New Warrior Testimonials

The NWTA changed my life. So has being part of The ManKind Project community. I have discovered how to be an elder, not a senior citizen, not an old person, not one of the elderly, but a true and wise elder. I now know what the next and last phase of my life is about and I am eager to take it on. I don't intend to be put out to pasture, or be warehoused in a nursing home. I intend to stay engaged with the world as an elder, sharing my wisdom and blessing younger men and women who want to be seen and heard. Not only that, I intend to call out other elders to join me, as I have come to see just how powerful a role we have. It's good for us and good for everyone else. I have a mission for the last quarter of my life, which is: 'I co-create a world of harmony by seeing and blessing people for who they truly are.'
Alan Gilburg, Holyoke, Massachusetts

For me MKP's greatest gift is just making it possible to sit in a group of men and share something deeper than how I felt about last night's soccer match. Women will tell their deepest secrets to their hairdresser. Men sometimes take decades to move beyond basic grunting with each other. MKP accelerates that ability to trust and share.

The challenge of facing my deepest, darkest self was absolutely terrifying, yet doing this with a group of men who have done the same themselves was a beautiful experience.

Business leaders who utilise only the hard-nosed intellectual part have been found wanting. Today business requires leaders who are connected to their customers and their stakeholders at the emotional level and who bring their being to every engagement.

The NWTA gave me a tool belt. A place to store all the tools for growth that I have picked up throughout my life. I got a new set of tools to use as well - that I hadn't been aware of. It also gave me a new sense of spirituality and community that I hadn't experienced before. The one relationship that will be impacted for the better is the one that I have with myself and my outlook on life.

I just returned from the Elder Retreat and just loved it. I even loved working in the kitchen amongst other men. Last year I got out of an oppressive job and landed a great new job as an Optometrist at a new Wal-Mart on Lafayette Road and couldn't have done it without getting clear, owning my stuff, dealing with my stuff, and developing a strong work ethic and integrity. The MKP experiences helped tremendously. I am grateful for MKP and grateful for all the men and mentors.

One of the most positive workshops that I've attended. The NWTA is a genuine experience that helped me to identify the choices in my life that were continuing to hold me back. It has had a positive effect on my family as well as my career.

I just felt a big chunk of my burden lifted off and the abyss that I had felt all my life sealed with love and peace after this weekend.

If I'd not done the NWTA, I believe I would have died alone. At age 50, I'd never married and I figured I wouldn't, because I really couldn't trust anyone ... women, myself, other men, or God. Now at 60, I know my wife and I are in an "until death do us part" marriage, AND I have a 4 1/2 year old son and a 2 year old daughter. All because I now CAN trust enough to be real, and not to sabotage relationships that feel safe. It's important to me to keep doing this work so that my marriage is joyous, not white knuckle, and my castle gets windows and a drawbridge.

The support and honesty I received on the MKP Warrior Training and subsequent work since then has allowed me to go deep within and make the difficult choices and changes that I needed to.

I now feel empowered and passionate about life. I recommend the New Warrior Training to every man wanting to find balance and purpose in his life.

Through my experience with the Mankind Project I have been able to see clearly how and why two 12-year marriages ended in divorce. I was able to define what I wanted and needed in a relationship, and I have found that relationship.

The New Warrior Training Adventure is a challenging and life changing experience.

I completed the program as did my sons. It has enriched our lives and relationships, both inside and outside the family circle.

By doing this training, I finally came to terms with my own father, as I was able to forgive him for the marvelously imperfect job that he did. And I can now forgive myself when I am an imperfect dad. The men in my community help me to remember that the most important part of being a good dad is simply to love my sons and to love their mother.

Through the weekend I found a safe and nurturing way to do my personal work and to develop as a man...AND I did it at age 55. So, now I have the joy of working with and learning from men of all ages, including many younger. I look forward to my elder years knowing that they will be a time of growth and not waiting around to die.

I was 60 yrs old when I was initiated in December '90. I will soon be 80 yrs old at my next birthday. What amazes me is how much I have received by being a part of this work for 20 yrs. When I entered at 60 I could count on the fingers of one hand the few men I had been close to in my lifetime. Now that I'm 80 my heart overflows with gratitude at how many men I am bonded with deeply and powerfully. To tell the truth, I have received from these other men more love, and blessing, and honor than I could have earned in a hundred lifetimes. So, the only way I will ever leave this work is "feet first"-- and even then I will hope to be carried by men I love and cherish.

The weekend and each experience with MKP since my NWTA has opened my heart in a deeper more meaningful way. With that open heart I can give and receive love much more powerfully.

I did my training over seven years ago, and still find it one of the most valuable experiences in my fifty-nine years on the planet.

I was afraid that my arthritis in my back and hips would create a problem on the weekend. I found no problem with this as the support staff was always there for me. They always emphasized safety. I saw others with handicaps who were also accommodated. I felt totally accepted.

As a monk, I had undergone an initiation when I entered the monastery nineteen years before. I found the initiation experience of the New Warrior Training Adventure to be an explosive re-discovery of myself and my mission as a man, a Roman Catholic Christian, a Benedictine monk and priest.

New Warrior Training is an authentic initiation into the cauldron of mature masculinity. I recommend it highly to deeply committed men. The NW staff are loving, generous, and deep-intentioned men who will evoke the very best within you. -Forrest Craver Convener of the North American Confederation of Men's Councils

L’'aventure initiatique des nouveaux guerriers fut pour moi l’'occasion de vraies retrouvailles avec mes frères les hommes, et avec le masculin en moi. J’'ai pu découvrir ma mission sur cette terre et me rendre compte que la servir est beaucoup plus simple que ce que je croyais. Etre un homme conscient dans ce monde est une merveilleuse aventure.

The New Warrior Training Adventure was an opportunity for me to truly meet with my brothers again and with the masculinity within me. I was able to discover what my mission on earth was and to realize that serving it is much easier than I thought. To be a man aware in this world is an amazing adventure.

Je crée un monde renouvelé où chaque homme retrouve son unité en manifestant ma puissance créatrice pour construire de nouveaux espaces de guérison.

I create a renewed world where each man finds back his unity, by letting free my creative power to build up new healing places

As an older man, this is the first place where I have been welcomed and respected as an elder.

The ManKind Project (MKP) is beyond valuable, it is a desperately needed resource and outlet for men. As a workshop leader, life coach and published author focused on personal growth, I recognize the incredible work MKP does. I recommend the New Warrior Training Adventure (NWTA) and the ManKind Project to any man who is willing and ready to look inside and rediscover himself. Doing this work is more than just a gift to oneself; it is a gift to the loved ones and community in each man’s life. I wholly support and endorse the ManKind Project and NWTA weekend. -Freeman Michaels, MA - Author of Weight Release: A Liberating Journey

For years, I lived a life of disconnection from men. I grew up with trust issues as a result of things that impacted me in a negative way. As I got older I realized that it was difficult for me to trust, even though I wanted to be able to very badly. MKP gave me the comforting support system of men who really care. As a result of this support, I am able to open the places of my heart that had been closed. I am a FREE man now!

At age 63 I thought that I experienced all that this life held for me. My weekend was a re-birth, a new beginning of a new life that holds endless ways to grow, to be happier, to find myself after years of shutting down. How exciting the future is and how excited I am to be walking a new path, filled with hope, love and new brothers.