#63 | From Queer To Here - Al Jeffery

“Every group and every single gathering is an opportunity to remake and re-story culture.” - Al Jeffery

My guest today is Al Jeffery, an integrative psychotherapist, meditation guide and regenerative leadership practitioner. 

He is also a conscious explorer of queerness and masculinity. In this episode, Al shares his journey, unlocking the potential and power of queerness as an aspirational approach to love. He speaks of queerness as identity and as orientation, and how it intersects with living fully in oneself. We also touch upon what it means to create inclusive spaces for men to explore these topics, as well as the complexity of lust and attraction.  

And finally, we explore how each moment carries the possibility of remaking a culture of possibility and the inherent risk in leaning into the mystery of being.

LINKS

* Al’s Official Website

* Al’s Instagram

* Cornerstone Melbourne

* Al’s paper on Eros, The Evolution of Life and Mind, and Moving From Psychology Toward Soul-Making

SHOW NOTES

- **Concept of queerness**: An extensive exploration of "Queerness" in the context of identity, understood from both philosophical and socio-political standpoints. 

- **Implicit transgressions and societal norms**: This topic investigates how "implicit transgressions" lead to the feelings of non-inclusion and marginalization within society.

- **Al Jeffery's complex personal relationship with the identity of 'queer'**; functioning as both an attraction and a defense mechanism.

- **Masculinity and societal expectations**: Discussion revolves around masculine societal norms, and the confusion that can result from a perceived need to strike a balance between strength and sensitivity. 

- **Relationships and sexual attraction in the face of societal expectations**: A review of how societal norms and expectations can complicate the navigation of relationships and sexual attraction.

- **Queerness as a 'spiritual bypass'**: Al comments on the potential for queerness to be used as a spiritual bypass, avoiding confronting the vulnerability required when claiming gay identity. 

- **Queer Inquiry**: The aspect of living as a question is discussed in reference to being queer, asserting the need for a persistent state of exploration and uncertainty clouding one's identity.

- **The role of eroticism and sensuality in sexuality exploration**: An insightful look into how eroticism and sensuality contribute to an individual's understanding of their own sexuality under the banner of queerness and how cultural norms impact this exploration.

- **The impact of a lack of cultural distinctions**: This segment reviews how culture’s lack of distinction - such as between the concepts of sensuality and sexuality, contributes to confusion and indirectness concerning male sexuality.

- **Al’s ongoing exploration of queerness**: The intrigues of Al Jeffery's ongoing exploration are highlighted as he questions his own identity labeling phenomenon, moving further into understanding himself and societal norms.

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