Basecamp for Men E55: The Measure of Men

E55: The Measure of Men with Jeff Perera

 

E55 Introduction

What is the current measure of a man? We have all grown up with all sorts of cultural imprints around this. The macho tough guy. The stud athlete. The alpha male and high-achiever and blah, blah, blah. I’m so bored with these guys.

And to a certain extent, we have all been asked to accept that the measure of a man is about his status and how much money he brings in. What sort of house he lives in or what kind of family he comes from. Everything is meant to put you in some sort of imaginary pecking order.

But things are changing. The conversations that men are having ABOUT men is taking how we measure ourselves into a new arena. One with more heart and soul and more breathing room for all of us. The new measure doesn’t exclude the high-status former alpha male. It’s just requiring him to right-size his ego and stop making everything about him and his image.

We have outgrown the old measure. This much is clear. The new measure will show that men are capable of a lot more than just being status ponies.

I’m excited to talk to my guest today as he is an expert on the inner lives of men and is helping to create this new measure that I am speaking of.

Jeff Perera Bio-


Jeff Perera has been speaking for over 12 years to audiences and teams across North America about men helping end gender-based violence, modelling healthy ideas of manhood, and empathy-building. Jeff started HigherUnlearning.com to explore how ideas of manhood impact all of us. Jeff has delivered two TEDx talks and contributes opinion pieces for Huffington Post.

 

Basecamp for Men E41: Conversations with Men

E41: Conversations with Men featuring Chris Beatie

 

E41 Introduction

One of the many things that we talk about in men’s circles is to how to have a more open mind. Being curious about things brings a kind of magic to your life. I have discovered that when you adopt a growth-mindset, all sorts of things begin to open up.

With this in mind,I like to bring on writers and thought-leaders as guests to bring new perspectives to you. I also like to talk with friends, as I did many times in season one. My guest today is my good friend Chris.

Sometimes we can find great value in hearing two friends talking honestly about the challenges they’ve faced and what constitutes “the edge” of their learning. My hope with these conversations is that you the listener will feel that you are sitting in our circle, drawing inspiration and finding new terrain for your own personal development.

Chris Beatie Bio

Chris Beatie has been a computer engineer for the last 25 years.  Finding that the stress and rigors of 12+ hour work days was taking a toll on his health,  Chris decided to apply his engineering skills to improve his life, becoming a biohacker of sorts.  Books, podcasts, doctors, medications, eastern medicine, Chris has explored and experimented far and wide.  His personal mission passion is to help others find their most enlightened, capable, healthy and happy version of themselves.

Basecamp for Men E38: Mentoring Our Boys

E38: Mentoring Our Boys with author Earl Hipp

 

E38 Introduction

The topic of guiding adolescent boys into manhood seems to me an extremely relevant one right now. As a society, we have not created the initiatory structures that enable our young people to come into manhood as a celebration. We almost dread it when a boy is creeping towards manhood, as if that is a terrible thing. What sort of message does that send our boys? Is being a man really that awful? Do men not have anything to offer? Or is it the cultural conditioning that is in dire need of being upgraded? How come boys aren’t properly celebrated as they enter the tribe of men?

There has been a movement to create rites-of-passage trainings for boys but we need more. We need more imperfect men stepping up to mentor adolescent boys.

My guest today exemplifies being committed to helping our boys arrive at manhood as a celebration and with the support of caring, appropriate elders.

Earl Hipp Bio-

Earl Hipp is an author, speaker, adviser to mentoring groups, and community consultant. Since 1982, Earl has been involved with organizations that focus on men’s issues and development. He speaks at national conferences and delivers workshops across the country, teaching organizations how to call men to mentoring.

Since 2005, Earl has published the Man-Making Blog, discussing manhood, male culture, mentoring, and men’s rites of passage. His mission is to help men discover and use their innate man-making gifts, so fewer boys (and men) are left to wander alone in the dangerous never-never land between boyhood and manhood.

Lastly, here is a quote from Meladona Some, an African spiritual teacher, “When a civilization lacks rites of passage, its soul is sick. The evidence for this sickness is threefold: first, there are no elders; second, the young are violent; and third, the adults are bewildered.”