Challenge Groups
Men in the Tribe support each other through being challenged to live up to our own principles, and challenging others to do so. To facilitate this support we’ve created challenge groups where men meet on a regular ongoing basis. Typically each group is organized according to the location of the men in the group at least once a month for 3-4 hours.
Availability in a challenge group is changes from time to time, and if needed a new group will be created to accommodate new men coming into the Tribe.
Unlike groups whose primary purpose is sharing, stories, service, social, or structured rituals – all of which are valuable – our challenge groups are a forum to support men going through the initiation process and expand our own awareness through deep consciousness work.
A Typical Challenge Group Meeting
The group begins by reading and reflecting on the Tribe’s principles.LINK Any Tribe business matters are addressed. After a brief check-in, each man declares his interest and desire to work, and in what area of his life he’d like to challenge himself. Typically, 2 or 3 men will do work in a meeting. Some representative examples are:
- A man seeking clarity of his life purpose
- One man wanted help deepening his spirituality and his initiation challenge.
- A successful businessman wanted to explore a huge negative reaction with a client at work.
The typical meeting closes by debriefing each man’s work and the facilitation of that work to enhance learning for future meetings.
Joining a Challenge Group
When a man has expressed strong interest in joining the Tribe and seeking initiation, we allow him to visit and join a challenge group.
The challenge group is designed to support the growth of well-functioning men. While a few tribesmen are therapists and coaches by profession, the Tribe of Men is not a provider of therapy or an emotional support group. In fact, if you are experiencing a crisis or serious depression, we recommend therapy instead of the Tribe of Men.Our tribesmen take the learning gathered from challenge groups into their intimate relationships, their families, their work, their communities and their own lives.
Facilitation
Men in the tribe are trained in facilitation and are encouraged to bring a variety of tools and techniques to the tribe to enhance our ability to support men.
Some of the tools and techniques used include but are not limited to: Voice Dialogue, visualization, conflict resolution, expressing feelings fully and role playing.
Each man brings his own expertise and wisdom to the process.