Episode 1: Anthony Hern - The Story At The Center Of Me & Re-Writing Story of Self Through Men’s Work
“When we unfold the story wound within our souls and untie the knots within us, we add presence to the world and contribute to the spirit of life in a specific and authentic way.” - Michael Meade
Listen here: https://open.spotify.com/episode/2FplURFHW2dBB1WwRLACcl
Quote from Anthony I’m Pondering:
“Others may tell stories about us in an attempt to understand, and thus create a narrative. And they inflict that narrative upon us, at which point we construct ourselves to fit that narrative. In old fairy tales that would have been called a curse.” - Anthony Hern
Show Notes
For the very first recording on the Museum of Self Podcast, I was joined by Anthony Hern, who is a Men’s Work leader at A Band of Brothers, an organization and community providing rites of passage and mentorship primarily to men impacted by the criminal justice system in the UK.
For our conversation we dive into looking at self through the lens of story. We start with the stories we have about ourselves by default, and get into ways to dig deeper and investigate if these stories of self are true. We then explore what men’s work looks like, especially for men impacted by the criminal justice system, and how this work can provide a sense of redemption as well as the opportunity to overcome limitations by re-writing one’s story of self. We close on an exploration of our dominant culture’s tendency to push harm out of our experience, when certain kinds of harm may be needed for healthy development.