On October 1st I moved into a truck cap in order to spend more time leading, promoting and writing about Authentic Relating. You can see photos below — click-through if you are interested in technical details of my new mobile lifestyle.

I plan on staying in Asheville through October (longer if I can find hosts), and after that… who knows. If you would like to produce an A/R event in your community, wherever you live (meaning to host it at your place and invite your community), or else if you have land — or even a backyard — where I can park for a few days or weeks, please reply to this email. My rig is self-sufficient, although a power cord would be nice.

With love,

Marc

A heads-up that there is a significant update to the Circling Guide (v2.0), which is also reflected in the Print and Kindle versions (Audiobook updates coming soon). The new version is both cleaner and expanded, with new sections covering Circling and the We-Space movement, and the powerful practice of Developmental Circling. Developmental Circling came out of a men’s group that I have been running almost 2 years and which has been very transformational for all of us.

Why an update? Well, because after 2 years I have learned a few things, and also the community is growing and maturing.. I also want to give a shout-out for Peter Benjamin’s The Connection Institute, which is the 4th online circling school, and the world’s first Circling video training. Way to go, Peter!

Finally: if you live in Asheville, please join our community there!

So Rebekah and I have published a new free course, Authentic Dating and Sexual Communication 101, both on Udemy and as a podcast (click that link or else search iTunes for “Authentic Singles Dating”).

This is currently the only course (correct me if I am wrong — happy to give a link-back here) that attempts to apply Authentic Relating into dating and sexuality, especially with a focus on online dating. It was recorded from a series of live workshops given at Authentic Singles and will inspire you to bring more authenticity, more fun, more love and greater sexual expression into your life.

(And btw I am always looking for partners in this venture. If you are interested simply reply to this mail and we’ll setup a call. I personally think of Authentic Relating as the “killer app” into dating, both online and on-the-ground. Almost everybody wants it but few are doing it).

This is a bit of a technology geek-out article, however the ability to run a room with simultaneous local participants and remote Zoom participants has been a game-changer for me personally, and the participants LOVE  the option to join via Zoom. The technology works perfectly and, from my perspective, this scheme combines the best of both worlds: the personal interaction of local meetings (“belly to belly”) with the power and convenience of video conference. Basically you can run a program that gives people a choice of local or Zoom participation. If they are local they can decide at every meeting how they want to attend, and maybe save the drive. There are a lot of possibilities here. For large meetings you could breakout the remote participants into their own room, led by your remote co-lead(s). And so forth.

There is roughly $250 technology cost for this. See the image below and read the notes for how it’s done.

Notes: how it’s done

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I am thrilled to let you all know of a new training and community from Boston-based Peter Benjamin (and team), The Connection Institute.

This is a new, year-long program focused specifically on training Circling leaders (i.e. it’s professional education), and the price of $20/mth (no commitment) is hard to resist. There are currently 3-5 events per week, covering both base-training for new leaders, AND alternative/experimental Circling modalities (i.e. “Coyote circling”).

Important: This is a beta program and normally enrollment closes today, Monday Aug. 19.  Peter has agreed to extend the registration deadline until Friday, since I asked him. It feels like too good an opportunity not to share with you all — plus I (of course) love company!  Maybe I will see you there?

In other news…

I am settling in quite nicely here in Asheville, NC, preparing a number of new ventures that will launch this fall. Most exciting is an online dating course series called Authentic Singles (I will let you know of upcoming Authentic Dating free introductions through this list, but if you are already super-interested, please subscribe from there). I am also doing a 2nd Edition of the Circling guide, with updates specifically focused on another Circling modality which we are creating here called Developmental Circling.

So, more news soon…

So — the March courses Authentic Dating for Men and Authentic Dating for Women have been scheduled! And the February pilot program is currently enrolling.  But that’s not why I am writing.

I am looking for co-leads, A/R facilitators, and marketing / JV partners

Naturally, I would reach out to my A/R community first, and to the graduates of the first men’s pilot program that ran in January, and was very successful.

Here is the business case.  As you know, Authentic Relating is a game-changer in most every sphere of life, but the need is especially acute in sex and romance.  50 million people have tried online dating in the US alone.  My guess is that the majority of these people will have left disappointed or worse.  You simply can’t hope to be successful in relationship (any relationship, and not just sexual relationships) without a strong foundation in empathy and emotional communication.  The problem is compounded by men and women’s internalized oppression under patriarchy, the shame and guilt surrounding most anything sex-related.  “Sex is dirty — save it for someone you love” — Esther Perel.  Most people are entirely clueless here.

I want to create and run this business in we-space (aka collaboration)…

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