New Warrior Testimonials

In a word GOD, in a feeling Spirit, interpersonally Connected, in a smell the Dawning of a new day as the sun crests the horizon, in a sight Truly one to behold, in a sound the Gentlest of whispers and the loudest of booms, in a taste Bittersweet, in a touch the Stongest support I have ever known, in the purest of words, LOVE.

I am rich in the blessings, stories and feelings I have been priviledged to experience these past 3 years and I know beyond a shadow of my being, I have a thousand times more coming. This work has truly altered the course of my life, while at the same time given it one. My immeasurable thanks to every man that has touched my soul and to the ones that will.

The day I moved out of Phoenix, Arizona I remember looking back and telling myself my life was great. No more problems. No more drugs, no more violence, and no more life drama. The day I left Utah and moved back to Phoenix I remember feeling the relief of no more drugs, no more violence, and no more life drama. I got to feel that feeling all 9 times I moved across 6 different states. All 72 change of address forms, every finger print station, and a criminal record in every state had the same feeling. A new start. Get out of jail then start over.

Then came the year 2000. In a drunken stupor the mother of my kids told me that we had to move far away, get married, and that I had to get clean or I would never see her or my kids again. Three days later we moved 2,400 miles to Massachusetts. I met a man at a 12 step meeting who told me about the New Warrior Training. I was skeptical, but I trusted the man who invited me. In November of 2000 I was initiated.

Since my NWTA I have had two addresses. I moved 6 years after being here during my peaceful divorce. All four of my kids are in my life abundantly today. I am clean, sober, and nonviolent since 2000. The work of the ManKind Project saved my family. The dedication and passion of men saved my life. Today my family proudly supports the work I do. They know first hand the impact we have in the world.

I really do have a say in how I want to live my life. Accountability can exist. Integrity is amazing. Authenticity is every bit as great as it sounds.

I was at a crossroads – I'd hit a new/different 'bottom' in some parts of my life, I'd lost some measure of control over my behaviors and choices and I knew that I needed a really deep-level, fundamental SHIFT.

CHANGE. SHAKEUP. DNA REPATTERNING, metaphorically speaking (or not?)

I learned about the NWTA from Chad Porter, did as much research as I could, attended an Open House in Memphis, and signed up. Then spent another few months waiting and worrying about what I'd gotten myself into, whether I'd entered myself into a cult somehow, and about how these mostly straight men would treat me.

Finally the event came along – it was the first one ever at Taylor's farm in Moscow (outside Nashville, TN). I remember pretty much everything about it – not all of the staff names or other initiates so much – but it definitely qualified under the SHIFT/REPATTERNING opportunity I'd been seeking.

In 2004, my wife and I began counseling. We had been married for nearly 20 years, and her issues and my issues dove-tailed nicely, making us a mess. As she started to get clarity on her family stuff, I came to understand my own issues — an abusive mother, a father who suffered from WWII PTSD, a heavy religious upbringing that filled me with an overpowering sense of shame and anger. After a couple of years of therapy (including two stays at Onsite) I wanted to move along on my journey (and stop spending all my money on shrinks) and with a couple of my best friends we looked up the Nashville Sunday night I group. I did my weekend at Ed Taylor’s farm in October of 2006, and it was a powerful weekend of moving myself in the direction I wanted to be heading, toward healing. The Nashville I group, and now the Clarksville I group, give me strength and hope.

I am indeed 21 and attended the NWTA in September, 2011. It was a rich experience. The weekend was a gay/bi/trans gateway. There was another man that was 22 and a few other men in their late 20s and early 30s. I am grateful for the diversity in ages at my weekend. I am still close with my brother Zach, the 22 year old. I gained a lot of brilliant information through observing and standing amongst brilliant warriors and masculine, accountable men. It was healing and empowering to stand amongst men and most of all, to be acknowledged as a strong masculine man. I also had the privilege of stepping into the leadership role for my group. This experience revealed some gifts I have for leadership that are asking to blossom. The weekend truly was part of my initiation into manhood. I left the weekend confused, but certainly ripped away from the numbness I was experiencing previously. I am finding my Igroup
work resonating strongly with me. There is a very kingly man that facilitates the group and it is the first time I have experienced this type of energy in my life. It has provided much clarity for me.

I have brought the spirit of MKP into my home and it has substantially changed people's lives. Two close friends had a breakdown in expectations and trust, and were very disillusioned and even fearful of each other. They knew of our clearing process, so requested one at home, off-line. Another MKP trained facilitator and I created a sacred space to work, and we went through three clearings over three hours.

It eventually became very intense, and we remained neutral, supportive and observing and let the men run with their intense feelings while preserving safety for each of them. The process worked, and both parties came to understand their own roles in the issue, and the other's needs and perspective. It was quite amazing, and they have removed this barrier to their future relationship and friendship.

Throughout the years as a mental health clinician I have heard and read great stories about men attending the New Warrior Training and benefiting from MKP initiatives. Once more, I recently saw the life-transforming signs of a male client of mine who finally decided to take on the risk, face his fears head on, attend a NWTA weekend, and start feeling again. It is thanks to weekends like these that "guys" take the first steps to become "new and better men" with their children, with women, and with other men. MKP is doing great work!

I’m a Vietnam veteran who attended the ManKind Project's New Warrior Training Adventure in February of 2010 in the New England community.

When I returned from Vietnam I was told by my father, who was a Marine combat WWII veteran, I should never talk about my experience in Vietnam. He also told me it was what a man needs to do. To bury his feelings and protect others from the horrors of war. I believed him and proceeded to stuff those emotions deeply away. They remained hidden in my subconscious festering for over 40 years until, through the guidance of the highly trained and skilled staff at the NWTA, helped me identify and bring those feelings to the surface, to express them and release the anger associated with them. Going through that process brought an amazing sense of relief and inner peace for me after keeping it hidden for so long! After the NWTA, looking back, I realized what a profound impact it had on my life and in that experience I learned a very important lesson. As a man, how important expressing, being aware of and understanding our feelings is a powerful tool for our self discovery and growth.

I am now an active member and enjoy being a part of the ManKind Project and have become an regular member of a local igroup . In all, The ManKind Project has now become an integral part of my life. I highly recommend to veterans and any man to attend an NWTA and becoming a member of the ManKind Project. You will be happy you did!

I was very reluctant about attending the NWTA earlier this year. I didn't think that I had any issues to work on. It was highly recommended that I attend a weekend to help me relate to others and to help me strengthen my marriage. After arriving at the weekend, it was everything I could do...not to gather my stuff and leave the first night. I was very uncomfortable and didn't really think that I belonged there. I was miserable. By the end of the next night, I felt a new sense of being that I had never felt before! I was so glad that I stuck to it! By the time we were checking out on the last day, I was so sad to leave. I felt that I had grown close to all of the men and hated for the weekend to end!

About IGroup

Our IGroup meets a couple of days per month. Every gathering is something special. We have grown very close, but still learn so much from one another at every meeting! It's a very special time.

We all have dreams. We all have desires. We all do the best we can - with what we've got ... At the age of 47 I felt that I was doing a pretty good job. I have a pretty happy family, and lead and manage my staff pretty well. This weekend gave me a new lease on life! A new desire! A new drive! A new ambition! A new vision! I feel invigorated with a new energy, a drive and desire for more, for better, for me, for my family, for my community and for my business!

I found my path to masculine initiation through The ManKind Project™ (http://www.mkp.org/) and their New Warrior Training Adventure™, a 3-day experiential process that took me on a guided, adventurous, and dangerous journey of masculine initiation. That process of initiation - and years of subsequent involvement with a community of men willing to claim their names, identify their missions and live them, and - most importantly - be open to the challenges of healing their wounds has had, outside of my turning my life over to, and being born again in, Christ, the most significant impact on my life above anything else.

The NWTA was a true awakening for me. I touched a part of my shadow, the parts of me which I hid, repressed, and denied for most of my life. I also developed a mission that has been refined and expanded over the past six years and which led me to help form Boys to Men Mentoring of Georgia, a non-profit corporation that recruits, trains, and supports men to mentor at-risk teenage boys.

Connection and Integrity-Living my life from a place of groundedness and truth. These are all things I value deeply and appreciate in others. I came to the weekend knowing I need these things in my life to have a life that "is" meaningful. Everyone of us has these powers within ourselves; the challenge is to realize it and then own it in an internal way. The Training teaches us how to reclaim our powers and gifts. I am grateful I gave myself the permission to explore and receive the New Warrior Training Adventure.

The NWTA helped me to reconnect with my core inner strength. I was lost in hopelessness before. Since the weekend I have regained hope and remember that I am the one in charge of my own destiny!

The ManKind Project Weekend was a gift I gave to myself for my birthday after a breakup. It was so much more than expected, an exploration into being a better man; more open and committed to more profound goals and having a series of almost miraculous gifts come my way. I found out I was not alone.

I've learned to be more emotionally articulate. Having two adolescent children, it as a blessing to be able to stay with my feelings and own my charges. I model good communication.

I have done lots of "personal growth" work before. In fact, I thought I knew what the weekend would be like, what it would be about, what the experience would be for me. I was right about some things, but they were the tip of a massive iceberg revealed to me. I learned so many useful tools and made such good connections. I am overwhelmed-in a good way-with all the new opportunities that have opened up for me.

I would have to say that the weekend was more than I imagined, it's the start of a new chapter in my life. TO start working with like minded men is encouraging. I want to spread this new light wherever I walk.

The ManKind Project is an important experience in the process of changing the world one person at a time starting with myself.

It was a wonderful and amazing experience. After I left the training on Sunday, I felt peace, spirituality and high energy. I felt that my anger was quite gone and that I had found new love and compassion in my life. It is great!

The NWTA has given me a connection to men in the community; we have forged bonds through common experiences that will last a lifetime.

It was an all access pass to my emotional being, knowing I wanted some clarity and direction without knowing how or why. Skeptical of the process and vulnerable to it. MKP showed me a glimpse of the man I want to be, and tools to help me get there.

Growing up with a life of perfection and coldness with the feeling of no one to lean on was hard. MKP has given me the support to open up and grow to new depths, it feels great having support and brothers to turn to. Thank you MKP!

I am questioning things I have never thought to question. I am sure of things I have never been sure of. I am now supported in all of this in ways I have looked for since I was born, Thank you!

It's been more than 10 years for me and I continue to resonate with this work. I strive everyday to walk and talk with integrity. I have learned to be vulnerable, humble and proud to walk as a New Warrior. My life will never be the same.

The ManKind Project has allowed me to know that I have a place in the world and that I matter. That I can help bring peace and harmony to the world by showing unconditional love to all mankind.

My involvement with the ManKind Project, and in particular with my weekly I-Group has been a constant source of support for the past 12 years. My I-Group is a great compliment to the support that I get from my family, and it challenges me to continually look at how I show up in the world.

The greatest thing I have received from the ManKind Project is learning to love and accept myself just as I am, which sparks a desire to continue to become an even greater man.

The New Warrior Training Adventure is the best thing I've ever done for myself. The amount of growth and support that I received was inspiring. I learned more about who I want to be and how to get there in two days than I did in the 31 years before that.

The weekend has made me realize that expressing my feelings is alright and when you love yourself everyone around you can feel that love and it makes the world a better place.

Thank you to my lovely wife and kids for all their support and love.

I participated in the New Warrior training in October 2006. Prior to that weekend, I felt my life was good. Good job, good family, good friends. The training awakened something deep down inside me. It was as if I was a champagne bottle. Really nice exterior with some amazing substance inside, bubbling around, but no one could taste it or experience it. The training weekend shook up the bottle and popped the cork to allow the magnificent true content inside to explode out and shower over the most important people in my life. I feel now that I am a better father, a better husband, a better colleague, and a better friend. My life was changed for the better because the weekend helped me become a much truer me!

Of course, the training created a better me. But there is continued work to do on myself to become even better! My I-group creates the supportive environment for me to keep growing, learning, and connecting. It gives me the opportunity to share my experiences, my successes, my failures with other men who can help me through life's tough times. It also gives me the chance to support those men through their tough and successful times; allowing me to learn from them. There is nothing better than connecting with others in the truest sense of the word.

It was a powerful weekend of self -discovery. I went and grabbed the bull by the horns and got results.

I-group (my men's group) is a very powerful circle of men which is closer to me than my biological family. I do the work I require and get results every time.

I have been involved in facilitating other peoples paths for over 15 years. Previously, I have worked with mentors, shamans, pastors, and others who have facilitated my path and growth into an individual who is true to himself, honorable, respectable, and taking responsibility for my OWN actions. I did not know what to expect when I went to NWTA. All I knew was that after spending time in an i-group, that my mentor, brothers, and spouse encouraged me to take the chance with this incredible experience. Taking the plunge, I had no expectations. During the weekend, I found the one thing that has plagued me from being a complete person, the hidden aspects of myself that I truly needed to face. It was hard work and the support of my brothers and the leadership team was exactly what I needed in order to fulfill my unknown desire to become a truly balanced individual. The funny thing is that I thought I was a balanced, together person. In fact, my own growth as a man after NWTA has been astonishing to me and those I am in association. Kudos to the team!

I-group, what an interesting concept. When I first was exposed to my i-group half a cycle ago I did not really know what to expect. I meditate daily, spend time examining my actions, do my best to follow the dictum of Honor, Respect, and Personal Responsibility. Each day is different, some better than others. SO, I did not think that i-group would do much for me. It is true that I was part of this same group for a very short time about two years ago but due to time constraints, and business requirements it did not seem like I could "afford" the time. Now, after truly committing to being present for myself and my brothers, it is one of the most important aspects of my weekly regime. The i-group allows me to focus on myself, and the issues, hidden shadows, and other aspects of self that "sneak in" and facilitate my self sabotage. My brothers challenge me, with my permission, to be what I choose to be -- a balanced non-reactive man who truly is part of the divine whole.

The MKP training (and subsequent weekly I-group meetings) put me
in touch with emotions that were previously inaccessible or un-named.
It has given me a vocabulary to express myself clearly and to
undertand what part of an interaction is mine to examine. Tools for
expressing myself like clear communication have helped both in working
with colleagues and at home. Leading a life with a Mission and
Purpose helps me clarify my priorities.

This is a 30 minute show that aired in 2007 in Keene NH.

We're getting there coach! More and more men are getting their videos out there!

It has been years now that my brother and I have been encouraging our father to step out of the life he has created for himself and take a look in the mirror, by attending a New Warrior Training Adventure.

Last weekend my 84 year old father walked up the hill and was initiated into a new way of being, supported by the staff and initiates. I have spoken with him this week, his voice sounding like that of a little boy, filled with wonder and excitement.

"I was standing there and blessing men, who had tears in their eyes, I was crying."

I am blessed

My life has been forever changed. I have found a connection with men that I’ve sought for years. Today I am aware of many areas where I can improve by practicing new ways of being; while getting the support that encourages and challenges me to be authentic.judge

Experiencing the New Warrior Training Adventure was the most eye-opening, impactful & meaningful experience of my life. It was my wake up call to how I live my life, how my actions affect others, how I see my self and how other percieve me. It is a must for any man who wants an intense personal growth experience.

The New Warrior Training Adventure was a turning point in my life. I really noticed how I felt different crossing the threshold of my home Sunday night. I felt a depth of gratitude, responsibility, and love for myself, my family, job, and friends well up within me. I could see more clearly how I needed to live in the world around me. My confusion, emptiness, and aloneness had cleared. I began to trust in a deeper part of myself that I always sensed, but couldn’t act upon in my day to day living. It was truly wonderful to make the journey with others, and receive the support from so many men. I had never experienced this much trust and love from men in the past.

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. I 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.

The New Warrior Training Adventure was, without question, one of the most powerful events in my life. Throughout the NWTA I was surrounded by men — powerful, wise, nurturing men — who challenged me and guided me and supported me on a journey toward becoming a better man. I left the weekend with a much greater awareness of my responsibilities, both to myself and to the world at large, and a newfound understanding of what it means to live a life of integrity.

Actually, I thought my life was working just fine. Granted, my son was dying of cancer, my marriage of 20 years had ended, I had no real friends, I was spiritually dead, and was depressed and suicidal, but, hey, I’m fine! So to say that MKP saved my life would be understatement. It gave me a life. It set me on a spiritual path that makes my life one of joy and purpose. Even though it’s been only 4 years since I was initiated, I can barely remember what life was like or what I was like before MKP.

Since my training weekend, I can truly say I enjoy the path I’m on. I still have much work to do, but I live with a sense of personal mission and enjoy a bond with other men who are committed to supporting me in that work. That bond sometimes feels like a safety net, and other times like my feet are being held to the fire, but I always know that support is there. It has allowed me to develop a personal sense of integrity and accountability. I can look squarely at who I am, how I make choices, and when I act in ways that uphold my mission - and when those ways undermine it. I find it possible both to accept myself as I am, and also commit to being a better man without thinking there’s something wrong with me. And instead of a vague sense of something going on inside, I now experience emotions of joy, anger, sadness and fear deep in my gut.

While all these changes seem to be directed inward, I find that my focus has actually turned outward. Looking back, I realize the thing about being lost was that I couldn’t enjoy the scenery around me – I was too preoccupied with trying to find a way out. Now, my mission of connection feels like something that engages me everyday. I always felt called to service, but that call has evolved from “I should” or “I have to” to “I choose to.” No matter what I’m working on, my service often boils down simply to seeing the people in front of me for who they are, without letting my judgments, fears and personal needs cloud my vision. Whether or not the people in my world consciously share my vision, I feel most alive and most empowered when I connect to them without needing them to be something else. Yet somehow their defenses drop anyway and they show up in surprising ways. “Changing the world one man at a time” has become less about “doing to” and more about “being in.” From that place, I experience the magic of a community that improves the quality of life for all.

I have studied and taught gender and multicultural issues for twenty years, and I have nowhere found an organization devoted to men's issues that so deeply moves men to become the best human they can be, and thus make the world a better place, one man at a time.

Through MKP I learned that there is a place for introverts in leadership. A couple of men saw my potential and encouraged, nudged, and sometimes challenged me, drawing me toward that potential.

My life is immeasurably better as a result of my NWTA 14 years ago and my work in I-Group ever since. My marriage, in my mind, would not have survived to this point were it not for MKP. I know how to cleanly communicate, take responsibility, and guard my integrity. Words cannot express how much I value what this has done for me.

To say that the Mankind Project is changing my life is an understatement. It always helps me examine my life and become a better son, husband, father, and employee. The men in MKP are unquestionably the finest I've met in any organization. I sensed that care since my first meeting. I cannot say enough good things about MKP.

Those in my home of origin were physically present for me as I was growing up but not emotionally available. MKP has shown me how important being emotionally available is and has allowed me to work on becoming a person who can appropriately interact with everyone with whom I come into contact.

It turns out I was afraid of other men - that's what I found out. Now I feel confident and clear - able to share my feelings with men I trust. Thanks to MKP New England and the Jericho Circle Project, some of these men are in prison, where I choose to spend one evening each week as a volunteer, helping other men get the gifts that I have gotten.

I learned I was not alone with my fears and idiosyncrasies. I learned if I was open and willing and able to ask for help - there are men out there who will be there for me. I believe my relationship with my daughter is constantly improving because of the work I continue to do. I believe I am a role model for her even with my imperfections - and that sharing who I am, with humility, gives her the freedom to do the same. I learned that being in and with my manhood I can still be a safe person to be around. Unlike my previous beliefs, my stepping into my full mature manhood is something the world needs and welcomes.

I checked in for the New Warrior Training Adventure in April of 2009 - with a weekend bag filled with clothes, food and toiletries. I also checked in with two suitcases filled with 40 years of burdens and heavy heart.

On Sunday afternoon, I still had my shoulder bag, but I left without the two suitcases.

As a man of 18 years I was the youngest man by far on the weekend. By the end, this age difference meant nothing to me and my new brothers. For the first time I was comfortable with older men - as a man amongst men. I am so happy I completed this training because I learned how to love myself and find and spread joy and love. I can never thank these men enough. I will continue my mission, and spread love, happiness and acceptance.

Through MKP, I experienced the strength, courage and generosity of other men willing to accompany me into my darkness and allow me into theirs - without judgment. In this mutual sharing, healing, and renewed sense of purpose, we can participate in co-creating a world filled with light, beauty, hope and love.

I got an enlarged sense of how I can be as a man - emotionally engaged, confident about who I am and how I relate to other men.

During the weekend I learned to be more confident with who I am and be true to myself, to love myself for who I am. I also think my relationship with my father, which has been distant, will be much more true and more close.

The NWTA positively effected every relationship in my life especially my relationships with myself and those with my family. Emotional literacy, integrity and accountability are key to my and our future

In the NWTA weekend, I faced my anger and shame with the amazing help of New Warrior staff. I learned that there are men I can trust in this world. My relationship with my Dad, brother and two sons will definitely improve with time. I learned that I am a man who is strong and worthy of love.
As a man amongst men, I reach out to others with confidence and love myself unconditionally.

Attending the New Warrior Training Adventure has changed my life. I learned to open up, trust others, and connect with other men. I was able to let go of so many things that were standing in the way of my being the man I knew I always could be.

What I got out of New Warrior Training Adventure was the ability to have presence in the present by having a wider, more conscious emotional experience. Prior to the weekend I cycled through three states; anxiety , depression, and frustration, the weekend allowed me to begin to have a fuller emotional range that is both true to myself and my feelings, and still masculine. I highly recommend it.

The ManKind Project has fundamentally changed the way I see myself, enabled me to find and reclaim the authentic inner self that I have been searching for most of my life. The person looking back at me in the mirror - is the me that I lost long ago. I am grateful to all who made the New Warrior Training possible.

The most important relationships impacted in my life are my relationship to myself, and my marriage. I can now express and recognize my feelings and voice my opinions. Instead of just going with the majority, I am now more fully my own person

I was initiated into a community of men committed to spiritual and personal growth. I had been looking for that my whole life. Ancient wounds and new dreams were dancing hand in hand. I now have a community of men that I are supporting me to live fully as I support them, to live fully.

Our I group is great, we are always growing and changing, these men are becoming good friends, with good hearts...

Mark Summa (Father) - I realized from this weekend how much I had shut men out of my life. I walked away from men. I was left angry, lonely, judgmental and fearful. This weekend connected me to myself and others ... with the help of the staff's compassion, love and total commitment to guiding men from shadow to light. It was a pivotal change in my life which I recommend to any man.

Julian Summa (Son) - I could really tell that difference after the weekend ... when watching my father interact with other adults around him ... there was an obvious change in energy

I did my warrior weekend training in 2004 and continue to practice the methods.
On the weekend, I got to:

• Develop a mission statement for myself.
• Find out what was blocking me from accomplishing it.
• Off load it.
• Feel affirmed and welcomed into a community of men who were taking life head on, winning, and rooting for me to win.
• Every process in the training was designed to accomplish the ends above, and every process was optional, at each man's discretion.
• I have done a lot of personal development work, and I found my training to be one of the most ethical, respectful, and empowering events I have ever experienced.

I continue to use the methods because they make my life better. I can now say how I feel, ask for what I want, and make a plan to get it.
I value and support the struggle of other men and women to do the same.

About 15 years ago I was invited by a good friend to take part in something called “The New Warrior Training Adventure.” I had already begun doing some personal growth work, so what I heard about this weekend sounded intriguing. However, I was put off by the term “New Warrior”. It conjured up dominating macho images that I wanted no part of. After all I was sympathetic to the feminist movement and believed then, as I still do, that a lot of harm and suffering has been caused by the desire to dominate others as is evident in many patriarchal societies. I even had this nagging feeling that I might be at least partly to blame for this simply because I was born with a Y chromosome. To a certain extent I felt guilt and shame about being a male in our society; I was, what I now call, an “apologetic male”. Given that, how could I possibly participate in something called “New Warriors”?

But despite my hesitation, certain aspects that I had learned about the training resonated with something deep inside, and decided to sign up anyway. That experience changed my life … and my understanding of who I am. My involvement with this organization, now known as the Mankind Project, caused me to look at my life honestly and when I did, I saw that in my own way I had taken on many of the attributes of a warrior, just without the violent overtones. I had accepted without hesitation the responsibility to do whatever it took to provide for my family. One result was that I spent long hours away from home working at a job that often provided little personal satisfaction. Looking back I see that this created lots of emotional turmoil inside…variously stirring up anger, resentment, sadness, and fear. However, like a good warrior I crafted a tough emotional shield to protect myself and I kept my pain well hidden…most of the time even from myself. I became emotionally shut down. I went from planning and completing one task on to the next, and the next, with little questioning or reflection. Except for my wife, Donna, I didn’t feel close to anyone. Although I had many acquaintances, I had very few close friends. My sense of passion and spirituality were non-existent. I was tolerating and enduring life, but not really enjoying it or living it fully.

Through my work with the Mankind Project, I learned about what is known as the Warrior Archetype. It seems to exist in all men and it’s that part of us which is hardwired into our DNA and our cultural histories. It comes from eons of evolutionary pressure to protect, defend, and provide for other members of the clan. The survival of the tribe at one time depended on it. Being a Warrior was once a noble societal role, demanding strength, courage and appropriate uses of force in service to the community within a vast and sometimes dangerous world.

I found that I did possess many of the attributes of a Warrior, however I learned that I could choose to express them in different ways. For example, I discovered that I possessed courage. It might not be exactly the same kind of courage that it must have taken to storm the beaches at Normandy, but courage none-the-less. It is the kind of courage that it would take to begin to let down the impenetrable armor that had protected me from experiencing my emotional pain. Although that armor had done its job extremely well, it had cost me a hefty personal price. Letting it down, though, was not an easy decision to make -- or action to take. To actually go inside and to find out who I really was … to confront my fears, to experience my grief, to acknowledge my regrets, and to allow myself to be truly vulnerable with other people was extremely scary. It went totally against how I had lived my life for the previous 45 years.

But I did so anyway. It has been difficult and many times I have been reluctant, often held back by fear and apprehension. Those old mental tapes would say, “Don’t do it! Don’t let your guard down! Be safe!” However, not once have I looked back with regret for taking the risk to do the work needed to discover and to heal old wounds. For me, having the courage to look deep inside and then having the discipline and resolve to stick with it, no matter what I found, defines the task of a Spiritual Warrior. The benefits of walking this path, for me, have been many.

First, I’ve learned to truly appreciate and to love the person I am, even those parts of me that I’m not always proud of. Because of this I find that I less often feel the need to seek approval from others. Not that I don’t enjoy receiving it, but I am no longer dependent on it. I am satisfied and happy being who I am.

Secondly, I’ve learned to be more patient and compassionate, not just toward others, but also toward myself. My inner critic has become much less judgmental, even though he refuses to give up his job completely. As a result I find myself seeking out opportunities to pursue passions and activities that bring me joy. This might includes, at times, setting aside tasks on my “to do” list, and instead, choosing to do things like spending 35 days snowboarding in the mountains this past winter, or sitting for 30-60 minutes most mornings in quiet meditation. These and similar experiences have become “sacred spaces” for me. They feed my soul. And because I am more compassionate with myself I am generally no longer plagued by the guilt that I previously experienced when deciding to take time for myself. This “self time” no longer feels “selfish”, but rather “self-nurturing”, and is rich and satisfying.

Third, I’ve developed a personal life mission that helps to guide me and keep me on track. In its current form it is expressed simply as: “I co-create loving community by opening my compassionate heart.” When I keep this intention in my consciousness I find that my life tends to run smoothly and is more fulfilling. An example of this has been my participation in the vibrant Men’s Group here at our Unitarian Fellowship. I experience a lot of joy in being with other men who are willing to share from their hearts. Finally, I also have deepened my relationships with family and friends. I find I am more patient, a more active listener, and also a person who can support and challenge others to strive for what’s right for them, by setting aside my own agenda of “my way is the right way”.

My journey as a Spiritual “New” Warrior, although long, is by no means complete. I don’t believe it ever will be, at least not in this lifetime. I will continue to travel along my path, and I expect that from time to time I may temporarily stray from it. However, I trust that I will be guided back to it as long as I travel with an open heart and choose to listen to what it has to say.

I initiated in Feb 1998 and truth be told – I hated my weekend! I was uncomfortable receiving the very thing I’d really wanted in my life – being challenged, supported and encouraged by men; challenged to be ME, to play a bigger game in life, to live my life to the full.

Even though I did not enjoy the experience I knew that I’d found something of huge value there, and my life today proves it. Having been constantly challenged for over 10 years to accept myself as I am has totally changed my life. Accepting ALL of me means those parts that I’m not particularly proud of and ALSO the parts of me that are great.

As I stepped into my inner leadership and starting clarifying my own life purpose and mission I was able to start creating the life of my dreams – a life where I did the type of work I love and I’m passionate about, and a life where I am surrounded, challenged and supported by other mature men; where the size of my wallet or the car I drive or the way I comb my hair is irrelevant; where all that matters is one thing – wether or not I’m telling the truth.

I do not believe that the NWTA is for every man. For me, when I was ready to face the answers INSIDE myself, this was the place to go. I am eternally grateful for a group of men I am proud to call friends – who want nothing from me other than for me to be myself.

About Integration Groups

My mens’ group meet every two weeks; it is one of the most single important support systems I know.
Men that I’ve known for years, that expect me to tell the truth and are willing to accept me no matter what. Men who have seen my rage and my tears and my frustration and disappointments, my achievements and my joys; men who laugh and cry with me and who accept me no matter what.

To me, that’s priceless.

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!

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.

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: 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.

Men come to MKP for all different sorts of reasons. I believe they are a great leadership program, teach conflict mediation skills, have the best Emotional Intelligence training being taught, and help men connect with one another on a much deeper level than most men have experienced.

For me, MKP has been a life saver. As a result of what I have learned in MKP and what I’ve experienced (since 1995!), I’m a better father, husband, son, therapist/counselor, teacher, brother, and any other role I play. I can specifically relate my improvement to things I have learned or the support I get from my brothers in MKP. They have an experiential retreat/training weekend that continues to be the most incredible weekend experience I’ve ever had. MKP is a tremendous adjunct to therapy and 12-step groups. I can’t recommend them highly enough.

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.

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.

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

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

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!

Scott also has made a good number of videos of his own work and his life - he was an Army Ranger - he now empowers men and women with his own unique programs.

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

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 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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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

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

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 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.

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.

For me, MKP provides a safe container to discover and realize my mission in life.

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.

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

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

"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

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.

For me, the Adventure Weekend was “a banana split” without the calories! if you summon up the courage to come into our Circle, your life will be changed forever. Now, 20 years and sixty staffings later -- and with two extraordinary sons who completed the training -- I witness to you that The Mankind Project and the Adventure Weekend will heal and transform your life. After first taking
many other transformational trainings, my Adventure weekend yielded the highest value by far. ~ Forrest Craver

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.

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.

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.

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 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.

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!

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 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.

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.

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

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?"

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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?

The New Warrior Training Adventure weekend changed my life... forever! It was perhaps the most powerful gift I have ever given myself... Six years later, I am heavily involved with MKP and living a life filled with joy, accountability, and integrity! Thank you ManKind Project.

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.

MKP quite literally has saved my life. My life was like watching a re-run of a bad T.V. show over and over again. Every relationship had the same plot and same demise; I had no way to change the channels. MKP has shown me how to stop them from playing.

MKP has created a space for me to look at all parts of myself, to see what's working and not working in my life, and to connect with a powerful, healthy circle of men whom I trust and love.

I have been "working" on myself since 1991 by using weekend seminars, workshops and motivational materials. I found that live people to people gatherings allowed me to be more real and authentic. When I did my weekend in 1999 it was a synergy of all the work I did before combined. The 8 to 10 weeks follow up helped to reinforce many life changing skills which I still use practically in all my relationships today.

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.

After 3 failed relationships, 2 failed businesses and sinking into depression, partying and running away from major responsibilities, including 3 sons, I was finally ready for something different in my life. I had no clue what it meant to be a man and how important it was to my self-esteem to be accountable, responsible, and congruent in my actions. My warrior brothers supported me in my self-forgiveness, shame and not good enough self lies. My life today is full of successes, abundance and gratitude.

I didn't realize it at the time I went to the training, but I didn't trust men and definitely didn't know how to love them or to see men as anything but a threat. Through this work, I've learned to truly see men for all that they are, and to love them just like they are.

MKP changed my life in ways I couldn't have anticipated. At the time I did my weekend I owned my own company, had done quite a bit of self discovery work, and didn't know I was missing a key piece of what I now believe it means to be a man. It's made a tremendous difference in my relationship with my girlfriend, my father, and my friends. And I am so grateful.

The Mankind Project has offered me the space to really understand what the mature masculine is all about, and, more importantly, to find that part of myself and to live it in a confident way as a husband, a father and a professional person.

The weekend began as a group of somewhat cynical strangers and ended as a band of brothers. I left the weekend with a profoundly new sense of what it means to be a man and a new understanding of how I can be of service to others and be supported by others. I feel a new energy and excitement about discovering who I am and what I can do on this planet. The weekend cleared my head of lots of crap accumulated over the years and brought me back to some basic values that I hadn't even realized were forgotten. I wish I had done this years ago.

After doing the weekend, I am spiritually uplifted ... and loving every moment of this day. I now have a huge desire to return and help other men with their work. My chest hurts with the opening of my heart. I have been needing this since I was 15, I have been looking for this since I was 28, and I finally found it at 41.

At 47 years of age I had enjoyed a great career with financial success, a great wife and two wonderful healthy children yet I kept asking myself "is this all there is?" I really had no mission or purpose and couldn't figure out what to do with the rest of my life. Then a man I worked with invited to the New Warrior Training Adventure. It was truly a transformational weekend and allowed to look at what wasn't working in my life. The only regret I have is that I didn't do it much earlier in my life. I came away with a mission and connection with other men that I cherish.

The NWTA and the follow-up group work has been a major part of the change that has occurred in my life these past nine years. This organization has provided the space for me to claim my place in this world as a man whose is gay. I denied that part of myself for so many years, but realized I was not in integrity with my core being. Since I have embraced that part of myself and have learned to love that part of who I am, I have become a much happier man and I believe a better Dad, brother, son, educator, and friend.

I initiated in 1994 with my brother Corky. In 1995 we brought our father Herb to a weekend. He was 67 years old and had done a lot of internal work in his life. Jim Coleman facilitated his work and had the wisdom to recognize that he had been around the block. His guts work was to tell a love story of our mothers passing and what he did to grieve and move through his loss. The entire room was bawling. When he entered the New Warrior community he took on the role as ideal father for many men. When he became ill with cancer, that is when I became fully aware of what this community meant to me. Men literally carried me through his death. The outpouring support for him and our entire family was and still is one of the most profound expressions of love I have ever experienced. I am eternally grateful to all the New Warriors that have taught, shaped and evolved me into the man I am today.

MKP changed my life. I now know what accountability, integrity and mission really mean. I practice the skills I learned at MKP every single day. I know what it means for me to be a man with all the honor, responsibility, accountability and emotions that go with that.

MKP was something I needed and I didn’t realize how badly I needed it. I came out of the weekend a much better person than the one that arrived on Friday afternoon. I want this to stick. I want to continue to grow as a man, because this feels good

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.

The New Warrior weekend was one of two major pinnacles in my life. My heart and soul, the essence of my being has been permanently made more integral and congruent. I'll carry the love and gratitude for all the men who loved the hell out of me for the rest of my life.