INWARD

The name and idea of 'Inward' was dreamed up more than a decade ago by Jay Horton, who had a vision of a different kind of men's gathering. Jay's journey progressed through the years with Inward on the back-burner, until he met Tristan Girdwood & Elliot Cleland and joined forces with them in a formidable 3-cell where the seed of Inward grew through their individual and shared journeys of healing & initiation. Regular meetings became treasured spaces of deep connection and transformation with edginess and huge heart. Each man came to the meetings with a willingness to let old stories, assumptions, worldviews & expectations die in the furnace of transformation, burning in the expression of long-held emotions and blockages. From the ashes, gently, little by little, rose new possibilities, new spaciousness, new ways of relating to themselves, others, and Earth. Their worlds opened up. Light and warmth could shine into the deep parts of their beings that were so long hidden in the depths. A sense of deep connection and comraderie developed between the 3 men. They had been through some serious shit together.

 

As their own baggage fell away layer by layer, they realised that while doing their work, they had burned a hole through the floor of modern men's culture, and fallen into an entirely new men's culture where aliveness and connection were the norm. And the hole in the floor was like a sink-hole, with a gravity that attracted men from all over New Zealand who were ready to join the new space. Thus, when Jay finally declared it was time for Inward to come alive, 22 men felt the pull of 'the magic in the air', to join its birth.

 

All three men contributed to holding the space in their own way; Jay with his force of initiation to open the space in a way that nobody could miss the invitation! His richness of vibrant colour, music, dance, poem and ritual lifted the men into magic territories of transformation and connection. Elliot the weaver of connection with one another, the soil and incredible food planted and nurtured with his own hands, brought his wizardry to the circle and the kitchen. His deep solid presence kept the men grounded and close to their hearts. Tristan, a Warrior for the presence of men, held the framework for the journey, his tenacious commitment to each man keeping the group tight and connected, able to deepen into unknown territories and discover new ways of being together.

 

And so Inward was born; a living, breathing force on the front line of next men's culture research. It is held in the hearts and souls of every man who has been present there, and possibly every man who ever will be.

 

Inward is a Gaian Gameworld, contexted in Radical Responsibility, powered by Life itself, supported with thoughtware from Possibility Management.