BackBone Men’s Division

Become a Member

Here are things you are likely to get out of participating on an MDI men's team:

  1. You will connect with other men with respect and honesty.
  2. You will learn that many other men face the same challenges that you do.
  3. You will be exposed to points of view held by men of vastly different ages and cultural, economic, religious, ethnic, family, and educational backgrounds, and sexual orientations.
  4. You will get to know men who, except through your membership in MDI, you would never have even met.
  5. You will have a chance to practice being honest about your life to other men and you will be exposed to their feedback.
  6. You will have opportunities to tell other men what your experience has been.
  7. You will be held accountable by other men for what you tell them.
  8. You will have the kind of fun that 10-year-old boys, at their best, have with one another.
  9. You will teach and learn what works and what does not work in having successful relationships with women.
  10. You will teach and learn what works and what does not work about being a father, a son, a brother, an employee, an employer or a good friend to another man.
  11. You will have a chance to be intimately exposed to the consequences of many of life's pitfalls such as drug and alcohol abuse, bankruptcy, divorce, unemployment, neglected health, without having to personally go there.
  12. You will have a chance to climb up out of the pits you've fallen into with the understanding and help from other men who know what you are up against.
  13. You will come to be known by a circle of men as a fellow pilgrim, and for what you have been able to teach, and for what you have been willing to learn.
  14. You will belong to a circle of men where it will be safe to express your anger, your grief and your willingness to forgive and be forgiven.
  15. You will learn that trust is a gift and get practice trusting and being trusted.
  16. You will learn to distinguish between your mature masculine identity and the remnants of your immature boy psychology.
  17. You will be touched by other men and you will learn to open your heart to them.
  18. You will have more really close relationships with other men than you ever dreamed could be possible in your wildest imagination.
  19. You will be able to more deeply love the women and children in your life, and you will be a better husband, son and father.
  20. You will deepen and enrich your spiritual practice if you have one, or, if you don't have one, you will be exposed to the value other men get from their spiritual lives.

 

Find Out More

If you want to learn more about joining a men's team and becoming a member of Backbone, come to a Backbone Introduction. These meetings are held on Monday evenings 7:30-9:30 pm. Locations vary.

For more information, or for an invitation to one of our weekly meetings, please call Ellis Cohen at 617-686-1951

You can also see a calendar for Backbone Division events.