Background
This project was originally inspired by a photo series that was supposed to happen in Mexico City this past Spring. The concept was to photograph men in places where they felt safe, seen, and understood. Fast forward to spending time in Texas from June - October, through a series of synchronicity and realizations, it became clear how the title for the photo series had unfolded. The iteration of the concept was to take men through a series of meditations and conscious blueprinting practices to unravel their awareness, connect to their emotions, and have the courage to share with the collective as a way to blueprint integrated healing.
Philosophy
As humans, our existence is orchestrated by intricate and complex systems, collectively referred to as our blueprint. Nested within this expansive framework are micro imprints of experiences that shape our beliefs, reactions, and thoughts. These intricacies profoundly influence our interactions with the external world, a phenomenon depicted through blueprinting—a visual diagram that grants insight into our relationship with the surrounding environment.
Immersive workshops, transformative events, and art & design artifacts emerge as indelible imprints that ardently seek to harmonize with the emotional ecosystem we collectively coalesce within.
Walkthrough
Three individuals united in a commitment to embark on a 40-day meditation journey. Sessions were broken down into 6 virtual sessions and 1 live session that would be witnessed as a conceptual experience and talk circle. The three participants did not know one another and met for the first time at the final session. The vision for the last session was to end with the group sitting in observation of others and opening up about their experience, feelings, resistance, and breakthroughs throughout the 40 days. The experiential aspect is in the form of a live session which is closely tied to this concept of integrated healing, an approach that liberates the self and the collective male psyche by collectively sharing personal insights. It was about taking on the courage to provide others around us a template for how they can face their fears, and connect with themselves, and ultimately one another to create a kinder world.
Guests were asked to share their experience by answering the following two questions, here is what they had to say:
What emotions did you experience?
Discomfort, Unity, Sympathy, Empathy, Understanding
Focus and serenity
The space made me feel calm and intrigue. In the discussion I felt sadness, grief, and acceptance.
I felt warm, safe, and hugged. I also felt compassion, empathy, and vulnerability.
What did you experience? What resonated with you the most?
The men in the circle were so vulnerable that I first felt we shouldn’t be there like this wasn’t a conversation meant for public ears. It felt like a late-night conversation a close group of friends would have. As they shared their stories and emotions I often felt myself wanting to reach out and hug them after hearing their experiences. Then there was a moment when I looked around and felt so connected to everyone in the room as we shared in this intimate experience. I left the experience feeling warm and honored to have witnessed such openness.
The space and the lighting. The textile curtains gave a sense of celestial serenity, allowing me to look inward and take it all in. I didn’t feel like conversing much, I would’ve loved to form part of the meditation.
I enjoyed the feeling of being connected with everyone in the space. It was an honor to experience the vulnerability of the people sharing and feel the emotions shift in the space as the conversation went on.
I experienced closeness with people I had never met before. I experienced acceptance, and what resonated with me the most was thinking about the meditation process that the participants went through and how that can make a big difference in our ability to understand our emotions and also share them since they become familiar and normal to us. Another thing that I thought about was imagining how reflecting on male figures will affect future generations. I could imagine a lot more openness between parents and their children. Also, when participants touched on the question about crying, I thought about my own experience with not allowing other people to see me cry, or just in general hiding my emotions and appearing that everything is okay. I think although there is a difference between men and women in regards to the permission they have in society to cry, it is still something that is not comfortable for society. Now, that I am reflecting on the event, I think the question of if they remembered the first time they cried, resonated with me a lot. I could not remember when was the first time I cried. I will continue to think and probably go through a process of healing. The story that one of the participants shared about him being asked by his mom to tell his dad not to go, made me reflect upon the times when as a child I was confronted with reality more so as an adult than as a child, and how that bears weight at times. Thank you for the experience, deeply enjoyed it <3