I am happy to report that I celebrated my 80th birthdayu birthday on December 21, 2023. It is said that the two most important days of your life are (1) The day you were born and (2) The day you discovered why. You know the day and month of my birth and you can easily calculate the year. The day I found out Why I was born on November 21, 1969, the day my first son, Cemal, was born. When I held him in my arms shortly after he was born, I promised that I would be a different father than my father could be to me, and that I would do everything I could to help create a world where fathers were fully healthy and engaged with their children throughout their lives.
When our daughter, Angela, was born on March 22, 1972, I started MenAlive.com. I realized that if I was going to fulfill my promise to my children, I had to learn to be healthy in body, mind and spirit myself. We know it’s not an easy task. One of the things that has become increasingly clear to me as I live these eighty years is that our world is becoming increasingly unhealthy. What we say our global climate crisis it is really a symptom of a world out of balance, or more accurately, a world where human beings are out of balance with the community of life on planet Earth.
The rising temperature of the planet is the feverish response to a systemic disease.
The historian and “geologist”, Thomas Berry, warned us:
“We never knew enough. Nor were we intimate enough with all our cousins in the great earth family. Nor could we hear the various creatures of the earth, each telling its own story. The time has come, however, for us to listen or die.”
Which brings me to the point of this article. While women certainly share some of the blame for the state of our world, my own calling has been to help heal men, starting with myself. Those who have followed my work know that the primary way I share what I’ve learned about health and wellness is through my writing. My 17 books include health-promoting titles such as:
- Looking for love in all the wrong places: Overcoming romantic and sexual addictions.
- Surviving male menopause.
- Whole Men Program: Rejuvenate Your Body, Mind and Spirit After 40.
- The Irritable Man Syndrome: Understanding and Managing the 4 Root Causes of Depression and Aggression.
- The Enlightened Marriage: The 5 Transformational Stages of Relationships and Why the Best Is Yet to Come.
- And my latest book, Long live Men! The Moonshot mission to heal men, close the lifespan gap and offer hope to humanity.
Starting in 2024, I will be offering a series of courses for those who would like to benefit from what I have learned over these 80 years. The classes will be open to men and women who want to better understand and apply what I have learned about men’s mental, emotional and relational health, as well as to people working professionally to improve the lives of men and their families.
I have developed the following five courses:
Lesson #1: Men Alive: The Hidden Truth About The Perils Of Being A Man And A New Hope For Humanity.
A 7-week foundational course in the new science of trauma-informed healthcare.
- Section 1: The facts of life, death, and disability for men vs. women.
- Section 2: The realities of male biology found in the Inherent Male Vulnerability Foundation.
- Unit 3: The Evolution of Desire: Why Men Risk Their Lives to Compete with Other Men.
- Section 4: Humans are not limited by our biological and evolutionary origins and can make healthy life choices.
- Section 5: The Warrior’s Journey Home: Healing Men, Healing the Planet.
- Section 6: The real strength of men is accepting our vulnerability and healing our traumatic wounds.
- Section 7: The Moonshot mission to heal men, close the lifespan gap and offer hope to humanity.
Lesson #2: Men Alive: Healing Ourselves, Helping Other Men.
A 7-week course on the unique healing journey every man should take.
- Section 1: Accept your soul’s call and become a healthy deviant.
- Section 2: The secrets to success in your three non-negotiable marriages.
- Unit 3: Join a male group and listen to the sound of male cells singing.
- Unit 4: Free yourself from Man-Box beliefs and behaviors.
- Section 5: Acknowledge your anger, fear, and dependence on women.
- Section 6: Understand and manage irritable male syndrome and male-type depression.
- Section 7: Heal your family’s father wound and other adverse childhood experiences.
Lesson #3: Men Alive: Living a Great Life Helping Men and Their Families.
A 7-week course for those working in men’s health.
- Section 1: Your gift of healing in the present was born in the wounds of the past.
- Section 2: Find your place in the helping professions.
- Section 3: Making men’s health your professional focus.
- Section 4: Find your unique offering and writing your first book.
- Section 5: The million dollar one person business isn’t for everyone, but it might be for you.
- Section 6: How to become the “Go To” expert in your field.
- Section 7: Nitty-Gritty Advice From 74 Years Helping Men and the Families Who Love Them.
Lesson #4: Men Alive: Understanding, Preventing, and Treating Male Violence Against Self and Others.
A 7-week course to deal with all forms of violence.
- Section 1: Violence, a global challenge.
- Section 2: Why violence prevention is a critical issue for men’s health.
- Section 3: Male suicide: The ultimate expression of male depression and despair.
- Section 4: Man Therapy: A Research-Backed Tool to Reduce Suicidal Thinking.
- Section 5: How not to kill yourself.
- Section 6: Making Peace Work: How to Live with Compassion and Love Every Day.
- Section 7: Men’s groups may be the hope for world peace.
Lesson #5: Men Alive: Creating Centers of Connection, Compassion, and Reason in a World Out of Balance
A 7 week course to live, love and make a positive difference in today’s world.
- Section 1: Understanding the times we live in.
- Section 2: The sinking of the ship of civilization and the vision given to me in the portico of sweat.
- Unit 3: Sensitive Men Rising and The Moonshot For Mankind.
- Section 4: The call of the modern spiritual warrior.
- Section 5: The Warrior’s Journey Home: Healing Men, Healing Our Relationships, Healing the Planet.
- Section 6: Healing Practices of Peaceful Spiritual Warriors.
- Section 7: Creating centers of connection, compassion and sanity in a world out of balance.
As I develop these five lessons, I’m really excited about what they can do to help you understand the issues surrounding men’s health and, more importantly, what you can do to put this information into practice for improve your health and the health of those you love.
I have also partnered with Ubiquity University to offer credits towards Masters and PhD degrees to people who would like to get an advanced degree in addition to what you will learn through coursework and your own practice and dedication.
If you’d like to learn more about these course offerings, drop me a note at Jed@MenAlive.com and put “Men’s Health Courses” in the subject line. I will send you more details.
