What is men's work and in what way does Wild and Sacred Men distinguish itself?
"The work" and "men's work" are constantly mentioned in this newsletter. But what are they?
The work refers to working on oneself. And men's work is specifically the work that is being done in the context of a group with men only.
By being in a group of the same sex, there's a unique sense of safety. When men and women meet, some primitive instincts will surface, no matter how civilized we think we are. Even when there's no conscious sexual interest. The women's voices will be higher pitched, their fingers will stroke their hair and their chests will be a little more pushed to the front.
The men will tense their muscles a little bit more, take a broader stance and will start saying wise stuff in order to sound a bit more interesting than the other.
So, by being with men alone, it is so much easier to keep the attention to the work.
Also, men and women tend to to face some different challenges and patterns during their lives.
Working on yourself means facing yourself:
You feel certain things. But what is the origin of that feeling?
You want certain things, but you don't go for it. Why not?
You reflect on you decisions. Why do you want what you want? What's keeping you?
During the work, you need to take responsibility for your own life. You'll be empowered and feel what strength you can acces within yourself. But also what responsibility comes with that power.
You'll confront the excuses and bullshit you tell yourself and others to avoid doing with your life what you actually want to.
We can't always control what happens to us during our lives. But we always have the freedom to decide how we react at what's thrown at us.
We will let go of victimhood, just as feeling as perpetrator. We'll let go of guilt and shame.
But we will take responsibility for our past and future decisions and will make the best of the situation at hand.
At Wild and Sacred men, we use our bodies a lot. Part of being a man, is being in a man's body.
Also, many men have lost a connection with their body, and are living centered in their head, their mind.
On top of that, many of our difficult experiences, our trauma's, are storied within our bodies. By moving that, we can reach them and work on releasing them.
Also fighting is something we do, that is not a standard part of men's work. Fighting together with brothers helps reviving a primal feeling - a connection to life itself.
Being a fighter is not required. Nor having been in a fight before. Or even being in shape.
Many men tend to condemn any form of aggression, but by doing so, they will shut of a part of themselves.
Sacred combat is mostly about the fight within yourself, with the help of a brother. You step into the circle with a clear intention. It is not at all about winning or losing. Before fighting you agree upon the intensity of the fight and you'll adjust to what the other is capable of. It's more like a dance that you perform together. Every dealt punch is dealt with love.