The Awakened Masculine Program
As men in the western world, how do we choose to live? Our world is literally dying for the awakened masculine. Can we evolve beyond our conditioned masculine roles and live the lives we’re meant to live? How can we move through fear, failure, and family patterns to open our hearts? And once the heart is open, how will it connect to our sexuality? Body, sex, heart, mind, spirit — how can they dance harmoniously together? How can we interact with women and fully honor our masculine nature? And how can we connect with or create a community of men that can support us in embodying the mature, awakened masculine on this planet?
These questions and more are explored in The Awakened Masculine program. Led by Jim Benson, this series of evening intensives are designed to open the mind, heart and body, and allow the arising of the authentic masculine in each participant.
The Awakened Masculine is a closed group with 8 to 12 participants. Interviews will take place the month before each new series. In addition to weekly meetings, participants can expect to receive regular homework assignments. Coaching sessions with Jim Benson are an optional part of the curriculum.
Men accepted into the program will engage in practices designed to:
- encourage the heart to soften its armoring and protection
- uncover masculine power and presence
- gain a deeper understanding of the feminine
- open the body to greater fluidity and surrender
- awaken the energies of sacred sexuality
- help you relax into the experience of your authentic self
- connect you with the deeper purpose of your life
- bring greater awareness and consciousness to all activity
Rogelio Herrera and Chris White facilitating a kava ceremony for the Awakened Masculine program in Palo Alto, Spring 2007.
What men say about the program
"I'd go down any river with Jim Benson as my guide. Watch out, he might make you howl like a wolf, and then show you that you've been one all along! Jim is a wise, intuitive, compassionate and KICK ASS guide for men. I recommend him unreservedly."
—Jonathan Gustin, Executive Director, Green Sangha
"Jim is the finest mens' group leader I have ever encountered. He has the rare capacity to be open-hearted and vulnerable as well as the unyielding courage and clarity to call men out of their mediocrity so as to evoke what is greatest within them.
It is clear Jim leads mens' groups not merely for his own pleasure, although clearly it is a great joy for him, but rather to encourage men to leave their complacent nests and start showing up and meeting themselves, their partners, their children, and the planet with a fullness that few men have the opportunity to embody. Jim's playful, embodied intimacy with himself enables him to model a form of masculinity only seen in the rarest of men.
I came away from the group in touch with a creative clarity and a relaxed courage that came from aligning with the internal integrity I could feel, but that I had not previously been living from. This alignment opened me up to a personal immensity that is a joy for me and my wife to experience."
—David Butlein, Ph.D., Senior Consultant, JMJ Associates
"Jim’s work creates so many powerful changes in his men — it made me feel twice as alive, vibrant, and powerful. He reinforced my latent talents and joyous aliveness and gave me confidence to share myself fully with my friends and family — with men, women, and the world. My earning potential probably more than doubled as a result of participating in the Awakened Masculine Program.
—Michael Clark, business consultant
"Jim is an excellent facilitator of depth masculine work and beautifully embodies the qualities that he is teaching: presence, clarity, humor, strength, and compassion. His work helped awaken in me the power of the masculine presence."
—Mark Coleman, Spirit Rock meditation teacher, author of Awake in the Wild
"With his Awakened Masculine work, Jim Benson is taking the men's movement to a whole new level of self-inquiry that invites men to grow beyond the typical "harsh" male attitude, and also beyond the soft new-ager who won't commit to anything. With the many tools he has developed, Jim shows how to blend within ourselves the strong masculine (who is not afraid to impregnate the world with the light of his conscious mind and body), and the nurturing feminine. I highly recommend any man who is on his path to spend time with Jim and his work. My life has changed since doing so."
—Peter Edwards, community leader
The Awakened Masculine Spring 2006 group on our last evening together.
For more information
Check out the Awakened Masculine website for details about upcoming groups or for more details about what to expect in a typical group evening. Or fill out the form below to be included on any updates about upcoming Awakened Masculine events.
