I have completed Sam Keen’s Fire in the Belly. Great book for those figuring out themselves and their inner game. Chapter 15, “Travel Tips for Pilgrims”, provides a series of questions and activities that you can do in order to develop your inner game.

Here are some excerpts that I found of interest . . .

Compare these traditional male self-definitions and visions of the sacred:

I am within Mother Earth; therefore I am. Neolithic man. Sacred place–the fertile earth.

I repeat the archetypical acts of the heroes and gods; therefore I am. Mythic man. Sacred place–the ritual, dance.

I contemplate-reason; therefore I am. Greek man. Sacred place–the orderly dialogue, community, cosmos.

I obey the will of God; therefore I am. Hebrew, Christian, Islamic man. Sacred place–synagogue, church, mosque, the place of revelation.

I fight; therefore I am. The warrior. Sacred place–battlefield, ground consecrated by blood sacrifice.

I make; therefore I am. Industrial man. Sacred place–factory.

I work; therefore I am. Economic man. Sacred object–the almighty dollar, investment.

I possess; therefore I am. Capitalistic man. Sacred place–property.

I consume; therefore I am. Consuming man. Sacred place–the mall.

I am incorporated; therefore I am. Corporate man. Sacred place–the company.

I doubt; therefore I am. Question man. Sacred path–the pilgrim spirit. (133-134)

The new ideal man is more androgynous than autonomous. No rugged individualist. He is close kin to the Taoist ideal expressed in the Chinese classic, the Tao te ching: “The ancient masters/ . . . were careful as someone crossing an iced-over stream/ Alert as a warrior in enemy territory./Courteous as a guest./Fluid as melting ice./Shapable as a block of wood./ Receptive as a valley./Clear as a glass of water.” (266)

Our age cries out for men filled with prophetic rage, men daring and politcal enough to husband the fragile and succulent earth and protect the weak and disenfranchised. In the mythology of Buddhism the ideal man, the bodhisattva, takes a vow to save, or heal, all sentient beings. It requires a bit of madness and a lot of compassion to aspire to such a goal. But as long as we are talking about ideals, shouldn’t our reach exceed our grasp? (268)