Masculinity - Creating a New Narrative

Masculinity - Creating a New Narrative

Most men know in their hearts and minds that it is time to create a new narrative for strong and positive masculinity. Most women have known this for a while now (thank you for your patience ladies!) It is pretty obvious, that the exaggerated and warped expressions of traditional masculine traits that characterise toxic masculinity are not relevant nor serving men anymore. 

Sure, men were taught that to be successful in a patriarchal society, they needed to align with the ‘be a man’, ‘toughen up’ ‘grow some balls’ narrative. They were encouraged to be stoic and unemotional and at the same time were judged as weak for showing vulnerability and sensitivity. Certainly men have lacked positive role models due to the tens of millions of men that died in the many 20th Century wars. Or as an example, that over 40% of all births in the U.S.A in 2015 were born to single mothers.

As with all natural cycles, when things are no longer sustainable, they disintegrate leading to new creations and innovations.

We know too well what this destruction has looked like. On the one hand, it has contributed to a global community of men who have lost their identity and experience considerable mental health and addiction issues and an increasing rate of suicide. On the other hand, it has been highlighted as unsustainable by things such as the ‘Me Too’ movement, workplace equality and domestic violence campaigns just to name a few. Many would agree that the issues we currently face as a global community are a result of men not being aligned with their true masculinity and this has created an imbalance in the collective. 

In this new world, women are taking the lead and men are no longer calling all the shots. Men, this should be celebrated and not feared. When we partner with women and they are empowered and educated, we create better outcomes for society. There is plenty of research and projects that show this.

As retired footballer and men’s mental health activist, Wayne Schwass put it, “It is not about blame or shame, it is about responsibility and opportunity”

Masculine energy wants to stand strong, stable and expansive. Make a difference, have a purpose, provide for loved ones and help others.. and much more! The challenge is, how do we, as men, be accountable, change our behaviour and do it differently?

Responsibility and opportunity lies with each individual man doing the work, committing to change but the key is to have the unwavering support of other men, doing the same thing. 

Vedic Meditation, when practiced daily, allows men to dissolve built up stress that causes poor health and poor behaviour, experienced so commonly by men. It also provides a healthy and sustainable framework to feel and let go of negative emotions when they arise and helps to transcend and process patterns of thinking and behaviour associated with the old patriarchal social conditioning. Most of all, a man’s true nature is first experienced when the mind settles into its least excited state then, it is able to expressed outwardly, for everyone to enjoy and benefit from. It is a fantastic baseline practice to bring about positive change. 

Additional to meditation, sitting with other men and sharing our common experiences has been pivotal in my continued development. I can’t recommend this enough. If you are looking for a starting point, check out the work of David Deida, John Gray and John Wineman!

And lastly, thank you women for your love and patience with us blokes!