On Mask-Wearing and Masculinity

In thinking about Wendy William’s Saturday session on Embracing the Divine Masculine, I’ve been reflecting on its opposite: toxic masculinity.  How, I’m curious to know, does toxic masculinity manifest during this pandemic moment? 
Some men, opines Jessica Valenti in a recent piece in Medium, equate mask-wearing as somehow appearing weak, i.e. not masculine. It’s interesting that three of the worst-hit countries in this pandemic are also afflicted with heads of state preoccupied with meeting the terms of machismo—Bolsanaro, Putin, and Trump, all of whom disdain the wearing of masks.   “Appearing to play it safe contradicts a core principle of masculinity: show no weakness,” said Peter Glick, in a recent article in the Guardian. Glick is a scientist who has co-authored research on how so-called “masculinity contest culture” poisons work environments.  Bolsanaro, Putin, and Trump are leaders who have built brands as strongmen offering maverick solutions, and want to be seen as recovery presidents sweeping the illness aside, even if the virus has other ideas.  So what is the Divine Masculine? Here’s a description of this quality by Isabela, the proprietor of the Sacred Light Alchemy. “This is the energy that unites the world in love, peace, and personal authority, allowing all beings and all things to have a seat at the round table of oneness. It is the man that gives his coat for a person in need, it is the care of a woman for a relative or a neighbor."  On the other hand, toxic masculinity, Williams says below, is rooted in fear, which in term results in controlling behavior.We’ll explore the nature of what she calls Divine Masculinity and Divine Femininity in some detail during Saturday’s 11am ET online community exploration, the details of which are here. 

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Embracing the Divine Masculine

As someone who’s been involved in what-Wikipedia-calls the mythopoetic men’s movement for a number of years, I’ll admit I was initially taken aback to hear a woman talk about many of the same themes I’ve repeatedly heard “woke” men talk about .
But I quickly realized that Wendy C. Williams, the guest host of the upcoming Embracing the Divine Masculine upcoming event, approaches male issues from a different perspective than I’d heard before. The online community exploration will be held on June 20th at 11 am ET.  
In a video podcast interview I recorded with her recently, she expanded on her view that men are as much victims of toxic masculinity as women.
“As a society, we’ve put men in a box that says in order to be masculine, you have about four acceptable emotional states,” she said.“It is highly acceptable for you to be angry. It is acceptable for you to be neutral and not positive. It is acceptable for you to be happy for short periods of time and for really good reasons. And it’s acceptable for you to be sad for very short periods of time, and only for very good reasons. "Other than that, you’re not allowed to express yourself and if you do, you are then called derogatory terms related to the feminine by both men and women.”
She also believes that both men and women have a role in helping each other evolve towards embodying mature and divine aspects of masculinity and femininity. The

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Digital Disruptor: The Internet's Impact on Religion and Spirituality

Digital culture is transforming religious practice in multiple ways, says Texas A&M Professor of Communication Heidi A. Campbell.

“Scholars of religion are finding that people practice ‘lived religion.’ They may say, 'I’m Jewish’ or 'I’m Christian,” but they draw on multiple sources to define what they mean. Religion is more personalized in a digital age,“ Campbell says.

How people define religious authority is also changing. Although pastors, imams and rabbis hold authority in their traditions because of of their theological knowledge, a new type of  "algorithmic authority” has emerged, Campbell says.

“Involvement online builds this kind of authority… It’s the number of 'likes’ you have on your posts, it’s the number of followers you have or how many people link to your content. All of this gives a sense of authority and validity…that’s gained not from religious knowledge, but technological fluency,” she says.

The internet, Campbell says, “allows people to create their own tribe." 

Although people may have roots in a traditional congregation, they can explore their particular interests in an online global community. "There can find online global connections that kind of feed their souls, whereas they couldn’t do this before” in pre-internet days. 

A major contributor to the study of digital religion, Campbell is the author of Networked Theology: Negotiating Faith in Digital Culture. She is the Founding Director of the Network for New Media, Religion and Digital Culture Studies. She is currently studying the phenomena of internet memes and how these memes shape religions perceptions. 

Links:

• Campbell’s Wikipedia page
• The Internet challenges and empowers religious institutions (article)
• Network for New Media, Religion and Digital Culture Studies
• Sacred Inclusion Network
• Sacred Inclusion Network’s Facebook Group
• Sacred Inclusion Network’s YouTube Channel
• Like the podcast? Support us on Patreon!  

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Galvanizing Change in this Pandemic Moment

Most of us progressive-minded folks are members of multiple communities, be they religious, spiritual, environmental or political. What unites us are our values, the foremost of which is an innate sense of our sacred interdependence, or reverence for both the entirety of the interconnected web and all of its connected parts.

In this excerpt from the Sacred Inclusion Network’s monthly Online Community Exploration, Angelo John Lewis and David Wetton explore the possibility of harnessing our individual, and group energies for the full expression of the higher values that unite us, a project that assumes greater urgency in moments of crisis, such as this pandemic moment. They also explore how to inspire and galvanize a deeper sense of these higher values in both ourselves and our multiple communities. And how attuning to these higher values activates the power of the Network of Light.

David Wetton helps Conscious Leaders grow themselves and develop Purpose-Led High Performing Leadership Teams through 1:1 Coaching & Tailored Leadership Programmes. He runs a Leadership Legacy Programme™ to help senior executives and their leadership teams define and deliver their legacy to the world. He’s an ordained UK interfaith minister and spiritual counselor; which means that he’s committed to holding a safe, heartfelt compassionate space for all those he coaches.

Angelo John Lewis is the Director of the Sacred Inclusion Network and the originator of Sacred Conversations and the Dialogue Circle Method.  He is also the author of Notes for a New Age, and a coach and consultant who has designed, developed and conducted group problem solving, team and community building interventions for clients that include AT&T, Verizon, ACNielsen, and a branch of the U.S. Department of Commerce. 

Links: 

• About David Wetton
• Richard D. Barlett’s Microsolidarity Proposal
• World Summit Movement  
• Sacred Inclusion Network

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Are You Ready for "Galvanizing Change"?

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Here's why you should join us Saturday for "Galvanizing Change in this Pandemic Moment." https://bit.ly/channel-change

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Let’s Activate the Network of Light (Corrected Date!)

Many of us who identify with progressive values belong to multiple networks, be they fraternal, environmental, political or spiritual.
But sometimes, the people and organizations within these networks work at cross-purposes. Turf issues, differences in philosophy, the sense that one group’s cause is more important than others can be sources of conflict.
It’s only during rare times when opportunities arise that challenge us to focus more on what unites us and less on what sets us apart.It could be that this pandemic moment presents that opportunity.  It gives us the option to unite around universal values and galvanize our energies for the higher good.
The Sacred Inclusion Network invites you Saturday to explore how to seize this opportunity. We’ll explore how to inspire and galvanize a deeper sense of these higher values in both ourselves and our multiple communities.
About the Facilitators:
David Wetton helps Conscious Leaders grow themselves and develop Purpose-Led High Performing Leadership Teams through 1:1 Coaching & Tailored Leadership Programmes. He runs a Leadership Legacy Programme™ to help senior executives and their leadership teams define and deliver their legacy to the world. . He’s an ordained UK interfaith minister and spiritual counsellor; which means that he’s committed to holding a safe, heartfelt compassionate space for all those he coaches.

Angelo John Lewis is the Director of the Sacred Inclusion Network whose experience include a season in a Japanese dojo as a student of the healing arts,  and mentorship with a Chinese Tantric Buddhist Master.  Angelo is also the originator of Sacred Conversations and the Dialogue Circle Method.  He is the author of Notes for a New Age, and a coach and consultant who has designed, developed and conducted group problem solving, team and community building interventions for clients that include AT&T, Verizon, ACNielsen, and a branch of the U.S. Department of Commerce. 

Logistics and How to Participate:

When: Saturday, May 16 at 11 am (check your time zone here)
Preregister (preferred!) : For priority access, send us an email with “Register” on the subject line to info@divspirit.com OR
Show up “at the door” and join us online: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/293138919Meeting ID: 293 138 919 (Important: Zoom may require you to use meeting ID this because of recent security concerns)
Don’t have a webcam. You can also join these two ways:
iOne tap mobile
+13017158592,,293138919# US (Germantown)+13126266799,,293138919# US (Chicago)
OR Dial by hour location+1 301 715 8592 US (Germantown)+1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago)+1 646 558 8656 US (New York)+1 253 215 8782 US (Tacoma)+1 346 248 7799 US (Houston)+1 669 900 6833 US (San Jose)Meeting ID: 293 138 919Find your local number: https://us02web.zoom.us/u/kcoQsqpmRCInternational numbers available: https://zoom.us/u/apPbvogYK

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How to Solve World Problems By Working Together (Corrected Date!)

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Spiritually oriented? Join us Saturday in activating the Network of Light. Let's galvanize change in this pandemic moment. bit.ly/activate-light

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Let’s Activate the Network of Light

Many of us who identify with progressive values belong to multiple networks, be they fraternal, environmental, political or spiritual.  But sometimes, the people and organizations within these networks work at cross-purposes. Turf issues, differences in philosophy, the sense that one group’s cause is more important than others can be sources of conflict. It’s only during rare times when opportunities arise that challenge us to focus more on what unites us and less on what sets us apart.  It could be that this pandemic moment presents that opportunity.  It gives us the option to unite around universal values and galvanize our energies for the higher good. The Sacred Inclusion Network invites you Saturday to explore how to seize this opportunity. We’ll explore how to inspire and galvanize a deeper sense of these higher values in both ourselves and our multiple communities. 
About the Facilitators:
David Wetton helps Conscious Leaders grow themselves and develop Purpose-Led High Performing Leadership Teams through 1:1 Coaching & Tailored Leadership Programmes. He runs a Leadership Legacy Programme™ to help senior executives and their leadership teams define and deliver their legacy to the world. . He’s an ordained UK interfaith minister and spiritual counsellor; which means that he’s committed to holding a safe, heartfelt compassionate space for all those he coaches.

Angelo John Lewis is the Director of the Sacred Inclusion Network whose experience include a season in a Japanese dojo as a student of the healing arts,  and mentorship with a Chinese Tantric Buddhist Master.  Angelo is also the originator of Sacred Conversations and the Dialogue Circle Method.  He is the author of Notes for a New Age, and a coach and consultant who has designed, developed and conducted group problem solving, team and community building interventions for clients that include AT&T, Verizon, ACNielsen, and a branch of the U.S. Department of Commerce. 

Logistics and How to Participate:

When: Saturday, March at 11 am (check your time zone here)
Preregister (preferred!) : For priority access, send us an email with “Register” on the subject line to info@divspirit.com OR
Show up “at the door” and join us online: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/293138919 Meeting ID: 293 138 919  (Important: Zoom may require you to use meeting ID this because of recent security concerns)
Don’t have a webcam. You can also join these two ways:
iOne tap mobile
+13017158592,,293138919# US (Germantown)+13126266799,,293138919# US (Chicago)
OR Dial by hour location+1 301 715 8592 US (Germantown)+1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago)+1 646 558 8656 US (New York)+1 253 215 8782 US (Tacoma)+1 346 248 7799 US (Houston)+1 669 900 6833 US (San Jose) Meeting ID: 293 138 919 Find your local number: https://us02web.zoom.us/u/kcoQsqpmRC International numbers available: https://zoom.us/u/apPbvogYK

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Am I the Only One Who Thinks This Way?

I’ve expressed the thought previously that this pandemic moment presents a unique opportunity.In the midst of this shock that reverberates worldwide, I have the sense that nature is trying to tell us that the way we’ve been living is unsustainable. That we have to do better, both individually and collectively. I think the individual piece starts with coming into the awareness that we each of us has a unique role to play in shifting the paradigm. When enough of do this, we’ll form critical mass.  My intent with these Sacred Conversations I’m facilitating this week is to help you claim that mantle of leadership. Each of these will involve no more than six of us and take place during one of four times. Collectively, I and my colleague Willem O'Reilly have been facilitating dialogues like these for more than 20 years. As I write, there are still a few slots available should you feel called to participate  (check your time zone here). * Wednesday, May 6, 1 PM ET * Wednesday, May 6, 9 PM ET * Friday, May 8, 8:30 PM ET * Sunday, May 10, 11 AM ET If you’d like to be one of a group of six, register here and let me know which of these times work for you. Please choose at least two options, a preferred and a secondary one.Here’s to the hope that one way or other, you’re finding a way to make this pandemic moment work for you. Angelo Sacred Inclusion Network

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Jello’s first made flourless banana bread. Shelter in place!

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"Don't Let a Good Pandemic Go to Waste!"

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"Don't Let a Good Pandemic Go to Waste!"

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“Still Life”

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“ my beloved son, of whom I’m so proud”-@almoston_e

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We’re all refugees. Let’s slowly and intentionally move towards a borderless world.

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Interrupting Fear: Reframing Our Stories

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Quick Reminder: "Reframe Fear Exploration" Saturday: https://bit.ly/reframefear

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