Mankind Project
Encyclopedia
ManKind Project is a non-profit, educational organization, with the stated purpose to "support men in leading meaningful lives of integrity
, accountability
, responsibility
, and emotional intelligence
."
MKP serves as the umbrella organization for 43 interdependent centers in eight countries (in four continents). Each center elects its own leadership, and conducts trainings that address men's life issues.
, MKP reports that over 43,000 men have participated in their flagship program, the New Warrior Training Adventure.
, Robert L. Moore
, and Douglas Gillette
. In 1984, Rich Tosi, a former Marine Corps
officer; Bill Kauth, a social worker, therapist, and author; and Ron Hering, Ph.D. (Curriculum Studies), a university professor; created an experiential weekend for men called The New Warrior Training. As the popularity of the training grew, they formed a New Warrior Network organization which would later become The Mankind Project.
The weekend is intended as a male initiation ritual
. MKP states that those who undertake this journey pass through three phases characteristic to virtually all historic forms of male initiation: descent, ordeal and return. Participants surrender all electronic devices (cell phones, watches, laptops, etc.), weapons (guns, knives, etc.) and jewelry for the weekend. This was explained as way of removing the "noise of a man's life", separating the man "from what he is comfortable with," and ensuring the safety of all participants. "read more ..."
Participants agree to confidentiality of the NWTA processes, to create an experience "uncluttered by expectation" for the next man and to protect the privacy
of all participants. MKP encourages participants to freely discuss what they learned about themselves with anyone.
Trainings usually involve 20 to 32 participants, and some 30 to 45 staff. The average cost of the weekend course is $650. The course usually takes place at a retreat center, over a 48-hour period, with a one-to-one ratio of staff to participants.
ally and psychologically
. Men who have completed the NWTA are encouraged to consider joining such a group. An optional "Integration Group" training is offered shortly after each NWTA; a small fee ($100–$150) is charged for training expenses. Scholarships are available for both the weekend and I-Group.
The "I-Group" is for participants to engage in ongoing personal work and to apply the principle
s learned on the NWTA to their lives. I-Groups are available to all men who complete the NWTA, and sometimes to men who want to explore the Mankind Project. Many I-Groups meet one evening per week. A typical I-Group meeting includes conversation and sharing in a series of "rounds" that allow each man to be heard.
Some former MKP members have written negative material about MKP on public blogs and chat lists.
Anti-cult
advocate Rick Ross
of the Rick A. Ross Institute
was quoted as saying that The ManKind Project appears to use coercive mind-control tactics. These include limiting participants' sleep and diet, cutting them off from the outside world, forcing members to keep secrets, and using intimidation.
On August 31, 2010, a wrongful termination/retaliation lawsuit was reportedly filed against a law firm for allegedly retaliating against an employee who refused to attend the "New Warrior Training Seminar" offered by The Mankind Project (MKP). MKP was not named in the lawsuit.
. MKP agreed to settle the case on June 4, 2008. The terms of the settlement are not disclosed.
Integrity
Integrity is a concept of consistency of actions, values, methods, measures, principles, expectations, and outcomes. In ethics, integrity is regarded as the honesty and truthfulness or accuracy of one's actions...
, accountability
Accountability
Accountability is a concept in ethics and governance with several meanings. It is often used synonymously with such concepts as responsibility, answerability, blameworthiness, liability, and other terms associated with the expectation of account-giving...
, responsibility
Moral responsibility
Moral responsibility usually refers to the idea that a person has moral obligations in certain situations. Disobeying moral obligations, then, becomes grounds for justified punishment. Deciding what justifies punishment, if anything, is a principle concern of ethics.People who have moral...
, and emotional intelligence
Emotional intelligence
Emotional intelligence is a skill or ability in the case of the trait EI model, a self-perceived ability to identify, assess, and control the emotions of oneself, of others, and of groups. Various models and definitions have been proposed of which the ability and trait EI models are the most...
."
MKP serves as the umbrella organization for 43 interdependent centers in eight countries (in four continents). Each center elects its own leadership, and conducts trainings that address men's life issues.
, MKP reports that over 43,000 men have participated in their flagship program, the New Warrior Training Adventure.
History
MKP has its origins in the mythopoetic men's movement of the early 1980s, drawing heavily on the works of Robert BlyRobert Bly
Robert Bly is an American poet, author, activist and leader of the Mythopoetic Men's Movement.-Life:Bly was born in Lac qui Parle County, Minnesota, to Jacob and Alice Bly, who were of Norwegian ancestry. Following graduation from high school in 1944, he enlisted in the United States Navy, serving...
, Robert L. Moore
Robert L. Moore
Robert L. Moore, Ph.D., is an internationally recognized Jungian psychoanalyst and consultant in private practice in Chicago, Illinois, USA. He is: the Distinguished Service Professor of Psychology, Psychoanalysis and Spirituality in the Chicago Theological Seminary; a Training Analyst at the C.G...
, and Douglas Gillette
Douglas Gillette
Douglas Gillette is an author who has written a series of five books with co-author Robert L. Moore that explore the archetypal level of the human psyche. He is also the author of The Shaman's Secret: The Lost Resurrection Teachings of the Ancient Maya. Gillette has worked as a mythologist, artist,...
. In 1984, Rich Tosi, a former Marine Corps
United States Marine Corps
The United States Marine Corps is a branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for providing power projection from the sea, using the mobility of the United States Navy to deliver combined-arms task forces rapidly. It is one of seven uniformed services of the United States...
officer; Bill Kauth, a social worker, therapist, and author; and Ron Hering, Ph.D. (Curriculum Studies), a university professor; created an experiential weekend for men called The New Warrior Training. As the popularity of the training grew, they formed a New Warrior Network organization which would later become The Mankind Project.
New Warrior Training Adventure
MKP states:The weekend is intended as a male initiation ritual
Rite of passage
A rite of passage is a ritual event that marks a person's progress from one status to another. It is a universal phenomenon which can show anthropologists what social hierarchies, values and beliefs are important in specific cultures....
. MKP states that those who undertake this journey pass through three phases characteristic to virtually all historic forms of male initiation: descent, ordeal and return. Participants surrender all electronic devices (cell phones, watches, laptops, etc.), weapons (guns, knives, etc.) and jewelry for the weekend. This was explained as way of removing the "noise of a man's life", separating the man "from what he is comfortable with," and ensuring the safety of all participants. "read more ..."
Participants agree to confidentiality of the NWTA processes, to create an experience "uncluttered by expectation" for the next man and to protect the privacy
Privacy
Privacy is the ability of an individual or group to seclude themselves or information about themselves and thereby reveal themselves selectively...
of all participants. MKP encourages participants to freely discuss what they learned about themselves with anyone.
Trainings usually involve 20 to 32 participants, and some 30 to 45 staff. The average cost of the weekend course is $650. The course usually takes place at a retreat center, over a 48-hour period, with a one-to-one ratio of staff to participants.
Integration Groups (I-Groups)
MKP co-founder Bill Kauth's 1992 book A Circle of Men: The Original Manual for Men's Support Groups details how groups of men can assemble to help one another emotionEmotion
Emotion is a complex psychophysiological experience of an individual's state of mind as interacting with biochemical and environmental influences. In humans, emotion fundamentally involves "physiological arousal, expressive behaviors, and conscious experience." Emotion is associated with mood,...
ally and psychologically
Psychology
Psychology is the study of the mind and behavior. Its immediate goal is to understand individuals and groups by both establishing general principles and researching specific cases. For many, the ultimate goal of psychology is to benefit society...
. Men who have completed the NWTA are encouraged to consider joining such a group. An optional "Integration Group" training is offered shortly after each NWTA; a small fee ($100–$150) is charged for training expenses. Scholarships are available for both the weekend and I-Group.
The "I-Group" is for participants to engage in ongoing personal work and to apply the principle
Principle
A principle is a law or rule that has to be, or usually is to be followed, or can be desirably followed, or is an inevitable consequence of something, such as the laws observed in nature or the way that a system is constructed...
s learned on the NWTA to their lives. I-Groups are available to all men who complete the NWTA, and sometimes to men who want to explore the Mankind Project. Many I-Groups meet one evening per week. A typical I-Group meeting includes conversation and sharing in a series of "rounds" that allow each man to be heard.
Other trainings
MKP is affiliated with several similar training programs :- Boys to Men http://www.boystomen.org/, for adolescent boys
- Inner King http://www.innerking.com/, for "initiating men into sovereign, kingly energy"
- Inside Circlehttp://insidecircle.org/, for convict s in maximum security prisons
- Inward Journey http://www.inwardjourney.org/ (aka "AAFANTE"), a more emotionally charged training for people of African accent.
- Vets Journey Home http://www.vetsjourneyhome.org/ (formerly "Bamboo Bridge"), for combat zone veterans
- Warrior Monk http://www.warriormonk.org/, for "men and women who are in a transition phase of life"
- Woman Within http://www.womanwithin.org/, for women
Criticism
Some former MKP members have written negative material about MKP on public blogs and chat lists.
Anti-cult
Anti-cult movement
The anti-cult movement is a term used by academics and others to refer to groups and individuals who oppose cults and new religious movements. Sociologists David G...
advocate Rick Ross
Rick Ross (consultant)
Rick Alan Ross works as a consultant, lecturer, and intervention specialist, with an interest in exit counseling and deprogramming of former cult members. He runs a blog at CultNews.com, and in 2003 founded the Rick A...
of the Rick A. Ross Institute
was quoted as saying that The ManKind Project appears to use coercive mind-control tactics. These include limiting participants' sleep and diet, cutting them off from the outside world, forcing members to keep secrets, and using intimidation.
On August 31, 2010, a wrongful termination/retaliation lawsuit was reportedly filed against a law firm for allegedly retaliating against an employee who refused to attend the "New Warrior Training Seminar" offered by The Mankind Project (MKP). MKP was not named in the lawsuit.
Wrongful death lawsuit
A 2007 wrongful death lawsuit filed by the parents of a Texas man charged that MKP was responsible for Michael Scinto's suicide. The parents claimed that he had struggled with alcohol and cocaine addiction in the past. Scinto was a 29 year old adult who had been clean and sober for a year and a half prior to his attending MKP's New Warrior Training Adventure in July 2005. Two days after Scinto returned from the NWTA retreat, he sought psychiatric help at Ben Taub Hospital. He subsequently began drinking and taking drugs again, and he then committed suicideSuicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...
. MKP agreed to settle the case on June 4, 2008. The terms of the settlement are not disclosed.