The Mythic Masculine

My guest today is Stephen Jenkinson, a culture activist, teacher and author, and principle instructor of The Orphan Wisdom School, co-founded with his wife Nathalie Roy. He has Master’s degrees from Harvard University (Theology) and the University of Toronto (Social Work). Stephen’s most recent books are the award-winning Die Wise: A Manifesto for Sanity and Soul (2015), and Come of Age: The Case for Elderhood in a Time of Trouble (2018). I first encountered Stephen back in 2012, when a friend invited me to a summer teaching that was close to my home in Vancouver. That first morning, he gathered us at first light and told a story about the sun, rising.  I was never to be the same again. That meeting has altered my life completely. That winter, I joined the Orphan Wisdom School on his farm in Ontario, and have returned to many gatherings and teachings over the years. I have also produced numerous short films on Stephen’s work, including The Meaning of Death, the Making of Humans, and Lost Nation Road (2019). If you’ve listened to this podcast for some time, you know that I usually quote Stephen at least once an episode. And this interview has been a long time coming - largely because I wished to record it in person, and not over Zoom. I finally had that opportunity last September when I travelled to Ontario on a whirlwind trip to the farm.  If you’d like to hear more of that story, I’ve shared an additional recording which is available to my Patreon supporters.  Head over to the Mythic Masculine website and click ‘Become a Supporter’ if you’d like to gain access. For now, I’m very pleased to share our conversation, where we explore personal and profound territory, including: the lost origins of the mythopoetic men’s movement, the times Stephen met Robert Bly and James Hillman, the deep etymology of the word ‘patriarchy’, and the mythic understanding that a culture needs its fathering, as much as it needs its fathers. And so, enjoy my conversation with Stephen Jenkinson.Support this podcast http://patreon.com/ianmack Join the Conversation http://themythicmasculine.com/network This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit themythicmasculine.substack.com/subscribe

My guest today is Tyson Yunkaporta, an academic, poet, and carver of traditional tools and weapons. He is a senior lecturer in Indigenous Knowledges at Deakin University in Melbourne, and the author of the book ‘Sand Talk: How Indigenous Thinking Can Save the World’.Since its release, Sand Talk has received many glowing reviews, and offered a crucial indigenous perspective on the areas of history, education, money, power and sustainability - using traditional wisdom for a livable future.I first learned of Tyson from the Melbourne based men’s group Warrior Within, and with the surprising success of his book, have observed Tyson being ushered into a growing spotlight.For our conversation, I was excited to explore his take on masculinity - and he offered a raw and personal dive that touched some deep places in us both.We speak about the importance of relationship as the truth of our being, where the term “toxic masculinity” came from and why it’s a bad story, how a man’s relationship with the land mirrors his intimate relationships to others, and why tracking the mystery of emergence invites us to look to the wisdom of the outliers.Support this podcast http://patreon.com/ianmack Join the Conversation http://themythicmasculine.com/network This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit themythicmasculine.substack.com/subscribe

Greetings dear listener. This is a special episode of the podcast, where I reflect on the year since launching. It’s been hugely satisfying for me, and based on the feedback, for many listeners as well. I thought to record this anniversary episode to share about the journey of The Mythic Masculine. But rather than be a solo-cast, I invited my friend Elisa Spring to conduct the conversation, with some questions gathered from members of The Mythic Masculine Network.In our conversation today, we explore the intersection of eros, emergence and village, the problem with personal growth, the poverty of location independence, and how to intentionally pollinate the noosphere - that is, the realm of interconnected consciousness unites us all. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit themythicmasculine.substack.com/subscribe

My guest today is Murray Kyle, a mystic troubadour from Byron Bay, Australia. Over 15 years of of writing and touring his music has built him grassroots audience from all over the world.  His songs have become anthems of the heart, inviting reconnection to each other and the wisdom of the earth. I first met Murray while touring Australia back in 2016.  I attended a singing circle he led with other local men - I still remember how rich and healing it was to raise my voice in soulful brotherhood. In our conversation today, we speak about awakening to his soul’s purpose as a musician, the cultural beauty of men coming together in song, and the power of music to beckon forth our service to the world.Support this podcast http://patreon.com/ianmack Join the Conversation http://themythicmasculine.com/network This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit themythicmasculine.substack.com/subscribe

My guest today is Jane Caputi, a professor of Women, Gender and Sexuality Studies at Florida Atlantic University.  Dr. Caputi’s primary research is in contemporary American cultural studies, including pop culture, gender and violence, and eco-feminism.  She is the author of many articles and four books, including The Age of Sex Crime; Gossips, Gorgons, and Crones: The Fates of the Earth; and Goddesses and Monsters: Women, Myth, Power and Popular Culture.Her most recent work is Call Your Mutha: A Deliberately Dirty-Minded Manifesto for the Earth Mother in the Anthropocene, which does fierce and mythic battle against the techno-hegemony of The Age of Man.In our conversation today, we explore the roots of patriarchy from a mythic lens, we illuminate startling perspectives on ancient stories, from Gilgamesh to the Garden of Eden, and we wonder what might it take for civilization to come back into right relationship with the life force of the Earth Mother, lest she turn away, forever.Support this podcast http://patreon.com/ianmack Join the Conversation http://themythicmasculine.com/network This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit themythicmasculine.substack.com/subscribe

This is a special episode of the podcast, the first of its kind. It's a conversation with my good brother Daniel Robert, who is also the community manager of The Mythic Masculine Network.With our official launch happening last week, I thought it would be a supportive offering to share more about the origin and intention behind the network, as well some of Daniel's story, and how it came to be that we are collaborating on this growing community of artists, activists, scholars, and mythopoets.In our talk, we speak about how he found his way to men's work, our showdown in the brotherdome at the sacred sons convergence, and understanding men and the current crisis of meaning in our culture.Finally, we share in depth about the Mythic Masculine Network and why you might join us, and many others building this community.Enjoy my conversation with Daniel Robert. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit themythicmasculine.substack.com/subscribe

My guest today is Jack Zimmerman, an elder in the realm of relational intimacy.He is the co-author of The Way of Council (with Gigi Coyle), what I consider to be a key book on teaching the foundations of functional community.  He is also the co-author of Flesh and Spirit: The Mystery of Intimate Relationship, which he wrote with his life partner Jaquelyn McCandless.In our conversation, we cover the origin and foundations of the council practice. We explore the mystery of partnership: from understanding resonating wounds and the nature of projection, to how to tune into the consciousness of the Third - that relational space between you and another person.And finally, he speaks how walking the path of radical intimacy is to partner with the evolutionary intelligence of life itself.Support this podcast http://patreon.com/ianmack Join the Conversation http://themythicmasculine.com/network This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit themythicmasculine.substack.com/subscribe

My guest today is Jared Qwustenuxun (QUEST-AY-NA-HUN) Williams, a Salish Food Sovereignty Chef and Manager at the Elders Kitchen for his community of the Cowichan Tribes. He is also a father and owner of Medieval Chaos, the largest live action role playing game in Western Canada.I’m grateful for our conversation, where he illuminates his love for traditional teachings, language, and story, deeply informed by his rootedness to his place, the land of the Cowichan peoples, where I currently also call home.We explore how language is lens into a indigenous view of the world, how it has come to be that modern people know more about Greek gods and Marvel superheroes instead of the stories of place beneath their feet, and why really, it all comes back to the food.Support this podcast http://patreon.com/ianmack  Join the Conversation http://themythicmasculine.com/network This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit themythicmasculine.substack.com/subscribe

In today’s episode, I speak with Michael Gay, a therapist in private practice based in Boulder, Colorado.  Michael has worked in the field of counseling for the last 14 years as a guide, therapist, and trainer.  He specializes in work with depression, trauma, PTSD, grief, and families.I first encountered Michael at the Sacred Sons Convergence last October in San Diego California, where he led the men in a group process of healing through attunement to stuck energy, ultimately unlocking the deep alchemy of transformation.In our conversion today, we touch upon his own adolescence and grappling with the big questions of life, how he encountered the mythopoetic men’s movement and his time with Robert Bly, how emotions like anger can be powerful tools for healing, and why a culture of safety is fundamentally about coming back into relationship, with ourselves and with each other.Enjoy. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit themythicmasculine.substack.com/subscribe

My guest today is Philip Shepherd, an international authority on embodiment. He is the author of two books New Self, New World and Radical Wholeness, along with the developer of The Embodied Present Process, a series of practices for people to undo the stress and imbalances that are caused by disconnection, and find instead what it means to rest in the deeper, connected wisdom of the body.Philip's personal path was shaped by his adventures as a teenager, when he cycled alone through Europe, the Middle East, India and Japan; by his deep commitment to and studies of bodywork; and by his experiences as an actor, playing lead roles on stages in London, New York, Chicago and Toronto.In our conversation today, we explore: why living in the head, as many men do, guarantees a state of loneliness, how to tap into the emergent intelligence of life, and why the future of humanity may depend on our ability to finally come home, to your body and the earth.We begin with a guided presence practice led by Philip Shepherd.   This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit themythicmasculine.substack.com/subscribe