The Integral Warrior Introductory Weekend

The Integral Warrior Men's Transformational Process is just that: A transformational process. The full process doesn't happen in a day, but rather over a lengthy period of time that includes an Introductory Weekend, and three 4-day segments that happen about two months apart. The process is full, holistic, and complex, and demands a lot from the men who choose to walk this path, including shifting perspectives. Not an easy thing to do. The two month period between the 4-day segments is intentional so that men who emerge themselves in the Integral Warrior have plenty of time to process and integrate each of the segments.

But what I'd like to address in this article is the Introductory Weekend, a 2-day workshop intended---as the name implies---to introduce the Integral Warrior Men's Process so men can experience and discover what it is about and to see if they resonate with it and my teaching. 

I'll be upfront with you: This is not for every man. It assumes that an emerging developmental perspective is present in the men who choose do the process. Unfortunately, this developmental perspective is only even beginning to emerge in about 20%, or less, of  men. The process also "self-selects" men who do the process because men who are not yet at or beyond a post-modernist viewpoint simply won't be interested in it. For those men, I point them toward other workshops which are closer to their particular needs. And all men need to do their work with other men, regardless of any perceived stage of development.

This will sound arrogant to some. That's okay. The Integral Warrior recognizes that there are natural developmental hierarchies at play in the world and does not strive to be "politically correct" (please don't confuse "natural" hierarchies with "dominator" hierarchies). The process moves men from power to empowerment.

That said, let's actually talk about the Introductory Weekend so you have a better understanding of what happens in it.

First, this is the only weekend that women will be allowed to attend. There are several factors at play, here, and I think it's important that you understand the reasons. First, both men and women carry masculine and feminine energies and I've described those in another article here. As I said in that article, masculine and feminine energies are not the same thing as gender, or sexual orientation. Everyone carries them both in different combinations. Consequently, there's a lot here for the feminine, and their masculine, as well, but that's not why I'm inviting them in. I invite women in to the Intro Weekend, because about half of the men who do the full process come at the urging of their women partners. I want women, who are emerging into later stage consciousness a little faster than men (sorry, guys, it's true, but that's another article), to see the value of this work so that they can urge their men to do this critical work. Many women understand that in order for the masculine and feminine to come together in Sacred Union, each must do their own work, but men have some catching up to do. I address many of the reasons why men are playing "catch-up" in the introduction of my book, Awakening the New Masculine.

Some women may bring a man who might not otherwise attend or have any desire to attend or to do this process, and that's okay, too. And last, women, it's good for women to have a better understanding of what your man might be going through should he choose to.

The weekend consists of music, movement, interpersonal group meditations to enhance communication and our listening and speaking skills, a fairly detailed overview of the four primary Jungian archetypes with special attention the shadow aspects of our King archetype so we begin to see and understand why we have blockages that slow down or prevent our further awakening and how they're related to our early childhood and family of origin. We also examine the continuing evolution of masculine archetypes. Over the weekend we also learn about the integral approach---and why it's so important to our maturation---and developmental systems theory about how and why we change, how the masculine grows and how it differs from the feminine. And, there's a whole lot more, which is why there's a couple of months in between segments: so there's time to process all of this.

The weekend also consists of a lot of experiential work, guided meditations, shamanic journeying, and exploring the interior world of the post-modern shaman. The balance of cognitive and experiential, missing in so many other approaches, actually anchor each other in our pysches, further enhancing our development.

The introductory weekend gives men---and women---a chance to experience the process, to find out more about how it can benefit them, and to decide if the men want to continue the complete process spread out over several months. Read what one man had to say about a recent introductory weekend in North Carolina: 

 "I have worked with archetypes before and done shadow work but never worked with the two together, releasing one while embracing the other. I feel this is very powerful work and just what I need at this point in my life. I feel that when we complete this series of workshops that I will finally become the man I was meant to be. Thanks again and I look forward to this journey with you and my new found male friends." - John

We are all intensely aware that we are in the midst of the global shift humankind has been waiting for. At the very time this huge Global Awakening is going on, we're also in the midst of our darker side trying to gain control. It's why everything is breaking down. It's the oldest battle on the planet, and why it's more important now than ever for men to step up and embody the new masculine---the Divine Masculine--- as Integral Warriors following the path of Sacred Activism.

Here are some links to what other men are saying about the process:

http://www.awakeningthenewmasculine.com/endorsements 
http://garystamper.blogspot.com/2010/09/another-review-for-integral-warrior-in.html 

and a review about the introductory weekend:
http://garystamper.blogspot.com/2010/06/review-for-integral-warrior-in.html 

I hope you'll join me at an Introductory Weekend coming to a city near you.


Gary