Mainely Men 83 — Spring 2023

The Mainely Men 83 Fall Gathering was held May 19–21, 2023.

Mainely Men 83 Workshops

Four workshops were planned around the weekend’s theme of “Being Yourself.”

Our beliefs about who we are go back to childhood. We explored internalized messages about “who we are” and tackled issues of guilt or shame we may have brought into adulthood. In the spirit space we create at Pilgrim Lodge, we endeavor to provide a safe, nurturing environment where men of like mind gather to be loved, accepted, and celebrated.

• Express Yourself Through Your Strengths – Focusing on strengths can help us determine what we enjoy, how experiences affect us and how we can become our true selves.
• Guilt and Shame: Stop Living in the Past – Do you feel unhealthy amounts of guilt or shame about things outside of your control? Let’s discuss ways to reframe our thinking and start living in the present as our true selves.
• Know Yourself – Let’s discuss how we can break harmful cycles to embark on a path to becoming who we really are.
• Stop Caring (So Much) About What Others Think – One answer to “How can I be myself?” is to face fears head-on, to be open and honest with friends, a partner, family, and others close to us.

Below are some of the other workshops from MM83. Workshops are limited only by the imagination and creativity of the participants. Whatever your skills, interests, or issues of importance, we encourage and welcome contributions to our workshop schedule. If you have never facilitated a workshop, this is a great place to start. Mainely Men is an opportunity for risk-taking with plenty of encouragement and support.

• Expressing the Artistic Self – If you are looking for a fun activity where we can discuss who we are and who we’d like to be, as we draw upon our artistic selves, this workshop is for you.
• Line Dancing – Session one is for beginners. Learn basic steps and basic dances of varying styles and music. Session two is for those who already know some basic steps and dances. We’ll use the time to practice a dance for the Saturday night show.
• Naked Yoga – This will be a gentle class with an emphasis on breath, ease of movement, and full-body relaxation.
• Nature Walk – This will be an unstructured, leisurely walk through the trails of Pilgrim Lodge, where some of the nuances of nature will reveal themselves to us.
• Tai Chi, Chi Gong – This style of Tai Chi is martial arts-related. We will focus on the power of the movements, through shifting of the weight, using the chi circle, and engaging the full body to increase the chi and power behind the motions.
• Topic Raffle – Come join our open topic discussion! Each man will receive a slip of paper on which to write a topic for the group to discuss.
• What is Toxic Masculinity? – Back by popular demand! This workshop continues our discussion from MM82 and gives us the opportunity to further define masculinity for ourselves.