02/02/2024
Dear Fort Collins Community, do you know a man in your network who has been seeking a space for authentic conversations about intimacy & s*xuality. Perhaps someone who is holding onto some s*x-negative beliefs from family, religion, or society and is looking for support in defining what feels right and true for them? Do you know a man who could use a safe and brave space to explore topics about consent, p**n, kink, fantasy, self-love, alternative lifestyles/relationships, s*x-positive parenting, and beyond? A safe place (meaning we will not allow judgment or intentional harm) & brave (meaning you are encouraged to be authentically you and it is ok if you mess up or say something that triggers someone else as long as you are open to feedback and repair if required). Please have them check out the poster below and if you want to know more about me and why I am doing this then keep reading...
Growing up as an only child to a single mother had its challenges as I developed into a s*xual being while living in Las Vegas. While my mother encouraged me to love my s*xuality she also wanted me to know what women experience. I felt so lost with the mixed messages from society compared to family about what a man and a s*xual man "should" be, which left me longing for guidance. Thankfully, my curiosity led me to seek out both helpful and not-so-helpful forms of influence. Thankfully, works like Mark Manson's Models helped me heal from the toxic PUA messaging to embrace honesty and authenticity. Men like Aubrey Marcus & David Deida guided me into the spiritual realm of eros and into working with s*xual energy with mindfulness. Countless articles, classes & videos by s*x therapists like Dr. Hernando Chavez or Dr. David Ley and researchers like Justin Lehmiller & Emily Nagoski and Dr. Amanda Morgan and so many more. Finally, this struggle and drive led me to pursue becoming an AASECT-certified s*x therapist through the S*xual Health Alliance so that I might help individuals and relationships to have a slightly easier journey in navigating their s*xual evolution. I have been sitting on this idea of an evolving lovers men's group for a few years now waiting for it to feel right. I had gained soooo much knowledge, but it hadn't quite felt embodied and aligned within myself and my relationship with my lover Joy. Thankfully, this past year has brought some significant clearing and expansion for her & I from s*x educator workshops by Dr. Hazel-Grace Yates, and The Village of Lovers filmmaker John Wolfstone & Cari Caldwell & beyond. While I am certainly not done evolving as a lover, I am beyond excited to continue learning with and from this next group of men just as I have been so lucky to receive the wisdom and vulnerability of my clients over the years in my practice. May this group send ripples into the community for a safer & more pleasurable tomorrow. Thank you Joy for your endless encouragement & motivation & for your drive to evolve as a lover alongside me & for being my favorite co-explorer of the heart, psyche & soul! Thank you to my past lovers for the struggles & memories that shaped my grief, & growth. Thank you, Leaf for the sacred men's council & Chuck Hancock for your nature-based work, and for tending the waters of my psyche & soul in your group together! Thank you to my fellow therapists who called me in and out to look at my shadow and my light! Thank you, Jeffrey James, Paul McClure & my other personal therapists & supervisors for holding space for my process! Thank you for reading this and for your support of the mission to release shame, fear & nonconsensual violence from s*xuality and to create a more beautiful world our hearts know is possible to borrow the words from Charles Eisenstein!