Basecamp for Men E88: Conversations About Men

E88: Conversations About Men with Special Guest

Brandon Clift

 

E88 Introduction

It has been interesting to me to watch the evolution of the show as we make our way along season three. When we created the tagline of the show of “Men, Myth, and the Hero’s Journey” it was made to be specific enough to give me focus but wide enough to make room for inspiration, the esoteric, and any other topics that caught my fancy.

I knew that if we continued to focus on our collective awakening, The Great Awakening, as it is now being called and giving you tools for your own Hero’s Journey, you would find value in the 30 minutes each week that you listen.

As my own spiritual journey has progressed, I have found that my radar for Truth has been fine-tuned by the Divine. I know that many of you are having your own breakthroughs as well. Whether that comes in the form of deepening your spiritual work, taking better care of yourself, or challenging the oftentimes surreal narrative of the MSM, I hope that you are finding that, in the final analysis, WE THE PEOPLE are one tribe and one heart.

I have been promising you an episode on the UFO phenomenon. I did an interview recently but it just wasn’t good enough. Not interesting enough. So I am reaching out to a few more people. I am committed to making a good episode or two on this topic.

I am really excited about the upcoming guests. I think it will provide us a nice balance between menswork, mythic viewpoints, the evolution of humanity, and some edgy red-pill episodes for your consideration.

I appreciate you riding shotgun with me. And thank you for all the email and text messages supporting the show. I really appreciate it.

Brandon Clift Bio

Brandon Clift is on a mission to break the archaic and outdated molds of manhood that have led to many of the challenges we face in the world today. He is the host of The Mankind Podcast where he interviews leading researchers, experts, and influencers of change to find out how you can become a champion for healthy manhood.

Here is my interview with Brandon Clift.

E88 Final Thoughts-

I hope you enjoyed our conversation with Brandon. For a different sort of men’s podcast, one that is more focused on racial issues and social justice, go check out The Mankind Podcast at all the places you listen to podcasts. I like the sound of EP #7 with Tony Porter, so that might be a great place to start.

Also, I have been meaning to recommend Jeremy Elliot of the Iconic Podcast. It has been in my notes for a month now. Jeremy speaks truth to power and does it in a gracious and skillful way.

Like most other podcasters, I don‘t have time to listen to many other podcasters as I am really busy making mine once a week. But I have recognized in Jeremy a kindred spirit. A man who is committed to truth and the elevation of our human tribe.

He is not available on the usual podcast platforms. The best way to listen to Jeremy is to go to The Iconic Podcast on Facebook. You can also find him on You Tube (although they are deeply censoring counter-narrative voices like his) or BitChute.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Basecamp for Men E60: Living a Mythic Life

E60: Living a Mythic Life with Special Guest Jon Wilson

 

E60 Introduction

As a collective, I see much in the male tribe to be optimistic about. Men from all walks of life seem to be ready for new tools and new narratives. Men are tired of the worn-out old stories about who we are and what we are capable (or incapable) of doing.

I feel a bit sheepish writing about myth . I don’t feel qualified. After all, Joseph Campbell laid it all out for us. However if I have learned anything from my studies it’s that myths are living stories. They demand our active participation to keep the transformative power in them. They are our partners through the ages and epochs, carrying wisdom and warnings and giving us a roadmap of the (sometimes) treacherous road that we face.

Once we learn to read the signposts of myth, we can step out onto the faint trail with much more confidence, having a bit more of an inkling of what might await us.

Myth also connects us to our ancestors near and far.  This is important in a number of ways. For one, that perspective can inspire us. If my late grandparents and great-grandparents and my son’s not-yet-born kids and grandkids are included in our mythic viewpoint, it starts to get interesting and personal in very immediate way. You’re not just playing for you. You’re playing for everyone in your circle. We’re all depending on you.

By consciously living a mythic life, you raise your hand to be counted. No matter where consciousness is taking us; no matter what our great human story has in store for us; by setting your life in mythic terms you state to unseen forces, higher beings and allies that are always helping us that YOU CAN COUNT ON ME. I am paying attention.

    In our modern lifestyle, men can feel that life is reduced to making as good a living as you can and be as good of a husband/partner/father you can be. It can feel a bit small for a man’s spirit. I know it can for me. Myth helps with this by enlarging the story into more proper proportions. This approach always works, by the way. 100% of the time.

If we are, as philosopher Charles Eisenstein says, “in-between stories”, then what tools are at our disposal to fully arrive at the new story? In this changing narrative, we will need a powerful, sturdy framework to keep us grounded.

It is here that myth is so valuable. In our search for our most courageous life, myths contain the instructions. They are built right into the story. The sub-conscious mind will pick up on all the details and nuances. You don’t necessarily have to be aware of all that (at least not at the beginning).

In high-level modern myth-telling like Lord of the Rings, or Star Wars, or The Matrix, you start with an awareness of a battle between Light and Darkness. This is a meta-myth. But as you watch or read the story, all the fascinating teachings start to unfold in your awareness: the arrival of the mentor, the dark night of the soul, the ascent, etc. AND as you steep yourself in this more mythical way of seeing the world, the EXACT SAME THING starts to happen to you. YOU see your test and your fear and reluctance. YOU leave the well-troden path to go find the faint trail. YOU experience the dark night of the soul and the arrival of a mentor. The Hero‘s Tale brings you into the action to share with you the transformative power of the myth.

Men need inspiration and clarity, not to mention magic and mystery, to lift them.  It is here on the mythic byways that men can find inner sustenance and food for the Soul.