Menstuff® lists here a description of various self-improvement workshops and intensives for men. Check out the local calendar by month which includes all international, national, and regional events. Get out of the box!
Adult EarthQuest. During this unique adventure, participants will travel into the wilderness in search of their place in the world. Learn primitive skills such as tracking, plant identification, and fire-making. Use ancient spiritual practices such as sweatlodge and Vision Quest to separate yourself from everyday life in search of your life's meaning. W&M Bothell, WA. (9/2-15/00) ICA Rite of Passage Journeys, 425 486-5164, www.icajourneys.org or stan@icajourneys.org
Adult SeaSpirit Quest Be part of a powerful and exciting adventure through the beautiful San Juan Islands of Washington State. Explore the islands by the power of your own paddle and your own spirit by an ancient mode of travel that brings you in intimate contact with yourself, others, and the natural world. This trip includes a 3 day Vision Quest experience. W&M Bothell, WA. (8/11-25/00) ICA Rite of Passage Journeys, 425 486-5164, www.icajourneys.org or stan@icajourneys.org
The Adventure of Being Alive: New York City, Mitch Albom, Rosemary Altea, Lori Arviso Alvord, Joan Borysenko, Jon Kabat-Zinn, Oriah Mountain Dreamer, Christiane Northrup, Christopher Reeve, Bernie Siegel, Gabrielle Roth and many more. It doesn't interest me what you do for a living. I want to know what you ache for, and if you dare to dream of meeting your heart's longing. It doesn't interest me how old you are. I want to know if you will risk looking like a fool for love, for your dreams for ...W&M Omega Institute, NYC (4/7-9/00) - 800.944.1001 www.eomega.org or registration@eomega.org
Age-ing To Sage-ing®: Zalman Schachter-Shalomi's Practice of Spiritual Eldering®, Shaya Isenberg and Bahira Sugarman. Zalman Schachter-Shalomi developed the Spiritual Eldering work to help us cultivate our lives and make the years of our elderhood a time of meaning, joy, wisdom, and connection to the source of what is best within us. We must all pass through a gateway of transformation to move from "age-ing" to "sage-ing." Rather than backing into old age with fear and avoidance, we can use our life experience to enrich our elder years, face our mortality, repair relationships, develop a regenerative spirit, and take an active leadership role in society. During this workshop participants at any stage of life learn to: Enjoy the harvest of a lifetime; Understand life's transitions; Be active in creating a pro-elder society; Transmit wisdom to the next generation; Use movement, journal writing, and contemplation as tools for health; and Succeed in aging magnificently. This intergenerational workshop welcomes and benefits both elders and their families. It is also appropriate for professionals working with elders. Presentations are intertwined with journal-writing exercises, interactive and individual meditations, movement, and group sharing. People who have attended previous Spiritual Eldering workshops deepen their experience and provide mentoring for others. The workshops are never identical; each reflects the needs and experiences of the participants and the evolving nature of this work. W&M Omega Institute, Rhinebeck, NY. (6/26-30/00) 800.944.1001 www.eomega.org or registration@eomega.org
The Art of Powerful Living, A Coaching Retreat for Men, Harry Faddis, Alfred DePew, Michael Cohen. In this retreat you will explore all aspects of your life to achieve greater clarity, vision and direction. Areas of inquiry may include relationships, money, career, spirituality, health and your erotic life. Included in this retreat is the strategy of accountability, which will support all participants in reaching their goals for the following three months. Easton Mountain Retreat, Easton, NY www.gayspiritcamp.com or 916.648.7585 (7/21-26/02)
The Art of Relationship, Robert Gass and Judith Gass. We meet each other in a variety of roles: as friends, lovers, partners, parents and children, bosses and employees, students and teachers. Our ability to relate skillfully to others has profound impact on our happiness, our success, and our life purpose. For those of us seeking to deepen our spirituality, relationships are a fertile arena in which to work on ourselves and to practice living our values. The art of relationship demands commitment, mindfulness, flexibility, and heart. Some relationships feel effortless and loving. Others, while more complicated and painful, may offer the richest opportunities for learning the great lessons of passion and detachment, of merging and boundaries, and of receiving and giving love. Please note: This workshop has extended hours when the children's program is not available. W&M Omega Institute, Rhinebeck, NY. (6/30-7/2/00) 800.944.1001 www.eomega.org or registration@eomega.org
Art, Practice and the Emotional Life with storyteller and mythologist Michael Meade. Finding meaning requires facing certain fears; living with purpose means learning where to serve life and finding which arts to practice. This workshop will focus on meaning and purpose, how they weave throughout a life and incline each of us towards specific arts and paths. A meaningful practice becomes an art that combines the imaginal with the concrete, the spiritual with the practical and allows the flow of emotions that feed both instinct and intuition. Through practice we re-find our way when all ways seem turbulent. A creative practice allows the necessary emotions to reveal and sustain vitality. Emotions make up the 'divine influx' that carries creation and can heal, keeping life moving when all else seems stuck. Through stories, exercises, and discussion we will explore the role of ‘natural genius,’ and creative practice in guiding and healing both personal and community life. Lone Mountain Conference Center, 2130 Fulton Street, San Francisco, CA W&M 9:30 am - 5:30 pm daily. $155.00 206.935.3665 or www.mosaicvoices.org or info@mosaicvoices.org (4/27-28/02)
Authenticity, Intuition, Creativity: For gay and bisexual men, Justin Hecht. Many gay and bisexual men long for a more authentic and satisfying life. Having grown up in a rejecting and hostile culture, we may continue to feel empty and inhibited - long after we think we've dealt with our sexual orientation. In this workshop, participants will form a supportive group to explore what is involved in living more authentically. Through small- and large- group work, participants will learn to let go of defensive ways of being and become more spontaneous, joyful, and whole. Readings will evoke the history of gay men who have had the courage to be authentically themselves, regardless of their environments. The workshop will conclude with exercises to foster a creative approach to life and realizing your potential. Esalen, Big Sur, CA (4/23-28/00) www.esalen.org 831.667.3000
Authentic Leadership: A Toolkit for Becoming More Effective, Efficient, and Exceptional, Judith Bell. Working in small groups and individually, you?l expand your leadership capabilities. With focus on reactivity management, speaking and listening non-defensively, creative problem solving, and collaborative decision making, the course teaches you to be a better leader by recognizing and preventing the escalation of defensiveness. CEU course. See website for details. 26 (3-day) 31 (4-day) $950/3-day $1225/4-day. Marin County, CA Contact Jennifer Scott at 415.883.5600 or jennifer@relationshipsthatwork.com or www.relationshipsthatwork.com (1/27-30/05)
Authentic Man Program, Travis Decker and Bryan Bayer. This program is for any man committed to proactively creating the most of his life and to bringing his best to his relationships with women, period.Distinct from a lot of the pick-up and speed seduction courses training men in behaviours that will more powerfully attract women, AMP delves deeply into our 'inner game', into the art of honoring ourselves and honoring the gifts women offer us as we become more deeply whole, good-humoured and 'in love' with our lives. While our relating and success with women is at the heart of this program, the spirit of the Authentic Man Program™ is, in fact, authenticity. San Francisco, CA $1,190. F 7p-1a, Sa 11a-1a, Su 10a-9:30p www.authenticsf.com/courses_amp.html or E-Mail or 415.863.3326 (10/15-16/05, 9/29-10/1/06, 2/9-11/07, 4/13-15/07, 5/18-20/07)
Awakening the Sacred Masculine - A Retreat for Men, Peter DeLong, Dr. Martin Orimenko, Christo Pellani & Special Guests. A powerful and joyous retreat for men. We will use a dynamic blend of breath, Sacred Sound and music, meditation and movement. Together we will create a profound and sacred space for us to share our experiences and our truths, and learn from each other as brothers on the path to greater awakening. 866.340.1008 or freeman@clarity.org or www.clarity.org $245 (7/3-4/04)
Batterer Programs. Balancing Social Change, Offender Accountability and Program Implementation. The movement to end violence against women teaches that intimate partner violence is a manifestation of sexism, rooted deeply in history, law and culture. It is an outgrowth of centuires of patriarchal privilege that has defined men's relationship to women in terms of ownership and entitlement. As such, it is widely accepted that ending domestic violence in our communities will require substantial and comprehensive social change. Batterer programs, created in the mid 1970s, were originally designed to "treat" individual offenders. To this day, many programs, research efforts, evaluation strategies, and state standards continue to be entrenched in that treatment based model. It is time to challenge the concept of treatment for battering. This institute is founded on the premise that batterer programs must be reviewed, revised and updated - redefining a safe and legitimate place for them in a social change effort to end domestic violence. In addition, the basic, tried and true tenets of alcohol and chemical dependency treatment can endanger battered women and collude with offenders. Recognition of injusticies, such as racism, sexism, classism and other forms of oppression must begin to influence the traditional disease diagnosis. Do not miss this groundbreaking presentation.VCS Community Change Project, 845.634.5729. Outside NYS call 800.634.7540. Village by the Sea, Wells, Maine (near Portland) (10/2-4/02)
Being Single, Seymour Carter & Constance Jones. A positive self-image does not necessarily depend upon being in a partnership. However, being single in a partnership-oriented world can create low self-esteem. Is being single a conscious or subconscious choice, a trick of fate, a lack of opportunity, a way of avoiding intimacy, a valuable state of being? Changing our belief systems about the meaning of being single offers new understanding and opportunity for living a more fulfilled single life, either in openness for future relationships or in contentment in being single. In this workshop, participants will explore blocks to personal growth and opportunities for new relationships,. Whether you're wishing to remain single, searching for a partner, or a professional working with single people, this workshop can assist you with your choices and ease you on down the road. W&M Esalen, Big Sur, CA (4/7-9/00), (8/6-11/00) www.esalen.org 831.667.3000
Being Together: The Art of Intimacy & Relationship, John Lee. Ever wondered why it is so difficult to stay in the present moment or why your past keeps creeping or rushing into the here and now? During this down-to-earth, fast-paced day you will learn why regression is one of the best-kept secrets of human behavior, what we mistake it for and how to recognize it sooner rather than later so that we can stay clear-thinking adults more often. Ever wondered why it is so difficult to stay in the present moment or why your past keeps creeping or rushing into the here and now? Our best spiritual teachers from Christ to Buddha to Ram Dass to Deepak Chopra say to “Be here Now”, but they don’t say there is a secret to knowing how to do this. The secret to how is what this day long experience is going to reveal to those who want to be more fully present to themselves, the people they love, their clients, children, parents and important others. 9:30AM-5:00PM. $95. MAHEC registration. North Carolina. MAHEC, 828.257.4481 or mahec.net or E-Mail.
Being Welcome in the World, Gifts, wounds and making community, Michael Meade. This workshop will benefit those who work at building community, those who work with youth and mentoring, those who follow artistic or spiritual paths, those in the crossroads of life and those considering new forms of service to the world. W&M. The Old Market, Omaha, NB (4/1-2/00), Steve Abraham, 402.398.9055; or Mt. Saint Mary's College, Los Angeles, CA (5/20-21/00) Contact Jordan Good, 818.786.3900 or Mosaic@wolfenet.com or www.mosaicvoices.org. Seattle Asian Art Museum (6/1-2/02)
Being Who You Are: Creating an Artful Life, John Lee. Life is our finest performance, and relationship is our greatest masterpiece. This workshop is an opportunity to revision our lives and our loves as ongoing, creative symphonies. During our week together we enter into sacred space so our souls can say "yes" to opportunity, adventure, and success, and our bodies can learn to sing the songs they were meant to sing. In the highly inspirational, powerful, and humorous environment created by John Lee, we use experiential exercises, small groups, music, and movement to break free of old patterns, behaviors, or thinking, as we revitalize our lives. Everything is voluntary, safe, and useful to singles, couples, men, and women. Instead of "retreating" we learn to "advance" by: Discovering who or what holds us back. Finding out what we love to do and how to do it, Creating deeper intimacy; Attracting supportive, safe people; Creating a safety net that we can fall fearlessly into and not be ashamed; Rejoicing in learning what can and cannot be controlled; and Creating ritual, ceremony, and sacred space wherever we are. His books include The Flying Boy, The Wounded Lover, and Facing The Fire: Experiencing and Expressing Anger Appropriately (order from Amazon on the side bar).W&M. Omega Institute, Rhinebeck, NY. (8/7-11/00) 800.944.1001 or www.eomega.org or registration@eomega.org
Be Loved for Who You Are. For singles and couples. Experiential. Fun. There is a natural, predictable, and necessary process to every successful relationship. When you understand the journey you will never need to feel lost in love again and then every day is a rich opportunity for romance. That's a promise. You will come away from this workshop with a new vision for the changes and challenges that love will take you through and you'll know that every moment is rich with spiritual opportunity and meaning. The International Institute of Metropolitan Detroit, 111 East Kirby, Detroit, MI. 6-8pm. Free (4/11/02); Battle Creek, MI, 12M-5:30P, $75/pp Call (616) 629-8082 for information/reservations. 12M-5:30P (4/13/02) A three-hour workshop for the Colorado Free University. 9a-noon: Be Loved for You You Really Are Course #7555 and 1:30-5:30P The Healing Truth Between Women and Men, Course # 7556. See www.freeu.com or 303.399.0093. (4/27/02)
Betrayed as Boys: The Treatment of Male Survivors of Sexual Abuse, Dr. Richard Gartner & Dr. David Lisak. This workshop, for mental health professionals, will provide clinicians with specialized knowledge and techniques for working with adult males who were sexually victimized as children and who are struggling with the many legacies from such abuse. The workshop will focus on three key components of treatment - gender identity issues, sexual orientation themes and relational aftereffects. The workshop will be presented by Dr. David Lisak and Dr. Richard Gartner, author of Betrayed as Boys: Psychodynamic Treatment of Sexually Abused Men. W&M RA Centre, 2451 Riverside Drive, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Laurie Jamer, 613.233.4929 or brendasaxe@iosphere.net or www.centrefortreatment.com (4/28/00)
BetterMen Retreat, teaches men something about themselves as men and something about their place in the community of men. The men learn to develop trusting relationships with each other so they'll get the support they need to be better men, husbands and fathers. Camp Whittier, a wilderness destination on the edge of Lake Cachuma, Noth of Santa Barbara, CA. 6pm Thursday to noon Sunday. $650 BetterMen.org or E-Mail or 818.870.1600 (3/6-9/08)
Beyond the Game. Teaches essential principles which dramatically raise your consciousness in relationship, profoundly impacting your ability to create long term, satisfying relationships which expand rather contract over time. Through use of private video and group course instruction, you are guided to an experience of self discovery and awakened awareness so profound that you and your relationships are never the same. Oaks Room, Novato Oaks Inn, Novato, W&M, $495 (7/21-23+26 ot 10/20-22/00+25; 10a-10p + evening of 26th) Guest Evenings: Free, Corte Madera, CA 707.538.9630, E-Mail (7-9pm, 5/18/00, 6/8/00, 6/29/00, 8/17/00, 9/7/00, 9/28/00)
The Branches of Mentoring, the Roots of Elders, Michael Meade. This workshop offers orientation and training in the core ideas and purposes of mentoring. The word 'mentor' refers to 'lived knowledge,' it comes from an old myth in which Mentor acts as guide and teacher using inspired ideas and a keen knowledge of survival. The mentoring process involves passing on living skills and essential arts for surviving traumatic experiences and the challenges of contemporary life. Through The Branches of Mentoring, the Roots of Elders people can discover and clarify what they have to offer in the way of teaching, guiding and mentoring others. www.mosaicvoices.org or 206.935.3665 or E-Mail. (Seattle, WA 9:30a-5p, 4/15/06; Portland, OR 9:30-5:3010/14/06)
Brave Heart: A retreat for men, Larry Lima & Joseph Jastrab. Courageous living is impossible withou the ability to free ourselves from half hearted obligations, guilt and resentments that steadily feed off our life force. Too many men have lost themselves trying to "do the right thing" and they, along with those close to them, suffer as a result. There is a key that can deliver us from living in worn-out identities into the freedom of living who we truly are now: the practice of forgiveness. Forgiveness is a simple act, yet one of the most challenging, courageous and liberating acts a man can make. This workshop is for men who long to let go and bring more creative energy, sacredness and heartfulness into their lives and into the world. Using the tools of stroytelling, poetry, energetic release, play, ritual and nature-based meditations, you will be guided in identifying the events and attitudes that imprison your life force in deadening negativity. You will be offered a structured way to walk into and through the suffering of your imprisonment and emerge with renewed spirit. The group will then explore spiritual teachings that weave isolated acts of the hrave heart into a lifestyle of freedom and spiritual aliveness. Esalen, Big Sur, CA 831.667.3000 or www.esalen.org or LPLIMA@aol.com (10/20-22/00)
Breaking Free of Fear, Patti McWilliams. for survivors of ritual abuse, sadistic sexual abuse, mind control, and torture and those helping them on the healing path. Preservation Park, Oakland, CA 8:30a-1p. $60. (4/20/02)
Breakthrough 2005: Men’s Roles to Men’s Souls, Charles Kreiner. This workshop invites all men to create community based in honesty, safety, authenticity, and openness. In it we will address our struggles, hopes, and dreams and reclaim our true power to make the world a better place for all life, instead of destroy it. We will work together to address both our hopes and our fears and develop the aspects of our humanity that are socially denied by the roles we’ve been conditioned to play. Through play, honest sharing, and active listening we will open up to our emotional selves, our connections with others and our greatest sense of what it means to be alive. In so doing, we will also work to be allies to each other’s liberation struggles in building a diverse and just world. Join us in creating a place where all are heard. Contact Kevin Chambers 503.236.7864 or kc@kevinchambers.us Thursday dinner through Sunday lunch $185 plus lodging Breitenbush Retreat Center near Detroit, OR(12/1-4/05)
The Bridge Men's Initiation Ritual, Jay
Cradeur. A 3 day gathering for men that takes place on a Friday,
Saturday and Sunday, 3 times per year: Spring, Summer and Fall. The
event is an opportunity for men to come together in nature, celebrate
our masculinity and challenge each other during an ancient ritual of
initiation. The Bridge is created by men who are deeply touched by
the suffering within and around us and feel powerfully moved to
action. 8A-8P, Sebastopol, CA 415.713.8030 or info@thebridge33.com
or www.thebridge33.com $795
(5/14-16/05, 10/6-8/06, 9/27-30/07)
Bridging Generations: Fathers and Adult Sons (18+), Tom Daly. When examining men's wounds and longings, often there is a father involved. Together we will explore some of the deeper father issues and life stories in safe and supportive atmosphere. Stepfathers, sons-in-law, uncles and nephews welcome.YMCA of the Rockies, Estes Park, Colorado. Men's Leadership Alliance, 303.444.9066 or www.mensleadershipalliance.org or E-Mail. $295 - $395 sliding. 4/21-23/06)
A Celebration of the Noble Man, Rajyo Markman and Britta Panar. There is a passion in men to stand strong and firm in their male essence, owning and living their purpose. At the same time there seems to be a longing to find their connection to the Divine Feminine. In this process there will be a safe space for men to express and explore their fears, wounds and resentments around the feminine. Our intention is that men have an experience of integrating their Feminine, thereby realizing their presence and power as men and what it means to be a hero for women, in their own unique way. This intensive culminates in a Rite of Initiation for Men into their purpose and vision as a whole man, honoring themselves and being honored by women. This will be staffed by women who have completed the Goddess workshop and are willing and capable of holding the men on this very courageous journey. Marin County, CA. (3/1-3/02, 6/7-9/02, 2/17-19/06, 8/25-27/06); Port Angeles, Wa, (3/8-10/02); Somerset, U.K, (5/24-26/02), Marin for gay men (8/2-4/02, 5/5-7/06, 12/8-10/06). $450 Rajyo, 415.479.9744 or Britta 415.721.0237 or www.celebrationofbeing.com
Child Forensic Interview Specialist Training on the Investigation of Child Maltreatment (CFIT). Team-based training for those who conduct child forensic interviews in the context of child abuse investigations, including professionals in law enforcement, prosecution, social service, medicine, victim witness and related fields. This three-day training offers participants an opportunity to refine skills related to child development, litigation, linguistics, developmental disabilities, traumagenics, and interview methods and approaches. All training is offered at no charge. Participants are responsible for their own dining and lodging arrangements. W&M Monterey Conference Center (4/26-28/00); Valley Children's Hospital, Madera, CA. (5/22-24/00); San Jose (7/17-19/00) www.sonoma.edu/cihs/CATTA or 707.664.3062 www.sonoma.edu/cihs/CATTA/
Choosing Aliveness and Intimacy, Mary Goldenson. Life is a precious gift. We have all experienced moments of feeling totally alive, yet much of our life is spent in a half-sleep, half-committed state of being. While there are many life-situations beyond our control, we choose how we respond to these events. The choice to be passionately alive is an act of courage. The challenge is to honestly address the ways in which we have compromised, given up, or lied to ourselves and othes. This workshop is designed to bring to awareness our unconscious choices of how we deaden ourselves and to create the possibility for new aliveness and passionate involvement. Come alone or with a partner. W&M Easlen, Big Sur, CA 831.667.3000 or www.esalen.org (8/20-25/00)
Claws of Water, Flowers of Fire, Words of Jade workshop, Martin Prechtel. W&M Cochise Stronghold near Bragoon, AZ. (4/29-30/00) Marilyn Bacon 505.474.4473 or bluetayra@newmexico.com
Clearing the Air™ - Father retreats - see Healing the Father Wound®
Clearing the Air™ - Mother retreats - see Healing the Mother Wound®
Clearing the Air™ Between Women & Men, Gordon Clay & Shauna Wilson-Mora. Developed in 1991 and first held as Family Reunion in 1992, this workshop brings 6 men and 6 women together for six days and five nights to explore and work out their issues with the other sex. This workshop is available to people who have done the Clearing the Air™ - Father (formerly Healing the Father Wound®) and Clearing the Air™ - Mother (formerly Healing the Mother Wound®) workshops. As a society and community if we are to survive and thrive we must stop wounding and hurting each other. We must find those places where we don’t trust each other and move through the old ways and open up to new, healthy, supportive, encouraging, trusting, loving relationships with ourselves and with others. In this workshop the goal is deep, authentic, open hearted, non-sexual intimacy. www.ClearingTheAir.net . (10/9-14/07, Camp Augusta near Nevada City, CA. 10/21-26/08 Harbin Hot Springs, Middletown, CA; 3/24-29/09 The Lodge at Sleepy Creek, Berkeley Springs, WV)
The Color of Fear - Reflections on the White Experience, Roberto Almanzan. To commemorate the 10th anniversary of the debut of "The Color of Fear," a groundbreaking documentary film about race, ethnicity and color in the United States, this experiential and interactive workshop provides an opportunity to re-examine the film from our present perspective and to deepen our understanding of what it means to be White. By recognizing how (for White/European Americans) "whiteness" colors everything we see, hear, and do, we can begin to interrupt the patterns and overcome the habits that keep us from becoming a truly multicultural, democratic and inclusive community: What are the obstacles to talking about race in a racially diverse group? What skills and tools can assist one in cross-cultural dialogue on racism? What inhibits a White person from examining and confronting racism? Why is cultural and institutional racism invisible to many people? What does being and acting like an ally look like? What actions can one take to work on dismantling racism? Oakland, CA Costs: $150-$200 (sliding scale) Students and Individuals; $200 Education, Healthcare, Nonprofits and Government; $300 Corporations. For more information and to register contact: Rhonda Cervantes 510.908.1684 or Rhcervantes@yahoo.com (7/30-31/05)
Communication and Partnership, Mary Goldenson. Underlying all our relationships-husband, wife, lover, friend, daughter, son, mother, father-is the need to communicate. Too often we learn to express our needs through control, power, struggles, addictions, dependency, guilt, denial, and unreasonableness. This workshop is about healing the soul-wounds sustained in our attempts at partnership. Come alone or with a partner. The workshop will provide a safe, supportive environment to learn new practices of breathwork, dyadic communication skills, movement, and Gestalt, making it easier to express your truth and take responsibility for your feelings and issues. Esalen, Big Sur, CA, 831.667.3000 or www.esalen.org (10/20-22/00)
Cornerstones for Men. Feel the Freedom of Living Your Soul's Purpose. Revitalize your existing Men’s group. A community of men who have dared to venture into essential questions about personal truth, meaning, purpose & spirit, we offer a variety of resources and tools. Wherever you are in life, Cornerstones will take you to the next level. Ongoing online foundational course and coaching and well as an ongoing men's circle in Santa Cruz, CA and Boulder, CO. www.thecornerstonespath.com or E-Mail or 877.239.7041 (Santa Cruz, CA 5/19-21/06, 8/11-13/06 and Boulder, CO 7/21-23/06)
Conflict to Partnership, James Tamm & Ron Luyet. Many personal and business relationships become adversarial simply through a lack of conflict-resolution skills and self-awareness. This workshop provides practical skills for resolving conflict as well as a model explaining the fundamental emotional undercurrents that exist during conflict. It is a course for people who seek greater effectiveness in creating climates of trust and dealing with conflict - at home, at work, within oneself. This is not a series of techniques that promise "how to get yours...and most of theirs, too." It is skill-building to develop relationships for long-term mutual gains. The material will be of immediate use to individuals as well as those in interpersonal and work relationships, such as couples, families, team leaders and members, and employers and employees. W&M Esalen, Bir Sur, CA 831.667.3000 or www.esalen.org (8/11-13/00)
Courage & Love: The Heart of the Peaceful Warrior's Way, Dan Millman. Join internationally acclaimed author Dan Millman on a journey to the heart of the peaceful warrior's way. This workshop for men and women is filled with common sense and uncommon wisdom, and focuses on the best of Millman's three decades of teaching transformative principles, perspectives, and practices that can help anyone live a more fulfilling life. Through lecture, discussion, and a variety of fun and meaningful experiential exercises, we learn how to: Unlock the 12 talents of living; Create a map to an abundant life; Directly access inner power; Tame the mind with a radical approach to meditation; Accomplish the "impossible" by overcoming fear and doubt; and Explore the mystery of divine interventions. Above all, we gain new insight, understanding, and humor to help us address and resolve the varied challenges of everyday life. Ultimately, we discover how to better live a spiritual life in a material world. W&M Omega, Rhinebeck, NY (8/2-4/00)
Creating a Life Worth Living, Debbie Ford believes that the first step in creating a life worth living is reclaiming our power, creativity, brilliance, and dreams. In this workshop, we uncover the core issue that drives our personality and inhibits us from obtaining the success, love, and inner peace we desire.During the week with Ford, we begin to experience a deeper connection with our divinity, gain skills to change our lives, and learn a three-step process to release toxic emotions and make peace with our past. As we do this, we begin to bring forth and express our unique potential. We also explore the "dark side" of ourselves—known in the field of depth psychology as "the shadow" side of our personality. Ford helps shed light on this aspect of ourselves that we normally hide or deny so that we can be "good" and accepted. But when brought to light, we can tap into its energy, which can be the source of our strength and joy. This side of us, when seen as an integral part of our personality, may unlock what is missing from our lives. We may discover that the very impulses we most fear in ourselves may be the key to creating a life worth living. W&M. Omega Institute, Rhinebeck, NY. (9/25-29/00) 800.944.1001 or www.eomega.org or registration@eomega.org
Creating an Artful Life Workshop for Men and Women, John Lee. W&M The Omega Institute; Rhinebeck, NY (8/7-11/00). 914.266.4444 or www.eomega.org
Creating the Work You Love: The Anti-Career Workshop, Rick Jarow. The author of Creating the Work You Love: Courage, Commitment and Career, developed his popular "anti-career" workshop to demonstrate how we can prosper by finding our calling instead of settling for a job. He takes us through the history and myth of "vocation,"and presents four "alternative plans" for developing our life's work, as he surveys the fields and styles of work that are currently on the rise. We receive powerful tools for turning our passions into viable products, projects, and services, as well as strategies for negotiating transitions. Using a meditative format of exercises based on the chakra system, Jarow gives us the opportunity to create careers that honor the body as opposed to trying to fit the body into a work situation. We uncover latent talents and priorities and learn strategies for self-employment, professional development, and voluntary simplicity. W&M. Arlington Street Church, Boston, MA. W&M Omega Institute (5/13/00), Omega Institute, Rhinebeck, NY (7/21-23/00) 800.944.1001 www.eomega.org or registration@eomega.org; Esalen, Big Sur, CA (8/6-11/00) 831.667.3000 or www.esalen.org
Creating Your Life's Work: Right livelihood from the world's wisdom traditions, Rick Jarow. More than any skill or product, the way in which we align our work with our deepest life intuitions will be the genuine contribution we will make to the emerging world community. Learn how to prosper by finding a calling instead of settling for a job. Men and women at any stage of their lives are offered insight into creating work that resonates not only with their skills, but with their passion and purpose. Drawing from his rich background in eastern religious studies and years of personal experience with shamans and healers, he will help you interlace your spiritual path and your work in the world. By using meditative exercises based on aligning the chakras, you'll have the opportunity to create career development strategies that match your needs and uncover your latest talents. You'll also receive powerful tools for turning your ideas and passions into viable products, projects and services. W&M. Hollyhock Retreat Center, Mason's Landing, BC. (8/19-24/00) 800.933.6339 or hollyhock@oberon.ark.com or www.hollyhock.bc.ca
Creating Your Own Mission Statement. Who Am I and Where Am I Going? Facilitated by Larry Lima. An invitation to all men every Wednesday. Topics covered deal with real life issues and the exchanging of personal experiences. Summit, NJ (4/5/00-8pm) Calvary Parish House, 31 Woodland Ave, www.omniarts.com/theplace or theplace@omniarts.com
Creativity, Massage and Inner Journeys, Fiona Walker, Naomi Hayter, Doug Weyler. Discover the remarkable freedom, passion and power of surrendering to the muse. This work is based in the belief that we are all artists and healers, and that the power of creative expression lies in the process, not the product. This is an invitation to embark on a sacred journey that opens doorways to personal mythology and symbols, intuition and imagination, altered states of consciousness and healing. W&M. Hollyhock Retreat Center, Mason's Landing, BC. (5/14-6/22/00) 800.933.6339 or hollyhock@oberon.ark.com or www.hollyhock.bc.ca
Crossing the Line, Michael Naumer & Lance Giroux. What is my value? What is my contribution? Where is all this headed? A journey of self-discovery into the area of personal worth and contribution. A central component of the course is the presentation of The Samurai Game developed by George Leonard, founder of Esalen. Oaks Room, Novato Oaks Inn, Novato (6/3-4/00) 10a-10p Sat, 10a-6p Sun, $300 707.538.9630 or rri@sonic.net
Day Long Workshop (for men and women), John Lee.(See Friday night lecture under separate listing.) W&M New Town, CT. (5/6/00) Jody Gross at 203.778.4393
Deciphering the Romantic Attraction Code: How we choose whom to fall in love with, Ayala Pines. When we fall in love we are sure that our beloved is not only perfect, but perfect for us. In time we realize that neither is true. Disappointed and disillusioned, we wonder how is it that we choose whom to fall in love with? And why are we so often wrong? In this workshop, participants will explore the theories and research findings as they apply to their own romantic choices, right or wrong. More importantly, the workshop will examine what to do about these choices, both to enhance current romantic relationships and to avoid making the same mistakes in the future. Through group discussions and experiential exercises, the course is designed to increase understnaing of the causes, conscious and unconscious, of romantic choices. In addition, it will present tools to imporve the quality of relationships. W&M Esalen, Big Sur, CA 831.667.3000 or www.esalen.org (8/18-20/00)
David Deida - Various. Melbourne, ASL +61 (393) 493.460 (7/4-9/00); Byron Bay, ASL +61 (266) 847.099 (7/15-8/18/00); Breitenbush, OR 888.466.3404 (9/1-4/00); Boulder, CO 303.447.2747 (9/9-17/00); Los Angeles, CA 888.466.3404 (9/20, 9/22/00, 10p); San Diego, 888.466.3404 (9/22/00 7-10p); Los Angeles, CA 888.466.3404 (9/23-24/00); San Francisco, CA 888.466.3404 (9/26, 27, 28/00); Detroit, MI 810.758.3050 (9/29, 10/2-4/00); Seattle, WA 206.390.0847 (10/7-8/00) www.deida.com or 888.466.3404
Digital Aboriginal with Mikela and Philip Tarlow. Once upon a time people moved freely in a world held together not by roads or wires but by impressions, stories and images. They had to access states of heightened consciousness and deep shamanic wisdom merely to survive. The skills and social knowledge of these nomadic, aboriginal people were not only brilliantly advanced, they are exactly what we need in today's turbulent and imaginative economy. This workshop will give you to tools, leanguage, and concepts to explore key cultural shifts and critical challenges of the new economy and turn your attention towadr a deepeer understanding of your own potential.Although you will discover exciting new dimensions of the digital landscape, this is not a technical workshop. It presents a very practical and optimistic vision of what is beginning to unfold in terms that are easy to apply to your personal life and in your work. 9a-5p. For information ConferenceWorks.com or 866.259.7386 (9a-5p, est) (Oakland, CA 11/2/02), Los Angeles (11/9/02), Seattle (11/16/02), Indianapolis, (11/23/02)
Desire and the Beloved: Finding Your Way to Love, Don Clark, Collin Brown. This workshop is designed for single men with a clear intention and desire to be in a committed relationship. Becoming a lover is a creative process that begins with the self. The more we know who we are and what we want, the likelier we are to manifest our erotic and spiritual desires as lovers. In this retreat we will practice skills that will enhance our capacity to love and be loved in a committed relationship. Using breath, touch, and ritual, we will explore how different kinds of intimacy - erotic, emotional, spiritual, and physical - inform our capacity for connection. Wildwood Retreat Center, (5/25-29/00)
Divorced Father's Journey, Serge Prengel. Separated and divorced fathers often feel pushed out of their children's lives. This workshop helps divorced dads get new perspective. Learn to rebuild yourself, deal with conflict and be a better parent under difficult circumstances. Serge Prengel is the author of "Still A Dad". 92nd St Y, New York City, New York City, 12:45 to 2:15 PM $25, 212-996-1100 or www.stilladad.com or serge-prengel@stilladad.com (10/29/00)
Embracing Our Lives, Embracing Each Other: Personal Awareness for Gay and Bisexual Men, Allan Singer. Having initially arisen from a cultural ground which supports our invisibility and our shaming, gay and bisexual men face a journey into selfhood which involves claiming our being, the essential goodness of our sexuality, and the right to creatively design our lives. Along this journey we need opportunities to pause - to consider how far we've traveled and what we're learned to appreciate our thrivings and honor our losses, to renew our hopes and celebrate our beings within the context of community. This retreat offers a supportive group context that encourages us to reconnect with our essential selves as we seek to reach each other, with honesty and risk taking. The theme of 'embracing our lives' invites us to consider what we know, value, and seek to either accept or change in our relationship to family, friends, and community; our capacity to love and to work; our sexuality; our health and well-being; our spirituality; our dreams and next steps. Easlen, Big Sur, CA 831.667.3000 or www.esalen.org (9/15-17/00)
Empowerment Workshop, Gail Straub and David Gershon. The purpose of the Empowerment Workshop is to support you in creating your life as you most want it. Over the past 19 years, David Gershon and Gail Straub have assisted thousands of people in living their heart's desire. This training is based on the premise that our thoughts and beliefs create the conditions of our life; if we want to bring about changes in our life we need to change our beliefs. The workshop focuses on seven areas of your life: relationships, sexuality, money, work, body, emotions, and spirituality. In each of these life areas the workshop helps you: discover what's uniquely meaningful; translate this insight into a realistic vision; heal and transform unconscious limiting beliefs that might prevent its realization; and build a new belief through affirmation and visualization to manifest your vision. To assist you in realizing your visions the workshop teaches you how to: cultivate the powerful core beliefs of self responsibility, trust in the universe, self-esteem, positive attitude, and flowing with change; develop the attributes of personal power necessary to sustain your growth over time—commitment, discipline, a support system, inner guidance, love, lightness, and your own truth; and become skillful in working with the tools of affirmation and visualization to craft new beliefs. In the life areas you learn how to deepen the quality of your relationships by more vulnerable and authentic communication; nourish eros and enhance intimacy in your sexuality; achieve prosperity and quality of life; create work that is fulfilling and inspiring; develop a conscious and sacred relationship with your body; heal and release emotional wounds from the past; and build your spiritual path around a sense of higher purpose. The Empowerment Workshop provides a powerful methodology that, when used, helps you make the changes you seek. W&M. Omega Institute, Rhinebeck, NY. (9/1-4/00) 800.944.1001 or www.eomega.org or registration@eomega.org
Enlightened Warrior Training, Master Rich Van Donk. This is your opportunity to become a more conscious human being, empowered, embracing your warrior sage for courageous action while maintaining inner bliss. Come get 35 years experience of what it takes to be a Martial Arts Master condensed into 2 1/2 days, revealing the optimal life lessons that personal mastery in the martial arts bring, without having to spend years fighting. Experience your personal power, be in your center, develop deep concentrated focus, expand your breath, rejuvenation process, inner peace meditations, playful heart, a daily life changing practice, sword training, and life mastery strategies from someone who has lived it. 707.987.9323 or www.bushindo.com $425 (9/10-12/04)
Enlightenment Intensive, Advanced Training, Warrior Monk, Bhava. Fifth year for this five-day journey of "awakening". The master uses a dynamic process of holding the question "Who am I?" which opens the possibity of having a direct experience of the Truth of who we are, beyond all concepts and ideas. W&M. www.warriormonk.org or Dan at 314.966.0292 / manmckee@worldnet.att.net or Jodi at 909.659.0445 / jodi@starcoyote.com, Kingview, Toronto, Canada. Elegant gentleman farm. (8/8-13/00)
Entrepreneurs' Institute, Joel Solomon, Gary Hirshbery, David Berge, Debbie Boyle. Joining business and social entrepreneurs for an intensive, interactive inquiry into how to face the day-to-day challenges of running socially-conscious organizations. There will be plenty of practical advice and perspective on business operations. As with the Social Venture Network's annual Massachusetts Institute, this version offers the opportunity to present your most difficult buisness challenge to expert respondents and peer reviewers. Seminar themes include raising second stage capital, overcoming sales and marketing challenges, and managing organizational change. This program is intended for CEOs and leaders of established socially-responsible businesses and non-profit enterprises. Enrollment prioirty will be given to second-stage entrepreneurs. www.svn.org W&M. Hollyhock Retreat Center, Mason's Landing, BC. (9/6-10/00) 800.933.6339 or hollyhock@oberon.ark.com or www.hollyhock.bc.ca
Exploring Your Life's Mission: Bringing greater clarity to your life and work, Richard Michaels and Marcia Goldberg. Spend a weekend harnessing the power of your conscious mind and your intuition through a process that allows new insights to emerge. You'll tap your own and the group's creativity through introspectoin, co-listening, journal writing, meditation and yoga. Explore your life's passion. Identify the building blocks for fulfillment. Expand beyond habitual thinking. Recognize your purpose and mission in life. Learn how to create a clear personal direction. Create an action plan. W&M Kripalu Retreat Center, Lenox, MA. (6/22-25/00) 800.741.7353 or www.kripalu.org
Facing the Fire: Experiencing and expressing anger and grief, John Lee. Central to this intensive program is that we all have the right to be angry. Anger is a given emotion, no more negative than any other. If not expressed regularly, anger can have negative consequences, turning into rage and chronic emotional tension, robbing us of valuable energy, vitality and health. This work can change how you feel about your body, your past, your feelings, your soul, and your future by helping you see that anger is just a feeling. You'll experience increased energy, intimacy and serenity in your life. W&M. Hollyhock Retreat Center, Cortez Island, (6/18-21/00) 800.933.6339 or hollyhock@oberon.ark.com or www.hollyhock.bc.ca Charleston, SC (7/10-13/00); Sedona, AZ 520.639.3888 (9/15-17/00); Asheville, NC (10/25-28/00) Karen at 828.257.4481
Facing the Fire For Women Only! Facilitated by Karen Blicher and Connie Burns (John Lee's senior trainers and therapists) This is the first time for women only. Send appropriate women in your life! Bend of Ivy, NC. (5/19-21/00) Karen Blicher at 828.257.4481 for details
Family Constellation: Healing our relationships, freeing our souls, James Mathewson and Kathryn Schinid. Expect miraculous insights and shifts from the remakable phenomenological "family constellation" work. The power of love that bonds families and creates intimate relationships can also bind us in a tangled web of unconscious agreements and distorted loyalities that can lead to unhappiness, relationship conflicts, chronic illness and financial stress. Fortunately, love is the healing force as well. Freeing ourselves from these entanglements happens with the help of volunteers acting as representatives for certain family members. The process of restoring the natural order of love (often involving several generations) is deeply moving and healing to all involved. W&M Harbin Hot Springs, Middletown, CA. (5/19-21/00) 775.771.2163 or tanagerspirit@aol.com
Fate and Destiny: The Two Agreements in Life, Michael Meade. Join us for a surprising evening of poetry, stories and discussion, an exploration which seeks to find aspects of the 'bigger life' as the modern world narrows possibilities and culture polarizes. Proceeds support 'Voices of Youth' and Intercultural Projects. Langston Hughes Performing Arts Center, Seattle, WA 7pm, $12 www.mosaicvoices.org or 206.935.3665 or E-Mail. (4/14/06)
Fatherhood Development: A curriculum for your fathers for practitioners working with young fathers. Addresses the real experiences and challenges of young fathers through 25 streetwise group discussions and provide support, information and motivatoin in the areas of parenthood, relationships, sexuality and responsible manhood. The curriculum was field-tested in P/PV's Young Unwed Fathers Pilot Project and has been described by several practitioners as the "glue" that makes their programs work. 7:30a-5p daily.Sacramento, CA (3/6-8/00), Petersburg, FL (4/12-14/00), Phoeniz, AZ (5/3-5/00), Boston, MA (6/14-16/00), Olympia, WA (7/12-16/00), Denver, CO (9/20-22/00), Minneapolis (10/11-13/00), Chicago, IL (10/18-20/00), Atlanta, GA (11/15-17/00), Washington, DC (12/6-8/00). $425 +R&B. 888.528.6725 or nvann@npcl.org
Finding Happiness in Love & Life: Secrets for Creating Total Emotional & Spiritual Fulfillment, Barbara De Angelis. Imagine what it would be like if we knew how to make every moment of our lives one of great happiness, contentment, and peace. Imagine how it would be if we could confront any challenge, in love or in work, with courage, clarity, and confidence. This powerful workshop is for anyone—singles or couples in any stage of a relationship—who is ready for a personal breakthrough and looking for a safe, loving, transformational experience that can help create a more intimate and joyful relationship with ourselves and others. Our guide is best-selling author and renowned relationships expert Barbara De Angelis. Through experiential exercises, guided meditations, practical tools you can use each day, unique presentations, and one-on-one work with Barbara, we learn how we may be sabotaging our own happiness, how to break through fears and limitations to more personal freedom, how to uncover hidden blocks to love and intimacy, and how to tap into an inner source of wisdom and steadiness that will anchor us through life's ups and downs. Recommended reading: De Angelis, How to Make Love All the Time and Secrets About Life Every Woman Should Know (order from Amazon on the side bar). W&M. Omega Institute, Rhinebeck, NY. (9/29-10/1/00) 800.944.1001 or www.eomega.org or registration@eomega.org
Finding the Boyfriend Within - For gay men, Brad Gooch. This workshop will concentrate on ways in which gay men can tap into their own sources of love, happiness, and respect. This course examines how gay men may look unsuccessfully to someone outside themselves for validation or to give their live a sense of meaning. The group will work together on a series of awareness exercises on: identifying the traits of your Inner Boyfriend, dating yourself, and sharing an increase n warmheartedness with the world. This seminar - useful for anyone single, dating or "married" - is an opportunity to discuss connections between sexuality, romance, and spirituality often not explored with the gay community. Esalen, Big Sur, CA (6/9-11/00) www.esalen.org 831.667.3000
Forgiveness: The Key to Intimacy, Mary Goldenson. All life is about relationships. Creating an alive and honest connection with an intimate partner requires us to go deeply into our hearts and allow the courageous self to emerge. This journey to intimacy begins with the path of forgiveness. How does forgivesnss lead to intimacy? This workshops will present ways to help complete the past, be open to the present, and craete the future. It will offer a safe, supportive environment that will include taking risks, intense bodywork, Gestalt imagery, dance, and meditation. W&M Easlen, Big Sur, CA 831.667.3000 or www.esalen.org (6/25-30/00)
Freeing the Fire Within: Living with Passion, Purpose & Power, Alan Cohen. Our work, relationships, and play are as successful as we are authentic in them. Behind all our journeys and interactions, we have one purpose that brings us joy—remaining true to our personal visions, intuitions, and gifts. Join Alan Cohen, award-winning author of 14 popular inspirational books, for a weekend to revisit the way you approach your life and reclaim the power to live in harmony with yourself. In a spirit of gentleness, honesty, and humor, we face and answer important inner questions: Does your life reflect your heart's desires and honor who you are? To whom or what have you given your power, and what do you need to do to reclaim it? If fear did not stop you, what would you be doing differently? What is the next truth you need to express? If you loved yourself more, what would you be willing to receive? This highly experiential workshop explains and invites you to practice the core principles of integrated living. During the week you: Learn how to honor your spirit; Find out that struggle is not required; See that the best way to get what you want is to be what you are; Discover that your history is not your destiny; and Learn how love works and fear doesn't. This workshop includes lecture, interactive processes, individual work with some students, guided visualization, movement, music, and the adventure of co-creation. Alan brings a warm and inviting energy to his presentations, encouraging participants to walk in their own light. Expect insight, laughter, some tears, transformation, and the bold invitation to let both your humanity and divinity shine. Recommended reading: Cohen, The Dragon Doesn't Live Here Anymore or Deep Breath of Life (order from Amazon the side bar). W&M. Omega Institute, Rhinebeck, NY. (9/1-4/00) 800.944.1001 or www.eomega.org or registration@eomega.org
Fullpower Introductory Full Force Workshop. Adults learn to protect themselves from confrontations and simulated assaults in a safe empowering environment. Santa Cruz County, CA. (5/7/00); Berkeley (6/1/00); Palo Alto (6/28/00) 800.467.6997 vm or safety@kidpower.org or www.fullpower.org
The Future of Leadership: Accessing the Corporate Soul ™, a new paradigm for leadership, is an opportunity for the Corporate Manager and Executive to take a look at inner-directed leadership which has the potential to bring authentic passion and mission to the workplace. The Corporate world is struggling to access the core of what makes a company successful. What every business needs and wants is energized and committed people to ensure their continued growth and success in an ever-changing, competitive marketplace. This powerful one day Seminar takes a look at the dynamics of individuals and their connection to the source of real leadership and how to access the hidden resources that every individual has deep within. You will learn to overcome that part of yourself that resisted stepping fully into your natural inherent leader, at work and in every aspect of your life. You will learn to define a path for yourself that will bring a new sense of purpose and commitment to your life and your work. In doing so, you will discover new and empowering ways to communicate and interact with employers, employees, and customers. W&M as co-creators. www.AccessSeminars.com Indianapolis (7/22/00)
A Gathering of Men, Robert Bly and Richard Olivier. What gifts does the conscious masculine have to offer? Is the mature masculine simply someone who has connected with his feminine side? We’ll draw on disciplines from men’s groups and on a single story, relating it to events in our lives. Richard will lead an expressive theatre workshop, Robert will do the storytelling, offering a creative writing workshop. Day and evenings. Cost varies. Findhorn Foundation, , Scotland, UK www.findhorn.org or accomms@findhorn.org or +44 1309 691653. (6/23-30/01)
Gay, Lesbian and Christian 2000: Behold, I make all things new, John McNeill, Virginia Mollenkott, Mel White and Irene Monroe. As we enter a new century, indeed a new millennium, we will assess what "new things" gay and lesbian, bisexual and transgender theology is contributing, what new culture is evolving as we gain greater acceptance, what "newness" God is calling forth from us in spite of our fear of change, what new forms of non-violent resistance may be called for as we struggle for liberation in church and society and as we build a lesbitransgay church of Christ on the mountain in this landmark year. The weekend concludes with eucharistic worship. W&M, Kirkridge Retreat Center, www.kirkridge.org, Bangor, MA. (6/8-11/00) 610.588.1793
Gender, Eros, Power and Memory, Caitriona Reed. In a society becoming increasingly global, normative presumptions proliferate. Our notions of man/woman, spirit/matter, technology/nature are often based on ideological and cultural definitions of power which comprise no more than a superficial understanding. As these alienating notions go unquestioned they evolve into a collective fear of the manifest world, of our bodies, our sexuality, our desire. It's no wonder that we become bent on global self-destruction. As a transexual women who spent much of her life living as a man, the leader has learned something about perceptions of the body, about letting go, about adherence to the 'norm', risk taking and above all about the construction of gender and 'nature'. As a Buddhist teacher, expected to provide answers, who held an unresolved secret for decades, she has also learned about ambiguity and desire. In this workshop, through meditation, movement, visualization, interactive exercises, writing and dialogue, we will explore the cultural inheritance of dualistic and causal thinking, and how to open up to positive power and powerful eroticism as a way toward the healing of earth - and of ourselves. W&M, Esalen, Bir Sur, CA 831.667.3000 or www.esalen.org (9/8-10/00)
Getting Naked: Writing Sexual Essay & Memoir, Lisa Palac has been writing about and publicly discussing all aspects of sexuality and sexual politics for 15 years. "I believe that honesty encourages honesty," she writes. "Telling the truth about sex—the most intimate, contradiction-filled, hard-to-be-honest-about subject of them all—has given me the courage to face the rest of my complicated life as honestly as I can." In this workshop for men and women alike—and for both beginning and experienced writers—we acquire new tools and find the inspiration and courage to write more honestly about sex. We focus on creative nonfiction that deals with sexual issues and the sexual memoir. Through lecture, writing assignments, readings, and extensive group discussion, we learn: How to find and organize autobiographical material; The importance of emotional candor when writing about sexuality; Techniques for maintaining confidentiality while still telling the truth about sexual situations; and How to overcome the obstacles of vulnerability and self doubt that arise when we dare to publicly reveal our sexual views and experiences. We also examine the recent popularity of sexual nonfiction as both a pop culture phenomenon and a literary genre. In addition to refining our writing skills, we gain a greater awareness of our sexual selves, and a deeper understanding of the cultural importance of writing authentically about sex. Palac is a teacher, editor, lecturer, and TV and radio host whose work covers a range of topics, including pornography, high technology, rock 'n' roll, religion, and feminism. Her memoir is titled The Edge of the Bed: How Dirty Pictures Changed My Life (order from Amazon). She also produced Cyborgasm (order from Amazon) and Cyborgasm 2 (order from Amazon), erotic audio anthologies recorded in 3-D sound, and is a founding editor of Future Sex magazine. W&M Omega Institute, Rhinebeck, NY. (8/4-6/00) 800.944.1001 www.eomega.org or registration@eomega.org
Golf in the Kingdom: An exploration of the deeper game, Stephen Cohen & Andy Nusbaum. The game of gold provides many opportunities to enhance the journey of self-discovery. It can be experienced not only as an athletic endeavor, but also as a metaphor for the way one lives. Just as in life, issues of self-confidence, fear, trust, discipline and awareness emerge in the conflict between the ego;'s desire for success and the inner self's ability to achieve. During these five days, teaching methods gleaned from a study of the deeper game will be utilized, as well as principles from psycho synthesis and Gestalt, to explore the inner self and how one interferes with its emergence. Two days will be spend on field trips to the Monterey Peninsula where participants will practice and play in some of the most beautiful gold foundry in the world. On other days there will be time to relax and enjoy the natural pleasures. W&M Esalen, Big Sur, CA. www.esalen.org or 831.667.3000 (5/28-6/2/00) (9/24-29/00)
The Grail - A Hero's Quest To The Self, with Shematrix. This three day journey of ritual initiation for men is paradoxically facilitated by women. It is recognized that in many ancient cultures, the final intiation into manhood happened in the presence of initiated women. The three women from Shematrix function as Gatekeepers to the mysterious realm of the Sacred Feminine, the unknowable and unpredicatble source that forms the Earth herself. Traditionally known as High Priestess, hers is the role of midwife who helps birth that which we think we do not know or cannot have or dare not express. It seems a particular healing is available in the presence of women, not afforded by men alone. It has been our experience that the embrace of the whole being, in compassion, transcends the dualities of masculine and feminine, light and dark, angelic and demonic, right and wrong, inner and outer, self and other. The Sacred Marriage. The intention in accessing this mystery through this extraordinary form is to support each man on his journey to his deepest knowing and reverence for all life. The form is also created with the intention that once initiated, it continues to be an integral part of your life and you may choose to cultivate it's sacredness in ongoing events in your community. $895 plus $195 food and lodging. 8AM - 9PM Contact David Whiteside, 650.342.1291 or www.shematrix.com or E-Mail (6/2-4/06) (Nashville, TN 3/30-4/1/07; Perth, W.A. Australia 6/29-7/1/07; Pescadero, CA 7/27,-29/07 Jay Cradeur, 415.713.8030; Wellington, NZ Aug 17-19/07)
Grief & Growing: If loss is an issue in your life, this weekend is for you. Informal discussion groups, facilitated by professional grief care-givers. Time to talk with each other, your children, family members and friends about loss, death and the grief process. Arts & crafts, singing, creative writing, camp fun, natue hikes, childhood memories, and more. Shabbat under the open sky and Jewish rituals for honoring and remembering those who have died. The High Adventure Ropes Course, a wonderful tool for facing fears, learning to trust others, and taking personal risks. It's safe, physical and fun. Time for yourself while counselors take care of your kids. The quiet beauty and healing power of nature. W&M&Kids, Camp Tawonga, located just outside Yosemite National Park on the Middle Fork of the Tuolumne River, CA. (5/19-21/00) .415.543.5417
Grief Ritual, Sobonfu Some. Started in the early 90's, this has been offered in Northern California on a yearly basis. The Grief Ritual workshops have proven to be very healing and its success has made it known both in the US and overseas. This weekend, Sobonfu will share one of the most important rituals of her people. It is a soul-cleansing rite that can clear away lingering clouds and festering wounds from abandonment, divorce, death and the loss of dreams. This ritual can help release grief, lighten your soul, let your true spirit be heard, and help you become more balanced and fulfilled. W&M E-Mail or 916.446.5536. Valley of the Moon Camp, Glen Ellen, CA $385. (5/26-28/00) (5/24-26/02) (5/25-27/07)
Healing the Father Wound® retreats, created in 1985 and facilitated by Gordon Clay, is an interactive and highly effective weekend group experience, held separately for both men and women, dealing with adults whose childhood was characterized by paternal dysfunction, ranging from abuse, to uncaring, to overly-controlling, to total-absence, to the "perfect father". Gordon's seminar's work to undo the negative lifelong effects of such parenting, with the intent of freeing the individuals to live happier, and more productive lives, and by bringing a modicum of balance to continuing parental relationships. This workshop is experiential in nature with very little talking. Through Tantrum Yoga®, movement/breathwork, experiential exercises, and appropriate emotional release, we will work to locate the roots that trap you in an endless repetitive cycle of unconscious behaviors and begin the healing process. Gordon Clay specializes in appropriate anger and rage release processes and has facilitated retreats since 1976. This program is in a 4-day, 3-night retreat setting and is based on his never to be published book Healing the Father Wound. Similar program for women only see www.ClearingTheAir.net (Men only 4/20-23/07 - Buckhorn Springs, near Ashland, OR; 5/1-4/08, 11/13-16/08; The Lodge, Berkeley Springs, WV; 7/3-6/08, 10/2-5/08, 4/30-5/3/09 Harbin Hot Spring, Middletown, CA)
Healing the Mother Wound® for Men only is facilitated by Shauna Wilson-Mora. Through our navel we have the visible evidence of our link to our biological mother - a link that is encoded with messages - our history, patterns, destiny, even our sense of self. We inherit our self-esteem and self worth from our mothers. We are tied to this women who birthed us. And we are tied to the generations that preceded us. As an egg in our Mother's womb, we rested in the womb of our Grandmother. We can choose to release ourselves from the bondage that traps us. We can heal the wounds we took on from our mothers. The journey to freedom is through excavating the memories and feelings, acknowledging experiences, releasing emotions, forgiving ourselves and others, and opening to new possibilities. When we heal our Mother Wound, we break the cycle. We become free. This workshop is experiential in nature. The intention is to break through barriers and old patterns through movement, Tantrum Yoga® breath and release work, psychodrama, meditation and processes that excavate wounds and ties that keep us stuck. This program is in a 4-day, 3-night retreat setting. Similar program for women only see www.ClearingTheAir.net (Men only 4/26-29/07 - Buckhorn Springs near Ashland, OR; 12/7-10/07, Venture Retreat Center, Pescadero, CA; 3/28-31/08, 9/5-8/08 The Lodge at Berkeley Springs, WV; 11/21-24/08 Harbin Hot Springs, CA; 4/17-20/09, 12/4-7/09 Harbin Hot Springs, CA )
Healing the Wounds of Adolescence - Tapping the Inner Mentor. Participants are offered a safe place to do the work necessary to address the wounds of adolescence and to claim the power and gifts that they hold, by calling forth an “Inner Mentor” that can hold the space for their own healing and development. Staffed by Boys to Men Northwest. Camp Melacoma (near Vancouver, WA.) 7 pm Friday to noon on Sunday. $100 minimum donation. Contact Galen Fous, 503.913.3197 or galenfous@yahoo.com or www.boystomennw.org (9/9-11/05)
Health Medicine Faire. 50 booths with health practitioners of a variety of different disciplines from alternative therapies for you to sample plus music, food, drink, and door prizes. Sample everything from bodywork, energy work, herbal and supplement therapies, chiropractic adjustments, naturopathy, iridology, Chinese medicine including acupuncture, to Ayurveda, and the list goes on.. We will have celebrity speakers who are experts in their fields specializing in Body-Mind Medicine, Qi Gong, Indigenous Healing, and Herbal Therapies. They will be speaking every hour in a separate room attached to the festivities. Preservation Park in Oakland at 13th and Martin Luther King, Jr. Way just off Hwy 980. $10 general admission, seniors and students $3. Aileen Harvey, 415.381.4627 or aileen@life-enhancement-options.com (12m-6pm, 2/10/0112)
HeroQuest Wilderness Adventure. Are you ready to experience the most life has to offer? This is a rite of passage which will enable you to discover your life purpose and achieve greater mastery over career and life roles. But it presents an even greater challenge. To leave behind the illusion that life's possibilities are limited and instead choose to live an extraordinary life - a life full of rich experiences and meaningful contributions. In short, to live the life of your dreams. Are you ready to create a life that reflects your magnificence? Pure joy. Unconditional love. Absolute freedom. Limitless possibility. And, swim with the dolphins, hike rainforest trails to 1,200 ft. and visit incredible waterfalls. Hawaii (4/8-16/00); Eel River, CA (5/28-6/4/00) 800.990.HERO or www.innerquest.com or info@innerquest.com
Holding the Thread of Life: Living with Purpose in an Uncertain World, an evening presentation with storyteller and mythologist Michael Meade. An an evening of stories, poetry and discussion that seeks to find meaning and purpose in a world increasingly random and fearful. Although current cultural troubles are pressing and tragic, the first step on this journey is a step away from present threats back to the ground of traditional knowledge, ancient imaginations, and creative ritual. We can only go as far forward as we can reach back. Here, we attempt to retouch radical roots that can nourish new ideas, inspire change and foster healing where obstacles appear insurmountable and despair seems inevitable. Through old tales, the ‘language of the soul’ and fresh insights we will pull at threads of personal and collective meaning that wind through tragic events and troubled times. Doors Open at 6:30 pm. Lone Mountain Conference Center, 2130 Fulton Street, San Francisco, CA $12. 206.935.3665 or www.mosaicvoices.org or info@mosaicvoices.org (4/26/02). Portland State University (5/17/02)
Holotropic Breathwork Retreat for Men, 13th Annual, Tim Barraud, Jay Shelofsky. Holotropic Breathwork is a technique for self-exploration based on the merging of ancient spiritual practices and modern consciousness research. The process combines controlled breathing, evocative music and focused bodywork. Within a safe setting, participants may experience a freeing of blocked energies, a modification of unproductive beliefs, and a release of spiritual energies. The integrative process is accentuated through creative artwork and group sharing. Breitenbush Retreat Center, OR. $300 info@nwseminars.com or www.nwseminars.com (1/25-27/02)
How to Feel Anger and Still Be Loving, David Richo. Al relationships inevitably arouse anger. Healthy ones express it without hurting anyone. If someone frightens us with their anger, they are probably expressing not anger by abuse - blame, threats and physical or emotional violence. What scares us is not the pure feeling of anger. We fear violation. True anger usually contains sadness, disappointment and fear. A responsibly angry person acknowledges these feelings, but does not blame us for them. Anger says, "I am angry at you and want you to know it." Anger arises from an inner aliveness that is unhappy but aware it cannot always have its way. Abuse, on the other hand, says "I want to get you for daring to offend me. I want you to suffer for it." Abuse arises from the shadow of ego, the bruised, indignant, arrogant ego terrified that it is not getting what it is entitled to. In this workshop, you will learn to sit quietly and drop into your anger, to feel it, to hear what it says to you, and to dialogue with it in a mindful way. You will learn techniques to help you to be open to the anger of others but to prevent them from abusing you. W&M Esalen, Big Sur, CA. (5/5-7/00) www.esalen.org 831.667.3000
How to Stop Giving Energy to the Things You Don't Believe In, Wayne Dyer. We tend to give our energy to our problems—thinking and talking about them constantly, and working hard to find solutions. According to Wayne Dyer, affectionately called the "father of motivation" by his fans, this is the wrong way to solve anything. There is another way, a better and less stressful way: We can go within and surrender. This workshop is for anyone who feels bogged down by the difficulties and snags of life and is ready for a new approach, what Dyer calls the "spiritual solution" to problems. We examine exactly what we mean when we talk about having a problem and what it means to each of us to have something "solved." W&M. Omega Institute, Rhinebeck, NY (10/20-22/00) 800.944.1001 or www.eomega.org or registration@eomega.org
Initiate a Mind, Body, Spirit Relationship Now, Julia Tindall, Jim Spillane, Anna Harvey & Kevin Fortune. In an inspirational comfortable environment, come learn advanced techniques to create the love of your dreams. Hypnotheapist Julia Tindall teaches yoga and explores "What To Do Between Relationships". Sacred sexuality experts Anna & Keven present "Tantra for Intimacy and Connection." Jim Spillane shows "22 Ways to Gain High Self Esteem." W&M Harbin Hot Springs, Middletown, CA. (7/14-16/00) 707.745.2444.
The Initiated Soul, the Awakened Self, an intensive two-day course with storyteller & mythologist Michael Meade.
As uncertainty becomes the ruling principle of life, as 'mass mentality,' fundamentalism and literalism dominate, the mythic sense of life waits to re-enter the world. As the collective sense of unity collapses, the 'uniqueness' within individuals becomes the source of unifying imagination. For, each person carries a 'hidden poetic unity' that reflects the mysterious continuity of the world.
The story written on the walls of the soul is intended to be lived out as a great experiment in life, as a willingness to die again and again in order to grow. Each story involves spells and blessings, gifts and wounds, indelible marks that reveal where the individual soul and spirit insist on being known consciously. The exact medicines for healing the threats and volatile divisions so characteristic of modern life lie in touching again the hidden unity of human imagination.
In this study we will examine the life lived so far, separating what is vital and creative from the corpses of the past, while seeking places where the soul carries its initiations, where the self tries to awaken us further. Each further incarnation of the soul involves descents and ascents which necessitate a full emotional life; for the soul requires that we climb the ladder of wisdom and descend to the depths of love.
Join us on this path of discovery where experience becomes knowledge, where psychology encounters myth, where struggle reveals life purpose. Drawing on traditions from many cultures, on psychology of the Old Mind, alchemical imagination, the guiding language of dreams and life sustaining practices, we will touch the pulse of being and work at nourishing the roots of 'living myth.'
Themes include: Images That Open the Heart • Trauma and Trouble: Ordeals That Made Me • A Little Redemption • Walking Your Limp • Symbolic Action, a Changed Life • Opening the Ego • Difficult Road to the Center • The Resplendent Self. Theological Seminary, San Anselmo, CA www.mosaicvoices.org or 800.233.6984. (4/16-17/05)
Inner Life, Outer Work: Following Spirit, Making Soul, an intensive two-day course with storyteller & mythologist Michael Meade. The great unrest in the outer world reflects a loss of soul within collective life. Meanwhile, important aspects of the inner life awaken during just such turmoil. The exact medicines for healing the threats and volatile divisions so characteristic of modern life lie in touching again the hidden unity of human imagination.
Despite the chaos of the times, the soul still longs for a life fully lived, one that makes a meaningful mark in the world and work that serves something beyond oneself. Each person owes a debt to their inner nature - that it be discovered, awakened and developed. Each owes a debt to the world that can only be paid from one's natural gifts. The 'awakened condition' involves risks the soul wants to take and discoveries only available at the edge where the unknown streams towards the known world.
'Real work' can only be found and sustained when connected to one's inner rhythm and psychic flow. If a person cannot find the vitality of their own being they become unable to affect the outer conditions of community and culture. Only shaping a symbolic sense of self can renew purpose and meaning in individual life while finding ways to serve the soul of the world.
Although the soul prefers wandering the world to taking direct routes, its wanderings and wonderings help reveal the purpose within each life. Through imaginative detours we continually rediscover 'those images before which our hearts first opened.' To be fully alive, growing the soul, weaving the world, becoming lost in order to find the way, and incarnating the spirit fully is the only thing that satisfies the longings seeded in the garden of the soul.
Being Whole Hearted • Walking Your Limp • The Poetic Unity of the Self • The Art of Descent • Personal Myth, Community Work • The Thought Adventure • The Divine Influx of Emotions • Establishing One's Self in the World. Co-Sponsored by United Indian Students in Higher Education. Smith Memorial Center ~ Portland State University, OR www.mosaicvoices.org or 800.233.6984 (3/19-20/05)
Inside of Men: Understanding the Hearts and Minds of Men, Clark Grove, Ph.D, A workshop for women on understanding the underlying feelings, thoughts and motivations that drive men. A workshop meant to help understand men, thereby decreasing relational conflict and stress, and increasing intimacy. Fort Mason Center, San Francisco 10-4pm $139. 415.507.0306 or clarkgrove@insideofmen.com or Insideofmen.com (10/1/05, 11/5/05, 2/4/06, 3/4/06, 4/1/06, 5/6/06, 6/3/06, 7/15/06, 9/16/06, 10/7/06, 11/4/06)
Integrity, Charlie Bloom. Of the personal qualities that most people respect in themselves and others, none is more highly valued than integrity. This word, which literally means "wholeness," brings to mind a collection of human characteristics including strength, reliability, honesty, trustworthiness and respectability. We instinctively know that when we live a life of integrity our actions are grounded in a way that brings vitality and authenticity to even ordinary experience. Yet despite our appreciation of and desire for integrity, we may not fully appreciate its true essene or how we can cultivate it within ourselves. This workshop is designed to help you develop a deeper understanding of what it means to live in integrity with the truth of your being and embody it in words, deeds and relationships. You will explore the everyday experiences that give rise to oppotunities to deepen this quality in your life. In addition, you will examine personal and interactive patterns that may compromise or diminish your experience of integrity, and develop new responses that can enhance and deepen your connection to the truth. W&M, Esalen Institute, Big Sur, CA 831.667.3000 or www.esalen.org (10/29-11/3/00), University of California, Berkeley, 510.642.4111 (6/22/02), Esalen Institute, Big Sur, 831.667.3000 (9/1-6/02), lcbloom@vom.com or www.bloomwork.com or 707.939.1139
Intimacy. Steven Kessler. We will explore what intimacy is, what supports it, and what blocks it. You will learn how to be deeply open to your own experience, how to hold healthy boundaries and also make real contact with another. Through discussion and experience, you will develop a greater capacity for intimacy in your own life. $100. 12 CEU's available for MFT's and LCSW's. Dzogchen Center, 2748 Adeline (near Stuart) in Berkeley, CA across from the Berkeley Bowl. stevenk@california.com or 510.834.5399. (7/27-28/02, 10a-5p)
Intimate Relationships: Keeping the romantic spark alive, Ayala Pines. When two people are in love, it seems like the magical spark between them is going to last forever. More often than not, however, with the effects of everyday pressures and stresses, the love is eroded and eventually burns out. Burnout is not caused by individual pathology or inadequacy nor by major dramatic events. It is caused by a building of petty annoyances, minor dissatisfactions, and a gradual increase in boredom. How can this insidious process of love's erosion be prevented? How can a couple in love keep the romatic spark alive? Participants will be encouraged to fnd the romantic images they shared at the beginning of their own relationships. This workshop is recommended espeically for couples commited to keeping the spark alive in their relationships, and for marriage and family counselors. It may also be helpful for individuals who are trying to figure out what went wrong in a relationship that burned out. W&M Esalen, Big Sur, CA 831-667-3000 or www.esalen.org (8/25-27/00)
The Intuitive Ear: The healing power of the didgeridoo, Marc Mckenzie. The didgeridoo is believed to be the oldest breath instrument in the world. In this workshop, you'll make your own, learn to play it, and be guided in developing shamanic vision and healing applications of this timeless instrument. Playing the didgeridoo uses circular breathing and is a form of pranayama. By tuning in to your intuition and your instrument, you'll learn to recognize, trust and intentionally direct the flow of your creative energy. You'll create your own sacred music and experience your body resonating with healing sound. Prior experience is not necessary; you may be amazed at what you already know. W&M Kripalu Retreat Center, Lenox, MA. (6/9-11/00) 800.741.7353 or www.kripalu.org
Jump Up and Live Again: Songs for the flowering-mountain-jade-water-heart, Martin Prechtel. W&M Bend, OR. (5/20-21/00) Mare Shey 541.317.1598 or mare@dancinwoofs.com
Keeping the Love You Find: A Relationship Class for Gay, Lesbian and Straight Singles, Royal Oak with Joe Kort. Every Tuesday 8-10 pm, October 2-November 13, 2007 in Royal Oak, MI This 6 week workshop is appropriate for singles not currently in a relationship, who are tired of making the same mistakes over and over again and want to learn the secret to finding and keeping lasting love. This workshop is all about transforming the self. Often we are tempted to think the problem is "finding the right person”. But this workshop is all about "becoming the right person”. This workshop is also an ideal follow-up workshop for those who have taken the couples workshop. Couples have gone through this workshop together after the couple’s workshop. It is a great opportunity to reflect on one's self within the relationship. W&M. Royal Oak, MI ($650/couple) Register at www.joekort.com/workshops/default.htm or 248.399.7317 or E-Mail. (10/2-11/6/07)
Kripalu Singles Weekend, Kate Feldman. Kripalu is known for being a place where people can relax and be themselves while meeting others with similar interests in hearlthy living, spiritual awareness, and self-discovery. If you're tired of the dating scene and just want to meet like-minded people without romantic or sexual pressures, you'll be delighted by this program. You'll have opportunities to: Learn partner yoga stretches and postures. Practice the conscious dialogue process, a way of relating that deepens friendships, resolves conflict, and initiates intimate sharing. Understand what makes releationships work. W&M Kripalu Retreat Center, Lenox, MA. (6/9-11/00) 800.741.7353 or www.kripalu.org
Labor Day weekend residential retreat, Daivid Deida, Breitenbush Hot Springs Spa and Resort, OR:, (9/1-4/00). info@cyberplexus.com or www.deida.com
Leadership Training Program, Jeffrey Duvall, Tom Daly, Keith Fairmont. The training is designed for men of all ages and walks of life, and is particularly useful for men going through transitions and those who work with others. During this week-long wilderness encampment we will first look deeply into our own stories, then work with a theoretical and experiential model from which to work with other men, and finally integrate many powerful tools for personal and community development. Near Boulder, CO. Keith Fairmont 303.444.9066 or Jeffrey Duvall, 303.258.0670 $995-$2100 sliding scale (7/13-20/01)
Leaping Upon the Mountains: A men's abuse recovery weekend, Mike Lew, M.Ed. and Thom Harrigan, L.I.C.S.W. The weekend is for non-offending adult male survivors of sexual child abuse, rape, physical violence, emotional abuse, abandonment and/or neglect. It will provide a variety of healing activites. If there are sufficient numbers, there will be a special track for survivors of clergy abuse.Kirkridge Retreat and Study Center, Pennsylvania.. 7 pm Friday dinner - Sunday lunch. $380. For further information and registration materials, contact Kirkridge or Janet Lewis, Registrar, 610.588.1793 or kirkridge@fast.net or www.nextstepcounseling.org (5/9-11/03; 8/15-17/08)
Letting Go, Scot Fisher. This intensive two day worksop for survivors in the advanced states of healing combines intuitive therapy experiences like guided imagery, music/breathwork, and intuitive artwork with traditional group therapy to integrate those experiences into the participants' personal healing/growth processes. The workshop experience often works as a catalyst in bringing up unfinished issues and past traumas while allowing participants to move through those stuck places in a safe environment. In addition, expanded spiritual awareness sometimes emerges. Potential participants will be asked to engage in an intake process before enrolling in the workshop. W&M Survivors Healing Center, Santa Cruz, CA. 831.423.7601 or shc@cruzio.com (5/6-7/00)
Live Your Wild & Precious Life! Daniel Ellenberg/Susanne West. We are limited by the stories we tell ourselves about our lives. This weekend forum will challenge limiting beliefs. Embrace the richness and freedom of your deepest nature. Seminar includes writing, meditation, group sharing, guided imagery, and a program to help you stay connected to your inner knowing & direction. $625 Novato, CA 415.883.5600 or daniel@relationshipsthatwork.com or www.relationshipsthatwork.com (5/6-8/05)
Love and Awakening: A Meditative Retreat for Individuals & Couples, John and Jennifer Welwood. This 5-day retreat is open to those who take the introductory weekend workshop, Love & Awakening: Intimate Relationship As Soulwork, August 18-20, or who have taken a relationship workshop with the Welwoods in previous years. Genuine intimacy is an evolutionary capacity that develops out of our groundedness in our own essential being, which then allows us to connect with another person being-to-being. Since the conditioned personality is intrinsically defensive and reactive, it is incapable of real intimacy. Thus the capacity for intimacy requires a crucial shift from personality toward our essential nature. The focus of John and Jennifer Welwoods' approach is on facilitating this shift—which allows people to be fully and richly present with themselves, as the basis for being fully present with each other. This workshop provides an opportunity for those who have taken the Welwoods' introductory workshop to go deeper with their approach, and to further develop the resources needed for sustaining a conscious relationship. It is a time to slow down and explore the nature of authentic presence, which becomes available when we open to our own being or to the being of another. We practice and discuss mindfulness meditation as a way of expanding our ability to remain present with ourselves and an intimate partner, even in the midst of difficulties. And we practice ways of listening and communicating that cultivate the capacity for deeper presence. The format includes talks, discussions, meditation practice, experiential exercises, and poetry. Previous meditation experience is not necessary—just a willingness to engage in this practice.W&M. Omega Institute, Rhinebeck,NY. (8/21-25/00) 800.944.1001 or www.eomega.org or registration@eomega.org
Loving the Questions, Sam Keen. Human life is a quest; searching, longing, and questioning are in our restless genes. Who we are and what we become is largely determined by the questions that animate us, as well as those we refuse to ask, rather than by what answers we find. Our willingness to feel our restless longings and to question life determines whether we superficially accept the status quo by focusing on pragmatic questions about means, or whether we seek to create a profound life rich with meaning by focusing on the questions that have been at the heart of all mythic wisdom traditions throughout time. In this workshop with Sam Keen, a renowned teacher and author, we refocus on being open to the mystery of life and the endless possibilities that the unknown offers. We explore questions that shrink us (What will the neighbors think?); stretch us (What do I desire?); render our lives meaningless (How can I win?) or gracious (How can I love more?). As we play with our wonder and doubt, we begin to substitute an obsessive demand for correct answers and secure systems with a creative way of living and loving the questions. We begin to create a life that is an exploration of possibility rather than a solution to a string of problems. Bring your tired answers and stale solutions, burning questions, existential dilemmas, love-riddles, and quandaries of heart and spirit. Together, we will think, feel, and invent together. Who knows what solutions—or new questions—we may discover. W&M Omega Institute, Rhinebeck, NY. (7/21-23/00) 800.944.1001 www.eomega.org or registration@eomega.org
Making Changes: The journey to new possibilities, Sidney Simon. Changes waiting in the wings of the drama of our lives cry out for our attention. There are obvious ones we hear with our resistant ears: the change towards an exercise program, making peace with our past, or improving our relationships with others. This workshop will focus on identifying changes we want to make and give us the skills to get unstuck. Kirkridge Retreat Center, Bangor, www.kirkridge.org or 610.588.8510
Man to Man, Charlie Bloom. www.bloomwork.com or 707.939.1139 Lakeport, CA (7/27-29/02), Las Cruces, NM (10/25-27/02).
Massage Intensive, Laurie Lioness Parizek & Tom Case. Esalen massage is a nurturing practice that often feels as wonderful to give as to receive. This workshop will utilize a hands-on approach and demonstrations that combine a balance of long strokes and integrative techniques with detailed attention to specific areas of the body. Fundamental elements of body work, breath awareness, grounding, quality of touch, and stress reduction, will be presented. W&M Esalen, Big Sur, CA 831.667.3000 or www.esalen.org (6/2-4/00)
Massage Weekend plus hiking, hot tubbing, social hours, hugging and stroking, and much more! A gentle experience under the stars in the Mojave Desert. Relax with a group of gay and bi men, touching, massaging, and loosening up sore muscles. Shuttles from West Hollywood, Pomona and San Bernardino, CA available. (4/14-16/00) (6/23-25/00) www.communityvisions.org/STARLAND/mas.htm or starland@aol.com
Medicine Creek Spirit Camp, Jeffrey Duval. For thousands of, if not tens of thousands of, years Men have gathered to renew and heal themselves. When men gather and create peace within themselves, there is more peace on earth. This Spirit Camp has as it's intent, the creation of a safe place where Men can gather and allow each Man the possibility of accessing the parts of himself that he needs to heal or renew. The process involves ritual, movement, storytelling, myth, poetry, ceremony, laughter, tears, closeness to the earth. This in not a place for a Man to work on, or polish up his persona. There are some Men who have attended previous Spirit Camps; these Men will help and guide Men who are attending for the first time. There is no one up positioning going on; the experienced Men are simply passing on what was at one time passed on to them. First time Men will gently be taught the definitions and processes that are the essence of a Spirit Camp. A great site in SW Nebraska near Wellfleet, NE. (5/19-21/00) Arden Kruse, 308.239.4430 or akruse@nebnet.net or themenscenter.com/spiritcamp
Men: Caring, Closeness and Commitment, Charlie Krener. This workshiop is for men - all kinds of men to reach in and reach out, to take ourselves and one another on in our strengths, hopes and struggles, in our courage and yearning, in our secret and not-so-secret insecurities and fears. We are born whole, alive, connected, loving, worthy, intelligent, creative and open. We are raised and socialized, isolated, made to be distant, dominant, invulnerable, distrusting, pre-occupied with sex; yet scared of intimacy, hard, angry, violent: empty inside in the name of our "manhood",-- in fact, all the negative male sterotypes create a lifelong conflict which we have little or no help in resolving. Reach out to your friends, colleagues, partners, brothers, fathers, sons (teens and older) to share this opportunity. Saratoga Springs, Upper Lake, CA 800.655.7153 or www.saratogasprings.com or saratoga@pacific.net (9/7-10/00)
Men's Council Project Leadership Training, Tom Daly, Jeffrey Duvall, Keith Fairmont. An in-depth and comprehensive Training for connecting with the natural world and a man's own indigenous,soulful intelligence.Includes:an opportunity to honor all our many aspects. Provides: an experiential framework for guiding ourselves and other men/boys through transitions. Integrates: powerful tools for personal and community development. Especially.useful for all helping professionals. Near Estes Park, CO. (7/7-14/00) Contact Keith Fairmont, 303.444.9066 or menscouncil@aol.com (7/12-19/02)
Menshare.Mark Stevens and Matt Englar-Carlson. Men have many stories that go untold. Shame, fear of humiliation, and a type of masculine pride often inhibit men from sharing meaningful and rich information about their inner lives. Yet these stories and experiences from boyhood across the lifespan often create crucial models and frames in which men learn about who they are or who they would like to become. The unexplored and untold stories of men's lives often surfaces in their relationships with others. This experiential workshop will offer a structured and safe environment men to share their core stories that have shaped who they are as men. The workshop will give space for the participants' stories to come to life through role play, journaling, creative expression, and sharing. Mark Stevens is the director of university counseling services at California State University, Northridge. Matt Englar-Carlson is an associate professor of counseling at California State University, Fullerton. Mark and Matt are Co-editors the book of In the Room with Men: A Casebook of Therapeutic Change. Esalen Institute, CA. 831-667-3005 or info@esalen.org or www.esalen.org (12/1-3/06)
Men's Healing Love Qigong, Charlie Stuart. A sacred cirlcle of men to learn Daoiest sexual practices and support each other in opeing our hearts to healing wisdom and increasing our capacity for love. Baldwinville, (4/8/00 9a-9p) 978.939.8544
Men's Health in South London. Campaigning Conference to develop a South London policy on Men's Health. Opened by Simon Hughes MP. Speakers include: Dr Deirdre Cunningham and Dr Alan Maryon Davies - Lambeth, Southwark and Lewisham . Health Authority, Folayan Osekita and Trevor Precious, Southwark CHC, Dr Ayonrinde, Maudsley Hospital, Joseph Healey, Positive Place, Colin Penning, Men's Health Forum, Roben's Suite, Guy's Hospital, St Thomas' Street, SE1. Free. nr London Bridge Station and Buses 21, 35, 40,47,48, 133, 149, 343, 381. Malcolm Alexander, Southwark Community Health Council, 75 Denmark Hill, London SE5 8RS. Tel: 0207 703 9498 Fax: 0207 277 1805 or SthwarkCHC@aol.com or www.SouthwarkCHC.org.uk (9/21/01, 10a-4p)
Men's Initiation Weekend, Vartman (a trained facilitator in David Deida's men's work) will prepare men to participate in a deep and committed men's group. Participants will be led through exercises that will help clarify mission and purpose and teach men how to use each other as potent help in staying on track in their lives, intimacies, and growth. Men's groups will be formed, and the initiation will introduce a committed 12-week course of study for men who wish to incorporate David Deida's work in their daily lives. The fee for the 1-day initiation is $200 per man. There is an additional fee for the [optional] 12-week men's group curriculum which will be discussed at the initiation. San Francisco 96/9/01), Register on-line at: store.yahoo.com/deidastore/workshops-with-others.html or 888.466.3404. (San Francisco 6/9/01) Seattle (6/10/01) (Austin 6/23/01)
Men's Quest, Gary Plep. A four day Vision Quest experience. California. See www.mensgroups.com or 408.379.4212 (5/18-21/01)
Men's Wisdom Council, John Dore, Sparrow Hart. Blamed as a class for all that's gone wrong in history, men find little to affirm in themselves as they approach the real tasks of living a good life and making this world a better place. Reacting to the image of man as aggressive and violent, many men become passive and lose touch with their feelings, their values, and their needs. This is an oasis in the desert where the water of tears and the rumble of laughter create communion and community. Many discover a distinctively masculine spirituality that includes the body, the feelings, and the mind. For many this is the first opportunity to tell the truth, without pressure to have the "proper" feelings or express them in an "acceptable" or "liberated" way. We encourage men to be authentic. We include playfulness, passion and poetry; love, laughter and the land; shedding shame and releasing repressed rage. We include intimacy, integrity, grief, gratitude and amazing grace. We connect with ourselves and each other through ritual, emotional expression, and the evocative exercise of breathwork. New men are always welcome. (Jun 18-23) Rowe Conference Center, Rowe, MA 413.339.4954 or retreat@rowecenter.org
Men Who Batter & Community Commitment to End Domestic Violence, National Training Institute. Emphasis is on domestic violence as a crime and social issue. Significance of comprehensive community coordination. Rationale and place for court mandated classes for men who batter. W&M Stoney Point Conference Center, Stony Point, NY. (5/10-12/00) 914.634.5729 X 306
Mini Workshop on Relationships, John Lee. W&M. North Vancouver, BC. (6/16/00) 604.985.4111
Miracle Millennium Mating Magic, Sheryl Mishan, Rev Tony Ponticello & Jim Spillane. This playful, profound, practical, experiential weekend will enable you to achieve rewarding romantic results. You'll learn to initiate satisfying, harmonious, trusting, forgiving, lasting relationships without effort. Develop radiant self love. Explore flirting, compatibility and authenticity. Come giggle your way to growth! Enjoy massage instruction, hiking, yoga, New Games, Saturday night dance party, etc. Emphasis: warm camaraderie and fun. W&M Harbin Hot Springs, Middletown, CA. (5/26-28/00) 707.745.2444
Mothers of Sons, Emmy Rainwalker. (Women only. Get your mothers or mothers of your sons to do this work.) We mothers love our sons and care passionately about them, but boys need to be themselves, need to find their own center in the world. They're different from girls, and they live in a world that mothers often do not understand, yet that understanding is vitally important to them. You know you love your son but you feel baffled. Most of us wonder about aggression or the lack of it in our sons. How do our own feelings about men, often outside our conscious awareness, affect our sons? We try to understand and stay close to them while dealing with competing demands on our time and skills. We're often confused by the male roles our sons are forced into, many of which we don't like, and we're not sure if we're actually teaching them these roles. If we teach them more "feminine" roles, we worry about their safety in a world that sometimes looks brutal to us as females. We grapple with play that looks like violence, but if we take their guns away, they make them out of sticks, soap, leggos...All mothers of sons struggle with these dilemmas. This is a retreat where mothers can gather to share stories, to learn from each other, and to address the complexities, paradoxes, joys, and struggles of mothering sons. Using large and small groups, talks, discussions, visualizations, and techniques for releasing tension, we'll hear joys, hopes, sorrows, confusions, regrets and goals. We'll take time to appreciate how well we've done despite the difficulties and revel in how good our sons really are. Explore how to develop a support group for yourself, how to communicate more effectively with the males in your life, and how to take leadership in your family. Take a closer look at the roles assigned to males and females and the possibilities of changing the behavior patterns we inherit from the culture. This workshop will broaden your repertoire to skills and deepen your communication and collaboration with your sons, regardless of their ages. The atmosphere will be unpretentious, challenging, and exceptionally supportive. Wear your play clothes. Rowe Conference Center, Rowe, 413.339.4954 or retreat@rowecenter.org
Mother's Shadow. Char Tosi. Are you still under her spell? Have you ever felt there is something left unfinished between you and your mother? Do you want to learn how this powerful energy of 'mother' can be harnessed in a good way? Do you want to step into the fullness of your Inner King? A One Day Workshop can be offered for local groups or contact Char Tosi at 810.750.7227 or char@tosi.biz for a workshop near you. (5/05, Kansas City1/7/07, Rochester 2/3/07, Grand Rapids 2/18/07, Milwaukee 5/12/07.)
Navigating the Health System. An informal discussion about how best to understand and access a variety of health services in Toronto. We are anticipating having contributors from the following organizations: The College of Physicians & Surgeons of Ontario. The Centre for Addiction and Mental Health. The Toronto Health Coalition. The Queen West Community Health Centre. Toronto Public Health. Ontario Ministry of Health & Long Term Care. More information? 410.9670. Sponsor: The Toronto Men's Health Network. At the Queen West Community Health Centre, 168 Bathurst Street (just south of Queen). coordinator@tmhn.on.ca (10/17/00 6-8p)
New Warrior Training Adventure: Define your Mission as a Man. The "New Warrior" knows who he is, what he wants and where he is going. He has integrity. He holds himself accountable for his own actions. Our intention is twofold: To enable men to live lives of integrity, accountability, and connection to feeling And, o be of service to the community at large, both as individual men with a renewed sense of passion and personal responsibility, and as communities of men working together to build sustainable relationships There are 38 centers in 8 countries: the U.S. with 29, Canada with 3 and one each in the UK, Germandy, France, Australia, New Zealand plus a growing community in Norway and Ireland. There are 106 trainings scheduled for 2005. Trainings will be held in the areas of Albany/Rochester, Arizona, Atlanta, Australia, Canada, Carolinas, Chicago, Cleveland/Akron, Colorado, Dallasa/Ft. Worth, Detroit/Windsor, France, Germany, Houston, Indianapolis, Kansas City, Kenosha, WI, Los Angeles, London, Louisville, Memphis, Milwaukee, Minnesota, Montreal, Nashville, New England, New Mexico, New York City, Northwest, Northern California, Norway, Ottawa, Philadelphia, Rochester/Albany, Rockford, IL, St. Louis, Salt Lake City, San Diego, Sioux City, Cape Town and Johannesburg South Africa (See video: low bandwidth or high bandwidth), Texas hill Country-Austin, Vancouver, Washington, D.C. and Windsor/Detroit. 800.373.2642 or www.mkp.org (See also the Rainbow Warrior Gathering for gay and bi men and a Hard of Hearing New Warrior Training Adventure.)
New Warrior Training Adventure for Gay/Bi Men, COD Ranch near Tucson. For more information, contact Greg Lauderback (9/18-21/08)
New Warrior Training Adventure for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing. We are holding the second NTWA weekend, with emphasis for men who are Deaf, Hard of Hearing, Interpreters and Teachers of the Deaf, those having deaf family members and/or men who may know some ASL. This NWTA is, of course, open to ALL men. *Deaf Men who apply will have their airfare paid for! Want to be a part of this historical opportunity? Register NOW and receive the gift! Financial assistance is also available. The training is held at Land of My Grandfathers, north of Houston, Texas. Contact Person: Greg Gondron, 713-629-1460 or E-Mail. Registration per man for the NWTA is $650 (See other New Warrior Training Adventures on our website at www.mkphouston.org or trainings at other centers as New Warrior Training Adventures.) (11/3-5/06, 11/9-11/07)
No Future Without Forgiveness: A Retreat on Love & Compassion, Archbishop Desmond Tutu and Rev. Iyanla Vanzant. Omega is proud to present this three-day retreat with two of the world's leading voices for forgiveness and reconciliation. Being in the presence of these two living examples of spiritual courage will inspire us to take up their call for forgiveness—starting first with the hard work of self-forgiveness. With a clarity of pitch born out of decades of experience, Archbishop Desmond Tutu and Rev. Iyanla Vanzant show us how to move forward in our personal relationships with honesty and compassion in order to build happier lives and a more humane world. "Forgiveness," says Vanzant, "is the only way out of the confusion we often experience in our lives and in the world. This workshop is designed to take us to the core of forgiveness—what it is, what it does, why it works and how we can each use it to create peace, fulfillment, and joy in our worlds." During the weekend we engage in group sharing, meditation, prayer, and compassionate dialogue, and listen to stories from Tutu and Vanzant's own journeys, including Tutu's extraordinary stories of his tenure as chair of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission in South Africa. Together we explore: Vanzant's powerful methods of "soul surgery,"which allow us to dismantle unforgiving habits; How to keep the heart open when things get tough in family and work relationships; How the act of truth-telling has a cathartic, healing effect; and How Americans can work to heal the wounds of inequity in this country. Omega is currently working with several local high schools, grant organizations, and private donors to bring high school students, teachers, and administrators to this retreat. W&M Rhinebeck. Omega Institute, Rhinebeck, NY. (5/26-29/00) 800.944.1001 www.eomega.org or registration@eomega.org
Opening of the XXVII Olympics, in Sydney, ASL
Omega Kindred Spirits: A Weekend for Single People, Greg Zelonka and Alison Granucci. This is a weekend to fall in love... with yourself. Come join a community of single men and women to explore relationship in its many dimensions. The foundation of our weekend together is the message that by developing the deepest possible connection with yourself, connections with others follow. In a safe and supportive environment, we discuss juicy topics (lust, sex and the single person, passion, increasing our sensual pleasure); difficult topics (our fears, our old wounds and limiting beliefs, our behaviors that sabotage exactly what it is we say we want, disappointment); and inspiring topics (reinventing love and other matters of the heart, and how to manifest what we most deeply desire). Through frank discussions, meditation, movement, writing, and musical journeys, we explore issues of intimacy and how we relate—or don't relate—to the opposite sex. We also examine how being single affects our self-image. This is a workshop about feeling alive and inspired about our primary relationship with ourself in a society that often frowns on being single. Come prepared to see and be seen; to ask and answer hard questions with honesty and sensitivity; to delight in new revelations; and to discover a new passion for loving yourself and others. W&M. Omega Institute, Rhinebeck, NY (6/16-18/00 or 10/13-15/00) 800.944.1001 or www.eomega.org or registration@eomeg