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| Robert Bly at his reading. Photo from Wikipedia. |
Today I started an initiative, which I was dreaming about for a long time.
I wanted to create a men's group. A group for young men.
The idea of the mythopoetic men's movement was created by the American poet Robert Bly. He insisted that the current society hurts the men's souls and changes the millenniums old tradition of men's growth.
The concept
Bly's book "Iron John: A Book About Man" is a seminal work, which inspired thousands of men to seek for their personal, spiritual and social development. The name of the book was taken from the fairy tale "Iron John (or ""Iron Hans") from Brothers Grimm's collection. This is a story about the maturing and growing of a young man. The mentor's role is an important element of this fairy tale, because John grows with the help of a wild man.
So after several weeks of preparation, today was the first meeting of (what I call) the Men's Mythopoetic Society of Haskovo. I salute these brave and open young men - all in their mid-twenties - for their will and for their courage to explore, share, discuss and grow their male souls.
Dear Veselin, Hristo, Simon, Plamen, Vladimir and Evgeni, - you are all great!
* * *
Parts of "Iron John" (thanks to Google Books):
Bly's book "Iron John: A Book About Man" is a seminal work, which inspired thousands of men to seek for their personal, spiritual and social development. The name of the book was taken from the fairy tale "Iron John (or ""Iron Hans") from Brothers Grimm's collection. This is a story about the maturing and growing of a young man. The mentor's role is an important element of this fairy tale, because John grows with the help of a wild man.
Bly is not anti-women. He is pro-men. Bly respects the women's need for development and independence, but underlines that men have the same need. Especially today, when men grow surrounded by women, without the presence of a significant male role models in the most of the day. Since the early 1980s Bly apply his deep visions of the new reintegrated and strengthened men through series of workshops for men. This initiative eventually gave birth to the Mythopoetic Men's Movement.
The methodology
The movement led by Bly is very influenced by C.G.Jung's ideas about archetypes. The men's gatherings are focused on issues like gender role, gender identity, and emotional and psychological well-being of the modern man. Men just think and talk, and then listen to others, and then rethink and talk again. The workshops often use storytelling with musical accompaniment. The purpose of the workshops is to empower men by giving them archetypal characters which could explain their own emotions and abilities.
The methodology
The movement led by Bly is very influenced by C.G.Jung's ideas about archetypes. The men's gatherings are focused on issues like gender role, gender identity, and emotional and psychological well-being of the modern man. Men just think and talk, and then listen to others, and then rethink and talk again. The workshops often use storytelling with musical accompaniment. The purpose of the workshops is to empower men by giving them archetypal characters which could explain their own emotions and abilities.
So after several weeks of preparation, today was the first meeting of (what I call) the Men's Mythopoetic Society of Haskovo. I salute these brave and open young men - all in their mid-twenties - for their will and for their courage to explore, share, discuss and grow their male souls.
Dear Veselin, Hristo, Simon, Plamen, Vladimir and Evgeni, - you are all great!
* * *
Parts of "Iron John" (thanks to Google Books):
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