Our future: the unfolding of true men
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Our future: the unfolding of true men
How can you break the stereotypes society has imposed on men? How can you live a life that you know is true and honouring of yourself, knowing you will most probably be judged or ridiculed? Are there others out there feeling the same way I do and going through what I am experiencing and feeling?
These are some of the questions I was asking myself after returning from Vietnam in 2012, where I had just attended a Universal Medicine retreat. I had come to realise that I had been subscribing to models of men created by society that were not true. I was now struggling to live as a true man in a world that had other expectations. I also knew I couldn’t be the only man on the planet feeling this.
What is a true man?
Men have reinterpreted what it is to be a real man. They are innately tender, caring and nurturing, only different to a woman in their physicality.
It was around this time I had a strong impulse to initiate a men’s group, something different to the existing models. I wanted to go deeper and discuss what I was feeling, I wanted men to be able to express what they were feeling deep inside but never had an opportunity or felt safe to do.
After taking counsel from Universal Medicine founder Serge Benhayon the first of these meetings was held in Brisbane in mid-2012. For those who attended it took a while for us to let down our guards. However there was no denying that we knew these meetings were beneficial in helping us explore and discuss what we had been experiencing in our lives.
We were able to come together as men, as equals, and discuss without judgement, without problem solving, without blame, our day-to-day experiences that we were all going through but were unable to share in other environments.
As men we were able for the first time to discuss and describe the tender man we felt inside, as well as receive and offer support to bring that tender man to the fore and not be afraid or ashamed to present him to the world.
The foundations had been set, and then from this one group other groups evolved around the world through and under the banner of Universal Medicine. Since then these groups have flourished and lives have been transformed. The men attending these groups have explored and discovered enough of who they are to be able to share this with others; they can now offer a deeper understanding on how life can be lived with and through the ageless wisdom.
Five years on – in 2017, after returning from my second Vietnam retreat – I felt a pull similar to that in 2012. This time the impulse was to have the men that had been attending the Universal Medicine men’s groups to now host meetings that could support others unfold the protective layers so many of us accumulate over the years. To offer a model that supports men to be gentle and tender without the need to be hard and void of emotion. These new groups would offer a space where men could gather and share wisdom and realisations to help each other move along their path back to being a true man. It was then in Brisbane that the groups we now know as the “Unfolding Men” were established.
After consolidating a grounding for these groups, other men that had regularly frequented the Universal Medicine men’s groups around the world started to feel the pull and Unfolding Men groups have now established themselves in Australian capital cities and regions, as well as the UK. Wisdom and lived experiences are being shared between the men for the benefit of all, as we are all forever learning and confirming as we travel our separate yet united paths.
I personally have benefited from these groups in a way that has given me an understanding of the world I live in through true communication and expression. My relationships with my wife, children, son-in-law, parents, friends, work associates and people I meet daily have blossomed due to what I have gained sharing experiences between myself and other men. What is also evident is how others that attend these groups are now living their lives and sharing their experiences with others.
It is beautiful to see men living their lives expressing out to the world their true selves, not being restricted by what society has dictated they should be. To see how these men are now living compared to where they once were is a true joy.
To find out more about Unfolding Men or to join a group, please click here.
Filed under
Ageless Wisdom, Awareness, Brotherhood, Communication, Expression
