In one way or another, I’ve been training for something for almost my entire life.
In my youth it was hockey and baseball, then track and field and then bodybuilding.
I’ve been dealt a hand in genetics that has allowed me to expect success in every form of athletic training and competition I’ve entered, on the ice, on the field, and in the gym, as a leader, as the captain and often the MVP.
These various forms of training gave me strength, coordination, agility, endurance and confidence.
Then, in my young adulthood, I was exposed to the idea of managing my emotions by training myself to contain and hold the energy of an emotion by breathing through and eventually releasing the emotion while watching its energy dissipate. These types of training lead me to emotional stability and energy management.
In my late 20’s I was exposed to a variety of spiritual perspectives and practices, part of which always included some form of training. Spiritual practice, or sadhana, is a type of training for stabilizing one’s attention and seeing clearly into the nature of existence and reality.
Learning to live life fully present and connected to the reality of my current situation without intrusive thoughts was the result of continuously training myself to do so, through the use of various sadhana, or spiritual practice.
But this is only a small sample of the types of training possible for the masculine male. Being the multidimensional creatures we are, there are countless forms of training we can undergo and engage. In fact, every aspect of one’s existence can have some form of training engaged accordingly.
Eye contact, voice inflection, martial arts, body language, self-defense, story-telling, combatative’s, sexual prowess, flexibility, mindfulness, breath work, voluntary simplicity, renunciation, and death reflection, to name just a few.
Not only that, every interaction, every situation, every experience can be approached while training some aspect or dimension of our being. The workplace, the forest and the mall are all arena’s to train or practice in whatever practice you have committed to.
Today, among the many forms of training I’m engaged in, one of my primary practices is to carry myself with an awakened and alert awareness to the best of my ability, in all situations, as if I’m on point in combat. Little escapes my notice, I am seldom distracted by thought and rarely lost in my experience.
Another part of my training is to be on the lookout for strong men to invite into training with me. I am in the process of building a small tribe or gang who will work with me to build and improve our lives. The training involved and what that will look like is part of the process, but holding each other to account in our training commitments will certainly be a part of it.
Exploring various masculine forms of training, as well as challenging men to practice them will be one of the key themes of MasculineTools.com in the coming weeks
What form of training are you engaged in?
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