Men's Work
Written by Adam Sippola, Shane Orton, and Jason Minnix
Relatefulness and a new manhood
Relatefulness supports the emergence of a new manhood where the masculine energetic of conscious awareness grows from the feminine ground of being. Being relateful can help men peel back social expectations and conditioned masculinity to discover their authentic, evolving relational essence.
A potent medicine for men
Bringing relational mindfulness, presence, and conscious communication to areas like shame, violence, sexuality, emotional intelligence, purpose, strength, and vulnerability can be potent medicine in a world where men often feel expectations (external and internal) to figure things out alone.
Benefits of being relateful
Being relateful empowers men to become more intimate with their inner worlds as they meet themselves through the relational crucibles of Focus and Flow. This self-intimacy, forged in the fires of connection and nourished in the waters of deep presence, can lead to:
- Increased emotional intelligence
- Deeper embodiment
- A felt sense of the body’s intelligence centers
- Listening from stillness
- Sharing from curious awareness and embodied being
- Meeting and integrating shadows, parts and archetypes
- Greater capacity to be with what arises in the moment
- Nervous system training and resilience
- Clarity of purpose through intimacy with essence
- Discovering and embracing your unique dance and balance with masculine and feminine energy
- A generative relationship with power
- How to embrace conflict as a doorway to more truth and closeness
- More relaxation in being
- Alignment of balls, belly, heart, and head
- Self love
A place for exploring masculinity and vulnerability
Relatefulness is a practice of integrating many points of view. It’s not specifically created as “men’s work, but, as a man, the unique difference of being a man is continually explored (whether we're aware of it or not). It’s a place where you can take your time to explore tough questions and get honest feedback from men, women, and beyond.
What is attractive? What is expected of us for being men? Why am I asked to be vulnerable, but expected to always be strong? Seeing men relate openly and having other men empathize has been extremely powerful and inspiring. It’s not surprising to a lot of us when we’ve heard many people say that these are the kinds of men they want to be in relationship with.
Addressing the absence of integrated role models for men
People who identify as being masculine often experience the absence of integrated role models. We are underfathered as a culture, missing the richness of rites of passage, vision quests and other supportive rituals that decenter the ego. Relatefulness at its best can offer generative spaces to include and and transcend our smaller transitory identities where we expand to include otherness.
Find out more about the author:
Adam Sippola
Facilitator at The Relateful Company
Shane Orton
Facilitator at The Relateful Company