Awakening the New Masculine is a bridge from the first wave of the mythopoetic men's movement of the last twenty-five years to what is only now beginning to emerge. Gary Stamper points the way to the second wave of men's work with humor, intelligence, and the kind of compassion that holds men accountable-daring, insisting, and giving them the tools they need to step up to a new way of being men. You're going to awaken to the real possibility of becoming the man you've always known you could be, stepping into the truth of who you are in your fullness, cultivating potentials that have called to you, bringing your full presence and awareness to every moment for yourself, your loved ones, and the planet.

Awakening the New Masculine

The Path of the Integral WarriorBy Gary Stamper

iUniverse, Inc.

Copyright © 2012 Gary L. Stamper, PhD
All right reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-4697-3150-6

Contents

Acknowledgments.............................................................................................................ixIntroduction................................................................................................................xvChapter 1: What's Wrong with Men? Pathways to Healing the Masculine.........................................................1Chapter 2: How the Masculine Grows..........................................................................................16Chapter 3: Shifting Perspectives into Later-Stage Consciousness.............................................................26Chapter 4: Mastering Opportunities for Change: Developmental Systems Theory and Spiral Dynamics.............................38Chapter 5: Do We Really Need More Warrior Energy? The Path of the Integral Warrior..........................................50Chapter 6: Setting Up the Container: Creating Sacred Space..................................................................59Chapter 7: Integral Shamanism: Moving from Magic to the Transpersonal.......................................................76Chapter 8: Masculine Archetypes: The Hidden Forces at Work in Our Psyches...................................................99Chapter 9: What Do I Need to Work On? The Psychology of Spirituality or the Spirituality of Psychology?.....................121Chapter 10: The Missing Link for Boys and Men: Initiation and Ritual........................................................128Chapter 11: Sacred Activism: Shape-Shifting Your World......................................................................136Chapter 12: Emergence of the Integral Warrior: We Are the Ones We've Been Waiting For.......................................145Recommended Reading.........................................................................................................161Index.......................................................................................................................165

Chapter One

What's Wrong with Men? Pathways to Healing the Masculine

Masculine or feminine, we have all been wounded by our primary caretakers, by our culture, and by each other. The premise of this book is that we not only can heal our wounds but must heal them in order to reach more awakened states of being, or what is sometimes called later-stage consciousness. That healing happens largely around exploring, revealing, and bringing forth awareness of what stops us from emerging into the powerful beings we know we can become. What gets in our way and prevents us from realizing our full potential in our work, our relationships, and our peace are our reactive and asleep selves, our shadows.

What is the work that needs to be done on the planet at this time to heal the deep wounds of the masculine and feminine? Following the lead and the work of my partner and wife, Anyaa McAndrew, one of my gifts to the world is the healing of the postmodern masculine. Her work revolves around helping postmodern women who have become overly "masculinized" to reclaim their more powerful, integrated feminine, which includes the masculine. My work revolves around helping postmodern men who have become overly "feminized"—something that needs to happen—to reclaim the healthy aspects and fullness of the new masculine without shame and with a strong sense of their purpose and a clear sense of their sacred mission, while still maintaining their healthy feminine. It is the complete integration of the masculine and feminine that allows men and women to step into a richer fullness.

Before we look at the new masculine, let's take a look at where the men's movement began and where it's been. Then we can take a look at where it might be going. By no means is this a comprehensive look at the men's movement; it's an overview.

Oddly enough, it may have been the movie Field of Dreams in 1989 that set the tone for the men's movement. According to Frank Pittman, the author of Man Enough: Fathers, Sons, and the Search for Masculinity, most women (his statement, not mine) thought it was a "dumb fantasy" about baseball. "But baseball, with its clear and polite rules, and all its statistics, and its players who are normal men and boys rather than oversized freaks, is a man's metaphor for life. Field of Dreams did amazing things to grown men, who soaked themselves in sobs. Some couldn't walk out of the theater when the movie was over. The theme in this or any other movie that draws the most tears from grown men is unquestionably the lifetime mourning for the father they couldn't get close to."

Another of our central myths is that of the son who could not get his father's approval so he turned violent and killed his brother—familiar as the story of Cain and Abel.

Other movies that carry similar themes are East of Eden (1995), the coming-of-age trilogy Star Wars (as in Hamlet or Iron John), The Godfather, and the third film of the Indiana Jones series, in which Sean Connery, as the father of Jones, shows even more masculine bravado than Indiana Jones himself.

The Mythopoetic Men's Movement

With the international best-selling book Iron John: A Book about Men, Robert Bly is credited with starting the mythopoetic men's movement in the United States. Until recently, Bly frequently conducted workshops for men with James Hillman, Michael J. Meade, John Lee, and others.

The mythopoetic men's movement is a loose collection of organizations active in men's work since the early 1980s. It was in the public eye in the early 1990s, and the movement now carries on more quietly in the Mankind Project (MKP) and independent psychospiritual practitioners. Mythopoets adopted a general style of psychological self-help inspired by the work of Bly, Robert A. Johnson, Joseph Campbell, and other Jungian authors.

The mythopoetic men's movement spawned a variety of self-help groups and workshops, led by authors such as Bly, John Lee, Michael J. Meade, and Robert L. Moore. The self-help aspect of this movement was portrayed by the popular media as something of a fad, but it continues to this day. Some academic work came from the movement, as well as the creation of various magazines, continuing annual conferences such as the Minnesota Men's Conference and the Great Mother and New Father Conference, and nonprofit organizations such as MKP, which is still active, alive, and well. Mythopoetic practices among women's groups and feminists were more commonly seen as a portion of a more general "women's spirituality."

As a self-help movement, the mythopoetic movement tends not to take explicit stances on political issues such as feminism, gay rights, or family law (such as the issues of divorce, domestic violence, or child custody), preferring instead to stay focused on emotional and psychological well-being.

As part of developing my own work, I've done the MKP's experiential weekend called the New Warrior Training Adventure. Here's how MKP defines the weekend: "The New Warrior Training Adventure is a weekend process of initiation and self-examination that is designed to catalyze the development of a healthy and mature masculine self. It is the hero's journey of classical literature and myth adapted to our modern culture."

The weekend is intended to be a male initiation ritual. MKP states that...