whiteness, is too painful
for many to manage.
Vice's only mistake is her decision to withdraw from the public political
sphere. It is not black South Africans' turn to be political. It is all
South Africans' duty to engage each other as equals both within the public
and private spheres. Whites need to engage their whiteness publicly.
I do not want to be shielded from whiteness. I want to be given the space to
rehearse my own full personhood as a black South African by engaging Vice
publicly; it is the only way healthy relationships between blacks and whites
can develop.
Vice should, instead, have given slightly different advice to whites. This
is what I say to whites: "You have an unqualified political and ethical
right to engage in the political and public spheres of (y)our country, but
be mindful of how your whiteness still benefits you and gives you unearned
privileges. Engage black South Africans with humility, and be mindful of not
reinforcing whiteness as normative, just as a loud, boisterous,
rugby-obsessive chief executive should take care of his unearned privileges
as an aggressive, masculine male in the boardroom."
The journey will be worth it. But it requires discomforting honesty. We owe
it to ourselves as a nation in the making.
Eusebius McKaiser is a political commentator and an associate at the Wits
Centre for Ethics
Monday, June 27, 2011
Robert Moore
Structures of the Self
Depth psychology infers the existence of archetypes in the collective unconscious in part by the startling correspondences between the guiding images of very different cultures. These images surface in myths, in philosophical and theological speculations, in artistic productions, in scientific achievements, and in institutional and societal designs. Though some disciplines emphasize the differences between cultures, as a depth psychologist, Dr. Moore, like sociobiologists and other researchers, is most concerned with similarities. Dr. Moore's research has found an archetype that is eternal, a constant construct within the masculine psyche, which is revealed in the fourfold pattern of King, Warrior, Magician, and Lover energies.
King
The mythic images of the King and Queen, in males and females, represent an instinctual line having to do with nurturing and centering in the human personality. This Royal line of development has to do with inclusive nurturing and blessing. It is critical for the self. Without it, you are not calm, you are not centered, you do not have a vision, you do not have a sense of "I am" and "I want." A lot of men want to know what they want but cannot find it. That is because of a lack of development of this Royal line.
It is easy enough to discover whether this energy is developed within yourself. Just ask yourself one question. When did I last really bless and affirm another person? Was it today, yesterday, last week, last month, last year? Do I find that I do this frequently and spontaneously, or is it an effort? If it's something you do infrequently, and with an effort, you are short of King energy. Most of the men on the planet are in the same position as yourself.
Warrior
The mythic images of the Warrior, in males and females, represent both the capacity for aggression and the ability to serve a cause. The energy of the Warrior is that energy of focused discipline, boundaries, service and mission. It is the ability to get organized and motivated, and the ability to follow the vision found in the royal line of development. Without the Warrior, there is no motivation, no energy to be accessed for a goal. It defends the boundaries of the "I am" and the "I want." And when immature, undeveloped and uninitiated, this energy causes all kinds of trouble, from passivity to rampant violence, both of which we are facing globally.
There are several vital signs of the shortage of Warrior energy, among them failure to defend boundaries in relationships, especially intimate relationships, lack of focus, and absence of clear goals.
Magician
Mythic images of the Magician, high priest or priestess, represent the cognitive line of development. This has to do with moving from mere knowledge to wisdom which is used for healing of self and community.
The Magician and the Royal line are in tension. This is the same for men and for women. There is no difference there. In other words, it is just as hard for men and women; just as hard to develop generativity and the capacity to bless and nurture. We are alike in that way.
If you are strong in the Magician quarter, you will be the sort of person who uses his intuition in the service of others, a man who, for instance, thinks through a problem that faces one of your children, coming up with a solution which is suitable for them, and which doesn't necessarily serve yourself.
Lover
The mythic image of the Lover is an instinctual line of development of sexuality, affiliation, intimacy, embodiment and joy. If you do not have a connection with this, then you do not have any fun. No matter how smart or how caring you are there is not "dance" in your life.
The Lover is the man in touch with his feelings, the man who expresses his joy, his pain, his anger, his fear, spontaneously. He is, most definitely, not someone who bottles up or covers over what he feels.
References
The Quartet of Books: The King Within, The Warrior Within, The Magician Within, The Lover Within.
Moore, R. (1997). Masculine initiation for the 21st century: The global challenge. The New Warrior Handbook.
Depth psychology infers the existence of archetypes in the collective unconscious in part by the startling correspondences between the guiding images of very different cultures. These images surface in myths, in philosophical and theological speculations, in artistic productions, in scientific achievements, and in institutional and societal designs. Though some disciplines emphasize the differences between cultures, as a depth psychologist, Dr. Moore, like sociobiologists and other researchers, is most concerned with similarities. Dr. Moore's research has found an archetype that is eternal, a constant construct within the masculine psyche, which is revealed in the fourfold pattern of King, Warrior, Magician, and Lover energies.
King
The mythic images of the King and Queen, in males and females, represent an instinctual line having to do with nurturing and centering in the human personality. This Royal line of development has to do with inclusive nurturing and blessing. It is critical for the self. Without it, you are not calm, you are not centered, you do not have a vision, you do not have a sense of "I am" and "I want." A lot of men want to know what they want but cannot find it. That is because of a lack of development of this Royal line.
It is easy enough to discover whether this energy is developed within yourself. Just ask yourself one question. When did I last really bless and affirm another person? Was it today, yesterday, last week, last month, last year? Do I find that I do this frequently and spontaneously, or is it an effort? If it's something you do infrequently, and with an effort, you are short of King energy. Most of the men on the planet are in the same position as yourself.
Warrior
The mythic images of the Warrior, in males and females, represent both the capacity for aggression and the ability to serve a cause. The energy of the Warrior is that energy of focused discipline, boundaries, service and mission. It is the ability to get organized and motivated, and the ability to follow the vision found in the royal line of development. Without the Warrior, there is no motivation, no energy to be accessed for a goal. It defends the boundaries of the "I am" and the "I want." And when immature, undeveloped and uninitiated, this energy causes all kinds of trouble, from passivity to rampant violence, both of which we are facing globally.
There are several vital signs of the shortage of Warrior energy, among them failure to defend boundaries in relationships, especially intimate relationships, lack of focus, and absence of clear goals.
Magician
Mythic images of the Magician, high priest or priestess, represent the cognitive line of development. This has to do with moving from mere knowledge to wisdom which is used for healing of self and community.
The Magician and the Royal line are in tension. This is the same for men and for women. There is no difference there. In other words, it is just as hard for men and women; just as hard to develop generativity and the capacity to bless and nurture. We are alike in that way.
If you are strong in the Magician quarter, you will be the sort of person who uses his intuition in the service of others, a man who, for instance, thinks through a problem that faces one of your children, coming up with a solution which is suitable for them, and which doesn't necessarily serve yourself.
Lover
The mythic image of the Lover is an instinctual line of development of sexuality, affiliation, intimacy, embodiment and joy. If you do not have a connection with this, then you do not have any fun. No matter how smart or how caring you are there is not "dance" in your life.
The Lover is the man in touch with his feelings, the man who expresses his joy, his pain, his anger, his fear, spontaneously. He is, most definitely, not someone who bottles up or covers over what he feels.
References
The Quartet of Books: The King Within, The Warrior Within, The Magician Within, The Lover Within.
Moore, R. (1997). Masculine initiation for the 21st century: The global challenge. The New Warrior Handbook.
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
The Seekers
Gents
I am a long time admirer of the writings of Joseph Campbell and am aware of
MKP's indebtedness to Campbell for the timeless, poetic and mythical
structure of the hero's journey central to the NWTA. I am currently dipping
into a book on screenwriting that draws heavily on Campbell to provide a
road map for writers wanting to construct a hero's journey in film scripts.
The author, Vogler, believes most popular films strike a deep cord with
audiences precisely because they are based around such a hero's journey.
To illustrate the mythical arc of a typical hero's journey, Vogler tells the
story of The Seekers. I am sharing The Seekers here as it seem to me to
powerfully describe the mythical journey undertaken by initiates before,
during and after the NWTA, and affirms the timeless and universal resonances
of the training.
The Seekers
The Ordinary World
Look around, sister, brother of the Home Tribe. You can see the people are
barely getting by, surviving on a dwindling supply of last season's food.
Times are bad and the country all around seems lifeless. The people grow
weak before our eyes, but a few of us are filled with restless energy. Like
you. You're uncomfortable, feeling you no longer fit in with this drab,
exhausted place. You may not know it, but you're soon to be selected as a
hero, to join the select company of the Seekers, those who have always gone
out to face the unknown. You'll undertake a journey to restore life and
health to the entire Home Tribe, an adventure in which the only sure thing
is that you'll be changed. You're uneasy, but there's a thrill running
through you. You're poised to break free from this world, ready to enter the
world of adventure.
The Call To Adventure
Trouble shadows the Home Tribe. You hear its call, in the grumbling of our
stomach and the cries of our hungry children. The land for miles around is
tapped out and barren and clearly someone must go beyond the familiar
territory. That unknown land is strange and fills us with fear, but pressure
mounts to do something, to take some risks, so that life can continue.
A figure emerges from the campfire smoke, an elder of the Home Tribe,
pointing to you. Yes, you have been chosen as a Seeker and called to begin a
new quest. You'll venture your life so that the greater life of the Home
Tribe may go on.
Refusal Of The Call
Gather your gear, fellow Seeker. Think ahead to possible dangers, and
reflect on past disasters. The spectre of the unknown walks among us,
halting our progress at the threshold. Some of us turn down the quest, some
hesitate, some are tugged at by families who fear for our lives and don't
want us to go. You hear people mutter that the journey is foolhardy, doomed
from the start. You feel fear constricting your breathing and making your
heart race. Should you stay with the Home Tribe, and let others risk their
necks in the quest ? Are you cut out to be a Seeker ?
Meeting With The Mentor
You Seekers, fearful at the brink of adventure, consult with the elders of
the Home Tribe. Seek out those who have gone before. Learn the secret lore
of watering holes, games trails, and berry patches, and what badlands,
quicksand, and monsters to avoid. An old one, feeble to go out again,
scratches a map for us in the dirt. The shaman of the tribe presses
something into your hand, a magic gift, a potent talisman that will protect
us and guide us on the quest. Now we can set out with lighter hearts and
greater confidence, for we take with us the collected wisdom of the Home
Tribe.
Crossing The First Threshold
The ranks of the Seekers are thinner now. Some of us have dropped out, but
the final few are ready to cross the threshold and truly begin the
adventure. The problems of the Home Tribe are clear to everyone, and
desperate - something must be done, now ! Ready or not, we lope out of the
village leaving all things familiar behind. As you pull away you feel the
jerk of the invisible threads that bind you to your loved ones. It's
difficult to pull away from everything you know but with a deep breath you
go on, taking the plunge into the abyss of the unknown. We enter a strange
no-man's-land, a world between worlds, a zone of crossing that may be
desolate and lonely. Or, in places, crowded with life. You sense the
presence of other beings, other forces with sharp thorns or claws, guarding
the way to the treasure you seek. But there's no turning back now, we all
feel it; the adventure has begun for good or ill.
Tests, Allies, Enemies
We Seekers are in shock - this new world is so different from the home we've
always known. Not only are the terrain and the local residents different,
the rules of this place are strange as they can be. Different things are
valued here and we have a lot to learn about the local currency, customs,
and language. Strange creatures jump out at you! Think fast! Don't eat that,
it could be poison! Exhausted by the journey across the desolate threshold
zone, we're running out of time and energy. Remember our people back in the
Home Tribe are counting on us. Enough sight-seeing, let's concentrate on the
goal. We must go where the food and game and information are to be found.
There our skills will be tested, and we'll come one step closer to what we
seek.
Approach To The Inmost Cave
Our band of Seekers leaves the oasis at the edge of the new world, refreshed
and armed with more knowledge about the nature and habits of the game we're
hunting. We're ready press on to the heart of the new world where the
greatest treasures are guarded by our greatest fears. Look around at your
fellow Seekers. We've changed already and new qualities are emerging. Who's
the leader now? Some who were not suited for life in the Ordinary World are
now thriving. Others who seemed ideal for adventure are turning out to be
the least able. A new perception of yourself and others is forming. Based on
this new awareness, you can make plans and direct yourself towards getting
what you want from the Special World. Soon you will be ready to enter the
Inmost Cave.
The Ordeal
Seeker, enter the Inmost Cave and look for that which will restore life to
the Home Tribe. The way grows narrow and dark. You must go alone on hands
and knees and you feel the earth press close around you. You can hardly
breathe. Suddenly you come out into the deepest chamber and find yourself
face-to-face with a towering figure, a menacing Shadow composed of all your
doubts and fears and well armed to defend a treasure. Here, in this moment,
is the chance to win all or die. No matter what you came for, it's Death
that now stares back at you. Whatever the outcome of the battle, you are
about to taste death and it will change you.
Reward
We Seekers look at one another with growing smiles. We've won the right to
be called heroes. For the sake of the Home Tribe we faced death, tasted it,
and yet lived. From the depths of terror we suddenly shoot up to victory.
It's time to fill our empty bellies and raise our voices around the campfire
to sing of our deeds. Old wounds and grievances are forgotten. The story of
our journey is already being woven. You pull apart from the rest, strangely
quiet. In the leaping shadows you remember those who didn't make it, and you
notice something. You're different. You've changed. Part of you has died and
something new has been born. You and the world will never seem the same.
This too is part of the Reward for facing death.
The Road Back
Wake up, Seekers! Shake off the effects of our feast and celebration and
remember why we came out here in the first place! People back home are
starving and it's urgent, now that we've recovered from the ordeal, to load
up our backpacks with food and treasure and head for home. Besides, there's
no telling what dangers still lurk on the edge on the hunting grounds. You
pause at the edge of camp to look back. They'll never believe this back
home. How to tell them? Something bright on the ground catches your eyes.
You bend to pick it up - a beautiful smooth stone with an inner glow.
Suddenly a dark shape darts out at you, all fangs. Run! Run for your life!
The Resurrection
We weary Seekers shuffle back towards the village. Look! The smoke of the
Home Tribe fires! Pick up the pace! But wait - the shaman appears to stop us
from charging back in. You have been to the land of the Death, he says, and
you look like death itself, covered in blood, carrying the torn flesh and
hide of your game. If you march back into the village without purifying and
cleansing yourselves, you may bring death back with you. You must undergo
one final sacrifice before rejoining the tribe. Your warriors self must die
so you can be reborn as an innocent into the group. The trick is to keep the
wisdom of the Ordeal, while getting rid of its bad effects. After all we've
been through, fellow Seekers, we must face one more trial, maybe the hardest
one yet.
Return With The Elixir
We Seekers come home at last, purged, purified, and bearing the fruits of
our journey. We share out the nourishment and treasure among the Home Tribe,
with many a good story about how they were won. A circle has been closed,
you can feel it. You can see that our struggles on the Road of Heroes have
brought new life to our land. There will be other adventures, but this one
is complete, and as it ends it brings deep healing, wellness, and wholeness
to our world. The Seekers have come Home.
From: The Writer's Journey: Mythic Structure for Writers
By Christopher Vogler
David Wicht
c +27 83 254 3777 h +27 21 795 5698
1 Old Cottage Rd Silverhurst
Constantia 7806 South Africa
I am a long time admirer of the writings of Joseph Campbell and am aware of
MKP's indebtedness to Campbell for the timeless, poetic and mythical
structure of the hero's journey central to the NWTA. I am currently dipping
into a book on screenwriting that draws heavily on Campbell to provide a
road map for writers wanting to construct a hero's journey in film scripts.
The author, Vogler, believes most popular films strike a deep cord with
audiences precisely because they are based around such a hero's journey.
To illustrate the mythical arc of a typical hero's journey, Vogler tells the
story of The Seekers. I am sharing The Seekers here as it seem to me to
powerfully describe the mythical journey undertaken by initiates before,
during and after the NWTA, and affirms the timeless and universal resonances
of the training.
The Seekers
The Ordinary World
Look around, sister, brother of the Home Tribe. You can see the people are
barely getting by, surviving on a dwindling supply of last season's food.
Times are bad and the country all around seems lifeless. The people grow
weak before our eyes, but a few of us are filled with restless energy. Like
you. You're uncomfortable, feeling you no longer fit in with this drab,
exhausted place. You may not know it, but you're soon to be selected as a
hero, to join the select company of the Seekers, those who have always gone
out to face the unknown. You'll undertake a journey to restore life and
health to the entire Home Tribe, an adventure in which the only sure thing
is that you'll be changed. You're uneasy, but there's a thrill running
through you. You're poised to break free from this world, ready to enter the
world of adventure.
The Call To Adventure
Trouble shadows the Home Tribe. You hear its call, in the grumbling of our
stomach and the cries of our hungry children. The land for miles around is
tapped out and barren and clearly someone must go beyond the familiar
territory. That unknown land is strange and fills us with fear, but pressure
mounts to do something, to take some risks, so that life can continue.
A figure emerges from the campfire smoke, an elder of the Home Tribe,
pointing to you. Yes, you have been chosen as a Seeker and called to begin a
new quest. You'll venture your life so that the greater life of the Home
Tribe may go on.
Refusal Of The Call
Gather your gear, fellow Seeker. Think ahead to possible dangers, and
reflect on past disasters. The spectre of the unknown walks among us,
halting our progress at the threshold. Some of us turn down the quest, some
hesitate, some are tugged at by families who fear for our lives and don't
want us to go. You hear people mutter that the journey is foolhardy, doomed
from the start. You feel fear constricting your breathing and making your
heart race. Should you stay with the Home Tribe, and let others risk their
necks in the quest ? Are you cut out to be a Seeker ?
Meeting With The Mentor
You Seekers, fearful at the brink of adventure, consult with the elders of
the Home Tribe. Seek out those who have gone before. Learn the secret lore
of watering holes, games trails, and berry patches, and what badlands,
quicksand, and monsters to avoid. An old one, feeble to go out again,
scratches a map for us in the dirt. The shaman of the tribe presses
something into your hand, a magic gift, a potent talisman that will protect
us and guide us on the quest. Now we can set out with lighter hearts and
greater confidence, for we take with us the collected wisdom of the Home
Tribe.
Crossing The First Threshold
The ranks of the Seekers are thinner now. Some of us have dropped out, but
the final few are ready to cross the threshold and truly begin the
adventure. The problems of the Home Tribe are clear to everyone, and
desperate - something must be done, now ! Ready or not, we lope out of the
village leaving all things familiar behind. As you pull away you feel the
jerk of the invisible threads that bind you to your loved ones. It's
difficult to pull away from everything you know but with a deep breath you
go on, taking the plunge into the abyss of the unknown. We enter a strange
no-man's-land, a world between worlds, a zone of crossing that may be
desolate and lonely. Or, in places, crowded with life. You sense the
presence of other beings, other forces with sharp thorns or claws, guarding
the way to the treasure you seek. But there's no turning back now, we all
feel it; the adventure has begun for good or ill.
Tests, Allies, Enemies
We Seekers are in shock - this new world is so different from the home we've
always known. Not only are the terrain and the local residents different,
the rules of this place are strange as they can be. Different things are
valued here and we have a lot to learn about the local currency, customs,
and language. Strange creatures jump out at you! Think fast! Don't eat that,
it could be poison! Exhausted by the journey across the desolate threshold
zone, we're running out of time and energy. Remember our people back in the
Home Tribe are counting on us. Enough sight-seeing, let's concentrate on the
goal. We must go where the food and game and information are to be found.
There our skills will be tested, and we'll come one step closer to what we
seek.
Approach To The Inmost Cave
Our band of Seekers leaves the oasis at the edge of the new world, refreshed
and armed with more knowledge about the nature and habits of the game we're
hunting. We're ready press on to the heart of the new world where the
greatest treasures are guarded by our greatest fears. Look around at your
fellow Seekers. We've changed already and new qualities are emerging. Who's
the leader now? Some who were not suited for life in the Ordinary World are
now thriving. Others who seemed ideal for adventure are turning out to be
the least able. A new perception of yourself and others is forming. Based on
this new awareness, you can make plans and direct yourself towards getting
what you want from the Special World. Soon you will be ready to enter the
Inmost Cave.
The Ordeal
Seeker, enter the Inmost Cave and look for that which will restore life to
the Home Tribe. The way grows narrow and dark. You must go alone on hands
and knees and you feel the earth press close around you. You can hardly
breathe. Suddenly you come out into the deepest chamber and find yourself
face-to-face with a towering figure, a menacing Shadow composed of all your
doubts and fears and well armed to defend a treasure. Here, in this moment,
is the chance to win all or die. No matter what you came for, it's Death
that now stares back at you. Whatever the outcome of the battle, you are
about to taste death and it will change you.
Reward
We Seekers look at one another with growing smiles. We've won the right to
be called heroes. For the sake of the Home Tribe we faced death, tasted it,
and yet lived. From the depths of terror we suddenly shoot up to victory.
It's time to fill our empty bellies and raise our voices around the campfire
to sing of our deeds. Old wounds and grievances are forgotten. The story of
our journey is already being woven. You pull apart from the rest, strangely
quiet. In the leaping shadows you remember those who didn't make it, and you
notice something. You're different. You've changed. Part of you has died and
something new has been born. You and the world will never seem the same.
This too is part of the Reward for facing death.
The Road Back
Wake up, Seekers! Shake off the effects of our feast and celebration and
remember why we came out here in the first place! People back home are
starving and it's urgent, now that we've recovered from the ordeal, to load
up our backpacks with food and treasure and head for home. Besides, there's
no telling what dangers still lurk on the edge on the hunting grounds. You
pause at the edge of camp to look back. They'll never believe this back
home. How to tell them? Something bright on the ground catches your eyes.
You bend to pick it up - a beautiful smooth stone with an inner glow.
Suddenly a dark shape darts out at you, all fangs. Run! Run for your life!
The Resurrection
We weary Seekers shuffle back towards the village. Look! The smoke of the
Home Tribe fires! Pick up the pace! But wait - the shaman appears to stop us
from charging back in. You have been to the land of the Death, he says, and
you look like death itself, covered in blood, carrying the torn flesh and
hide of your game. If you march back into the village without purifying and
cleansing yourselves, you may bring death back with you. You must undergo
one final sacrifice before rejoining the tribe. Your warriors self must die
so you can be reborn as an innocent into the group. The trick is to keep the
wisdom of the Ordeal, while getting rid of its bad effects. After all we've
been through, fellow Seekers, we must face one more trial, maybe the hardest
one yet.
Return With The Elixir
We Seekers come home at last, purged, purified, and bearing the fruits of
our journey. We share out the nourishment and treasure among the Home Tribe,
with many a good story about how they were won. A circle has been closed,
you can feel it. You can see that our struggles on the Road of Heroes have
brought new life to our land. There will be other adventures, but this one
is complete, and as it ends it brings deep healing, wellness, and wholeness
to our world. The Seekers have come Home.
From: The Writer's Journey: Mythic Structure for Writers
By Christopher Vogler
David Wicht
c +27 83 254 3777 h +27 21 795 5698
1 Old Cottage Rd Silverhurst
Constantia 7806 South Africa
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