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.

 

Basecamp for Men E59: Mental Health for Men

E59: Mental Health for Men with Special Guest Frank King

 

E59 Introduction-

The topic of mental health and better self-care for men is one that is near and dear to me. For 7 out of 10 suicides are by men, many middle-aged men who can so easily find themselves in a place of quiet desperation.

Most men, if they are paying attention, will arrive at a “dark night of the Soul”. A time in their lives when everything seems to fall apart. This is mythical and archetypal and part of any authentically lived life.

It takes a particular courage to descend for descending feels terrifying. It feels like you are not in control anymore and YOU ARE NOT. Larger forces are at work, testing the Hero. Yet, every Hero’s Journey  has a descent before redemption and ascension and return to the village. This is true on a macro level (humanity and the planet) as well as on a micro level (your life).

This episode is dedicated to the brave Souls who have experienced this dark night of the Soul. Both the ones that made it back to us and the ones that did not.

My guest today is someone who made it back and is sharing his wisdom, humor, and insights so that others may recognize their own path back to health and life.

 

Frank King Bio-

Frank King is a Suicide Prevention speaker and Trainer was a writer for The Tonight Show for 20 years. He’s fought a lifelong battle with Major Depressive Disorder and Chronic Suicidality, something that runs in his family. He turned this dark night of the soul into five TEDx Talks and shares his lifesaving insights on Mental Health Awareness with associations, corporations, and colleges.

A Motivational Public Speaker, he believes that where there is humor there is hope, where there is laughter there is life, nobody dies laughing. The right person, at the right time, with the right information, can save a life.

E59 Final Thoughts

I love how authentic Frank is. We need more men in the world that can speak truth to men and mental health. Especially ones that have been down in the darkness, found their way back to the Light, and commit to helping others do the same. For more information on Frank or to hire him to do one of his excellent, funny talks on mental health, go to www.thementalhealthcomedian.com

 

Basecamp for Men E58: ”Why Do Men Do This?”

E58: “Why Do Men Do This?”

Part 2 of the Jeff Perera interview

 

E58 Introduction

Well we are cooking along with season two here. Some of our upcoming episodes will have us talking with my good friend Jon Wilson about how to live a mythic life. We’ll also be talking with comedian and Tonight Show writer Frank King about mental health for men. We’ll have episodes coming up about archetypes and how to work with them and we‘ll catch up with another futurist about navigating these strange times with wisdom and vision.

If you have a guest you would like to have on Basecamp, an author or thought leader or someone you heard on another podcast, feel free to reach out to me at tony@basecampformen.com and give me your recommendation. I love getting these and they sometimes end up with your guest being on the show. In which case I will give you a personal shout out and thank you in the episode!

Well, as promised, here is part two of my interview with our friend Jeff Perera. Jeff and I look at some of the questions that we get asked about men. Why do men send dick pics? Why do men react with rage so often when they get triggered? And a couple of others. As two men that write on male psychology and the of the inner lives of men, I thought you might find it interesting to hear our takes on some of these. We also pay homage to the great Mohammed Ali.

Here is part two of my interview with our friend Jeff Perera.

 

Basecamp for Men E57: Do We Need the State?

E57: Do We Need the State?

with Special Guest Gregory Sams

 

E57 Introduction

Today’s guest reminds me of a Paul Arden quote.

Paul said, “Making the safe decision is dull, predictable and leads nowhere new. The problem with making sensible decisions is that so is everyone else. The unsafe decision (or the Hero’s Journey) causes you to think and respond in a way you hadn‘t thought of. It will take you to a place where others only dream of being.”

We need to give ourselves permission to explore new ideas about all sorts of things. This is how we grow. Radical ideas really shouldn’t scare us off. At least not before we have explored them and their possibilities.

Ideas that seemed too radical even 10 years ago suddenly are on the table and seem more plausible, doesn’t that often seem to be the case? Can you dear listener explore things without quickly and completely dismissing them? Can you turn over an idea and let it perculate in your sub-conscious mind without having your conscious mind slam the door on it. Give this a go and see what you find out.

Gregory Sams Bio-

My guest today is a cultural change agent Gregory Sams. Gregory is a fractal artist, social thinker, author of both The State is Out of Date and Sun of gOd. He is also a publisher, inventor and the creator of the veggie burger.

 E57 Final Thoughts-

I hope you enjoyed our conversation as much as I did. I absolutely love people who take the road-less travelled and lead an adventurous life. Gregory certainly fits the bill. I will think of Gregory from now on whenever I eat a veggie burger, or contemplate a world with no top-down hierarchy. Thank you for joining us listeners and we’ll see you next week.

Basecamp for Men E53: Envisioning Our Future

E53: Envisioning Our Future with Special Guest Ian Mackenzie

 

E53 Introduction

In the coming episodes, I hope to speak with more futurists and visionaries. I like to have conversations about what is possible as we navigate change.

I am reminded of a Kurt Vonnegut quote. He said,“I want to stay as close to the edge as I can without going over. Out on the edge you see all kinds of things that you can’t see from the center.”

It is good for us to listen to alternative perspectives and ideas. It sharpens our intellect and keeps our brains working well. You may not agree or can envision these ideas bearing fruit. But new systems are often started by visionaries and futurists who try and sketch out what they are seeing. And we, as early adopters of these new ideas, work to turn these ideas over in our conscious and sub-conscious minds. Working the fertile ground of our imagination. Trying our best to allow others to contribute as we seek our own place and contribution to the greater good.

I am at a point in my life where I don’t want to close off an idea because it initially feels “out there”. Our greatest transformations, both external and internal, may come from these very esoteric and edgy ideas and concepts.

My guest today is someone I have a great deal of respect for, both as filmmaker and a futurist.

Ian Mackenzie Bio

Ian Mackenzie is a filmmaker and visionary artist and creator and host of the podcast The Mythic Masculine. For over 11 years, Ian has been tracking the global emergence of new culture, seeking out and amplifying the voices of visionaries, artists and activists who have ben working towards planetary system change.

Here is my interview with Ian MacKenzie.