The Mythic Masculine

Just in time for the weekend, a conversation from the vault (actually recorded 2 years ago, but freshly published now). My guest today is Jayson Gaddis , founder of The Relationship School , which he co-teaches with his wife. He is the author of “ Getting to Zero: How to Work Through Conflict in Your High-Stakes Relationships ” and has trained over two hundred coaches across eleven countries. I’d been aware of Jayson for a few years, though what drew to me reach out was discovering a paper he wrote back in 2005 called The Deep Masculine , while researching my own program by the same name, and realized we had been walking parallel trails for a long time. His path took him through the college fraternity system, where hazing and sexual conquest offered a distorted version of the belonging every young man actually needs. He took on an advocacy role that led him through seventy-five college campuses in thirty-five states, until disillusionment called him into the wilderness. He took young men on seven-day backpacking trips to see what might happen if initiation was replaced by solitude and sweat instead of alcohol and shame. The trail finally bent toward relationship, after a breakup in a Whole Foods parking lot at age twenty-nine made him ask a terrifying question: maybe I’m the problem. In our conversation today, we explore his perspective on ‘the deep masculine’ and what it actually takes for a man to stop defending, start feeling, and learn the single most important relationship skill there is: repair. Jayson reminds us that most men don’t come to this work through inspiration. They come through pain. And the path back to connection runs through the body, the present moment, and the art of intimacy. LINKS: * Jayson Gaddis’ Relationship School * Getting to Zero - book Would love to hear your comments on this conversation. Post your thoughts below. Heads up, if you are a man seeking to explore the mythopoetic path, you are invited to join The Deep Masculine - my 3 month online quest to repattern your relationship to sex, soul and purpose. Developed with my colleague Deus Fortier, it draws from embodied somatics and the mythopoetic lineage. Robert Bly’s Iron John. The archetypal map of King, Warrior, Magician and a special emphasis on the Lover. We work with four pillars. Mythopoetic maps. Somatic skills. Ritual rhythm. And brotherhood. Ongoing connection with men around the world who are walking the same terrain. If you’re not quite ready for the deep dive, check out The Archetypal Compass . This mini-guide is designed to help you navigate the internal archetypes of the soul, providing a map for those ready to move beyond personal inquiry and toward a more conscious stewardship of their lives and the world. SHOW NOTES 0:07 — Fraternity Culture: Ian asks Jayson to unpack what the system promised, delivered, and took from the young men inside it. 0:09 — Broken Initiation: Jayson on hazing as a distorted rite of passage, where alcohol and peer pressure replace traditional thresholds into adulthood. 0:12 — Sex and the Mask: The conquest culture inside fraternities, where bravado hides the private shame of sensitive, lost young men. 0:16 — Wilderness Initiation: Jayson proposes seven-day backpacking trips for fraternity men, and the breakthroughs that came from solitude and physical exertion. 0:18 — The Parking Lot Epiphany: At age twenty-nine, breaking up with a woman at Whole Foods, Jayson faces the possibility that he is the problem. 0:27 — The Deathbed Offering: Ian shares the night his grandfather was dying, when he told his own father he was glad to be his son, and what melted in the aftermath. 0:29 — Father Repair: Jayson describes doing similar work with his dad, accepting that the man did the best with the values he had. 0:32 — Learning to Feel: Jayson recalls six months of therapy where the only words he could find were I don’t know, then numb, then anger, and eventually something more nuanced. 0:36 — The Defensive Man: On the wound of not getting it right, the shame underneath, and how to approach it as a team rather than a battlefield. 0:38 — It’s Not About That: Ian tells the story of watching another couple at a festival fall into the blame-defend loop, and whispering to a friend that the argument was not really about the surface conflict. 0:39 — The Repair Template: Jayson offers a simple practice of owning what you did and imagining its impact on your partner, and why repair is the most important relationship skill. 0:46 — Present, Body, Heart: Jayson revisits his three invitations from the 2005 paper and translates them into practical entry points for men who are scared to feel. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit themythicmasculine.substack.com/subscribe

Can you feel it? Already the summer heat is ebbing. Walking the trail near my house, I see the first leaves curling at the edges, turning toward brown and gold. I am not ready for the season to change, and yet I know it must. With the shift toward autumn comes the next invitation for the Deep Masculine , my three-month online quest. This invitation is for the men who have been listening. Absorbing. Contemplating. I know you are there... Perhaps you’ve listened to a few episodes or many. You have felt the spark when the conversation lands. You have recognized a calling towards this mythic terrain and a longing for who you might become. Then you close the laptop or finish the episode, and go back to the life that is not quite “wrong” enough to force you out of it. I know the feeling. I have been that man. I harvested wisdom to feel like I was changing…without risking anything. But the core patterns of stuckness remained. I think deep down, most men want the same thing: richer relationships, meaningful work, and a deeper sense of being alive. But here’s the truth: real change takes work. It takes commitment. And it takes the willingness to give up the part of you that keeps you stuck. It’s understandable to feel that it hasn’t been the right time yet. You’ve needed more money. More clarity. More space. That you will begin the work when the kids are older or the job is less stressful. This is the same lie that has kept good men in comfortable paralysis for their entire lives. You already know enough. Another conversation or instagram reel or well-written book will not free you. The question is whether you will let your ache turn into action. So here is the invitation: The Deep Masculine is my 3 month online quest to repattern your relationship to sex, soul and purpose. Developed with my colleague Deus Fortier, it draws from embodied somatics and the mythopoetic lineage. Robert Bly’s Iron John. The archetypal map of King, Warrior, Magician and a special emphasis on the Lover. We work with four pillars. Mythopoetic maps. Somatic skills. Ritual rhythm. And brotherhood. Ongoing connection with men around the world who are walking the same terrain. We track the Wild Man, with the hard distinction that Bly himself made. Wild is not savage. The wild man is deeply attuned to the natural order, moving with his own sense of rightness. This in stark contrast to the ‘savage man’ - one who is disconnected from that order. He is dangerous. The world has seen enough savagery dressed up as masculinity. We are after something far older and more disciplined than that. We also center the Lover, because most men’s work chases the King and the Warrior while neglecting the one archetype that keeps all the others humane. In the words of Robert Moore and Douglas Gillette, the Lover keeps the other masculine energies loving and related. Without him, men default to numbness or anger. We are doing the work of resensitizing, of coming back into right relationship with the living world. And we go into the shadow, the parts of you that were punished into exile did not die. They just found distorted ways to express themselves. Integration is how you reclaim that vitality and wield it consciously rather than letting it leak out in addiction, manipulation, or self-sabotage. This is the end of our third year running the Deep Masculine, gathering men from all over the world, including Australia, the UK, and across North America. Ultimately, what we’ve found is the deepest wound is disconnection. The medicine is walking the path with other men. And so, the next Fellowship is gathering. We begin the week of September 21st. Book your intake call on the calendar before September 1st, and get a 30% early-bird discount on the investment. (The call itself can happen after the 1st. What matters is that you reserved your spot before the deadline). This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit themythicmasculine.substack.com/subscribe

Fresh off the first Cascadia Men’s Conference, I’m pleased to share my first long-form podcast episode in some months. Right now, Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey is storming around the world, a $1.3 billion phenomenon that has returned one of humanity’s oldest stories to the center of our cultural conversation. My guest today is a man who has been steeping in this epic for years. Phil Cousineau is the author of newly published ‘ The Wisdom of the Odyssey: Twenty-four Life Lessons from Homer’s Epic ’ and more than forty other books, including the bestselling The Art of Pilgrimage and The Hero’s Journey: Joseph Campbell on His Life and Work. He is a writer, teacher, and storyteller who has consulted on myth and story for Warner Brothers, Pixar, and Lucasfilm, led mythology travel programs to Greece for more than three decades, and hosted the PBS television series Global Spirit. In our conversation, Phil invites us to look at why The Odyssey has risen once again. He suggests the epic poem is Western culture’s first articulated case of PTSD and the consequence of war and conquest. We speak of the women who guide Odysseus back to himself, the terror of crossing your own threshold after twenty years away, and what it means when love rather than fame becomes the gravity that pulls a man home. Phil reminds us that the Odyssey is everybody’s story, and the courage required to bend down and kiss the earth in gratitude for the chance to begin again. Here in full is the Rumi poem I reference (translated by Haleh Liza Gafori) LOVE, YOUR waters, your melodieswhirl me and whirl me.I'm the wheel in a mill.Whirl me forever.When my heart is troubled,when my heart has fled,keep me close.No branch, no leaf, no piece of straw drawn to amberwill move without a breeze. Unless desire stirs it, nothing in this world will dance. Every element, every particle of every elementis a whirling lover, drunk on union.The generous host lays out a feast.Animals graze the sweet grass.Didn't the ants tell secrets to Solomon?Didn't the mountains singwhen David sang his songs of praise?The sky is your lover.Lay your head on its peaceful chest.The sun is your lover. Drink its light.Love moves through every mountain and field.How else would green grow from earth's dark body? LINKS * Phil Cousineau - Official Website * The Wisdom of the Odyessy - Book Heads up, if you are a man seeking to explore the mythopoetic path, you are invited to check out The Archetypal Compass . This mini-guide is designed to help you navigate the internal archetypes of the soul, providing a map for those ready to move beyond personal inquiry and toward a more conscious stewardship of their lives and the world. Also, the next cohort of The Deep Masculine, my 3 month online journey for men begins Sept 20th. Join a mythic brotherhood aimed at re-patterning your relationship to sex, soul and purpose. SHOW NOTES 00:04 — Quebec and Detroit Roots: Phil traces his ancestry to Jean Baptiste Cousineau, one of the nine founding families of Montreal, and his mythic upbringing in Detroit. 00:06 — A Family of Readers: Growing up reading Homer, Grimm, and Canadian folk tales aloud together, and the inherited practice of read, pilgrimage, and the Long Conversation. 00:10 — The Odyssey Sketched: A whirlwind through the enchantment at Olympus, the judgment of Paris, Helen, and the 1,156 ships sailing for Troy. 00:16 — The First Documented PTSD: Why Odysseus is arguably history's first case of post-traumatic stress, and why a soldier cannot go straight home from war. 00:22 — The Bard Scene: On the island of Phaeacia, when Odysseus hears his story sung, takes it back, and the healing begins. 00:25 — Why Myths Rise Again: James Baldwin on reading as the antidote to unprecedented pain, and why myths that never happened are always happening. 00:33 — The Masculine Arc: From the hunger for kleos (glory) to being pulled home by eros (love), and the grief of men who have achieved everything yet feel lost. 00:39 — Polytropos: What it means that Odysseus is "many-turning" — the colossal, radical act of a man capable of changing his mind. 00:42 — The Six Women: How Athena, Calypso, Circe, Nausicaa, Eurycleia, and Penelope guide Odysseus home, making the epic the world's first romance. 00:46 — Achilles in the Underworld: The axis mundi where glory confronts the choice for one more day of sunshine over eternal fame. 00:52 — Gratitude and Kissing the Earth: On Rumi, Coleman Barks, and Odysseus bending down to kiss the beach as literature's first grateful male hero. 00:56 — The Beggar's Return: Odysseus comes home not in triumph but humbled, bent, and listening — a diminishment that is actually a deepening. 01:06 — Nolan's Ending vs. the Greek Original: Why sailing away into the sunset is American Western mythology, not a Greek ending, and what the film sacrifices. 01:10 — Talking Until Dawn: Penelope's fierce "My heart can take it" and the moment husband and wife talk and listen to each other until dawn. 01:13 — The Wisdom of the Odyssey: Phil's new book, recommended translations by Lattimore and Emily Wilson, and upcoming mythology tours to Greece. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit themythicmasculine.substack.com/subscribe

A few years back, I hosted Dougie Mackay at my home on Vancouver Island for some pizza and a televised hockey game. I’d just caught his show in town and was struck by how he illuminated the wingspan of a story - the way it could carry an audience across centuries and landscapes with each sentence. Raised in the Scottish Highlands where storytelling is still in the water, Dougie has sold out shows at the Edinburgh Fringe and the Scottish International Storytelling Festival. He even holds a Guinness World Record as part of the longest continuous storytelling session (74 hours, set in the central square of Marrakesh, where storytelling is also heritage). He describes his own work as firing on the edge of the wild. In this episode of The Crow’s Nest, Dougie joins me to explore the medicine of story for these times - and for men in particular. We speak in support of the upcoming Cascadia Men’s Conference , happening August 6-9 in the Squamish Valley just north of Vancouver. The conference draws its DNA from the Minnesota Men’s Conference, now forty years strong, and we’re gathering elders and younger men alike to light a fire we hope will burn yearly. Dougie won’t be with us in person this August (he’ll be at the Edinburgh Fringe with his show A Wolf Shall Devour the Sun ), but his spirit is woven into what we’re building. At the heart of our conversation, he tells the old Gaelic tale of Finn McCool and the Salmon of Wisdom - a story from the Fianna cycle about a boy raised by wild aunties in the forest, who must learn not just to hunt and fight, but to see truly. What emerges is a conversation about masculine leadership, the necessary relationship between youth and elders, and what it means to be mentored by both the feminine and the wild. "I think there's lots of people seeking belonging, and the salmon has something to say about that." Dougie offers a particular tonic: the idea that in our broken culture, many of us in midlife and beyond may find ourselves in the role of Finnegus - the old poet who sits by the pool for seven years, preparing the ground so that someone younger might receive the gift we never will. If you’re drawn to the work, you can find Dougie writing on Substack at Rekindling the Hearth . He’s also launching a nine-month storytelling mentorship cohort called The Storyteller’s Journey this September. The Cascadia Men’s Conference runs August 6-9. Details and tickets at cascadiamensconference.com This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit themythicmasculine.substack.com/subscribe

We’re just under 30 days out from my upcoming Cascadia Men’s Conference , a first-of-its-kind mythopoetic gathering happening August 6-9 in the Squamish Valley, north of Vancouver. In the lead up, I’ve been hosting live conversations with our presenters - previous episodes have included men’s author Matt Sturm , indigenous poet Cliff Taylor , and later this week Scottish storyteller Dougie Mackay . Yesterday I connected with Satyen Raja. Satyen is the founder of Warrior Sage, a master martial artist, and one of the keynote presenters at the conference. He’s been showing up in FB with what I can only describe as fiery transmissions - dispatches on men, presence, and the particular weight of this moment in history. “Without a deep purpose - a purpose of depth that comes from the soul - we flounder. We gravitate toward the superficial. We can enjoy it, but we can’t live there. It will never touch the deepest core of our being.” We talk about distraction as a slow theft of life force, about what brotherhood actually offers that no amount of solo self-improvement can replace, and about the three pillars Satyen will be bringing to the gathering: presence, claim, and penetration. Men, if you’re stirred by what you hear, consider this your summons. "We just need to do it for the freaking hell of it. That's it. Just that - for the joy of being with men together in a good way, not just in a competitive beat each other up way, but in a way that we bring the fullness of our human spirit." The conference is August 6-9. Details and tickets at cascadiamensconference.com This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit themythicmasculine.substack.com/subscribe

Two decades ago, I graduated university. I took a job writing copy for a small online business that rented holiday properties, and my role was to add content for the search engines to bring in traffic. It was a 9-to-5 kind of thing. I liked my employer and coworkers. And the job itself, I voraciously learned as much as I could and pumped out all the work that was assigned to me. Pretty soon, I was able to finish my output by lunchtime. And when I asked for more, my employer offered it. And this went on for a few months. Eventually, there came a time when my employer told me, “we don’t have more to assign today.” My response was, “Okay… well can I go home?” which seemed reasonable enough. I wasn’t even asking to be paid for the hours. Her response: “No, you can’t go home. You have to remain at your desk.” I couldn’t believe it. A part of me rebelled. I couldn’t imagine sitting at a desk for hours every afternoon, needing to ‘make up work’ that was unncessary, rather than having the freedom to do my own thing. A quiet voice spoke to me. This isn’t for you. You are meant for more. I tried to stuff it down, reminding myself of the practical, real-world responsibilities I had at the time. Paying rent. Buying groceries. Saving for a mortgage. But still, the quiet voice wouldn’t relent. A fire burned deeper than my practical fears. This was the First Fire of my soul. And I couldn’t put it out. Well, I didn’t last much longer at the job before striking out on my own. I began publishing an online magazine called Brave New Traveler , which featured my own writings alongside guest authors, that spoke to the magic and mystery of travelling off the beaten path. From there, I was noticed and invited to join a larger travel publishing network with a global reach. Somewhere in there, I also became a documentary filmmaker - recognizing the power of the medium to change the world and shift consciousness en masse in a short period of time. And so I followed the calling of my soul. I produced films like Sacred Economics and Occupy Love . I loved the collaboration, the storytelling, and the impact. But behind the scenes, there was heartbreak. In the middle of that momentum, after a decade together, my marriage crumbled. It wasn’t just a legal separation - it was the total dismantling of the world I had known for my entire adulthood. I was cast out of the home and the life we had shared, once again adrift. The stability I had built, the shared vision of our future had turned to ash. I was awash in the wreckage of a life I thought was certain, navigating a depth of grief I wasn’t prepared for. In the wake of that collapse, I threw myself even deeper into the craft. I produced films like Amplify Her , Lost Nation Road , and The Village of Lovers . Filmmaking became the outlet of my creative soul and my search for meaning. I met a new partner & became a father. But then, about 5 years ago… I remember feeling that small voice inside again… clear, grounded, and directive. It’s time to shift. You have achieved what you intended with your films. You have said what you wanted to say. It was the closing of this chapter, this first fire. And the beginning of the next. It was few years before this that I encountered ‘men’s work.’ At the Tamera research village in Portugal, I sat in my first intergenerational men’s circle. Young men and old men, wrestling with masculinity and how to show up powerful and in service to life. A frequency I had never experienced before was transmitted. And I was changed. I returned home and attended the New Warrior Training Adventure with the Mankind Project. I was taken on a descent and return, and I rediscovered a core trust in men that I didn’t know I had lost. A few years after, I began publishing The Mythic Masculine podcast, to explore the mythopoetic lineage and the role of archetypes, ritual, and culture work in the modern world. Somewhere in there, my film career began to fall away. The Second Fire of my life was kindled, and is now ablaze. For the last two years, alongside in-person and online transformational containers, I’ve been working 1:1 with men, usually between the ages of 30 and 60. Many of them come because of a specific challenge or pattern that I find intimately familiar to my own story. What I offer them is what I’ve had to learn myself: Archetypal maps to name what’s happening beneath the surface. Somatic practices to move it through the body. Ritual practices to mark the death of the old identity and authorize the new one. Here’s what I’ve come to realize: None of these challenges are isolated. Underneath, they are all connected by a deeper shift. It would be easy to call it a “midlife crisis.” That’s what this culture tends to do. But none of that addresses the deeper stirring of the soul, which is what these breakdowns actually represent. James Hollis calls it the Midlife Passage . It’s an opportunity to ask the sometimes frightening, always liberating, question: “Who am I apart from my history and the roles I have played?” When we discover that we have been living what constitutes a “false self,” that we have been enacting a “provisional adulthood,” then we open the possibility for the second adulthood—our true personhood. Maybe you’re in your 30s, 40s, or 50s. On paper, your life is “fine.” But beneath the noise of your responsibilities, there is that voice. Maybe it’s whispering: “There has to be more than this.” Today I’m announcing a new 1:1 mentorship container for men, designed for this threshold. It’s called The Second Fire. It’s not about optimizing your productivity, or biohacking your body. It’s about apprenticing yourself to your soul. Men, if you’re stirred by this invitation, and feel at the beginning (or in the midst) of this passage, then this invitation is for you. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit themythicmasculine.substack.com/subscribe

We have reached the final episode of the series: ”Trans Men: In Their Own Words” . This conversation began with Episode #1, looking at the collective cultural moment with The Seed and the Soil. We explored how trans folk represent a trickster figure, troubling the psychic architecture of the binary many of us were raised with. We talked about the urge to ‘monster’ the other, but we also looked at the history of how gender has been used as a tool of social control. In Episode #2, we moved past the intellect and into Stories of Transition. My guests shared the intimate vulnerability of their own journeys - the grief, joy and reckonings that bind us all in the search for a place in the Book of Life. And now in this final episode, Emmanuel, Kanoa, Lev, and Aliko move beyond individual stories to examine the architecture of men’s work. We address the faultline currently trembling modern men’s spaces: the tension between a masculinity fixed in biological certainty and one defined by collective stewardship. “There is a larger paradigm shift in men’s work: the realization that men’s circles aren’t just for healing and brotherhood. These circles are now impacting our greater world in this time of transformation. The call is to show up in the world with the skills and the willingness to grapple that we develop in these spaces. From an eco-political-spiritual perspective, [men’s work] is being asked to move beyond the internal process into an external one that serves the entire collective. This is why conversations around transness and color are surfacing. We have to ask: what are we doing as men with our healed bodies in a world under great collapse? It is not enough to just sit in a circle and heal myself; I need to know how to move my authentic self into this collapsing world. This is the overarching transition putting men’s spaces at the edge of so many vital conversations.” - Emmanuel H Brown For men’s work facilitators, this conversation serves as a guide for understanding how and why to consider including trans men, as well as the broader transition of men’s work itself. We are tasked with moving from a narrow focus on ‘personal wellness’ toward the regeneration of culture - calling forth a masculinity that is aware, regulated, and in service to thriving life. You can find the full guest bios & links to their work on the Series Page. I’d love to hear your comments & reflections below. Heads up, if you are a man seeking to explore the mythopoetic path, you are invited to check out The Archetypal Compass . This mini-guide is designed to help you navigate the internal archetypes of the soul, providing a map for those ready to move beyond personal inquiry and toward a more conscious stewardship of their lives and the world. Also, the next cohort of The Deep Masculine, my 3 month online journey for men begins May 19th. Join a mythic brotherhood aimed at repatterning your relationship to sex, soul and purpose. SHOW NOTES: 02:43 - The Faultline at the Mankind Project: Ian addresses the recent friction at the MKP 40th anniversary and how it exposed the tension between biological essentialism and the evolution of modern men’s spaces. 06:46 - The Code of Testosterone: Aliko challenges the definition of manhood, shifting the inquiry from physical genitalia to the codes and blueprints of masculine presence that trans men share with cis men. 11:23 - The Shadow of the Phallus: Exploring how the presence of trans men acts as an accountability mirror for cis men, forcing a reckoning with the historical harm done to the feminine that many circles try to escape. 13:50 - Restoring the Sacred Tapestry: Emmanuel discusses the eco-spiritual paradigm of men’s work, moving beyond a one-size-fits-all manhood box into the authentic restoration of a sacred and divine masculinity. 18:48 - The Responsibility of the Elder: A call to ensure that the wisdom, initiation, and depth of practice found in legacy spaces are made accessible across the entire masculine spectrum. 21:42 - The Unique Messenger: Kanoa explains why the message of accountability lands differently when it comes from a man who has navigated the world perceived as a woman and survived the violence of the patriarchy. 23:12 - Purity Myths and White Supremacy: How the hyper-focus on purity in affinity spaces mirrors white supremacist structures and why intersex folks are vital to breaking the patriarchal archetype. 27:17 - Investigating the Fear: Lev reflects on the assumption of difference and invites cis men to look at where their fear of losing their masculinity actually originates. 32:36 - Detaching from Biological Essentialism: A deep dive into the question of safety, identifying that patriarchy-not transness-is the root of violence in both men’s and women’s spaces. 37:19 - The Seed and the Sword: Addressing the mythic dimension of anatomy and the responsibility of stewards to ask how they are using their sword to protect or to manipulate. 46:36 - Activation in the Great Collapse: Emmanuel pivots from internal healing to the external harvest, asking what masculinity is called to bring to a world currently undergoing ecological and social breakdown. 50:31 - The Facilitator’s Tactical Guide: Emmanuel and Aliko offer a framework for conveners on self-inquiry, group reconciliation, and how to issue a transparent, sovereign invitation to trans men. 55:46 - Relaxing into Enoughness: How decoupling biology from gender allows all men to step out of the rigid expectations of patriarchy and recognize their inherent value. 1:06:48 - Reporting the Patriarchal Crime: Invoking bell hooks’ vision from The Will to Change to reconsider male desire and heal the mental illness of patriarchal violence. 1:13:46 - Embracing the Chaos: Final reflections on opening the circle to meet the collapsing structures of our time with a more diverse, loving, and whole masculinity. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit themythicmasculine.substack.com/subscribe

Last week, I released Part One ( you can listen here ). This series grew from a seed - a conversation with Emmanuel H. Brown. Emmanuel has been navigating his own journey, seeking out the places where manhood and masculinity might be expanded to hold the lived experience of trans men. As someone rooted in the mythopoetic lineage , I recognize that these voices have often been missing from our circles. This series is an invitation to a broader framework - one that is mutually supportive for the soul of every man. In our first episode, The Seed and the Soil , we explored the trans man as a trickster figure - one who troubles the binary architecture many of us have been raised with. We looked at the history of gender as social control and the tension between biological certainty and the expansive human spirit. We asked how we might hold space for genuine curiosity and reckon with real violence against trans folk without losing our humanity to the polarized scripts of our time. Subscribe to get the full series in your inbox. If the first conversation was about the why of this series, this one is about the who . In this episode, Stories of Transition , we move from the intellect to the heart. By sharing their personal stories of transition - the specific griefs, private triumphs, and quiet moments of reckoning - Lev, Emmanuel, Kanoa, and Aliko disarm the listener with a rare and honest vulnerability. We touch the visceral edges of their paths: mapping the territory where their unique stories cross and diverge, showing that they are all bound by the longing for place in the Book of Life. Overall, the intention is simple: to widen our capacity to remain human to one another. It’s about dissolving the outdated programs of society to find the infinity of the breath underneath. You’re welcome to leave your respectful & nuanced thoughts in the comments below. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit themythicmasculine.substack.com/subscribe

To brood is to wander through a grove where one sheep strays and a hundred wolves follow. Why did I make brooding my vocation when AWE was an option? Thought spinner, mull the wine of wonder. - RUMI Three years ago, my colleague Deus and I joined forces to craft an experiment. We invited 12 men out to the forest. He brought his years of training in breathwork, transformational art, and psychedelic facilitation. I wove my love of archetypes, fairy tales, and the lineage of mythopoetics. The result: a cauldron of mystery that we named AWE - Awakening the Wild Erotic. Since that time, we’ve ran the 3 day weekend over 7 times, supporting over 90 men through the journey. Deus and I still have a difficult time describing what happens during these ritual gatherings. What feels most true: it is the rite of passage that most men never received as we entered into our erotic birthright. It is the beginning of coming into right relationship with sexual energy, responsibility, and self leadership. Plus, it’s a lot of fun. Here’s what some of the men have said: "I really got to know men in this time—more so in three days than in the 49 years I've been alive. And through that, I got to know so much more of me. I feel more open to vitality, to passion, to pleasure and joy... to the juice of life... the nectar of the Gods." "I arrived at the retreat seeking to heal shame carried in my body... What I discovered was an inner fire. Beyond healing, I left the weekend ablaze with energy and purpose, ready to fully embody my life as a father, a son, a husband, a brother, and a friend." "Upon returning home from AWE, my wife said to me: ‘The pilot light of our love was going out. You came back with the flame to relight us.’ If feeling what it means to be alive, to love and be loved, to breathe in the air of erotic life-force resonates within, you owe it to yourself to work with these men." The terrain of sex, eros, and intimacy is edgy territory. Especially these days, when the shadow of men is running rampant, as we’re confronted with the Epstein files, endless wars and abuses of power. On the personal front, there’s the continual seduction of numbing out with substances, pornography and now AI “girlfriends” that promise pseudo intimacy without any real-world risk or rejection, or reward of being truly seen. In the face of all that, over and over, I’m astounded by the men who choose to attend AWE. These are men who want to access a deeper vitality in their being, who wish to connect with the current of life, and show up as more grounded, integrated and passionate lovers. UPCOMING WEEKEND - APRIL 24-26 Once again, we return to Black Creek on Vancouver Island. This is likely to be the only AWE we are offering in the region this year. If you feel the pull - or if you know a man who needs this kind of medicine - you can find the application and full details below. We have 4 spots left. Begin the Descent - Apply for the April 24-26 AWE Immersion P.S. For those of you who can’t make it to the island, the next cohort of our 12-week online journey, The Deep Masculine , begins in mid-May. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit themythicmasculine.substack.com/subscribe

Today is International Transgender Day of Visibility and right moment to kick off this new series on The Mythic Masculine. It didn’t grow out of a plan; it grew out of a message from a trans man named Emmanuel H. Brown . Emmanuel was looking to join an in-person gathering of mine—a ritual space he discovered was not open to trans men. It was an intentional choice made with my collaborator Deus Fortier, rooted in cultivating a container for men whose maps of masculinity have always (at least on the surface) lined up to how they were culturally assigned at birth. But I’d left a note in the invitation for anyone to reach out if they wanted to talk about it. Emmanuel reached out. He invited me into a circle with several other trans men to hear about their lives and their perspectives on men’s work and masculinity. This series is the result of that invitation. You can find the full participant bios series page here. Subscribe to get the full series in your inbox. In Part One we look at the collective cultural moment. We look at how trans folk represent a ‘trickster’ figure, troubling the psychic architecture of the binary many of us were raised with. We talk about the urge to ‘monster’ the other, but we also look at the history of how gender has been used as a tool of social control. We explore the tension: How do we hold space for genuine confusion and curiosity without defaulting to a label of ‘transphobia’ if someone doesn’t immediately adopt the progressive position? How do we reckon with the real violence trans folk experience while creating more acceptance and room for their perspectives? And how do we navigate the certainty of ‘biological essentialism’ and the expansive possibilities of gender that are an invitation for us all? Now, it’s worth saying up front: there is a lot of volatility around this subject. Emotions run high and it can feel like there’s a lot at stake. Wherever you currently find yourself, whatever you might already believe, this is an invitation into a beginner’s mind. My intention with this series isn’t about preaching indoctrination. It’s about seeing how the tapestry of masculinity might be troubled, re-woven, and made more beautiful for us all. You’re welcome to leave your respectful & nuanced thoughts in the comments below. Any aggressive, dismissive or mean-spirited posts will be deleted. Let’s see if we can craft an approach filled with mutual respect and wonder. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit themythicmasculine.substack.com/subscribe

My guest today is David Sutcliffe , a somatic psychotherapist and former actor who has stepped off the red carpets of Hollywood to venture into the deeper landscapes of the masculine soul. David is something of an enigma to me. He’s a therapist who champions the necessity of men getting in touch with their feelings and expressing their rage and grief. Yet, he is also an ardent Trump supporter and has interviewed uber-masculine figures like Andrew Tate. In this conversation, we certainly don’t align on everything, but we remain willing to lean in and see what the friction reveals. It’s worth saying: this conversation was recorded in September 2025, before the wake of the Epstein files released December 2025. This would have come up in our conversation if we had recorded this afterwards. A little more about David. For years, he was an archetypal “cute guy” or “bad boyfriend” on television - but behind the scenes he eventually found himself on his own road of ashes - where the trappings of fame and success turned to dust, inviting him into a more rigorous descent. Together, we explore the cost of the “nice guy” mask and the disorientation of a fatherless upbringing. We speak of the “devouring mother,” the search for authentic masculine role models, and his own views on “masculine leadership” and traditional gender roles. And finally, David reminds us that maturity demands the courage to face or darkness, tame the flames of our inner dragon , and take up the seat of our own sovereignty. A brief aside: for men who wish to work with me, you’re invited to my upcoming immersion & online cohorts: * Awakening the Wild Erotic, Vancouver Island (April 24-26) * The Deep Masculine , Online (next cohort begins May 3) As well, don’t miss the inaugural Cascadia Men’s Conference , happening just north of Vancouver Aug 6-9th, 2026. For those drawn to David’s style and offerings, check out the links below: SHOW LINKS * David Sutcliffe School for Kings * David Sutcliffe on IG * Poem - How to Tame A Dragon SHOW NOTES Here are the show note highlights with the updated timecode format, tightened for impact: * 03:55 — The Geographic and Spiritual Check-in: David shares his current life in Mexico and how his relationship with God has become the anchor point of his life and marriage. * 05:40 — The Interviewer’s Tightrope: Reflecting on David’s interviews with polarizing figures like Andrew Tate and the “art of the interview” when navigating high-defense mechanisms. * 07:18 — From the Red Carpet to the Road of Ashes: David recounts his twenty-year acting career and the mid-life collapse that led him to trade Hollywood fame for the rigors of somatic healing. * 09:51 — The Alchemy of the Mat: An exploration of Core Energetics and the necessity of physical expression—hitting, kicking, and shouting—to move repressed “sob and rage.” * 13:10 — The Missing Father and the Devouring Mother: Discussing the psychic consequences of an absent father and how the resulting “devouring mother” energy can lead men to self-abandonment. * 26:45 — The War of the Sexes: A look at the “bitterness and vitriol” in modern gender relations and the cultural propaganda of the “bumbling father” in media. * 28:26 — Feminism and the Manosphere: David offers his take on how radicalized social movements can lead to a reactive “manosphere” and the collective struggle to truly see one another. * 39:15 — The Politics of Polarity: David addresses his shift from Hollywood progressive to a supporter of traditional values and Donald Trump, framing it as a return to “reality.” * 53:12 — The Strongman Archetype: Exploring the qualities of figures like Trump and Tate, and why men are gravitating toward “strongmen” in a landscape of cultural chaos. * 1:11:15 — Taming the Inner Dragon: A concluding reminder that our inner shadows are not to be slain, but looked in the eye until they recognize their master. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit themythicmasculine.substack.com/subscribe

Friends, it’s been a minute. I’m deeply troubled by the times - yet, I’m honoured to share this conversation with Nisha Moodley , an integrative leadership coach, community builder, and founder of the Center for Devotional Leadership. We have been in mutual orbit for years, including sharing a number of mutual friends and an appreciation for each other’s work in the realms of cultural healing. While much of our current collective attention is fixed on the horrific revelations of the Epstein files, Nisha and I sit on either side of this inquiry to ask: What is the deeper work required of us now? Nisha shares her perspective on the “holy wail” currently rising from women and mothers—a fierce refusal to continue normalizing a culture of domination and extraction. We explore the “social codes” that keep men silent and the “alpha” masks used to hide deep-seated anxiety. Together, we look at the necessity of moving beyond the trap of being a “good man” to instead take a clear-eyed look at the shadow we all carry. Central to our talk is the exploration of matriarchy- not as a mirror of patriarchal power, but a return to the sacred circle, where our societies are reorganized around kinship, service, and a “soft-bellied” freedom that makes the world safer for all our children. Subscribe to The Mythic Masculine for new episodes in your inbox. For men who wish to do this inner work, you are invited to my upcoming immersion & online cohorts: * Awakening the Wild Erotic, Vancouver Island (April 24-26) * The Deep Masculine , Online (next cohort begins May 3) As well, don’t miss the innaugural Cascadia Men’s Conference , happening just north of Vancouver Aug 6-9th, 2026. LINKS * Nisha Moodley Official Website * Nisha Moodley on IG * Nisha’s post An Open Letter to Men SHOW NOTES * The collective “quiet heaviness” and nervous system exhaustion felt in the wake of the Epstein files and global revelations of exploitation. * Why Nisha feels a “holy wail” of rage rather than shock, as these headlines mirror patterns women have navigated for a lifetime. * The danger of distancing ourselves from “bad actors” and how that prevents us from seeing the micro-ways domination exists in our own communities. * Ian’s reflection on moving from being a “good man” who points fingers to a man who stands with others to say, “Brother, we can do better.” * A story from Nisha’s youth about the “parking lot code” and how social pressure often forces men to choose status over the truth. * An analysis of the “alpha” performance—using figures like Andrew Tate—as a mask for deep-seated anxiety and a desperate need for control. * How we have all internalized systems of domination and extraction, even in our most personal relationships and parenting. * Why we often use outrage as a “safe” way to avoid the deeper, more transformative vulnerability of collective grief. * The unique healing and “dropping of the guard” that happens in single-gender spaces when the performance for the other is removed. * Exploring “matriarchy” as the fundamental antidote to patriarchy—shifting from a culture of domination to one that centers the protection of life. * The shift from “power over” to “power with,” moving from ego-driven heroism to leadership rooted in service to the whole. * A closing vision of “soft-bellied” freedom—the ability to live without armor and build a world that prioritizes the well-being of all children. ALSO RECOMMENDED: This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit themythicmasculine.substack.com/subscribe

My guest today is once again Stephen Jenkinson , a culture activist, teacher and author, and principal instructor of The Orphan Wisdom School, co-founded with his wife Nathalie Roy. He has Master’s degrees from Harvard University (Theology) and the University of Toronto (Social Work). The School, though now formally closed, has made an incredibly significant mark on my life and Stephen continues to tour and teach all over the world. I’ve had the wild good fortune to have collaborated with Stephen in numerous ways, including producing the short film Lost Nation Road , as well as being part of the team architecting The Scriptorium - an Orphan Wisdom online archive. His most recent book Matrimony: Ritual, Culture and the Heart’s Work , is the subject of our conversation today. In a time when many couples are opting out of marriage altogether, sensing that the modern wedding has often become a hollow performance, Stephen offers a different perspective. He suggests that “wedding” and “matrimony” are not interchangeable at all. One is largely engineered so that nothing really happens; the other, when approached as a deity, can be an alchemical ritual, where vows are enactments and blessings might bind all who attend with real consequence. Through personal stories from the trenches, Stephen reminds us that matrimony, at its core, is a radical act of citizenship: a cultural undertaking where love is asked to nourish more than the couple themselves, and where village emerges from the willingness to place life at the center. LINKS * Stephen Jenkinson Official Website * The Scriptorium * Matrimony - Ritual, Culture and the Heart’s Work SHOW NOTES * 00:01 — Ian introduces Stephen Jenkinson and frames the conversation around his new book Matrimony: Ritual, Culture, and the Heart’s Work . * 00:02 — Stephen names the modern wedding as a hollow performance engineered so that “nothing really happens.” * 00:03 — Ian describes matrimony as a radical act of citizenship where love is asked to serve culture, not just the couple. * 00:05 — Stephen recounts learning to understand death as a deity, a presence requiring etiquette and literacy. * 00:06 — He draws the parallel: matrimony, too, is a neglected deity — an ancestral presence asking something of us. * 00:07 — Ian speaks about how witnessing Stephen’s ceremonies reshaped his understanding of what a wedding can be. * 00:08 — Discussion of village-making: thresholds like death and matrimony as visitations where culture has a chance to appear. * 00:15 — Stephen distinguishes ritual from celebration and explains why most weddings are not rituals at all. * 00:16 — He clarifies the differences between weddings, marriage, and matrimony — three undertakings often collapsed into one. * 00:17 — Exploration of the etymology: matrimony rooted in mother — the repertoire of mothering culture. * 00:18 — Matrimony as a repertoire of culture-mothering, not dependent on having biological children. * 00:41 — Stephen describes “the sacraments of trade” and how ancestral presence is elevated in a true matrimonial exchange. * 00:42 — Ian reflects on death and matrimony as moments when life, not the individual, is placed at the center. * 00:51 — Ian describes how village-mindedness appears through threshold events: birth, death, love, and the guidance of community. * 01:04 — Stephen shares what it meant to be a “spirit lawyer” for matrimony, serving the deity rather than the couple. ADDITIONAL EPISODES This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit themythicmasculine.substack.com/subscribe

My guest today is Miki Dedijer , a writer, ecologist, and mentor devoted to the ancestral arts of belonging, fatherhood, and grassroots initiation. In our conversation, Miki invites us to look at the crisis facing young men and the absence of meaningful adulthood in our time. He speaks to the ecological and emotional consequences of failing to initiate the young, how untempered fire in boys becomes turmoil in families, and how communities have lost their memory of what it means to guide the next generation. Together we explore initiation not as an event, but a cultural responsibility. Miki shares how rites of passage serve life itself, how they awaken responsibility in parents and mentors, and how inviting others to help mature a child becomes its own act of initiation. We touch on the longing that erupts when boys are unmet, the loneliness of a culture without elders, and the courage required to guide a child into a larger story. Miki reminds us that initiation is not about control. It is about stewarding a young man’s genius back into the world. It is a return to the village, a remembering of our place in the weave of life, and an invitation to rebuild the cultural vessels that once shaped humans capable of serving a cosmos greater than ourselves. Register for an upcoming webinar: FROM SCREENS TO SOUL: Raising Embodied Young Men (Dec 2) You’ll learn how to help steward your sons toward this deeper connection — how to anchor them in their bodies, nurture their love of the living world, and prepare them for future relationships that are grounded, heartfelt, and capable of holding real intimacy. This webinar offers parents and mentors a way to guide boys toward a young manhood shaped not by algorithms, but by aliveness. LINKS * Miki’s Official Website SHOW NOTES * 00:09 Miki describes where he is and the seasonal mood on the west coast of Sweden. * 02:52 His early work as an environmental journalist and the shift toward quieter, place-based stories. * 04:38 Moving from grand narratives of saving the world into intimate, relational, land-rooted life. * 12:28 The pine tree story and how tending the land taught him the meaning of belonging. * 17:04 Entering fatherhood later in life and wanting his sons to grow up rooted in place. * 18:24 Burnout as a turning point that reopened childhood vitality and led to cultural mentorship. * 21:39 The guiding question: how do we steward children well through life’s stages? * 24:07 Recognizing and honoring childhood stages long before adolescence arrives. * 26:32 Why initiating teenagers may be the most ecologically responsible act we can take. * 27:15 How asking others to help mature a child initiates the adults themselves. * 31:05 What happens when a culture fails to initiate its boys. * 37:15 The tensions Miki encountered guiding his own sons and how conflict became tempering. * 54:04 Why integration after a rite of passage is essential for families and community. ADDITIONAL EPISODES This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit themythicmasculine.substack.com/subscribe

I’m pleased to share this #mini episode with Maria Souza , a Comparative Mythologist, Poet, and Educator, and founder of Women & Mythology. As we name in the conversation, we’ve known about each other for some time and appreciated each others’ work from afar. Just as Robert Bly’s ‘Iron John’ is the book that ignited the mythopoetic men’s movement, so too, does Clarissa Pinkola Estés’s book ‘Women Who Run With The Wolves’ occupy that position for women. Maria shares how her journey with myth began has evolved into her podcast, along with courses that bring mythopoetic depth into the lived experience of women today. We touch on iconic stories like La Loba , Seal Skin/Soul Skin , and La Llorona —each a mirror of feminine initiation, creativity, and soul recovery. In this tradition, myth isn’t escape - it’s a way of waking up, a path to gather the scattered bones of the psyche (and culture) and sing them back to life. LINKS * Women & Mythology Website * Women & Mythology on Instagram To receive new posts and support The Mythic Masculine, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. SHOW NOTES * 0:00 — Ian welcomes Maria and introduces a dialogue on Women Who Run With the Wolves as a counterpart to Iron John in the mythopoetic tradition. * 1:17 — Maria recalls her studies with Martin Shaw and her search for stories that speak directly to women’s initiatory paths. * 2:41 — Early book study circles evolved into her first myth-based teaching course. * 4:46 — Contextualizing Clarissa Pinkola Estés’ book: a 30-year creation published in 1990, still resonant due to its timeless archetypal themes. * 7:13 — The book quickly became a global bestseller, sparking women’s groups and soulful discussion circles. * 10:01 — Myth gives women a language to “wake up” to their inner and outer experiences, offering deep recognition and practical insight. * 11:49 — Stories like Seal Skin/Soul Skin, Baba Yaga, and La Llorona reveal key initiations around creativity, intuition, and integration. * 21:15 — Ian reflects on the power of La Loba’s “singing over the bones” as a metaphor for enlivening the psyche. * 29:48 — Maria describes her “Year of Myths” immersion—one myth a month as a practice of ongoing maturation. * 34:36 — She shares her next creative focus: introducing Brazilian myths and under-told folktales to her community. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit themythicmasculine.substack.com/subscribe

“Eros is not something you get from another person. It’s the aliveness that rises when you are fully in your body.” - Victor Warring My guest today is Victor Warring , a somatic educator and founder of Rewilding Eros - a body-centered path to reclaiming our natural erotic intelligence. In our conversation today, Victor invites us to look deeply at the condition of modern men: domesticated human animals, cut off from the wild currents that once shaped our bodies, relationships, and souls. He names how much of our struggle with intimacy, desire, and disconnection is not personal failure, but the inheritance of a culture that has forgotten the way of village. Together we explore the meaning of Rewilding Eros - how centuries of colonization and conditioning have constricted men’s vitality, and how we might return to a more embodied, enlivened masculinity. We speak of civilization and desire, patriarchy and the loss of community, the tyranny of the dyad, and the hunger for wholeness that haunts the modern man. Victor reminds us that Eros is not merely sex, but the living current of aliveness itself - an invitation for men to reclaim their erotic sovereignty and rejoin the flow of life. LINKS * Rewilding Eros - Victor’s Office Website * Rewilding Eros on IG * Book - Monogamous Mind, Polyamorous Terror SHOW NOTES * 00:55 — Opening with embodied presence to reveal the importance of grounding in sensation before exploring sexuality and intimacy. * 02:50 — Rewilding Eros framed as reconnecting to the deep, natural erotic intelligence that lives in the flesh, not the mind. * 04:45 — Men’s struggles around desire and intimacy understood as symptoms of domestication, not evidence of personal failure or inadequacy. * 06:20 — Patriarchal systems teach men to control themselves and others, while simultaneously cutting them off from their own vitality. * 08:55 — A wider historical and evolutionary view shows our current way of living is the anomaly, not the baseline of human experience. * 10:53 — Cultural norms become invisible, shaping what we think is normal in relationships, sex, and masculinity itself. * 12:55 — Wildness reframed as authentic human expression that is often more attuned and less harmful than “civilized” behavior. * 16:00 — Sexual disconnection emerges in captivity; when context limits freedom, erotic life withers — just like animals in a zoo. * 19:20 — The drop in desire inside long-term relationships is tied to isolation and stress, not a lack of attraction or compatibility. * 20:00 — The nuclear couple becomes overburdened when expected to meet every relational and erotic need without communal support. * 23:10 — Secure attachment has roots in village life where many caregivers hold the child — not a single partner doing it all. * 27:15 — When relationships are held in a wider web of kinship, Eros can breathe again and love becomes less pressured and more alive. * 32:40 — Erotic sovereignty arises from within; Eros is not something we get from others but something we generate by being fully alive. * 36:55 — Eros includes sex but extends far beyond it into movement, creativity, and the embodied flow of everyday life. * 39:20 — Pornography becomes a substitute when men lose access to their own erotic source; healing means coming home to the body’s desire. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit themythicmasculine.substack.com/subscribe

An audio version of my long-form essay that explores my encounter at the 40th Anniversary of the Minnesota Men's Conference in 2024. For the full references and links to supporting interviews, check out the essay on Substack. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit themythicmasculine.substack.com/subscribe

My guest today is Jonathan Stensland, a poet and long-time collaborator and friend of Robert Bly. This conversation was recorded in 2024 at the 40th anniversary of the Minnesota Men's Conference . Speaking from the banks of the Saint Croix River, Jonathan offers a unique insider's perspective on four decades of men's work. In his early 20s, Jonathan was involved with Bly as he worked on his seminal book ‘Iron John’, through typing-up handwritten pages, revisions, and countless conversations- a process he describes as practically like quilt making. His relationship was deeper than professional collaboration, as akin to a godson to Bly and his wife Ruth. In our conversation today, we explore the origins and evolution of the mythopoetic men's movement, from its roots in Robert Bly's poetry about fathers and grief. We delve into the power of men gathering around the goodness that exists in the marrow of masculinity. He speaks to the movement's influence on broader culture, and the morphogenetic field that made new ways of being available to men everywhere. We ask: What does it mean for a 40-year tradition to cross from the wilderness into culture? How can we broaden the spaces where men can do the necessary soul work of maturation? And what mythic stories might guide the next chapter of this work? You’re invited to join the 41st Fall Conference Oct 7-12, 2025 “Men Who Stand Atop the Old Mound of Miracles” Catch the companion conversations to this episode: This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit themythicmasculine.substack.com/subscribe

My guest today is Miguel Rivera , a seasoned ceremonialist, musician, and ritualist. This conversation is a two part series recorded in 2024 at the 40th anniversary of the Minnesota Men’s Conference . Miguel is a longtime facilitator to the conference where he has played a pivotal role in guiding men through transformative experiences. Miguel's journey began in the vibrant cultural landscape of the 1980s, where he was drawn to the path of healing through indigenous medicine and becoming a Sundancer. His involvement in the men's movement began with an invitation from Robert Bly in 1992, where he suddenly found himself at the heart of a cultural force that sought to reconnect men with their inner selves and the sacred. The Mythic Masculine is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. In our conversation today, we delve into the transformative power of men's gatherings and the role of ritual in healing and initiation. Miguel shares his experiences of how these ceremonies amplify healing and create a sense of belonging and brotherhood. We also discuss the challenges faced by modern men, including the "lone wolf syndrome" and the importance of finding older men who can offer guidance and mentorship. Miguel's insights into fathering and the necessity of creating a safe and nurturing environment for the next generation are both poignant and profound. We ask: what is the legacy and evolution of the mythopoetic men’s movement? How can modern men find their way back to a sense of community and belonging in an increasingly isolated world? You’re invited to join the 41st Fall Conference Oct 7-12, 2025 “Men Who Stand Atop the Old Mound of Miracles” Also don’t miss my interview last year with conference organizers Walton Stanley and Ben Dennis. ADDITIONAL EPISODES Check out these conversations for more on the history of the men’s movement. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit themythicmasculine.substack.com/subscribe

Recently I spoke with Adam Lewis, co-founder of MANCAMP , a Canadian gathering dedicated to “the celebration of masculinity.” ( Disclosure: Adam is also a mentorship client of mine). Now entering its second year, MANCAMP emerged from Adam’s experiences organizing raw and elemental camping trips with small groups of men in the wilderness. What began as paddling into Algonquin Park has grown into a vision of 150+ men coming together for a weekend of transformation, brotherhood, and celebration. Adam shares the story of how MANCAMP was born—first as a seed of inspiration, then through the alignment with his co-founder Geoff ‘Rawa Larden, and finally in the inaugural gathering last September that drew men from across Ontario. Despite the (sometimes) chaotic organizing of a first-year festival, the event sold out and left lasting ripples in the lives of the men who attended. From deep heartbreak to profound breakthroughs, Adam recounts stories of men who returned home more grounded, more alive, and more connected to their families and communities. In our conversation today, Adam and I explore the ingredients that shape the container: archetypal frameworks drawn from King, Warrior, Magician, Lover and a roster of diverse facilitators, as well as sweat lodge, ecstatic dance, shared meals, and the sober presence of men choosing to lean into the work, together. The medicine found in connection and brotherhood itself becomes the initiatory field. I am honored to join as a speaker at this year’s event, taking place September 18–21, 2025 at Merkaba Acres in Ontario. Use my promo code below for MYTHIC20 for 20% off the ticket price. Get full info & tickets here http://mancamp.ca This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit themythicmasculine.substack.com/subscribe