New Warrior Testimonials

I don’t know whether or not real men cry, but I do know that an authentic man, one who claims authorship for his own life decisions and who recognizes the authorship of others for theirs, will cry in place of making someone else carry the burden of his own grief.

The ManKind project has brought me to this realization.

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

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.

MKP gave me the opportunity to live a life of connection with the world around me, rather than isolation and fear. Before my NWTA, I had everything I had hoped for -- a prosperous career with an incredible salary, success over years of addiction, material possessions -- but I was still alone and in fear. I was afraid to let go of the dream and hope that eventually my father and uncles were finally going to step forward to show me how to be a man. Instead, I have elders and brothers in MKP who WANT to connect with me on this level. I now am able to help the next man living that same life of isolation and fear that crippled me.

What could possibly be so compelling that an independent and very busy man would choose to meet for 4 hours every other week for 13 years with a group of 10 other guys? I can tell you, it is not sports, or poker, or hunting. It is the discovery that emotional authenticity and trusting other men completely can save a man's life. How valuable is that to his children?

A 'veteran' of self-help books, 'healing' workshops, and personal development courses, I felt powerless to consistently extend myself to be the 'me' I wanted to be. At 41 I needed to regain some of that elusive courage and self-belief I demonstrably had years ago. Several 'things' in the MKP New Warrior Training Adventure literature 'spoke' to that part of me that wanted to be more than my current lot. I took the plunge, enrolled, and attended what remains the most transformative and empowering experience-bar none I have ever experienced. Simply put, the MKP Initiation is a highly evolved and purely spiritual 'initiation' into the sum of the best that Mankind has ever been, and has potential to become;- it's the 'ignition' a truly 'connected' man must experience to connect and remain in tune with the sacred mature masculine energy which permeates our world. It is 'essential' men's business, as practiced throughout the history of mankind prior to its suppression in recent centuries through excessive religious practices and over-rationalism. I will happily speak to any man of this essential experience at any time on +61411754547-its the least I can do to share this sacred, and much-needed gift with another man who needs it like I did.

On the Weekend, I learned how much I had been hiding my feelings from myself, living in shadow, blaming everything on everyone else in the process. I was living with total misunderstanding of my own role in creating sadness. The Weekend was a first step, but one I probably wouldn't have taken on my own. Also, I discovered an honest and compassionate connection with men that I had never known before. With initiated men, I continue to have experiences that mystify me and bring a richness to my life that I rarely have with uninitiated men. I believe that it is because I learned to trust men who have willingly gone through the initiation, but that I am generally still suspicious of men who have not.

For me the weekend is, in a word, magic. Courageous men held me in an envelope that allowed me to experience myself in a challenging and sacred place.

Before the journey of the NWTA I was floundering around trying to hold things together with sheer will. Now I have some new tools that serve as mirrors and magnifying glasses into my heart, allowing me to see the 'shadow' and confront it.

I feel like I've had my eyes opened. I feel more alive and aware, especially about myself, than probably ever. I'm seeing things, good and bad, about myself, that I either had long since forgotten about, taken for granted, rationalized, excused, grown numb to, or written off as standard behavior. Bottom line is, I've been missing out on being in on my life.

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.

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.

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.

ManKind Project fulfills my need for connection with men. MKP came in my 70's, a culmination of years of teaching men's issues and running a college men's group. It is for me a place of loving support where I can become more whole and further the transformation of the planet. I experience in the work of I Group the range of my emotions, always with an underlying sense of joy--saying "Is this possible?"

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.

It not only helped me clarify my role and mission as a man, it solidified my sense of manhood in a way that no other experience could.

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.

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.

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!

I had been involved with men's work for almost fifteen years before I attended my NWTA in 2001. I'd done the butch things (boxer, martial artist, military) and still had some significant trust issues with other men. My NWTA was the beginning of solving that, and my ongoing participation in an I-Group has been a major addition to my life since then. MKP isn't for everyone, but it dramatically helped me. I feel blessed to have found this work while still in my thirties. I am less angry but much more fierce, more loving and trusting, wiser and more alive. Much of this I attribute to my participation in MKP and the support of my MKP brothers. I am no "true believer" by any means, but MKP dramatically helped me.

The most profound impact for me was the awakening of my spirit and through this, the realization that every thing I do matters and has an impact on the universe. Where I once felt powerless, I now feel inspiration. With this new found inspiration I have the ability to communicate from the heart, with love and compassion and have been able to enrich my life and the lives of others around me. Gone are the days of my life being ruled by the fears in my head, and with that, the waste and destruction caused by those fears that showed up as judgment and anger. The only regret in my life is that I didn't do the training earlier, and the lost opportunities to create a safer world sooner for my loved ones and others.

I have begun on a road to change my life to be accountable, honest, and have integrity. My shadow has begun to be revealed to begin much future work.

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 truth is, I was afraid of this training. Even though I've written about men and worked with men for many years, the fact is -- as I discovered on the Weekend -- I didn't really trust men. I'm glad I overcame my fear. This was the most powerful training I've ever done, and the changes it started in me have been both deep and positive.

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

"In 1983, I wrote The Secrets that Men Keep. After experiencing the New Warrior Training I'm rewriting that book. It's the most important men's work occurring in the U.S., and perhaps in the world, today." --Dr. Ken Druck Psychologist, Consultant, Author

Previous cultures throughout history always intended authentic masculine initiation. But their vision and their cultural context of the world was necessarily limited. Since the first earthrise photograph from outer space, we have entered a new mythological era. For the first time in human history, we have before us the possibility of authentic masculine initiation - an initiation into the global brotherhood. --Dr. Robert Moore, Coauthor of King, Warrior, Magician, Lover

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

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.

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 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

It was like a fresh window on how I could grow as a Man.
I was challenged to step beyond paralysing fear and inhibition into strong and focussed "power" as a person of manly love and clear gentleness and, as time goes by, of increasing wisdom.

My weekend took place in October 2007 in exactly the right place at exactly the right time.

I left behind something that I hadn't realised was gnawing away at my being for 14 years. Now it is gone, my life's compass points true. The road ahead is sometimes treacherous, though I now call upon a strong sense of direction supported by men who I would walk to the end of the earth with - men who I can proudly regard as a band of brothers.

The ManKind Project was a tremendous learning experience for me and it gave me a whole new outlook. - Joe S.

Since attending my initial New Warrior Training Adventure in 1995, I think I've been more consistently aware of my daily life's choices and tuned-in as to how those choices affect people around me ... I also embrace a personal mission of service which- like me, is constantly evolving! My current mission is to co-create a conscious and harmonious world by authentically and creatively expressing myself. -Michael Pierce.

I am able to balance all of my "parts" in a manner which allows more love in my life.

The biggest thing I got from my weekend was being welcomed into a community of men who live in authenticity. I learned that I am worthy. Now that I am part of this community of men, one of the biggest things in my life is giving back ... helping to make this a safer world for everybody - Paul 'Bugs' Swarms

I learned how to lead in a good way. I learned about mission in my life and how to live my purpose authentically.

From my participation in MKP and my NWTA I learned how to value myself and to envision myself as a real man - and to live my life fully in service as a Peaceful Warrior.

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.

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 learned that there are other men in the world that are ready and willing to love ... what a relief.

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 most important relationship that will be impacted for the better is the one that I have with myself and my outlook on life.

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.

I highly recommend the MKP New Warrior Adventure personally and professionally. I went through the program in September, 1999 and found it to be life changing. I have been to numerous workshops and trainings for myself personally and professionally and believe MKP to be one of the best. I was in need of healing around the wounding I experienced from straight males for being gay throughout my childhood. I never felt so loved and respected by heterosexual men as I have in the MKP circles. Bringing all men together—gay, straight and bisexual—is a great healing for everyone. The work involved in the MKP is done professionally and with the highest level of integrity I have ever experienced and witnessed. - Joe Kort, MSW, PhD, author of Gay Affirmative Therapy for the Straight Clinician

I know I'm a man because.... I can love, I can laugh, I can cry, I can sit for hours alone or be with other men and be happy and content either way. I am "present" and I am honest (although you may not like it...but that's fine too) I am authentic and I am open. Thanks to the MEN of MKP for showing me how to be the MAN I am capable of being!

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 regretted that we no longer have initiation to formally bring us males into the ‘world of the men’. I went through the New Warrior Training in 1999, and along with the sense that I am now ‘with the men’ (I was fifty at the time), I came away with a personal life mission, and a clear sense of my role as a man in the ‘modern world’, where men’s roles have changed so dramatically over the past century. My oldest son, and two sons-in-law have now taken the New warrior Training, and both they and their wives are very glad they did. Perhaps ‘men mentoring men through the stages of life’ best describes the ManKind Project, and I know of no other organization that helps men get such an honourable and accountable sense of what it is to be a man. ~ Noel McNaughton founder Men at Midlife

I did my weekend in 2005, and I believe it changed my life. Prior to the weekend, I'd done a ton of personal growth work, including therapy, workshops and all kinds of groups. I've always been expressive, honest and open. But in many ways, men scared me. I saw myself as an outsider, and deep down, felt like who I was wasn't enough. At my weekend I learned to value my authentic self and I continue to grow as I connect to MKP circles in my native New York and around the world (I travel a bit). I've recently moved across the country and feel connected to MKP in my new home. I'm grateful to have found this organization and have been able to make many deep connections with men from a variety of backgrounds.

About the NWTA: The NWTA woke me up to the power and the responsibility of being a man. It helped me find and learn to express all of the feelings I had been suppressing. It helped me get out of my head and more into my heart. It helped me confront some of my emotional wounds and start to work on healing them. It woke me up to how harmful my perfectionism had been to me and to others. It helped me find a personal mission for my life - a purpose that I live with excitement every day as I do the work I have chosen to do to make the world a better place. It taught me the importance of finding the courage to speak my truth as part of my way of making the world better. And, as a man with no brothers, it gave me the gift of dozens of men all around the world who I now love as brothers, and who I know love me as their brother. It has enriched my life beyond anything I ever imagined.

About MKP iGroup Men's Groups: My iGroup has been the most enriching part of my involvement with MKP. Meeting with this group of men every week has created a closeness and feeling of trust that is a wonderful gift in my life. These men know me better than anyone else, perhaps even better than my wife and children know me. They give me the gift of supporting me every week, and they give the gift of allowing me to support them every week. They give me advice when I ask for it. They hear my truth about who I really am, even when that truth is very difficult for me to say out loud. And when I need someone to just listen, they listen. These men are my closest, most trusted brothers, and they are a wonderful gift in my life.

About the NWTA: I came to the NWTA at age 48, knowing that what ever it was in me that I wanted to connect to, I couldn't do it alone (believe me I'd tried). My life experiences had me believing I was being squeezed out of shape and displaced by a mad world and that I was battling for a sane space in it. I was blown away by the whole experience because I could see each process was beautifully insightful metaphor for some aspect my life. It help me put a context and framework to view my internal landscape to build meaning. Most importantly I saw for the first time that I was not alone in my struggle for meaning - other men knew the same territory, those being trained, the staff and the creators of the weekend.

About MKP iGroup Men's Groups: Meeting with men on a fortnightly basis has been invaluable to me in self-discovery and identifying my patterns of behaviour in a safe and mutually supportive circle. This is particularly because these things show up most in everyday life and can be looked at just like taking the car to a garage when something odd shows up; a noise, rattle or more serious.

I would like to Honor George Daniels, my Dad, who passed away of Brian cancer. Dads are often the most misunderstood part of the family. As a rule, men have trouble displaying their emotions. This is a product of a society that believes that it is not macho to show emotions. Fathers may have been shamed into repressing their emotions and may pass this on to their children. On the other hand, to have a Dad that is a Warrior who can show his children that a real man is one who shows emotion is a great gift.

He taught me that a Father plays a huge role in his children's development he showed me how to love, I am the Man I am today because of him. It makes me sad that I lost him but I am grateful and blessed that he was in my life. He staffed my weekend and slept in a tent behind my cabin to be close to me because of that love. I will always be his son, and he will always be my Dad. Dad I love you with all my heart, Thank you for being a great role model and showing me a better way to live and love. You are and always will be an inspiration, to me each and every day, you will live forever in my heart. - Ed

About the NWTA: If you have not heard of Mankind Project, all is good. Just know it is a transforming experience for me that I choose to share with you now.
1. NWTA is a rebirth; My Little Boy lives and My Gold mine is open. There is no such thing as change, more of me, being better, or acting differently. It is about being awake, alive, and constantly transforming, in the present.
2. First Staffing was a revelation around how I create chaos … from everything … and nothing. How that chaos, while made up, works for me beyond the first staffing is to serve as a fuel for transformation in me. It is a powerful way of serving others
3. IGroup is energy, renewal, constancy, contribution, and a grounding inside the love of Community; the electrical current in the wall is a metaphor about how always powerful IGroup with Spirit guidance and Blessing are, how always available they are … just plug in … as you would to connect your phone charger (simplicity). It gives me a sense of how I am a part of that important “human contribution (energy) circuitry”; when feeling out of integrity, just plug in, be in service, and once again, transformation continues
4. So much to do, so little time, and that is perfect.
5. Self-Affirming, Loving, Worthiness, Control over Self
6. Taking on Leadership as a State of Being (behavior), not a rank, mandate, or bully pull pit. Just showing up, authentically, may be enough - Not coveting leadership as a prize is the gift to the next leader necessary to empower moving the container forward – being impeccable in the word can be enough leadership – listening is the missing gift; Community is to be treasured; the sanctity of the Container is how work gets done. As Leader, feelings of growth by letting constructive conflict exist as a tightening of Container and Community may require a “less is more” proposition
9. I neither have to wait for my Father to die, nor wait for permission, to be a man or a leader.

Since I joined the ManKind Project (MKP) in January of 1995, my life has forever been changed for the better. The weekend initiation experience known as the New Warrior Training Adventure was the most powerful weekend experience I have ever had. As a result of things I have learned in MKP and the support I continue to receive, I am a better husband, father, son, friend, teacher, mentor, leader, employee and therapist. Heck, I’m just a better man! MKP has been a lifesaver, providing me with a feeling of inner peace I never realized before, and providing me with friends that I am closer to than people I have known my whole life. I wish all the men I knew in my life were a part of MKP, as we could make some incredible changes for the better in the world I know.

The gratitude I feel for the Mankind Project cannot adequately be expressed in words. It has helped me to discover my own life's mission; has woven me into an incredible, loving and supportive community; and has provided me with the tools to do deep and meaningful work in my life. In MKP, I see men interact with each other and in the world with a level of authenticity and commitment that consistently inspires and challenges me. I have have had the honor to witness and facilitate men doing intensely personal, transformational work. I love that MKP is free from ideology and dogma. Each man finds his own path, and is powerfully facilitated in doing so, held in safety to go as deep as he needs to, his limits respected but also challenged. I have never been one for foisting my views and interests on others, yet this work is so powerful and so needed in the world, it makes me want to help other men find it. What a blessing!