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To Your Enlightenment Experience!
Craig
Want a free print of the 'Realized' Buddha collage I made in 1998? Enter your email here: www.enlightenedchild.com
be sure to join our Facebook Fan Page as well!
Showing posts with label Initiation. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Initiation. Show all posts
Just Catching My Breath!!!
The past couple weeks have been a whirlwind of adventure and connection with some of the people I love most in all the world.
Most notably, I completed a 108 Day Men's Leadership and Initiation training with Jayson Gaddis out in Boulder: www.revolutionaryman.com
The 5 Pillars of a Revolutionary Man are:
1.) Self-Knowledge - As Socrates admonished 2000+ years ago, "The unexamined life is not worth living." I think that's true, and I think it's even more true when we're talking about a group of men (or women) getting together to examine life together. There's power in our ability to work together towards a shared vision. After several nights around a campfire, I think we boiled down what our common vision was - the thing that brought us all together from 1000's of miles apart.
All totalled, the 108 days of working with Jayson and these men has totally transformed my life. They have supported me through a major life transition - from employee to entrepreneur (again) - and also helped me experience my own power in ways I only suspected were possible.
Bringing what I have learned back to Rochester, NY where I mentor a fair number of young men is an exciting challenge. It's my strategy for teaching what I need to learn so I may begin to master it.
There are several options I know of that can serve a boy as young as 10, and a man as old as they come, for initiation and deep growth. I'm more than happy to invest some time out of my day into discussing my experience and the options I know are available.
If you're interested, don't be shy.
Contact me: Craig (at) EnlightenedChild.com or via social media.
I look forward to being of service on your journey.
To Your Enlightenment Experience!
Craig
Want a free print of the 'Realized' Buddha collage I made in 1998? Enter your email here: www.enlightenedchild.com
be sure to join our Facebook Fan Page as well!
Most notably, I completed a 108 Day Men's Leadership and Initiation training with Jayson Gaddis out in Boulder: www.revolutionaryman.com
The 5 Pillars of a Revolutionary Man are:
1.) Self-Knowledge - As Socrates admonished 2000+ years ago, "The unexamined life is not worth living." I think that's true, and I think it's even more true when we're talking about a group of men (or women) getting together to examine life together. There's power in our ability to work together towards a shared vision. After several nights around a campfire, I think we boiled down what our common vision was - the thing that brought us all together from 1000's of miles apart.
TO GET BETTER, IN A GOOD WAY
2.) Service - Something happened to me when I was 21 or so. I realized that service is actually a gift for MEEEEE!!! Can't explain it, maybe call it Karma, or the Golden Rule, I just notice that when I am engaging with the world from a place of service - both opening doors for old ladies, and anyone else passing by, as a well as, serving the world with my deepest gifts - I am much more connected, and much, much happier.
3.) Leadership - I had a hard time coming up with a spontaneous definition for this one, so I googled it and found this in Wikipedia: "Leadership is ultimately about creating a way for people to contribute to making something extraordinary happen." That fits for me, and I witnessed first hand how Jayson invited all 8 of us to participate in making something truly extraordinary, likely unprecedented, happen. It's something I aim to repeat. I am in the process of leading a group of young men and the results are shaping up to be nothing less than extra-ordinary.
4.) Fun/Celebration - This is a biggie. So much of my adult life I've had my nose to the grindstone, or just been too tired to make much room for celebration. Tanking several businesses doesn't lead to a lot of celebration either... even though every "no" has gotten me so much closer to a "YES!" in that game too, I really feel I need to accomplish something worthwhile before allowing myself to celebrate. Well, this past weekend in Boulder was certainly an occasion for fun and celebration, and I thank J. and my bros for making sure we danced and howled and ran amok "In a Good Way" :-]
5.) Community (relationships) - This is where it all comes together. To me, all the previous Pillars are great, and necessary, and true. What is most powerful, I find, is doing all these TOGETHER. The relationships J. fostered among the 8 men who participated in the first Revolutionary Man training are among the deepest I have known in this life. For a kid who grew up mostly in a day-dream of my own inventions and adventures, relating to people with authenticity and presence is a real edge. Dropping in with these men, and the women J. wove into our weekend, has been some of the best work I've done in my 15 years in pursuit of personal growth.
3.) Leadership - I had a hard time coming up with a spontaneous definition for this one, so I googled it and found this in Wikipedia: "Leadership is ultimately about creating a way for people to contribute to making something extraordinary happen." That fits for me, and I witnessed first hand how Jayson invited all 8 of us to participate in making something truly extraordinary, likely unprecedented, happen. It's something I aim to repeat. I am in the process of leading a group of young men and the results are shaping up to be nothing less than extra-ordinary.
4.) Fun/Celebration - This is a biggie. So much of my adult life I've had my nose to the grindstone, or just been too tired to make much room for celebration. Tanking several businesses doesn't lead to a lot of celebration either... even though every "no" has gotten me so much closer to a "YES!" in that game too, I really feel I need to accomplish something worthwhile before allowing myself to celebrate. Well, this past weekend in Boulder was certainly an occasion for fun and celebration, and I thank J. and my bros for making sure we danced and howled and ran amok "In a Good Way" :-]
5.) Community (relationships) - This is where it all comes together. To me, all the previous Pillars are great, and necessary, and true. What is most powerful, I find, is doing all these TOGETHER. The relationships J. fostered among the 8 men who participated in the first Revolutionary Man training are among the deepest I have known in this life. For a kid who grew up mostly in a day-dream of my own inventions and adventures, relating to people with authenticity and presence is a real edge. Dropping in with these men, and the women J. wove into our weekend, has been some of the best work I've done in my 15 years in pursuit of personal growth.
All totalled, the 108 days of working with Jayson and these men has totally transformed my life. They have supported me through a major life transition - from employee to entrepreneur (again) - and also helped me experience my own power in ways I only suspected were possible.
Bringing what I have learned back to Rochester, NY where I mentor a fair number of young men is an exciting challenge. It's my strategy for teaching what I need to learn so I may begin to master it.
There are several options I know of that can serve a boy as young as 10, and a man as old as they come, for initiation and deep growth. I'm more than happy to invest some time out of my day into discussing my experience and the options I know are available.
If you're interested, don't be shy.
Contact me: Craig (at) EnlightenedChild.com or via social media.
I look forward to being of service on your journey.
To Your Enlightenment Experience!
Craig
Want a free print of the 'Realized' Buddha collage I made in 1998? Enter your email here: www.enlightenedchild.com
be sure to join our Facebook Fan Page as well!
Is Masculine Initiation Really Necessary?
For millions of years men have initiated boys into manhood in their early teens.
Women have a built-in initiation - menstruation is a clear demarcation of that life transition. For men, it requires a trial, a challenge that forces a young man to face something within himself and claim that sacred masculine force within. Then he can return to his village, his tribe, his mother with a new sense of identity. He has individuated, or begun the process.
We've lost that sacred ritual in our culture... I mean, what mother do you know that would willingly let her son go off in the woods to have his tooth knocked out or his face tattooed, or go alone for a week with no food or water in the wilderness... zero.
Initiation is dangerous, and it must be for it to have the psychological impact a young man requires in order to understand the sacred masculine within. It's also crucial, and the African proverb says it best, "If we don't initiate the boys, they will burn the village down.
Today, the Mankind Project initiates men who have sought out that ritual in every which way but a healthy, mature one. Prison, armed forces, gangs, drugs, and all sorts of other rights of passage have sprung up in the shadows to accommodate this genetic need in our DNA.
But there's a problem. Frederick Douglas said it best, "It's easier to raise healthy boys than to repair broken men." So, the Boys to Men initiation experience has arisen to meet that need.
If you have a son, or are an uninitiated man who is called to the sacred masculine, these organizations offer some of the most profound, modern initiation weekend trainings on the planet. They are both international organizations and well worth the investment.
If you have any interest in either of these weekends I would be more than happy to answer any questions for you.
I was initiated in MKP at age 18. Boys to Men did not exist then, though it would have been a better experience for where I was at around that age. That's why I am so stoked that we are finally giving young men their birthright and initiating them at the appropriate age, before they spend decades seeking the experience in every place but the right one - with healthy, initiated men who can guide and mentor them to their true power.
Contact me with any questions - you'll be glad you did.
Cheers,
Craig
to see original post and all my social media links, visit: www.enlightenedchild.com
Women have a built-in initiation - menstruation is a clear demarcation of that life transition. For men, it requires a trial, a challenge that forces a young man to face something within himself and claim that sacred masculine force within. Then he can return to his village, his tribe, his mother with a new sense of identity. He has individuated, or begun the process.
We've lost that sacred ritual in our culture... I mean, what mother do you know that would willingly let her son go off in the woods to have his tooth knocked out or his face tattooed, or go alone for a week with no food or water in the wilderness... zero.
Initiation is dangerous, and it must be for it to have the psychological impact a young man requires in order to understand the sacred masculine within. It's also crucial, and the African proverb says it best, "If we don't initiate the boys, they will burn the village down.
Today, the Mankind Project initiates men who have sought out that ritual in every which way but a healthy, mature one. Prison, armed forces, gangs, drugs, and all sorts of other rights of passage have sprung up in the shadows to accommodate this genetic need in our DNA.
But there's a problem. Frederick Douglas said it best, "It's easier to raise healthy boys than to repair broken men." So, the Boys to Men initiation experience has arisen to meet that need.
If you have a son, or are an uninitiated man who is called to the sacred masculine, these organizations offer some of the most profound, modern initiation weekend trainings on the planet. They are both international organizations and well worth the investment.
If you have any interest in either of these weekends I would be more than happy to answer any questions for you.
I was initiated in MKP at age 18. Boys to Men did not exist then, though it would have been a better experience for where I was at around that age. That's why I am so stoked that we are finally giving young men their birthright and initiating them at the appropriate age, before they spend decades seeking the experience in every place but the right one - with healthy, initiated men who can guide and mentor them to their true power.
Contact me with any questions - you'll be glad you did.
Cheers,
Craig
to see original post and all my social media links, visit: www.enlightenedchild.com
How to Get a Mentor?
It seems counter-intuitive... "Take a Millionaire to Lunch! but HE'S the one with all the money and I'm broke!"
What about the offering of gifts is so irresistible to Mentors?
Narcissism. The Mentoring relationship is more than merely training or teaching. It's probably got roots in some Freudian complex, which none-the-less means there's great power in the relationship.
Mentors are on a path. They have conquered the mountain, or are well on their way to it. They don't have time for nambi-pambi bologna. They want results because the results they are known for is what qualifies them as a potential mentor for you (or your child) in the first place.
WARNING: It's a common fallacy, and a sure set up for disappointment, to project guru status on someone who is expert in their field. This shows up most often in the way they are seen as expert in an omni-potent sense - they know it all... about everything - when really they may be woefully unqualified to mentor you(r child) in any other area. Think starving artist or pervert guru. They have one field of competence nailed - clearly to the detriment of other areas like sustenance and morality. So, just be careful of this.
So, mentors see themselves in the mentee. They won't work with someone in a TRUE mentoring capacity unless they can see the inner nature of the protege as clearly as they see their own hand. Everything else is just passing advice and well-wishing one another on your way. True mentoring is a durable, ongoing relationship that can last decades or lifetimes.
How do you find these potential mentors and then get them to mentor you(r child)?
Good question - because Mentors save you so much time and heartache it's not even funny. Taking a millionaire to lunch could change your life. So, don't hesitate when you see an opportunity to obtain even passing advice. And when you find someone you really feel is right for you - I mean, you've checked each other out in person, learned about what you each want in life, where you're going and how your mentor can help you get there... then you can follow these steps:
The steps for obtaining a mentor, as given to me by a mentor I'm courting:
1.) Identify a burning desire in your heart.
2.) Learn as much as you can about this on your own.
3.) Identify individuals who have gone and done what you envision going and doing.
4.) Approach them and interview them. It's always a mutual interview.
5.) Suggest a mentoring relationship - they may be experienced in this or not.
6.) Tell them you'd like to make a formal offering for them to consider.
7.) Prepare and deliver a package of some sort the represents something meaningful to the atmosphere or relationship dynamic that you are entering in to. Something that the Mentor can consider in the gestalt of his life and how much he is willing and able to commit to this process.
8.) Be on time for meetings, be professional with communications, keep all commitments in a timely fashion, and be generally grateful for all instruction and reflection.
9.) Watch for pathologies that may disrupt or interfere with a True Mentoring Relationship - never abdicate responsibility for your mental and emotional safety to ANYONE. You are your own best protector. Keep your eyes open.
10. Continually obtain new mentors on your journey of life. This will provide a blend of perspectives, and give you a roundtable of reference points to call on when advancing through life's choppy waters. Collect Mentors and keep in touch with them. They truly care about you and want to share your journey. The more you keep in touch, the easier you will find it to call on them even years down the road.
So, this is my run-down on Getting Mentors.
I'm sending a wooden box of natural tobacco to my chosen mentor. If he accepts, I will be heading to Vermont, near Burlington, to be Mentored as a Water Pourer for sweat lodges several times a year - Solstice and Equinox sweats.
Today I found the box I will send. So, this was on my mind.
Hope you find it helpful and certainly hope you're share it with your teens and their friends!
Cheers,
Craig
to see original post and all my social media links, visit: www.enlightenedchild.com
What about the offering of gifts is so irresistible to Mentors?
Narcissism. The Mentoring relationship is more than merely training or teaching. It's probably got roots in some Freudian complex, which none-the-less means there's great power in the relationship.
Mentors are on a path. They have conquered the mountain, or are well on their way to it. They don't have time for nambi-pambi bologna. They want results because the results they are known for is what qualifies them as a potential mentor for you (or your child) in the first place.
WARNING: It's a common fallacy, and a sure set up for disappointment, to project guru status on someone who is expert in their field. This shows up most often in the way they are seen as expert in an omni-potent sense - they know it all... about everything - when really they may be woefully unqualified to mentor you(r child) in any other area. Think starving artist or pervert guru. They have one field of competence nailed - clearly to the detriment of other areas like sustenance and morality. So, just be careful of this.
So, mentors see themselves in the mentee. They won't work with someone in a TRUE mentoring capacity unless they can see the inner nature of the protege as clearly as they see their own hand. Everything else is just passing advice and well-wishing one another on your way. True mentoring is a durable, ongoing relationship that can last decades or lifetimes.
How do you find these potential mentors and then get them to mentor you(r child)?
Good question - because Mentors save you so much time and heartache it's not even funny. Taking a millionaire to lunch could change your life. So, don't hesitate when you see an opportunity to obtain even passing advice. And when you find someone you really feel is right for you - I mean, you've checked each other out in person, learned about what you each want in life, where you're going and how your mentor can help you get there... then you can follow these steps:
The steps for obtaining a mentor, as given to me by a mentor I'm courting:
1.) Identify a burning desire in your heart.
2.) Learn as much as you can about this on your own.
3.) Identify individuals who have gone and done what you envision going and doing.
4.) Approach them and interview them. It's always a mutual interview.
5.) Suggest a mentoring relationship - they may be experienced in this or not.
6.) Tell them you'd like to make a formal offering for them to consider.
7.) Prepare and deliver a package of some sort the represents something meaningful to the atmosphere or relationship dynamic that you are entering in to. Something that the Mentor can consider in the gestalt of his life and how much he is willing and able to commit to this process.
8.) Be on time for meetings, be professional with communications, keep all commitments in a timely fashion, and be generally grateful for all instruction and reflection.
9.) Watch for pathologies that may disrupt or interfere with a True Mentoring Relationship - never abdicate responsibility for your mental and emotional safety to ANYONE. You are your own best protector. Keep your eyes open.
10. Continually obtain new mentors on your journey of life. This will provide a blend of perspectives, and give you a roundtable of reference points to call on when advancing through life's choppy waters. Collect Mentors and keep in touch with them. They truly care about you and want to share your journey. The more you keep in touch, the easier you will find it to call on them even years down the road.
So, this is my run-down on Getting Mentors.
I'm sending a wooden box of natural tobacco to my chosen mentor. If he accepts, I will be heading to Vermont, near Burlington, to be Mentored as a Water Pourer for sweat lodges several times a year - Solstice and Equinox sweats.
Today I found the box I will send. So, this was on my mind.
Hope you find it helpful and certainly hope you're share it with your teens and their friends!
Cheers,
Craig
to see original post and all my social media links, visit: www.enlightenedchild.com
Oh Baby, That's the Ticket!
You can't ride without ticket... You can't see the show without a ticket... You can't get where you're goin without a ticket!
So, what's your ticket?
Maybe you're a teacher or a CPA or sales person. Whatever it is, the thing you do well, that gets you paid, gets you through doors that others can't pass through... that's your ticket.
Everyone needs at least one ticket. Life is about taking yourself where you wanna go. It's about having a compass and a direction. It's about overcoming obstacles and challenges to realizing your true nature. It's about exploring and experiencing and expressing all that life has to offer within, without and through you.
So, what's your ticket?
I didn't have a ticket for a long time. I had pieces of a ticket. I had a little of this and little of that... but I didn't have a TICKET. I didn't have something I could use to get me around in this world.
With a Philosophy Degree, minor in Art and another in Religion... that didn't really open a lot of doors, or get me where I was doing. I had no interest in the corporate world, or college for that matter. So, to the best of my ability I set myself up to NOT be admitted into the long, grey line of American manhood.
After Corrina was born, I realized I needed a ticket. I needed something to give me access to the world where people make money and take care of themselves and their families. I was substitute teaching - I was hanging around, but I didn't have a ticket. Teaching is my thing, but institutionalized schooling is not. So I bailed on that path.
Sales welcomed me with open arms. The world can always use another hack salesman. After a while of monkeying with that I realized it wasn't a ticket unless I could ACTUALLY sell something. Starting a business seemed like a ticket, but it took so long to figure it out. Finally, after moving to Chicago and getting involved in the Real Estate boom, I found my ticket.
I'm a serial entrepreneur with a sales and marketing bent. If there's a market, and I can live with the product, I can sell it.
That's my ticket.
It gets me the money I need to get where and what I want in my life. It gets me backstage into some pretty cool meetings and businesses that I would never have access to otherwise. It takes me to cool seminars and conferences where I meet incredibly powerful and intelligent people who also have a Sales/Marketing ticket... I couldn't be happier.
Here's the moral... it took me nearly 30 years to find my ticket. That's a long time. That's a long time being a scared, naive kid with no ticket. That's a lot of missed shows, a lot of missed trains... not the way I want my kid to grow up.
Most of what I've learned about sales and marketing could be taught to a 3rd or a 6th grader fairly easily. Especially when we get talking about information marketing and online businesses. Teens could acquire a lifetime ticket to ride by simply laying off the XBox 360 a few hours per day and learning the principles of marketing and internet sales.
Getting that ticket means your child will be able to go see shows, take rides, meet cool people, get an education, travel and explore... Whether it's sales or anything else, make sure your child knows that they will need a ticket, and help them start figuring out what that may be for them. It takes years to get a handle on it - no point in waiting to figure it out until after school and all the pressure that brings.
Better to get it handled early, so that the 20's are a time of radical self-exploration with a base of financial freedom that affords educational experiences impossible to obtain through school.
Cheers,
Craig
to see original post and all my social media links, visit: www.enlightenedchild.com
So, what's your ticket?
Maybe you're a teacher or a CPA or sales person. Whatever it is, the thing you do well, that gets you paid, gets you through doors that others can't pass through... that's your ticket.
Everyone needs at least one ticket. Life is about taking yourself where you wanna go. It's about having a compass and a direction. It's about overcoming obstacles and challenges to realizing your true nature. It's about exploring and experiencing and expressing all that life has to offer within, without and through you.
So, what's your ticket?
I didn't have a ticket for a long time. I had pieces of a ticket. I had a little of this and little of that... but I didn't have a TICKET. I didn't have something I could use to get me around in this world.
With a Philosophy Degree, minor in Art and another in Religion... that didn't really open a lot of doors, or get me where I was doing. I had no interest in the corporate world, or college for that matter. So, to the best of my ability I set myself up to NOT be admitted into the long, grey line of American manhood.
After Corrina was born, I realized I needed a ticket. I needed something to give me access to the world where people make money and take care of themselves and their families. I was substitute teaching - I was hanging around, but I didn't have a ticket. Teaching is my thing, but institutionalized schooling is not. So I bailed on that path.
Sales welcomed me with open arms. The world can always use another hack salesman. After a while of monkeying with that I realized it wasn't a ticket unless I could ACTUALLY sell something. Starting a business seemed like a ticket, but it took so long to figure it out. Finally, after moving to Chicago and getting involved in the Real Estate boom, I found my ticket.
I'm a serial entrepreneur with a sales and marketing bent. If there's a market, and I can live with the product, I can sell it.
That's my ticket.
It gets me the money I need to get where and what I want in my life. It gets me backstage into some pretty cool meetings and businesses that I would never have access to otherwise. It takes me to cool seminars and conferences where I meet incredibly powerful and intelligent people who also have a Sales/Marketing ticket... I couldn't be happier.
Here's the moral... it took me nearly 30 years to find my ticket. That's a long time. That's a long time being a scared, naive kid with no ticket. That's a lot of missed shows, a lot of missed trains... not the way I want my kid to grow up.
Most of what I've learned about sales and marketing could be taught to a 3rd or a 6th grader fairly easily. Especially when we get talking about information marketing and online businesses. Teens could acquire a lifetime ticket to ride by simply laying off the XBox 360 a few hours per day and learning the principles of marketing and internet sales.
Getting that ticket means your child will be able to go see shows, take rides, meet cool people, get an education, travel and explore... Whether it's sales or anything else, make sure your child knows that they will need a ticket, and help them start figuring out what that may be for them. It takes years to get a handle on it - no point in waiting to figure it out until after school and all the pressure that brings.
Better to get it handled early, so that the 20's are a time of radical self-exploration with a base of financial freedom that affords educational experiences impossible to obtain through school.
Cheers,
Craig
to see original post and all my social media links, visit: www.enlightenedchild.com
Why I'm Stoked For My Young Friend!
Or "How to Cure Depression in Teenagers" This is a good read for anyone with a bitchy teenager hoggin up the couch all summer and aggravating you with their pent up teenage energy that just gets stuffed and strung out into a passive-aggressive depression.
Where do I begin...
A young man I know, recent new friend of mine, is a real sweet guy. He lives in a rural area with his mother and attends the local college. He's just starting to spread his wings - he chose to drop engineering to major in psychology. This is in response to an inner urge to understand himself, his emotional and mental states.
He meditates daily with Holosync, and he gave me the book in which Bill Harris explains the science behind meditation and how his product helps the brain meditate better. (My marketing mentor, Dave Dee, recommended I pattern Enlightened Child on this model - so I needed to read it, and here I receive a copy!)
Anyway - what I'm most excited about is my friends new job.
He is dealing with a low-grade depression which I recognize from what I experienced around his age. He's not sure of what he wants in life, he doesn't have a good support structure for his soul or his masculinity, and he is tired all the time because of it. Good recipe for a down-ward spiral.
Well, he recently started a new job. He mentioned it in reference to how it helps him get up and get ouf of bed in the morning.
Not only that, I'm fired up for him because it takes 30 days to make/break a habit and he's gonna have 3 months of daily yard and landscape work to occupy his days. Think of the benefits:
1.) He has a reason to get out of bed - that's a good first step to ending depression
2.) He is outside in the sunlight, breathing fresh air, working with his body - that'll change your neuro-chemistry
3.) He is working with his hands - he can stand back and say, "I did that - it's DONE!"
4.) He now has some cash resources and he's entered the economic marketplace - he can start considering how he wants to generate income... a perfect lead in to the Four-Hour Work-Week by Tim Ferris
5.) He can start to think about what he WANTS! I told him to think about spending $300 out of the entire summer income and put it towards something he really wants.
He had no idea what he wanted, so it has now become an opportunity to explore that. Solve that one, and he'll never be chronically depressed again.
So that's why I'm stoked for him.
If you know any teenagers - especially boys - explore initiation rites for them. Don't keep them pinned down in some "good-little-boy" mold until he's out of the house. Give him his birthright. Here are a couple places to begin your exploration. Feel free to get in touch with me using the email box on the right. I'll be happy to help in any way I can.
Why Your Teenage Son Needs a Rite of Passage - Jason Gaddis' Revolutionary Man Blog
Journeyman - Watch this movie!
Boys to Men - Find a Local Training Weekend
For Uninitiated Men - It's Time... time to clean up the residue of your boyhood and take full responsibility for your life (even the parts we hide, repress and deny)
I hope this information is helpful - and I'm super psyched for my new friend!
Go play in the sunshine ;-]
Cheers,
Craig
to see original post and all my social media links, visit: www.enlightenedchild.com
Where do I begin...
A young man I know, recent new friend of mine, is a real sweet guy. He lives in a rural area with his mother and attends the local college. He's just starting to spread his wings - he chose to drop engineering to major in psychology. This is in response to an inner urge to understand himself, his emotional and mental states.
He meditates daily with Holosync, and he gave me the book in which Bill Harris explains the science behind meditation and how his product helps the brain meditate better. (My marketing mentor, Dave Dee, recommended I pattern Enlightened Child on this model - so I needed to read it, and here I receive a copy!)
Anyway - what I'm most excited about is my friends new job.
He is dealing with a low-grade depression which I recognize from what I experienced around his age. He's not sure of what he wants in life, he doesn't have a good support structure for his soul or his masculinity, and he is tired all the time because of it. Good recipe for a down-ward spiral.
Well, he recently started a new job. He mentioned it in reference to how it helps him get up and get ouf of bed in the morning.
Not only that, I'm fired up for him because it takes 30 days to make/break a habit and he's gonna have 3 months of daily yard and landscape work to occupy his days. Think of the benefits:
1.) He has a reason to get out of bed - that's a good first step to ending depression
2.) He is outside in the sunlight, breathing fresh air, working with his body - that'll change your neuro-chemistry
3.) He is working with his hands - he can stand back and say, "I did that - it's DONE!"
4.) He now has some cash resources and he's entered the economic marketplace - he can start considering how he wants to generate income... a perfect lead in to the Four-Hour Work-Week by Tim Ferris
5.) He can start to think about what he WANTS! I told him to think about spending $300 out of the entire summer income and put it towards something he really wants.
He had no idea what he wanted, so it has now become an opportunity to explore that. Solve that one, and he'll never be chronically depressed again.
So that's why I'm stoked for him.
If you know any teenagers - especially boys - explore initiation rites for them. Don't keep them pinned down in some "good-little-boy" mold until he's out of the house. Give him his birthright. Here are a couple places to begin your exploration. Feel free to get in touch with me using the email box on the right. I'll be happy to help in any way I can.
Why Your Teenage Son Needs a Rite of Passage - Jason Gaddis' Revolutionary Man Blog
Journeyman - Watch this movie!
Boys to Men - Find a Local Training Weekend
For Uninitiated Men - It's Time... time to clean up the residue of your boyhood and take full responsibility for your life (even the parts we hide, repress and deny)
I hope this information is helpful - and I'm super psyched for my new friend!
Go play in the sunshine ;-]
Cheers,
Craig
to see original post and all my social media links, visit: www.enlightenedchild.com
Have You Seen the Enlightened Child Mandala?
When Corrina was born Jen's uncle gave us a family ToyBox, which I promptly turned into a canvas, adding the elements of astrology, the yin-yang and other esoteric symbols. Four years later, it looked like this:
Corrina just turned 8 and I am preparing to launch the whole "Enlightened Child Philosophy of Education" this year.
A big part of launching the philosophy is reacquainting myself with the tools and elements of the curriculum that I compiled in the original birthing of the ToyBox Mandala.
If you can't see it, the Mandala showcases esoteric representations for each number 1 through 12.
Recently, after cleaning the Yoga studio at the Zen Center, I found some old display panels that I thought to myself, "These would make a great canvas!"
To follow the saga of the Enlightened Child Mandala, check out my flickr site.
I'll post pics here from time to time as well. Or check back: flickr site.
Looking forward to hearing from you about what you're learning, or what you can teach about each aspect of the Mandala!
Cheers,
Craig
to see original post and all my social media links, visit: www.enlightenedchild.com
Corrina just turned 8 and I am preparing to launch the whole "Enlightened Child Philosophy of Education" this year.
A big part of launching the philosophy is reacquainting myself with the tools and elements of the curriculum that I compiled in the original birthing of the ToyBox Mandala.
If you can't see it, the Mandala showcases esoteric representations for each number 1 through 12.
Recently, after cleaning the Yoga studio at the Zen Center, I found some old display panels that I thought to myself, "These would make a great canvas!"
To follow the saga of the Enlightened Child Mandala, check out my flickr site.
I'll post pics here from time to time as well. Or check back: flickr site.
Looking forward to hearing from you about what you're learning, or what you can teach about each aspect of the Mandala!
Cheers,
Craig
to see original post and all my social media links, visit: www.enlightenedchild.com
Wanna Know What I Got from My Weekend in Boulder?
This weekend I met 9 other men at the Boulder Integral Center for an intense 2 days of men's work.
The biggest thing I got from the other men was feedback about how I show up in the world and how I'm received.
Suffice to say, the second day I laid off the caffeine and was able to really drop into my feeling-sense rather than going a million-miles-a-minute with my mind.
The feedback I got on the second day was so consistent and direct. It was challenging to hear, sure, but better than not hearing it... and through the process of asking each man what he needed from me in order to feel connected with me and to trust me, I heard reverberations of a lot of other feedback I've received in my life, though far less directly than these 9 other men were able to offer it to me.
What I'm faced with now is a life-challenge. How can I live in my authentic, emotionally grounded self?
Living in my mind is so comfortable (as it is for the majority of men I've met over the years I've been involved in men's work). Feeling into my heart, my gut, my 'nads... it's a real challenge and requires a tremendous amount of conscious awareness to not only catch myself escaping into my rationality, but to release the need to "know" something and just be in my fear, my grief, my uncertainty.
While this is a major piece of work that I will continuously revisit over my lifetime, I want to offer a question more related to the Enlightened Child theme of this blog...
How can we raise our boys into powerful, heart-connected men with the courage to step into (and through) fear, grief, anger, shame... even joy (yes, it's easy to avoid or become attached to feeling anything, including joy) so that the world is served by their mature leadership, rather than the tyranny of adolescent manipulations we all develop in our youth to keep our self-sense "safe"?
One such organization I know of that is taking on the work of initiating young men into sacred masculine consciousness is Boys to Men. Here's the trailer of a great movie that relates the power of the modern initiation experience: Journeyman. I hope you'll check it out - and share this with others you know who are raising or responsible for boys (and girls).
If you know of any other resources, please feel free to share them!
Cheers,
Craig
to see original post and all my social media links, visit: www.enlightenedchild.com
The biggest thing I got from the other men was feedback about how I show up in the world and how I'm received.
Suffice to say, the second day I laid off the caffeine and was able to really drop into my feeling-sense rather than going a million-miles-a-minute with my mind.
The feedback I got on the second day was so consistent and direct. It was challenging to hear, sure, but better than not hearing it... and through the process of asking each man what he needed from me in order to feel connected with me and to trust me, I heard reverberations of a lot of other feedback I've received in my life, though far less directly than these 9 other men were able to offer it to me.
What I'm faced with now is a life-challenge. How can I live in my authentic, emotionally grounded self?
Living in my mind is so comfortable (as it is for the majority of men I've met over the years I've been involved in men's work). Feeling into my heart, my gut, my 'nads... it's a real challenge and requires a tremendous amount of conscious awareness to not only catch myself escaping into my rationality, but to release the need to "know" something and just be in my fear, my grief, my uncertainty.
While this is a major piece of work that I will continuously revisit over my lifetime, I want to offer a question more related to the Enlightened Child theme of this blog...
How can we raise our boys into powerful, heart-connected men with the courage to step into (and through) fear, grief, anger, shame... even joy (yes, it's easy to avoid or become attached to feeling anything, including joy) so that the world is served by their mature leadership, rather than the tyranny of adolescent manipulations we all develop in our youth to keep our self-sense "safe"?
One such organization I know of that is taking on the work of initiating young men into sacred masculine consciousness is Boys to Men. Here's the trailer of a great movie that relates the power of the modern initiation experience: Journeyman. I hope you'll check it out - and share this with others you know who are raising or responsible for boys (and girls).
If you know of any other resources, please feel free to share them!
Cheers,
Craig
to see original post and all my social media links, visit: www.enlightenedchild.com
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