The Oak Shelf:
Recommended Reading
Mens Work Essentials
King, Warrior, Magician, Lover:
The bestselling, widely heralded, jungian introduction to the psychological foundation of a mature, authentic, and revitalized masculinity.
A perfect entry point to the world of Masculine Archetypal Activation
He: Understanding Masculine Psychology
Robert A. Johnson's classic work exploring the differences between man and woman, female and male—newly reissued.
What does it really mean to be a man?
What are some of the landmarks along the road to mature masculinity? And what of the feminine components of a man's personality?
Fire in the Belly: On Being a Man
What does it really mean to be a man? Fire in the Belly answers that question by daringly confronting outdated models that impoverish, injure, and alienate men. It shows instead how men can find their own path to understanding the unique mysteries of being male and in the process rediscover a new vitality and virility that will energize every aspect of their lives.
Iron John: A Book about Men
Bly's vision is based on his ongoing work with men, as well as on reflections on his own life. He addresses the devastating effects of remote fathers and mourns the disappearance of male initiation rites in our culture. Finding rich meaning in ancient stories and legends, Bly uses the Grimm fairy tale "Iron John"-in which a mentor or "Wild Man" guides a young man through eight stages of male growth-to remind us of ways of knowing long forgotten, images of deep and vigorous masculinity centered in feeling and protective of the young.
Masculine Relationship Maturation
We: Understanding the Psychology of Romantic Love
A deep dive into the nature of romance and relationship through the lens of the myth of Tristan and Iseult.
One cannot read this and look at romance the same way ever again.
Essential Reading for all Men, single or partnered.
Lying with the Heavenly Woman
Robert A. Johnson' once again brings to light the inner workings of the Masculine Psyche with acuity, accessibility, and power.
Within he outlines all of the forms the feminine takes within the psyche of Man, and the traps waiting for him should he mix, muddle, or ignore these powerful inner realities.
The Eden Project: In Search of The Magical Other
This book provides timely and thought-provoking corrective to the generalized fantasies about relationships that permeate Western culture and dominate the Psychic and Emotional worlds of most Men.
Contained within is a challenge to greater personal responsibility, a call for individual growth and the clear beckoning to relinquish the search for rescue by others.
The Invisible Partners
John Sanford outlines the mechanisms of the Feminine with Men and the Masculine within Women that shape our habits within relationships.
Understanding this principles offers a path to liberation for anyone brave enough to confront their deepest longing and reclaim their psyche and soul.
Mythological Education
The Hero with a Thousand Faces
This text combines the insights of modern psychology with Joseph Campbell’s revolutionary understanding of comparative mythology.
In these pages, Campbell outlines the Hero’s Journey, a universal motif of adventure and transformation that runs through virtually all of the world’s mythic traditions. He also explores the Cosmogonic Cycle, the mythic pattern of world creation and destruction.
The Sacred and The Profane: The Nature of Religion
In The Sacred and the Profane, Mircea Eliade observes that while contemporary people believe their world is entirely profane, or secular, they still at times find themselves connected unconsciously to the memory of something sacred.
It's this premise that both drives Eliade's exhaustive exploration of the sacred—as it has manifested in space, time, nature and the cosmos, and life itself—and buttresses his expansive view of the human experience.
The Power of Myth
To Campbell, mythology was the “song of the universe, the music of the spheres.” With Bill Moyers, one of America’s most prominent journalists, as his thoughtful and engaging interviewer, The Power of Myth touches on subjects from modern marriage to virgin births, from Jesus to John Lennon, offering a brilliant combination of intelligence and wit.
The Golden Bough
This book is a wide-ranging, comparative study of mythology and religion. It offers a modernist approach to discussing religion, treating it dispassionately as a cultural phenomenon rather than from a theological perspective.
The Golden Bough has a substantial influence on European literature and thought.
Your Myth Awaits
The answers you seek are already within you—sometimes, all that’s needed is a Map.
Ready to go deeper?
Dive into this 5-day Summit featuring 12 Mens Work Leaders from Across North America.
We explore Myth, Initiation, Shadow, and The Major Quaternity of The King, Warrior, Magician, and Lover.
