Explor­ing Men’s Grief and Spir­i­tu­al Growth

This com­pelling episode delves into the sel­dom-dis­cussed realm of men’s grief and the cul­tur­al silence around their emo­tion­al expres­sions. Our guest, Carl Rabke, a sea­soned prac­ti­tion­er in somat­ics, embod­i­ment work, and grief rit­u­als, shares his pro­found insights into the inter­sec­tions of phys­i­cal embod­i­ment and soul work. Through his jour­ney of heal­ing and dis­cov­ery, Carl illu­mi­nates the trans­for­ma­tive pow­er of embrac­ing vul­ner­a­bil­i­ty and the deep heal­ing that aris­es from inte­grat­ing body and soul prac­tices.

Our con­ver­sa­tion explores the piv­otal moments that led Carl to his work, includ­ing his own expe­ri­ences of injury and the real­iza­tion of the need for a rad­i­cal shift toward self-aware­ness and embod­i­ment. Draw­ing on the wis­dom of men­tors like Fran­cis Weller and the influ­ence of sem­i­nal texts such as “Women Who Run With the Wolves” and “Iron John,” Carl dis­cuss­es the vital role of grief work in men’s lives and the soci­etal bar­ri­ers that often silence their emo­tion­al expe­ri­ences.

We delve into the specifics of con­duct­ing grief work­shops for men, high­light­ing the impor­tance of cre­at­ing safe spaces where men can explore their vul­ner­a­bil­i­ties and share their grief with­out judg­ment. Carl shares the trans­for­ma­tive impact these work­shops have on par­tic­i­pants, fos­ter­ing a sense of com­mu­ni­ty and mutu­al under­stand­ing that tran­scends the con­ven­tion­al norms of mas­culin­i­ty.

Tran­script

Guest Bio

Carl Rabke is a Somat­ic Nat­u­ral­ist, an Embod­i­ment teacher, and a ten­der of soul and liv­ing cul­ture. For the last 25 years, he has prac­ticed and taught where the streams of somat­ics, soul-work, and a deep love of this liv­ing Earth meet. He is a Feldenkrais and Struc­tur­al Inte­gra­tion prac­ti­tion­er and loves to sup­port peo­ple in return­ing to and remem­ber­ing our nat­ur­al, inher­ent intel­li­gence in move­ment, med­i­ta­tion, rit­u­al, song, rhythm and com­mu­ni­ty. He also hosts the Embod­i­ment Mat­ters Pod­cast with his beloved wife, Erin. View Carl’s web­site.

Links to addi­tion­al resources

Women Who Run With the Wolves: Myths and Sto­ries of the Wild Woman Arche­type, Claris­sa Pinko­la Estes View here

Iron John: A Book About Men, Robert Bly View here

The Wild Edge of Sor­row: Rit­u­als of Renew­al and the Sacred Work of Grief, Fran­cis Weller View here

The Heal­ing Wis­dom of Africa: Find­ing Life Pur­pose Through Nature, Rit­u­al, and Com­mu­ni­ty, Malido­ma Patrice Some View here

Griev­ing Beyond Gen­der: Under­stand­ing the ways men and women mourn, Ken­neth J. Doka View here

My Grandmother’s Hands: Racial­ized Trau­ma and the Path­way to Mend­ing Our Hearts and Bod­ies, Res­maa Menakem View here

Foun­da­tion for Shaman­ic Stud­ies: Link to Foun­da­tion
“The Way of the Shaman” book by Michael Harn­er
Explore Soul­ful Sor­rows, our grief-tend­ing web­site, and join a month­ly grief cir­cle

Our month­ly newslet­ter, Sub­scribe here.

Episode Cred­its

Show intro­duc­tion: One Drum: Sto­ries and Cer­e­monies for a Plan­et by Richard Wagamese
Intro: Remem­ber Back When — Josef Falken­skold
Out­ro: The Seeds We Sow — David Celeste