What's Gender Got To Do With It?

I wish I could see the political will and/or the capacity to have new systems emerge in the lower right quadrant of Ken Wilber's AQAL model without some sort of upheaval or collapse. Unfortunately, the capacities needed and the political will to have new systems emerge simply aren't there. All we see is polarity in every system: Government, politics, energy, environment, economics...you name the system, it's already in collapse mode, which is also another reason to do gender shadow work so we don't just emerge from it with the same problems we face today.

In addition, I knew that my audience for my book "Awakening the New Masculine," and the Integral Warrior Process that inspired it, was a pretty small part of the population. It now appears that the segment of Integral and emergent to Integral men that would be interested in healing gender work as a path to stepping further into later-stage consciousness was even smaller than I had thought.

Neither of these portend good for our being able to solve the problems that we face today.

We are so far away from doing the shadow work---particularly the masculine and feminine shadow---required for us to effect the changes we so desperately need on the planet today, that I literally don't see how we can avoid the continuing collapse of all of the systems we've depended on in modern times, and we are so ill-prepared. Carolyn Baker, author of Sacred Demise and Navigating the Coming Chaos, puts it like this in a new soon-to-be released book:

"Societies in collapse typically become more reactionary, rigid, and ideological as they haltingly attempt to ward off total unraveling. In the United States where the wheels are coming off more blatantly with every passing day, it is not surprising that politics are in gridlock at the same time that the ruling elite in Congress are moving dramatically to the right. Simultaneously, the current administration moves the nation toward a total surveillance state, surpassing the former administration in scrutinizing its citizenry."

What does this have to do gender work, particularly around our masculine and feminine shadows? Baker goes on to say:

"What fascinates me is not so much humanity’s engulfment in darkness, but what kind of culture we will construct from the rubble of this one. For me, one thing is certain: If the authentic principles of the feminine and masculine archetypes do not inform our relationships with each other and with the earth community in the development of the next culture, we will have succeeded only in creating Civilization 2.0.  I cannot and will not attempt to predict when humanity might reclaim its wholeness, fully confront its masculine and feminine shadow, and live consciously the more noble attributes of both archetypes, nor can I speculate how much suffering may be required for this to occur. I am certain, however, that the memory of gender equity from the twentieth and twenty-first centuries and retroactively to ancient times will not be entirely expunged. Archetypes may be ignored, but they are innate and instinctual and therefore cannot be eradicated."

In other words, the time to do our gender work around justice and wholeness is now, not after everything has collapsed. We will likely be too busy being immersed in survival mode to pay attention to such frivolities as shadow. But our shadows will not rest and they will not be ignored. They will show up in everything we do and we'd better recognize them when they do, or everything will be just that much harder.

Every major shift in conscious that has taken place on this planet was preceded by some sort of "dark night of the soul." Would the enlightenment have happened if not for the dark ages? How about the 1960's as a reaction the wars of the first half of the 20th Century? What narcissism makes us think the next shift will be special?

In the meantime, you only have to look around to see that humanity is continuing the slide into darkness....unless some version of angels rescue us...and then what will we have learned?

The Next Wave of Men’s Work: From Mythopoetic to The Transpersonal

As I’ve begun my book tour for Awakening the New Masculine: The Path of the Integral Warrior, one of the benefits I’m seeing for myself is to be once again immersed in integral community. I knew I was missing the “we” space of SeattleIntegral, the salon I helped found and moderated for five years, I just didn’t realize how much.

Over the last few weeks I’ve done a book talk with the combined  Atlanta and Roswell, Georgia Integral Salons, I’ve just returned from doing talks with DC Integral Emergence and Integral New York City Meetups, and I’m getting ready to head out to the west coast with a series of book talks for book stores, salons, meetups, and workshops  in the San Francisco Bay Area and Seattle.

It’s very different talking with integral groups as opposed to book stores and Mankind Project I-Groups. When I’m talking with a group  that hasn’t been exposed to Integral Theory or Spiral Dynamics, I have to give a different talk, and make vague references to “integral and developmental systems theory” as part of a larger picture of what I do in the Integral Warrior Men’s Process. There’s a learning curve around language that begins the first weekend of the workshop that sets the context around both these systems sometimes, if not presented in a way that minimizes the appearance of hierarchy that can turn men off.

Part of this is because my target audience of men are, in Spiral Dynamics terms, “green” emergent to “yellow,” and green level of consciousness generally rejects hierarchy, not yet understanding the difference between natural and dominator hierarchies.

But when I’m talking with an audience who already gets “integral” and Spiral Dynamics, there’s something that happens with everyone firing on all cylinders, mutual capacities, and a common language that just makes everything connected and we all get to fall in love. With men and the integral Warrior Process, one of the goals is to create that same kind of connection as quickly as possible so that a new awareness and consciousness can emerge within the group, and the way to get there as quickly as possible is to practice with individual and group meditations.

Integral groups ask really good questions and one of the questions I was recently asked at the DC Integral Emergence meetup was, "How is your work different from the men’s movement of the 80s?"

The first and obvious answer is that the mythopoetic men’s movement does not include integral and developmental systems theory. Nor does it include the Sacred Activist as described by Andrew Harvey in his book, The Hope.

The "men's movement" of the 80's was, and continues to this day, to be what I'm calling the first wave" of men’s work, which is, as Wilber says, “necessary, but not sufficient.” It relies heavily on the mythopoetic, using mythology and analytical psychology, and consists mostly of psychological self-help groups which tend to stay away from explicit stances around psychospiritual and sociopolitical issues, or Sacred Activism, which the Integral Warrior dives right in to, as would be necessitated by taking an integral approach.  This requires being able to take and hold multiple, bigger, and sometimes paradoxical perspectives. 

Another way to describe this is that the Integral Warrior requires the Monk to come out of his cave and to be involved in the world.  Simply retreating inward is not sufficient with the global problems we face today. The Integral Warrior workshop and the book allows men to transcend (and include) mythology into the transpersonal, and to then allow that to inform their Sacred Purpose. 

Transpersonal  development includes both rational and transrational faculties, as well as a sense of oneself as an individual organism, while simultaneously expanding to embrace all phenomena, including a larger “we.” 

It is, quite simply, the move from 2nd stage masculine to 3rd stage masculine: the shift from the mythopoetic to Integral, and Integral is the bridge to the next level of consciousness.

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The Integral Warrior and Shamanic Astrology

In my book, Awakening the New Masculine: The Path of the Integral Warrior, I've included some new material I have not previously used in the process. As I consider the Integral Warrior Men's Process an evolutionary approach to men's "work," that goes to new places other men's work has not gone, it only makes sense that it evolves and goes deeper as I evolve my understanding around how all these processes and modalities fit together.

One of the new modalities I've added---to the book, first, and to the workshop, next---is Shamanic Astrology. One of the few shortcomings of Integral Theory is that some of its well-known proponents don't recognize the value of anything archetypal. However, I'm claiming that if I can put archetypes in a developmental context, the door opens to placing them in an integral context. That is not to say Shamanic Astrology is integral, but that it can placed inside a larger integral perspective and that it adds value to that larger perspective.

To give you a feel for Shamanic Astrology, I'm going to use my own chart as an example. I was stunned to see my chart and how it fits together with the work I'm doing around the masculine. It is literally a map that explains not only why I do what I do, but how.

"Well, of course that's why you're on the path you're on!" It's another tool for discovering our Sacred Purpose and its validation.

Shamanic Astrology uses a mythic and archetypal storyline that runs counter to "behaviorism," saying we don't come in to this life as a blank slate, but, rather, that we bring an "original essence" with us that is revealed by our birth time as it relates to the position of the moon. In my case, my moon was in Sagittarius at the time of my birth, which means I used to be a Sagittarius. It is my lineage. It is where I come from. My birth time also reveals that I have the Aries Job in the Sag Tribe. Sagittarius' main issue is the desire to find meaning and purpose. It is a Jungian approach centered around the quest for meaning. The spiritual higher octave of Sagittarius is the love of truth, not as a mental concept, but reality,  or what is true in the moment. Sagittarians have historically been explorers, adventurers and philosophers.  If a Sag were a mountain climber, he wouldn't climb it to get to the top, but to see what lies beyond.

When we add the Aries Job, it is the rugged individualist, or lone wolf of the Sagittarian tribe. It is also the warrior adventurer, but not in the sense of a soldier, but as a commitment to a noble cause or purpose. Again, this is all about what I came in with, and it's helpful to know this, both for the individual and with those who love them.

So, according to my chart, how does my lineage fit in with my current life intent? My chart has a lot on it that has more similarities to my lineage rather than something different, and there are some interesting additions. Less focus is placed on the sun sign than in other systems. I have Mars in Aries and my sun is in Gemini. Aries is the most masculine of the astrological archetypes as it is described in the culture as a mission and purpose oriented individual who has a 100% complete identification with a noble cause or purpose. This is exactly the man that David Deida writes books for. Mostly yang, the Aries man is classic, pure warrior male. With the lineage of the spiritual explorer warrior, this current life intent brings the warrior to being more in the world. My chart says I came into the world at this time in history to investigate an authentic expression of Aries, the masculine. Andrew Harvey is another example of the leading edge expression of how we're re-visioning the masculine archetype. What is the new archetype? Well, that's what my book is about! Shamanic Astrology tells us, "no surprise, there!"

Next, we look at current life purpose, which for me is the Rising Sun, or the Capricorn Mystery School. Here I have the Libra Job in service to Capricorn Rising, which means, instead of the lone wolf warrior of my lineage, I am now here---one of my purposes---to be in a non-hierarchical equal life partnership. It is about responsibility and getting results. The challenging part of this is that for thousands of years, the Capricorn Mystery school has been usurped by the extremely strange aberration known as  hierarchical patriarchy and monotheistic religion which resulted in that pathology instead of evolution of the masculine. But the essence of Capricorn is similar to the Native American view of making no decision without considering seven generations to follow. It is the proper custodianship of  resources that serve the planet and its people. It is the wise elder working with the circle of grandmothers. Mars in Aries/Capricorn Rising is a combination of the new evolving masculine, noble images of responsibility, and my chart says I can't do it alone. Conscious equal partnership is essential....and none of what I'm doing would have been possible without stepping into conscious equal partnership with my wife, Anyaa (who is also a Shamanic Astrologer) because she was the reason all this came up for me and why I found this path. It is this conscious collaboration that allows me to learn more about myself. It is this combination of conscious partnership and being able to demonstrate the capacity to embody the new masculine and the willingness to take on the responsibilities to become a teacher/elder.

But we're not done....My Venus archetype, the feminine, also in Aries, is the warrior amazon. The leading edge of the Aries archetype in the feminine is actually the very same quality that is generally projected on 80% of the yang masculine: the capacity to have this noble cause and purpose. It is also what I project upon my partner.

There's a lot more, of course. But everything in my Shamanic Astrology chart points me to being exactly who I'm being. It confirms everything in my life: my work with the masculine and how it leads to developing the leading edge of that masculine, my relationship as a leading edge of conscious relationship and partnership, and my book. I can look at this and say to myself---as Anyaa has said to herself and to me---"well, that explains a lot!" And then....did I choose what I'm doing around awakening the new masculine and the Integral Warrior, or did it choose me? What does it matter? It is who I am.

While I use the reading to validate what I'm doing, most men I work with will use the Shamanic Astrology reading we'll do in the Integral Warrior Men's Process to get them thinking in a deeper way about finding their purpose and their mission. Also, for most men, this will be the first time they have ever looked deeper at, or even considered, their feminine.

From Awakening the New Masculine: The Path of the Integral Warrior:

One of the best ways to work on the masculine and feminine energies within is through  Shamanic Astrology, which gives us a very helpful map for moving through the cultural and societal changes we have entered. In addition to the larger perspective needed for the immensity of the acceleration and intensity of our interior realm, and the cultural, societal, and survival tools that Shamanic Astrology provides, it’s also a way to use and bring forth the archetypal qualities of the masculine and the feminine. These archetypes are called the mediating energies between heaven and earth—a metaphor for interiority and exteriority, the top two quadrants and the bottom two quadrants of the AQAL model. To do this with women, we’d look at their Mars so they can get in touch with their masculine side, and with men we look at their Venus so they can get more in touch with their feminine.

According to Daniel Giamario, the creator of Shamanic Astrology (and the person who did my reading), the readings “provide clues within an archetypal and mythical framework creating greater awareness for conscious participation with life purpose and the great mystery.” In addition to the prerational— magic and myth, the framework and foundation of all astrology—is added what [Ken]Wilber refers to as the “as if” framework of the rational level of consciousness and the very high metaphoric or “interpretive” framework of the transrational to events and how they shape and inform our lives.

With Shamanic Astrology, we explore the archetypes of each man’s lineage, refining and integrating the dance of his inner feminine and masculine and his best enlightenment and relationship paths. Each man also creates an experiential medicine wheel to acknowledge all of his personal archetypes, deepening his understanding of who he is. Last, each man co-creates a Sacred Marriage ceremony. This is not about telling the future; this is about gaining a deeper understanding of who we are.

To find out more about Shamanic Astrology visit:  http://shamanicastrology.com/
*

Awakening Thought of the Day

"With increasing awareness and understandable anger at centuries of patriarchal behavior, or false male power, we have come to believe that masculinity and patriarchy are the same thing. Consequently, we deny and repress the power and gifts of the Divine masculine."

We forget this at our own peril. It is not only women who have suffered at the hands of patriarchy. The vast majority of men who have lived on the planet are also victims of patriarchal consciousness, most often, as cannon fodder for ambition and power. The Integral Warrior no longer buys into it. The Integral Warrior questions authority in all its guises.

"Awakening the New Masculine" is available on Pre-Order

My Dear Friends, new and old:

Great news about my book, Awakening the New Masculine: The Path of the Integral Warrior:

I am finally to the point where I can see the "book publishing on the wall" and expect to have a published copy in my hand very soon! I can't begin to tell you how much I appreciate your support, your comments, and mostly all the men who went through my men's process, The Integral Warrior, in 2011!

I'm very excited to announce that I am taking pre-release orders off my website for the soft cover version of the book at the Special Pre-Order Price of $11.87 + Shipping and Handling (retail value of $16.95)! There's also a hard cover version that can be purchased at a special price as well. 

I so appreciate all of you who kept asking, "when's the book coming out?...I want to buy it!" Well, it's almost here! By pre-ordering the book now, you'll be one of the first to get it, you'll get it at a special price, and you'll be helping promote the book as I hand all of your prepaid orders to my publisher on the day it's released.

Not to mention supporting this work with men that is so needed on the planet today.

Not sure you want to move this fast? Want to wait to read some reviews? Well, here's what some of my friends and teachers—and my heroes— who are supporting the book are saying:

"Gary Stamper's vision of the new integral man is a refreshing departure from mythic visions of the past, but without abandoning their power or magic. — Allan Combs; Author of Consciousness Explained Better, The Radiance of Being, etc.

"Awakening the New Masculine is a brave, exciting and significant contribution to one of the most important aspects of our time- the birth of a New Sacred Masculine capable of being fiercely and tenderly protective of the world and human life."—Andrew Harvey, Author of The Hope a Guide to Sacred Activism

“Something very ancient and very new is being presented here! Gary Stamper is bringing together many disciplines, much experience, fine scholarship, and good writing style too.” — [Fr.] Richard Rohr, O.F.M., Author of Wild Man to Wise Man and Adam’s Return

Gary Stamper has done a masterful job of pulling together various integral and visionary shamanic approaches to assist the change that is greatly needed for not only men of all ages but also for the masculine that is ready to be activated within us all.” — Linda Star Wolf, author of six books, including Visionary Shamanism: Activating the Imaginal Cells of the Human Energy Field

My book tour will begin shortly after the release and I hope to see all of you at one or more of the book talks I'll be doing around the country as I try to live up to these great comments by these heroes. Another good thing... I love being on the warrior's quest for a noble cause...and in front of people talking about my passion for this work!

Come join me on this journey!

Gary

The Integral Warrior Men's Introductory Weekend

Are women really better at almost everything than men? Dan Abrams seems to think so.

"The evidence here will show, however, that women are living longer and evolving better than men.” It takes a lot for a man to admit his own weaknesses (there’s a chapter on how women tolerate pain better), so we wondered why Abrams would make the case for women. Turns out, it’s a man’s job.

So what does this have to do with men's work? It shows that we've got a lot of work to do, and I challenge you to step into that work!

I have two introductory weekends coming up in the next month: One at Isis Cove on March 19-20, and one in Cincinnati on April 2-3. It's possible these could be the last introductory weekends of the Integral Warrior/Shamanic Priest Process this year. These circles will extend into September and in October, Anyaa and I are going to be touring with Andrew Harvey, author of The Hope.

The introductory weekend gives men a chance to experience the process, to find out more about how it can benefit them, and to decide if they want to continue the other five weekends spread out over 5 months. Read what one man had to say about the intro weekend I just did 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 as Integral Warriors following the path of Sacred Activism.

So I have two questions for you:

What's getting in your way and preventing you from living your purpose and your passion and being the man you know you can and want to be? 

What would you give to shift from your present level of consciousness into an entirely NEW WAY OF THINKING in just a few months time?*

I know....that's a huge claim for anyone to make. Normally, moving from one stage to the next is a five year process, and with intense practices and focused meditation, it might take two. But don't believe me....read here (almost at the bottom of the page) what men (and even a wife!) are saying about THE INTEGRAL WARRIOR men's process.

And more! Read what an initiated Mankind Project man from Cincinnati has to say about the process! Here and here!

I'm inviting you to take action to break through whatever might be holding you back in your personal, professional, spiritual, and planetary evolution.

Join me and other conscious men in Sacred Space as we explore the inner and outer workings of our being for the benefit of ourselves, our loved ones, and the planet!

Attend the first weekend and then decide if you want to complete the entire process.

For more information, visit The Integral Warrior website or email me at garystamper@yahoo.com or, call me at 206-779-5870 with any questions you might have.

Bodacious Blessings and Joy,

Gary

*The Integral Warrior is a proven process that moves men toward later stage consciousness and assists in our ability to hold ourselves as embodying the New Masculine. Using a cutting-edge Integral and developmental approach combined with the Wisdom of the Shaman (altered-states consciousness), Jungian Archetypes, Initiation and Ritual, we create a new paradigm of learning that greatly accelerates our growth.

Click on the flier to see a full-sized image.

Awakening The New Masculine: The Video Promo

This is the promo video for my book, "Awakening the New Masculine: The Path of the integral Warrior." It will be submitted to the Next Top Self Help Author contest on February 1st.

I'll be asking for support by way of your vote and will let you know when and how when it's time. Meanwhile, thanks to all of you who have commented to me via email on the first two chapters here. The support has been absolutely wonderful!

Gary

Developmental Lines and the Integral Psychograph

I'm introducing basic Integral Theory in The Integral Warrior workshop, and in it, we're doing an Integral Psychograph. The Integral Psychograph looks at an individual's "Lines of Development," one of the Five Aspects in the Integral Model. The others are the four quadrants, types, stages, and states. These are different kinds, or types, of intelligences. There is no one measurement of intelligence...rather, we are made up of many different kinds of "intelligences." The ones we're most concerned with for an Integral Psychograph are:

1. Cognitive: thinking clearly and rationally, reasoning capabilities, solving...able to sort things out, make plans, see multiple perspectives. The cognitive sets the stage for all of the other intelligences.

2. Interpersonal; Interaction with others. People who are highly developed here tend to be extroverts. seen in how we notice distinction among others; in particular, contrasts in their moods, temperaments motivations and intentions.

3. Psychosexual: development of the individual's sexuality as affected by biological, cultural, and emotional influences from prenatal life onward throughout life.

4. Emotional: four types of abilities: Perceiving, using, understanding, and managing. (link) describes the ability, capacity, skill to identify, assess, manage and control the emotions of one's self, of others, and of groups.

5. Moral/ethical/values: the capacity to understand right from wrong; it means to have strong ethical convictions and to act on them so that one behaves in the right and honorable way

6. Kinesthetic or physical: control of one's bodily motions and capacity to handle objects skillfully; are generally good at physical activities such as sports or dance. They may enjoy acting or performing, and in general they are good at building and making things.

7. Aesthetic/artistic: may be music, art, writing, love of beauty. the ability to produce, express, communicate and appreciate in a compelling way inner, spiritual, natural and cultural realities and meanings. (This can include aspects of verbal, musical and spatial intelligences.

8. Spiritual: Sometimes called the ultimate intelligence and the guide for all the other intelligences, It is the soul's intelligence, the intelligence of the deep self. It is the intelligence with which we ask fundamental questions and with which we reframe our answers. 

9. Empathy/compassion: Those with high empathetic intelligence do well at commiserating, ‘reading’ others, making themselves ‘likable’ as well as persuading and manipulating.  The emotionally intelligent know what reactions their own actions will produce in others before they act.

These are but a few of the "lines of development," one of the 5 aspects of the integral model. So why are these important in our development? I believe that to be fully evolving, we need not only to feel and have state, or temporary experiences, but that knowing how we evolve aids us in our rapid transition to later stages (permanent structures) of consciousness, and that knowing this allows us to consciously participate in our own evolution. To do this fully, we must consider all five of the aspects of the Integral model.

So we do the cognitive work which prepares us for a deeper understanding of the experiential elements (like meditation, journeying or Shamanic Breathwork) which, together, help us shift by allowing us to interpret these altered-state experiences from the highest perspective possible.

Click on the image to enlarge