“Over the past five years I learned to authentically share the male journey with a group of men that walk life with integrity while also honouring each other. In many ways Directions TAS creates a safe space for growth both individually and collectively. It’s been an absolute privilege to be part of this journey and this group of men.”
N T, Hobart
“Directions has allowed me to find myself as a person of value and worth opening up to a place of freedom for me to flourish. To walk with a band of brothers knowing that they will always be there. Directions has offered me a place to grow and be safe, a rare thing in today’s world. I will always be a Directions man.”
S S, Hobart
“Directions Tas. Has been a life saver for me. I entered a network of authentic gentlemen who fully understand the male journey.
It was like they got me, the first night I met them. So much of my desperation went that night, I knew I had found my people.
Since that night I’ve been to a few weekend retreats and a 5-day men’s rites of passage and I left each of these events wiser, more confident and capable to handle my life.
I know with absolute certainty that no matter where life takes me, these men will be my brothers for life, their support and encouragement make me know I’m not on this journey alone.I have become a part of the team at Directions Tas and it’s an honour and a privilege to be sharing life with genuine and authentic men who know the way through.
My life is much better because of the experiences I have shared with these great gentlemen.
This brings back a flood of memories of experiences I’ve had and the amazing men I’ve met and done life with. What a thrill and a joy, Directions Tas have made my darkest days an adventure to learn and grow from and increased my peace and joy beyond measure.”
Steffan, Sunshine Coast Queensland.
“I have found a safe place in Directions Tas to be myself and find healing for my soul after suffering tragedy and loss in life. The journey of letting go has been profound in discovering a new freedom that I’m so grateful for. Men who care, men who listen, men who understand life’s journey, men who accept me as I am.
Directions Tas has been a life changing encounter that has forever changed me for the better.”
G J, Hobart
“I was not satisfied with my life, pretending to be happy, but deeply unhappy! Directions Tas gave me an opportunity to change that.
An opportunity to be honest …. 1. with myself 2. with a group of trusted fellas.
Expressing that honestly gave me healing, plus a respect for myself, to look forwards with Faith, Hope & Love. I’m forever grateful, and still connected.” 🙂
J. K. S, South Australia
“When I think of Directions Tas and what it means to me, I have to honour my father, who was always helping men around him. He even picked up a hitchhiker and asked him if he had somewhere to stay, subsequently, he stayed for a week.
This openness to help people is deeply imbedded in our family structure and Anne has been a big part of that. I couldn’t have done it without her support.
I have learnt so, much through the involvement with the Directions team, that has helped me grow continually as an elder and a mentor to many.
I think it’s best summed up as being a learner and an elder, and keeping humble, allowing others to be greater, which is a hallmark of Directions Tas.
My involvement with significant men like David Garrett, Keith Hounslow, Richard Rohr impacted my life greatly, and on a secular level, the HIA was teaching me how to facilitate groups.
My Men’s Rites of Passage was a turning point, realising that the ego needs to die, for me to really live.
My relationship with God is now enlarged by a trinitarian view, coming to terms with, Father, Son & Holy Spirit as one.
Directions Tas, having the pillars of listening to others with no judgment, criticism or fixing has been a huge part of my life for so many years, and I see it growing into an organisation helping many men for years to come.”
Philip Harback, Hobart
“Soon after arriving in Tasmania from the Gold Coast in February 2015, I was invited to a men’s retreat @ Swansea. This first taste of men helping men to identify their own issues was one of those OMG moments for me.
That same year I attended MROP in QLD and again this was an OMG moment and a reality check on how a man’s story can impact other men and release in them an understanding of who they are and that they are not doing this journey alone. These two events began a period of questioning every aspect of my life up to that point in time.
The journey continued through the weekly meetings of Directions Tas and the coming together of like-minded men a few times a year to retreat into fellowship, teaching, sharing, praying and the occasional red wine.
My take away from this journey with Directions Tas is that through fellowship with authentic men sharing their experiences and learning how to put words to my feelings, I feel my life has been enriched through a closer relationship with Jesus, my wife & best friend, and it has given me the ability to identify my stuff (backpack of garbage), and find ways to break those bondages that have accumulated since birth.
The men from Directions Tas are authentic with their brokenness who are doing the journey together.”
J N, Queensland
“I attended my first retreat in 2009 and have been a part of
Directions Tas since then. Over the years the stories, teachings,
experiences and comradery with men across the globe who I now
consider some of my closest friends have woven a tapestry of
transformative change in my life. As Richard Rohr says, “We do not
think ourselves into new ways of living, we live ourselves into new
ways of thinking”.In particular through Directions Tas, I am so grateful for learning the
skills of contemplation – which has totally changed the way I conduct
my life – that daily exercise of finding an inner peace that the world
cannot give, has helped me discover more and more of my authentic
self.”Gary, Hobart, Australia
“For my journey into manhood, Directions Tas has been a space to navigate freedom through the authentic working out of my salvation.
My idyllic childhood was disrupted leading into my teens, imposing great loss, violation and great suffering that set my life on a course of insecurity, shattered intimacy and a sense not belonging. I succeeded through striving and performing.
Every element of my experiences and established views that guarded my security and survival, entered into my marriage, fatherhood, work, and ministry. Cracks began to appear in this polished vessel. I struggled to find a language for a part of myself that could be allowed to be vulnerable, hanging on from one affirmation to the next.
Forming a men’s group began the transition of my journey from the first half of life to the second. A space that cannot be controlled, a place I learn that I cannot really fix anyone and realisation that I have no authority to an opinion about another man’s choices or circumstances in life. Feeling incredibly out of depth and unqualified was the very recipe for vulnerability and authenticity to reveal their strengths.
An intentional safe place was formed and unexplainable transformations, transactions started to organically surface. Proverbs 20:5 “The purpose in a man’s heart is like deep water, but a man of understanding will draw it out,” is one of many prominent Kingdom algorithms at play allowing men to speak as well as guiding men to listen.
A renewed lens began to see an “image and likeness” of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit in others and in that process learning to have the courage to look deeply within myself, discovering an inside-out movement of belonging, love and belief. A new understanding of moments that rarely before counted for something, has now become valuably wonderful and good.
Directions Tas is an intersection of unique souls in, to and from all directions; the meeting place of stories reinforcing the need of many parts for the greater whole of life intended for purpose in loving and being loved. The greatest modelling and example of the male journey at the heart of Directions Tas is the way of Jesus Christ and the Jonah story.”Phil Francis, Hobart