Charles Barker MD, MPH is founder and president of Compassionate Dallas/Fort Worth, a non-profit organization that promotes the Charter for Compassion, the value of compassion and compassionate action in the Dallas/Fort Worth metroplex, using the Golden Rule as operating principle.
He is currently president of Compassionate DFW and moderator of the Board of Directors, a board representing all twelve sectors of the international Charter and encourages and coordinates the Community Campaigns, as well as partnerships in the DFW area. His background and experience is in the field of medicine, with emphasis in preventive medicine and biomedical ethics, frequently facilitating medical school ethics sessions at University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center. He is currently authoring a book centered on being and becoming excellent, a series of reflections.
Christopher Howellbrings a bigger than life message about our world today in the New Compassionate Male podcast episode with, creator, Clay Boykin and producer, Dennis Tardan.
As a gifted and compassionate teacher in Austin, Texas, Christopher Howell works one-on-one and in groups utilizing adventure, movement, breath, guided-imagery, fun and humor, as education tools for self-exploration and increased aliveness. His adventures are more experiential than cognitive.
He has served as a Trainer and Instructor for Global Relationship Centers, a teacher for Austin School of Massage Therapy, Owner of the Center for Health Resources, Facilitator for the Men’s Fellowship Network Retreats, founder of Yoga Hike and number one cheerleader, for his wife of 25 years, Korey Howell.
His commitment to this work extends extends beyond the learning opportunities and into our communities. For it is recognized that the more alive, empowered, loving and mindful our participants are, the more they work toward improving the quality of life for their friends, families, communities and eventually the world as a whole.
How can I go in Search of the New Compassionate Male and sidestep racism. On May 25th, at the same time as we sat in our men’s circle contemplating the topic of Aspirations, George Floyd was murdered. When I learned about it the next morning I wondered to myself what George Floyd’s aspirations were. I learned later that his second grade school teacher found a project of his where he aspired to become a U.S. Supreme Court Judge. This is an excerpt of a conversation with Renée Yaworski on the evolution of the MFN Circles of Men Project.
Mandala–The Sanskrit word for “circle.”
A circle designed to have meaning of a cosmic order.
This is my mandala.
My life in symbols,
In sacred geometry
In the relationship in the white space between the words
Enfolded within the universal circle.
Created and recreated over many years.
Growing in depth and breadth as I grow.
A reflection of my expanding consciousness.
Revealing who I truly am.
Pulling all the scattered aspects of my life together.
One tiny pencil stroke at a time.
Here I find my center.
Knowing that I will create it again,
and again,
as I evolve and grow with time.
This is my mandala.
Today, Alfredo Gomez is a compassionate male, but life growing up was tough. Born in Mexico into a family of twelve children, Alfredo struggled to cope with an aggressive and angry Federale father; the equivalent to a Texas Ranger. In this podcast, Alfredo shares about how he coped at home. He talks about his family’s move to Texas at age twelve where he experienced racial discrimination in school for the first time, suffered severe anxiety, and came dangerously close to committing suicide. How he grew up managing his own anger with life, then bringing his best to the world, is a heart warming story worth pausing for.
All is not what it appears to be. The dynamics beneath the surface may surprise you. Dennis Tardan, Renée Yarworsky and Clay Boykin explore this question from varying perspectives. For a man, fear of being laughed at often lies just below the vibrato; for a woman, it’s likely to be fear for her safety including fear of being killed.
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