Basecamp for Men E107: Dealing with Ourselves

E107 Dealing with Ourselves

 

E107 Introduction

One thing that we have come to understand through all this is that we are in a messy process. We are, as a tribe, learning how to deal with uncertainty and chaos. It is all around us right now. And my sense is that we also learning how to develop our inner knowing and our connection to the Divine light. For some this will be through Church and the Light of Christ. For others it will be a Gnostic path with Goddess motifs and the natural world. For still others, it may be an eastern wisdom tradition or aplant medicine of one kind or another to help accelerate this inner knowing. All roads lead to the mountaintop, as the mystic would say.

The process is always messy. Never neat and tidy. As we deal with our repression, denial, trauma, and amnesia. Many of us are working our way out of a kind of numbness that we have used to try to insulate us from the pain of separation or trauma. Others are working through the fog of disinformation that acts like a pollution in our minds. Making it difficult to see the truth or the Divine Light and to know which way is up and out of this mess.

How do we meet one another “where we are.” Knowing that where you are and where I am might be quite different. How do we get our arms around everyone we care about, which is this whole tribe that is in our care. It is my belief and my vision that we are entering a whole new chapter of our collective Hero’s Journey. We will leave cynicism and disbelief and habitually dark patterning behind us.

We are all, you and I, learning to hold the Light for one another. When one of us slips, another stops to help them up. This is our alchemy and our work. We are all in this together, working to elevate one another.  Hang in there for we are almost to the next chapter of our story.

Ben Bio-

Because of the nature of our conversation today, my guest wants to be able to speak freely and remain somewhat anonymous and we will use only his first name.

Ben is a friend, a software developer and spiritual warrior. He leads men’s groups and a Brazilian church that uses Ayehuasca or plant medicine as their sacrament. Something we talk about in today’s episode. Here is my interview w my good friend Ben.

E107 Final Thoughts

I hope you enjoyed our time with Ben. I love how authentic and heart-centered Ben is. It was fascinating to me how his work in a church with plant medicine looks a lot light a laboratory that shows us what we are all going through. Processing fear and uncertainty, healing trauma, letting go of ego and habitual ways of doing and seeing things.

It stood out to me when Ben said that in his work, the medicine is the body or Consciousness of Christ. I could feel the power and truth in this declaration.

Not everything is the way we once thought it was. It seems right now, EVERYONE is having to navigate this. THE TRUTH IS ALSO SEEKING THE SEEKER.

 

 

 

 

 

Basecamp for Men E106: Shaping Our Narrative

E106 Shaping Our Narrative with Special Guest Roy Holman

 

E106 Introduction

I love to interview people who can see patterns and speak with depth. It has always been my aim that Basecamp for Men would be a trusted source of resources and wisdom. So it is not an accident that I gravitate towards guests that express Soul.

For it is in this quality of earthiness or Soul that our ancient teachings can reach us. When each of us humbly does our work, we prepare ourselves for Divine messages and inspiration. We are the vessel for what is emerging.

I sometimes can barely contain my excitement for what is starting to crest in WE THE PEOPLE. Will we win? Or will fascism prevail? As we continue to anchor our thoughts, emotions, and intentions in the higher planes or dimensions, we all help to bring forth the new age we all seek. America will certainly lead as she always does.

It seems we are all just now discovering that there is another dream that is looking for us. Can you sense it? Are you participating? Our collective Hero’s Journey is about to turn another page. Let’s take a deep breath and continue to move into our story with courage.

Roy Holman Bio

My guest today is Roy Holman. Roy is a meditation and yoga teacher, a lover of nature, and the creator and host of the podcast The Soulful Warrior. Here is my interview with Roy Holman.

E106 Final Thoughts

I hope you enjoyed our conversation with Roy. To find his yoga and meditation classes and retreats or listen to his podcast The Soulful Warrior, go to www.holmanhealthconnections.com

 

 

 

 

Basecamp for Men E103: Freeing Yourself from “Niceness”

E103:Freeing Yourself from “Niceness” with Special Guest James Rapson

 

E103 Introduction

One of the common things I see men struggle with is how do you break out of this people pleasing fixation. It is the curse of Nice Guys and Nice Girls. You always need to be getting your approval and validation “over there”. It seems that, if this was a strategy we used as children, unaddressed, this coping pattern will continue to assert itself, showing us in spades that simply pleasing others with our niceness is an insufficient strategy if we are to navigate  our lives in more heroic and authentic ways.

I used to be a full on people-pleaser. No shit. Many from my past might remember this side of me.  A Nice Guy. UGH!! Now I see that it was all part of my development as a man. I needed to outgrow this immature, validation-seeking part of myself. And I had many teachers along the way. Particularly when I got involved with the Mankind Project.

I remember when I first got initiated by MKP and attending my very first men’s wisdom councils. I couldn‘t believe how these guys spoke to one another. There was a rough-and-tumble honesty among the men and complete disregard for being nicey-nice.  These men commanded respect with their truthfulness and authenticity.

It wasn’t that these men were just being assholes, although sometimes this happened when a man was triggered. It’s that they had a freedom of expression that was not bound by the Nice Guy mold. I  would use these chapters in my life to grow past the old Happy-Go-Lucky Nice Boy that was such a dominant part of my young adult life. The Warrior archetype would finish him off in my forties as my inner strength as a man grew.

I still know many men that are hemmed in by incessant people-pleasing. It‘s widespread. My guest today wrote a book and knows a lot about this topic. I’m looking forward to dialoguing with him.

James Rapson Bio

James Rapson has been an innovator in the field of personal and professional development for over 20 years. A former psychotherapist, his focus is now on training and coaching. He is an internationally-published author and a nationally-recognized speaker and workshop leader.

And he co-authored the book Anxious to Please: 7 Revolutionary Practices for the Chronically Nice with long-time friend and collaborator Craig English. Here is my interview with James Rapson.

E103 Final Thoughts

I hope you enjoyed our time with James as much as I did. To find James and his book, go to www.jamesrapson.com

Basecamp for Men E102: The Alchemy of Vibration

E102: The Alchemy of Vibration

 

E102 Introduction

I have long been a fan of esoteric studies. This has been true for around 20 years or so. It could be just about anything off the beaten path- alchemy, meditation, ET stuff, Tesla, fractal geometry, crop circles, secret space program. Anything that is in the occult, which is a word that means “hidden”, not “devil worshipper” as some would have you believe.

In some of the spiritual/consciousness communities there is something that starts to come into focus over time. That frequency or vibration may just be the key to understanding the whole kit and caboodle.  Here is a quote by the great visionary scientist and futurist Nicola Tesla. He said,

“If you want to know the secrets of the Universe, think in terms of energy, frequency, and vibration.”

 

The esoteric classic The Law of One speaks of vibration on dozens of occasions. Mystery schools east and west speak of vibration and alchemy as keys to something astounding. What could it be, I wonder? It seems there is something here that we are discovering in this process of our awakening.

We have been so conditioned to receive the world as a passive observer. That whatever happens in the world is out of our control. Like a hand at blackjack, whatever happens is just unfolding. Is this true or have we all just been taught and then internalized this belief?

Does happiness, bliss, creativity, inspiration, joy and play just happen when the circumstances are just right? Or are these higher states of consciousness that we cultivate and grow in our neuropathways to be shared and co-created with others in our tribe. Remember, alchemy is an inside game and spiritual awakening is a group effort.

Come listen in on a discourse about frequency, energy, and vibration.

 

Basecamp for Men E101: What is Skillful Living?

E101: What is Skillful Living with Special Guest Chris Beatie

 

E101 Introduction

I received a text message from a friend that had a little list of Right Livelihood principles and I immediately wanted to do an episode about it. Making a weekly 30 minute show turns you into someone who makes fast creative decisions.

I don’t have tons of episodes in the pipeline the way some podcasters do. I am a shoot-it-and-upload-it-now sort of guy. I tend to find stuff and turn it into content quickly.  I think this has been a blessing as I know some podcasters who labor over episodes for weeks trying to get it just right.

I really don‘t have the temperament for that. So I will see a meme or read an article that someone sends me and I’m off and running.  Make it good, pull the trigger on publish, and move onto the next episode.

Also, podcasters rarely have time to listen to other peoples podcasts. Isn’t that funny? All of the podcasters I have interviewed and spoken with all tell me the same thing: I am too busy making my show to listen to much else. Such is creative life at the microphone.

My guest today is my good friend Chris Beatie.  He’s a man who walks the talk and someone I can always count on. Let’s go have a conversation with him about skillful living.

Chris Beatie Interview

E101 Final Thoughts-

I hope you enjoyed our time with Chris and found value in that episode. I love the way Chris shows up as a man. We had a good laugh afterwards as we asked each other-did we get too personal? And then we both shrugged and said, “Fuck it, it’s good they hear this.”

I count Chris as someone I can trust on about 10 different levels. And my blessing to you my listener is that you have a man or two in your life who is unafraid of owning up to his own shadow the way that Chris models for us.

It opens up the possibility that we can speak to one another with newfound honesty and courage. It means we can finally be real with one another.