Basecamp for Men E13: The Hero Within

E13: The Hero Within with Special Guest  Carol Pearson

 

E13 Introduction

One of my favorite books about archetypes and the Hero’s Journey is Carol Pearson’s The Hero Within.  Carol writes,

 “When the heroic journey was thought to be for special people only, the rest of us just found a secure niche and stayed there. Now we have no secure places in which to hide and be safe. In the contemporary world, if we do not step out on our quest, it will come get us. We are being thrust on the the journey. That is what we must all learn the requirements.”

This statement (and book) resonate with me deeply. There is an awakening happening in people. Staying in your routines and habits will blunt your sensitivity to the messages that are trying to stir and awaken you. Each one of us has a unique journey and a unique contribution to make in this movement.

I see people from all walks of life living heroic lives. I see it in a thousand quiet ways….people in meditation and contemplation, people learning to love one another (and themselves), people being honest about how they have been hurt or wounded and doing the important work to move through that hurt.

The whole thing leaves me with immense gratitude. Gratitude for people,  gratitude for our earth, gratitude to be given a chance to exercise our courage on such a wonderful stage. And gratitude for the Divine. I will leave you with one last quote from Joseph Campbell, who knew a thing or two about the Hero’s Journey:

 “Heroes are agents of change. The hero’s task always has been to bring new life to an ailing culture. The dragon to be slain is precisely the monster of the status quo. Holdfast keeper of the past.”

Thank you for listening!

Tony

Basecamp for Men E12: Firestarters for Men-Compassion

E12: Firestarter for Men-Compassion

 

E12 Introduction

Pema Chodron, the great Western Buddhist teacher, writes “Our personal attempts to live humanely in this world are never wasted. Choosing to cultivate love rather than anger just might be what it takes to save the planet from extinction.

What is it that allows our goodwill to expand and our prejudice and anger to decrease? This is a significant question. Traditionally it is said that the root of aggression and suffering is ignorance. But what is it that we are ignoring? Entrenched in the tunnel vision of our personal concerns, what we ignore is our kinship with others.

One reason we train as warrior-Bodhisattvas is to recognize our interconnectedness- to grow in understanding that when we harm another, we are harming ourselves.

So we train in recognizing our uptightness. We train in seeing that others are not so different from ourselves. We train in opening our hearts and minds in increasingly difficult situations.”

In today’s episode, we introduce Firestarters for Men, our new short format segment. This will be used from time-to-time as a break from our standard interview format and to offer something to listeners that is short and sweet. These Firestarters will tend to be 8-12 minutes instead of our usual 30 minutes or so.

I hope you enjoy this first one about compassion and the story by the late Aikido master Terry Dobson.

Enjoy and thank you listeners!

Tony

 

Basecamp for Men E11: Building Boys

E11: Building Boys: A Conversation with Nicky Wilks

 

E11 Introduction

The topic of  boys and how to best set them up for optimal emotional well-being is a topic that is near and dear to me. With a twelve year-old son of my own and what I see as a woefully inept narrative when it comes to the inner lives of our boys, I have more than a passing concern with how we get our sons to healthy adulthood. What can a parent do to make sure our boys have what they REALLY need?

My guest today is an exceptional young man. Nicky Wilks has built his life’s purpose around providing training and resources for boys through his organization: Journeymen.

These trainings are powerful, inclusive, and help teen boys bridge the gap from confused, isolated, and hormonal young people to emerging young men with purpose, a budding emotional intelligence, and a community that supports and understands them. This is a noble mission and my conversation with Nicky is insightful and timely.

As a parent of a young boy, I am grateful to Nicky and the team at Journeymen for providing safe spaces for our boys to take their Hero’s Journey.

These types of trainings set a firm foundation for these boys to start their journey into adulthood. In today’s world,  a true rite-of-passage for boys is a rare thing. Join Nicky and I as we look at Journeymen’s high-quality outdoor adventures, what parents need to know about them, and what the boys get out of their participation.

Thank you listeners!

Tony

Basecamp for Men E10: Inside the Men’s Circle

E10: Inside the Men’s Circle

 

E10 Introduction

One of my intentions in creating BASECAMP FOR MEN is to give the listeners a sense of what the conversations are like inside of men’s wisdom circles.  I thought that if I could shed a light on the types of conversations that happen inside these groups, that more men would get curious and start to look for one near them.

Men inevitably find these groups inspiring, authentic, and uplifting. And they really are for everyone!

This episode addresses this intention and marks the introduction of a segment that I am calling The Warrior Dog Council. This means that each time we do this segment, we will have a small group of men on to answer questions, have a dialogue, etc.

This will give fresh perspectives to our Basecamp listeners, adding more voices on these important topics. We will be adding a Q & A segment to the show where listeners can email in their questions and The Warrior Dog Council will address them. That way the listener will hear multiple insights about a particular challenge that is brought to light.

Thank you for listening and enjoy E10: INSIDE THE MEN’S CIRCLE.

Basecamp for Men E9: Fatherhood Wide Open

E9: Fatherhood Wide Open with Special Guest Kyle Bradford

 

E9 Introduction

The heartbeat of this episode is AUTHENTICITY and my guest Kyle Bradford certainly embodies this quality. He shoots straight, tells it like it is, and owns his own mistakes and shadow. In short, he exemplifies living “wide open” and Kyle parents in this same style, as you’ll find out in this episode. We talk about gender, traditional values, and difficult discussions with our children.

Authenticity requires the courage to speak your truth. Fake is out. So is political correctness. Being real is what has others love and respect you. Join us in this discussion about living the genuine life and parenting our sons in the digital age.

Kyle Bradford Bio

Kyle Bradford is the writer behind  CHOPPERPAPA.COM, a blog dedicated to observations and discussions about marriage, single parenting, dating, divorce, and manhood.

Here is my interview with Kyle Bradford.

E9 Final Thoughts

I hope you enjoyed our time with Kyle Bradford. I think he exemplifies having courage in facing yourself and being authentic with your children. Parents often try and hide their wounds from their children and loved ones but I think this is a mistake. When you are authentic and come from the heart, people (including children) will give you space to show up in your humanity. I don‘t know any perfect people. But I do know lots of real people who make mistakes, look honestly at themselves, learn valuable lessons, and then communicate those lessons with heart and humility.

One thing I wanted to mention is the book The Porn Trap by Wendy and Larry Maltz. This is an essential book for anyone that is curious about the impact of pornography on your brain and your life. And for parents of young boys, it‘s an ally in understanding this lurking element that all of our boys will have to deal with. I hope to get Wendy and Larry on soon for more insights on this important topic.

I hope you enjoyed the episode. Thank you for listening to Basecamp for Men. And we’ll see you next week.