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"From the Foreword: ""I feel both humbled to be asked to write this foreword and excited to be a small part of such a thoughtful and thought provoking book. I'm excited by the challenges facing men at this time in history since man has literally had it his own way for millennia. Finding a new way for man in society involves a dance with ourselves and our challenges, as in every walk of life we are increasingly finding ourselves at a loss, out-competed, left behind at school, outshone at work; it seems the remorseless challenges facing man just keep on piling up with no sign of an end in sight. We live in a time when the definition of what it means to be a man needs redefining as our position as bread winner, often measured by the strength of our arm or the power of our social status, is rightly coming apart. It's no surprise to me that more than ever in the history of humankind a crisis of identity and confidence has emerged to define manhood in a modern era where traditional roles have crumbled. The evolution of manhood has stalled yet we persist with old thinking that fails to contribute to the movement towards a transformation to a more conscious and spiritually connected male. Martin H. starts this book with prisons and prisoners, but equally these insights can be applied to the internal prisons that prevent modern males escaping to the freedom of spiritual consciousness and the journey towards their higher selves. Too often we measure ourselves by what we do and what we own rather than who we really are. I express gratitude to Martin in asking me to write this foreword and to a remarkable front-line community organisation, Granby Toxteth Development Trust, for bringing us together. Martin's book is a compilation of personal experience, as a witness, of wisdom and insightful thinking that leads to both natural manhood and a more enlightened role for the male of the species in the twenty first century and beyond. Natural Manhood explores how men, particularly those locked in our prisons, need a complete overhaul with new thinking and a recognition that if we do not seek the divine in all our lives, we are unlikely to resolve the issues we face in a rapidly changing world. What is needed is new thinking and a dose of ancient wisdom. This book provides both."""

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Natural Manhood: From Prison Towards Inner Freedom (Review, www.insidetime.org, July 1st 2016) Martin H. has worked in male prisons for ten years as a Buddhist chaplain. In Natural Manhood he uses his experience of working with male prisoners to examine the reasons why, so often, men are rendered socially inept and spiritually starved. He points us to the social, psychological and physiological conditioning men are subject to, leading to cyclical, destructive patterns of behaviour and recidivism. Today's overcrowded prison system is seen as the consequence of a society that moulds young boys into 'bigger boys' and not responsible men. Natural Manhood looks to recover the rites of passage and patriarchal bonds missing between men in the modern age. Martin H. acknowledges the lack of patriarchal guidance for young men, leaving them without the emotional balance necessary for normal living. Natural Manhood examines the ways in which men, seeking to escape from their own life, are unable to face life on life's terms. Many prisoners are men who have reached the point of exhaustion: rock bottom. This is the point in their lives when no amount of ducking and diving can displace the reality of incarceration. In prison there is no looking away from where you are. The criminal lifestyle of the street is gone, only to be replaced by the madness of prison life: a monotonous minute by minute drudgery; a microcosm of the criminal fraternity, where abuse, addiction, violence and suicide are the norm. Addiction is a phenomenon of paramount importance to Martin H, inextricable with prison, but not just the physical prison of bricks and mortar, the prison of the mind in which all men without spiritual nourishment are serving a life sentence. Drugs, alcohol, sex and work are some of the addictions the book discusses. Natural Manhood suggests the 12 step programme as a path of spiritual recovery and growth. Adhering to this tradition, Martin H keeps his identity anonymous as is the collection of personal stories of men in the book, who reveal their heartfelt struggles of addiction, lifted from them by accepting a Higher Power into their lives. Natural Manhood uses poetry and beautifully executed illustrations to enhance the message of togetherness, brotherhood and freedom. The images and simple poems offer those readers with poor literacy skills - as many prisoners have - a way of accessing the universal message of the book, which is that only by a spiritual awakening will men possess the ability to transform their lives, from being rooted in addiction and delusion, to being engaged, creative and ultimately free men.

Natural Manhood: From Prison Towards Inner Freedom (Review, www.insidetime.org, July 1st 2016) Martin H. has worked in male prisons for ten years as a Buddhist chaplain. In Natural Manhood he uses his experience of working with male prisoners to examine the reasons why, so often, men are rendered socially inept and spiritually starved. He points us to the social, psychological and physiological conditioning men are subject to, leading to cyclical, destructive patterns of behaviour and recidivism. Today's overcrowded prison system is seen as the consequence of a society that moulds young boys into 'bigger boys' and not responsible men. Natural Manhood looks to recover the rites of passage and patriarchal bonds missing between men in the modern age. Martin H. acknowledges the lack of patriarchal guidance for young men, leaving them without the emotional balance necessary for normal living. Natural Manhood examines the ways in which men, seeking to escape from their own life, are unable to face life on life's terms. Many prisoners are men who have reached the point of exhaustion: rock bottom. This is the point in their lives when no amount of ducking and diving can displace the reality of incarceration. In prison there is no looking away from where you are. The criminal lifestyle of the street is gone, only to be replaced by the madness of prison life: a monotonous minute by minute drudgery; a microcosm of the criminal fraternity, where abuse, addiction, violence and suicide are the norm. Addiction is a phenomenon of paramount importance to Martin H, inextricable with prison, but not just the physical prison of bricks and mortar, the prison of the mind in which all men without spiritual nourishment are serving a life sentence. Drugs, alcohol, sex and work are some of the addictions the book discusses. Natural Manhood suggests the 12 step programme as a path of spiritual recovery and growth. Adhering to this tradition, Martin H keeps his identity anonymous as is the collection of personal stories of men in the book, who reveal their heartfelt struggles of addiction, lifted from them by accepting a Higher Power into their lives. Natural Manhood uses poetry and beautifully executed illustrations to enhance the message of togetherness, brotherhood and freedom. The images and simple poems offer those readers with poor literacy skills - as many prisoners have - a way of accessing the universal message of the book, which is that only by a spiritual awakening will men possess the ability to transform their lives, from being rooted in addiction and delusion, to being engaged, creative and ultimately free men.

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