In this fast-paced, modern world, the need for connection, understanding, and authenticity is more crucial than ever – particularly for men. As a society, we have over-accentuated the individual and forgotten the importance of group (extended family and community).

Because of how society has shaped us for decades, if not centuries, men often find ourselves juggling multiple roles, facing ever-increasing pressure, and feeling alone, leaving little room for introspection and genuine self-expression.

The Collective seeks to provide a safe and empowering space where you can slow down, reflect, and delve into the depths of your true self, surrounded and supported by open-minded individuals on a similar quest.

At the same time, it is not sufficient to gather as a group of men, talk about our challenges, and set new goals. To increase our inner peace and sense of well-being, we must take a developmental approach – a structured exploration into our habituated ways of being and relating to the world so that we can make deeper shifts that will allow us to naturally show up more grounded, more present, more available, and more connected.

Our program is designed to foster your inner development and a sense of belonging, providing the motivation and support needed to look deeply inside to heal wounds and chart a more authentic path for yourself.

We do this by integrating various powerful tools and approaches over six deep-dive men’s group sessions, supported by individual coaching, group work, and social activities relevant to the topics we are working through. Topics we will explore include:

• Emotional Intelligence – What is often described as the predictive factor of success, emotional intelligence is building awareness of ourselves and others. Together, we will explore the topics of self-motivation, self-awareness, and self-management – discussing both why these are important and how we can strengthen them in our daily lives.

• Understanding Personality – The Enneagram provides deep insights into your personality, core motivations, fears, and habituated ways of doing things. It provides a map to understand your past and ideas for how to expand beyond your historical limitations to have more choice in how you respond to life, acting as a compass for your personal growth. Combined with emotional intelligence, you'll learn to navigate emotions, empathize with others, and make conscious choices that align with your authentic self.

• Exploring Shaping – As men, we have been shaped since birth by our families, communities, society, media, and institutions. We unconsciously absorbed many aspects of limited, if not toxic-masculinity, regarding what was acceptable and what was not allowed. We shaped ourselves in order to survive as young children and adolescents, and that shaping has stayed with us subconsciously… until now. We will courageously explore how we were each shaped, using the strength and support of the group to shine a light into the shadows and discover what uninvited messages have been impinging on our freedom and authenticity. And we’ll start to heal these parts and invite them to take healthier roles in our lives.

• Body-based Practices – A practice of connecting mind and body, somatics enhances your understanding of how your physical sensations, emotions, and thoughts are interconnected. It's a gateway to accessing deeper layers of yourself and creating lasting change. We will explore how antiquated notions of masculinity literally shaped our bodies and our emotional structures and how we can unwind the knots that have bound us for decades so that we can relax into more flow

• Moving Toward Center – Having courageously explored inward, we will introduce various healing modalities to support your continued opening and growth. We will share and learn from each other about various resources, activities, courses, and practices that can be introduced to continue the unfolding of our authentic, grounded, less reactive, and more responsive selves.

We welcome men of all backgrounds, identities, and lived experiences to join the collective.

We believe that the men who would most benefit from the program are those who have already begun to do some exploration into themselves, either through coaching, therapy, workshops, other men’s groups, etc. These men have begun to realize that the old paradigm of how they move through the world is not working for them anymore and are wondering what is possible. They have the willingness and the time to prioritize reflection and inner exploration.

We honor that folks with different identities may have specific needs for support from fellow peers and/or facilitators with similar lived experiences. This group will be facilitated by Cyrus Tosun and Jayson Morris, two cis, hetero, able-bodied men who identify as BIPOC and white. We invite you to learn more about us here. If you have questions or concerns about whether this collective is the right fit for you, please feel free to contact us at info@centered-man.com and we’d be happy to chat.

For BIPOC, Queer & Trans, and Gender Expansive folks seeking identity-specific affinity spaces, check out these circles: Healing Together, Healing Cycles of Harm, and Peaceful Warriors. We will continue to add to this list as we learn about other groups doing great work.

The Program will be a combination of monthly, daylong, in-person intensives and online individual and group support in between sessions.

After completing the program, the group will imagine and co-create how to take the work forward, which might include regular meetings, group coaching, or some other initiative.

• 4 immersive, in person group sessions of 6-8 hours each

• 3 90-minute online men’s gatherings to deepen the work (with potential for additional self-organized meetings)

• Enneagram personality type test, a 20-page report, and 1 hour debrief and intro. coaching conversation with Cyrus or Jayson (both certified Enneagram coaches)

• 4 one-on-one coaching sessions with one of the coaches (including the Enneagram debrief), with the optional for additional coaching sessions at a discounted rate.

• Potential for continued support individually or collectively after the program ends (to be designed and co-created by participants and the coaches).

The inaugural cohort will help shape the future of The Centered Man Collective, both in terms of continuing the journey and informing what the future structure looks like. We anticipate launching a second cohort in the spring and one in the fall and will consider a fully virtual model.

If you are interested in future cohorts, please fill out the contact form to receive updates on the design and new cohort launches.

Our vision is to be able to provide more formal financial support for folks who are impacted by systemic oppression and inequity.

At the current moment, we do not have an established financial support program. However, if you are impacted by systemic oppression & inequity and financial constraints are your gating factor, we invite you to apply and note this and/or email us at info@centered-man.com, and we will explore possibilities for discounted fees.

The first cohort will launch on January 10, 2024 and last for 4 months. Below are the tentative dates/times:

Zoom Introduction

• January 10 5-7pm PT

In-Person Daylong Intensive

Saturdays (various locations in the Bay Area 9-4:30pm ish)

• Session 1 – January 20

• Session 2 – February 24

• Session 3 – March 23

• Session 4 – April 27
  

Online Men’s Group & Coaching

90-minute session in between each daylong on Wednesdays 5:30-7pm PT
(to be confirmed)

• February 7

• March 6

• April 10
  

Our inaugural cohort will be a hybrid model, but we have discussed the possibility of doing a fully virtual model in spring/summer 2024. If you are interested, fill out the Contact form, and we will keep you updated as the year progresses.