dragon float

Male Energy

An introduction to the world of Men and Masculinity

This provides an introduction to the world of men and masculinity. There are many good men in this world but not enough who appear to be confident in their masculinity, who appear to be present and in their power. By this I mean men who know who they are, what their place in the world is and who can take anything the world throws at them. Men who are grounded and who stand like rocks while the world swirls around them. Men who are focused and determined, who achieve their vision.

But don’t think this means men who are dominant and aggressive, men who achieve no matter what it means to others, men who sweep others out of the way, men who push their way through by trashing others. I mean evolved men, men who I call re-awakened. Men who have compassion, men who understand, men in touch with their emotions, but men strong in their masculinity, men who are men.

The Legend of The Phoenix and The Dragon

How beautiful maleness is, if it finds its right expression.

DH Lawrence

So what drives these men, what makes them who they are? This article will show you that a key element behind them is their ‘Male Energy’. Their life energy drives them forward, gives them their edge, makes them men.

But first a story about some mythological creatures.

The duality of the Phoenix and the Dragon has similarities to the balance of Yin and Yang. It symbolises the union of opposites, the eternal circle. It reminds us that there is always another view, another way.

Recently I had my left arm tattooed with a Phoenix. I have wanted this for a long time because it is my name and because it is a symbol of renewal, a symbol of my life. Afterwards I felt uncomfortable and out of balance. It didn’t feel right, but it didn’t feel wrong, more incomplete.

So I had my right arm tattooed with a Dragon. Now I felt complete, in balance. Now I felt the energy flowing in my body. Why was this?

The Phoenix is a mythical bird which consumes itself by fire every 500 years. A new young Phoenix springs from the ashes, renewed, re-juvenated.

It is a symbol of the sun rising every morning, of plants growing, of life always re-appearing out of death and decay. It represents the cycle of life, it shows there always hope, there is always a solution.

Legend has it that the Phoenix lands on nothing but the greatest treasures. It is the highest-ranked bird in China and represents good luck and Female Energy. It is strongly connected with peace, it never harms anything, rather its powers of healing and regeneration bring an end to suffering.

The Dragon, a legendary reptilian monster, is deified in the Taoist religion and was the national emblem of the Chinese Empire.

Among the Chinese people, the Dragon is traditionally regarded as a symbol of creativity and good fortune.

It represents Male Energy. It symbolises success in any achievement as well as prosperity.

The Dragon is a positive force, representing power, excellence, and striving for goals, as well as being a benevolent force, which radiates goodwill, good luck, and blessings.

Although the Phoenix represents re-birth and renewal for me, it does not connect me with my male energy. Rather, it connects me to the elements of female energy I have within, elements that are essential to my existence.

I need the Dragon to connect me to my core, to my essence, to my male energy. I need to feel that flow within me, I need to feel the pulsating energy pushing me and focusing me.

I need to feel the strength of my maleness deep inside me, like a volcano fighting to get out, wanting to hold the world in my hands, needing to be. I need my male energy to connect with and encompass the female energy in the world.

I need the Dragon, but I also need the Phoenix.

It is important that I understand the strength of my male energy, my masculinity. I need to know how far I can go, I need to see the effect of what I do.

This does not emasculate me or my power, it, perversely, gives me more power. My compassion takes me to places I would otherwise avoid, my understanding lets me do things I otherwise wouldn’t.

Male Energy

Male and female represent the two sides of the great radical dualism. But in fact they are perpetually passing into one another. Fluid hardens to solid, solid rushes to fluid. There is no wholly masculine man, no purely feminine woman.

Margaret Fuller

So what is male energy? What is this force inside? What is this core, this essence?

For a man it is the life force itself. It sits, like a Dragon, deep down in the first chakra, at the base of his body, deep in the heart of his sexuality.

It sits waiting to be released, waiting to be unleashed. It is ever-present, always waiting for its moment, always ready. It controls the flow of energy in a man’s physical body and influences his emotions, his mind and his spirit. From it’s centre in the physical, it’s power is strong.

In the physical body male energy is all powerful. It creates our strength and gives us our edge. It is inside the testosterone fueled hardness in the body.

It builds our muscles, gives us our stamina, allowing us to continue through difficulty and stress. It drives our sexuality, creating the powerful need to empty out our bodies. It grows inside us, filling us, pushing its way to every part of us. We vibrate and tingle as the energy takes over.

It takes over our emotions throwing us through love, anger, fear and mixing them up until we don’t know what we feel any more. They twist and tangle, dragging our body with them, turning us inside out.

It invades our mind, racing through our thoughts and turning them in on themselves. It plays tricks on us, making us feel immense and all-powerful, thinking we are God, thinking we are it.

It fuels our spirit as we melt into the great unknown. We become part of the universe, we become the universe. We are one with everyone and everything, we are everything. We see the truth and we are it.

We empty out, complete, finished. We are broken on the back of the energy raging through us. We pant, our blood races through our bodies. It is over, but inside our male energy reigns supreme, we are gods.

Male Energy Inside Us

I do not want to be the leader. I refuse to be the leader. I want to live darkly and richly in my femaleness. I want a man lying over me, always over me. His will, his pleasure, his desire, his life, his work, his sexuality the touchstone, the command, my pivot. I don’t mind working, holding my ground intellectually, artistically; but as a woman, oh, God, as a woman I want to be dominated.

Anais Nin

Male energy gives us fire in our bodies, creating strength through its furnace. It looks after the needs of our bodies, keeping them sharp and ready. We crave security, learning to defend ourselves or flee.

Our energy creates a shield to keep us safe and protect us. It feeds our desire and, powerfully, creates a species, peoples a world. It is the source of control over ourselves and over others. We sublimate the energy into self-contained power, making us fierce and unbeatable, we control the world around us.

Our emotions feed on our energy and open us up to awareness. We know who we are, we know what we are. We see the world around us and we feel its power. We experience our emotions even when we don’t know what they are, where they are taking us.

Male energy teaches us love, love for ourselves, love for our children, love for our lover. We experience the breadth and depth of this love. We are led to relationships, to connections with others, to give ourselves away, to share our hearts and our souls. These emotions are inside us and are real. We feed on them and grow with them. We become giants in our families. We love them and are true to them. We see ourselves as part of them, yet we are alone, individual and all-powerful.

Male energy is in our minds and our thoughts. It drives our intelligence and enables our genius. We communicate with others and feed off their minds and desires. We have faith in ourselves and in our answers. We have faith in our abilities, we have faith in our power. Our insight helps us to see where we are and what we are doing. It shows us the road ahead and the direction we must take.

Male energy is inside our spirit, inside our connection with the Universe. Our inspiration flows easily from its embrace, propelling us onwards to even more greatness and success. Inside our soul is the kernel which is our strength, our energy.

Ultimately, our male energy is our spiritual energy.

Male energy is the vehicle of our focus and accomplishment. It analyses the obstacles we face, overcomes them, and moves us towards our goal, ignoring all distractions. It is expressed when we have a clear direction in life, a definite purpose, and are moving towards it with confidence.

We are supreme in our abilities. We are continuing the human race and developing civilisation. Our growth and our development is key to the survival of the world, key to the survival of the species.

Our need to re-awaken ourselves, to live this life, to be this dream is paramount. Our need to grow and realise our potential is crucial to our sanity and key to our future.

Archetypes of Male Energy

If you're a dad, what kind of mark are you leaving on your children, especially your sons? Do you realize that your little boys are watching you like hawks? They're trying to figure out what maleness is all about, and you're their model.

Bill Hybels)

To better understand the depth of male energy, it is worth looking at some examples of archetypes. It is reflected in various archetypes showing the evolved nature of men.

Archetypes are the basic, enduring characteristics that live in stories, myths and images. Archetypes live in all of us, we act them out everyday.

The Magician

The Magician has qualities of self-confidence, creativity, determination, willpower, self-control, skill, craft, purposeful action, energy, activity and vitality.

Through the Magician we can see the drive to choose our own direction, to realise our higher true self.

The Magician shows the evolved man in tune with his will and intention, creating and materialising new possibilities. He shows the skills and creative gifts that have not been used yet. He is our inner guide, our infinite inspiration to work for the higher good, using our magical powers of intention, will and creativity.

The King

The King represents a very powerful male influence, one of power and authority. The King shows the characteristics of self-discipline, organisation, stability and using action as the path to fulfillment.

The King is a mature, strong, regal man full of confidence and wisdom. He is the strong-willed, benevolent patriarch. He is the Ruler, the Father and the Monarch. He has a strong foundation in, and awareness of, his world, so he can bring others to him and create order.

The King speaks with a calm and reassuring voice, full of encouragement and empowerment. He is the ultimate patriarch without the oppressive qualities of patriarchy. He is full of benevolent power. The King is the embodiment of mature, masculine heart and strength. He is the capacity to reach our full potential. Through him we know what we want and how to get there.

When used negatively, for power, the King shows an overbearing and insensitive side, one that reeks of the negative stereotypes of the male influence. These stereotypes show how male energy can be mis-used and go wrong.

The Priest

The Priest represents the orthodox and conventional teacher, counsellor or advisor. He speaks of moral, religious and social conventions in a positive and stabilising sense. He reminds us to contemplate the idea of tradition, and honour. He urges us to examine our beliefs and faith, to test them in the arena of life. We are told to trust our hearts as the seat of our strength. The Priest explains the mysteries and represents the masculine, fire, or sun aspect of the soul.

The Hermit

The archetype of the Hermit represents reflection, solitude and introspection. We need to retreat in order to establish inner balance. The Hermit suggests ways that are unorthodox, that may be unwelcome. He represents the deep heart of the true seeker of truth and light. He is comfortable with himself and does not depend on others for recognition or comfort. He is just as happy to be on his own. He disdains superficial interactions or relationships.

The Martyr

The Martyr represents change and sacrifice. He shows the spirit cloaked in strength, fortitude and endurance, the provider willing to sacrifice his own needs for the good of the tribe or family.

The Martyr’s sacrifice ultimately leads to spiritual and emotional fulfillment. He leads to transformation after going through a "dark night of the soul". He points out all of the inherent beliefs, values, blocked thought patterns and limitations that stop us from truly becoming transformed. He shows us what we need to give up or rise above in order to evolve. He shows us how to move out of a rut, out of stagnation into renewed development.

The Warrior

The Warrior is the classic hero, a protector and a rescuer. Warriors allow us to release ourselves from the past, especially the past that has inhibited or scarred us. They show us how to grasp the future and win.

The Warrior is symbolic of clean breaks. He is an explorer, traveling into the unknown to provide for those back home; traversing new lands and bringing back gifts and new knowledge. He is focused, full of intent and purpose. He is the one who fights for us, who defends us and keeps us safe. He puts his life on the line for, he stands up for us.

The Lover

The Lover is the centre of male power. He is present and grounded but he encompasses the full range of passion inherent in male energy. He holds the power and the compassion. He loves and he enters with power and force, meeting his needs and those of his women. He is a Warrior and a King.

His strength is unbeatable, he will love and defend his woman to the death while he holds her with gentleness, caring for her. He encompasses her female energy and gives her freedom to fly and spin and whirl and be a woman.

When male energy is dignified, it is strong, noble and full of promise. However, if used for power and domination, it represents the opposite: male weakness, deception and abuse.

The male energy is outwardly focused. It is a strong, creative force. It is natural to the male energy to be highly focused and goal-oriented. It creates individuality. The male energy separates from the One, from the Whole and stands alone, individual.

The Importance Of The Phoenix And The Dragon

Courage means to keep working a relationship, to continue seeking solutions to difficult problems, and to stay focused during stressful periods.

Denis Waitley

For me the symbol of the Phoenix and the Dragon also represents the evolved nature of ‘Re-Awakened Men’. It represents the duality that exists in strong men. It highlights the fact that he has female energy in him as well.

He does not hide in this energy, he does not exploit it. It, rather, informs his male energy, it rounds off the corners. It’s what gives him his power. He is strong through his compassion, but his strength and presence make him stand out as a man.

So remember the Phoenix and the Dragon.

Is This You?

The woman's mission is not to enhance the masculine spirit, but to express the feminine; hers is not to preserve a man-made world, but to create a human world by the infusion of the feminine element into all of its activities.

Margaret Thatcher

Is any of this you? Do you see yourself here? Is this real? Does this mean anything to you? Probably not! It certainly wasn’t me for most of my life. I never even saw this as an ideal. This was for others, sportsmen, film stars, men of vision.

I was not brought up to be like this. I was brought up to fit in, to conform. I was taught not stand out, not to be powerful. I learnt anger and frustration. I learnt to be dissatisfied and confused. I was moulded by the desires of my parents and my peers, I was not allowed to be myself.

This, or similar, may be your story. We all adapt to those who influence us, we all conform. We all find our way of adapting to the world, to others.

This can change. You can re-awaken the male energy inside you, your core. You can find that primeval energy that drives us deep down, very deep down. You can re-assert yourself and become what you were always meant to be. You can grow and find your authentic self. You can become you.

Follow ‘Sat Purusha’ and read stories of those men whose Vision helped them through. Read about what women think of men. Read about what does and doesn’t work. Find out how to find you.

The Four Rules of Masculinity

The freedom of authentic masculinity is an amazing thing to see. It produces a "divine elasticity" in men. Finally they can lead with firmness, then submit with humility. They can challenge with a cutting edge, then encourage with enthusiasm. They can fight aggressively for just causes, then moments later weep over suffering.

Bill Hybels

These are my four rules of masculinity. Live by them.

Own Your Own Power

Masculinity is based on the realisation of your own power and using it with compassion.

Be Confident

Masculinity is measured by the size of your certainty. Men know and men act; men are focused and clear in their objectives.

Be Strong

What makes a man a man is that he is centered. His reliability comes from maintaining his direction and passing his certainty on to others.

Be Present

Exude an aura of authenticity; be in the moment. Take risks and maintain connection with others, no matter what it seems to cost you.