As part of my ongoing personal development, I have recently become involved with the Mankind Project Australia - www.mkpau.org. Last weekend I embarked on my first staffing or "rookie" staffing as it is known throughout MKP. As a typically left brained male, I have been attempting to reconnect to my creative or spiritual side, often referred to as the right brain. In buddhism though, the mind is often described as being formed in two-parts, the conceptual and non-conceptual mind. The latter being a combination of body, mind and heart, akin to the 'soul' in Christian terms. The idea behind all of this is that it is our feelings and emotions rather than our 'rational' mind are what we need to increasingly respond to and base decisions on because it's source is our own fundamental truth. With this in 'mind' I participated in a great weekend at MKP, witnessing the honesty and emotion of other men and through that - transformation. A real positive aspect of the weekend was the focus on bringing cultural diversity to the table, with many indigenous Australian men participating in the weekend side by side with other Australian men from a variety of backgrounds. We were even luck enough to have a few New Zealander's, including Maori men - who added to the uniqueness of the weekend with their viewpoints and traditional customs. After 3 days in wet conditions on a farm South of Sydney, I returned home exhausted, yet fulfilled hoping that I can continue to explore my inner self with a sense of connection to other men and the daily issues that we face as part of the ongoing challenges and joy of life.
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