Love, intimacy, trust

Our deepest wound - that which drives our stress, violence, fears of failure, addictions, relationship difficulties, ... is our lack of: Intimacy, love, self-esteem, connection with others, community, belonging, connection with the Earth. These connections give us true identity, belonging, power, clarity and roots upon which to construct a stable life and relationships. Without these loving connections it is impossible to trust, to relax and be fully present with others and in life.

Men in Movement therapy and groups work with deep respect and compassion, offering a gentle holding environment, seeing your innocence and integrity. This rebuilds trust so that we can allow ourselves to be fully present and vulnerable .... the place where we can finally receive love.

As we look at ourselves there is anger, joy, pain, love and fear - the emotions we try and suppress. One of the few emotional behaviours permitted to boys and men as a response to pain or dissatisfaction is violence: verbal, emotional, physical, .... A key task in men's work is to identify, contain and channel the full range of emotions in safe and creative ways. We:

• Find ways of fully identifying, feeling and expressing the emotions with the men in the group.
• Negotiate a safe way to cry, laugh, shout, fight, tremble, ..... and fully go into all the emotions that arise as you explore your life.
• As we re-connect with the emotions involved in being human this gives us several things:

       - access to our 'self', more clarity about ourselves and our lives. What is happening to me?
       - Being in touch with the emotions liberates the energy to make profound changes
       - real authentic expression helps to clarify all of our relationships
       - Indeed just engaging with the emotions is already a powerful change for most men. Doing this work with men is already a paradigm change

The containment required to safely enable this emotional exploration means:

• Acceptance of the experience of each participant. Letting go of the politically correct or other restrictive beliefs.
• A stable group that gets to know each participant. We build trust and mutual confidence.
• Gentle and respectful confrontation of the inconsistencies and psychological games we each play
• Engagement with the emotions of each participant. Willingness to face each other - being real is being a true friend.

• These qualities grow as a group works together over time.

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