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About Mike Elliott

Mike is a Relational Leadership Mentor and Men's Initiation Guide, working with men who want to have it all. He guides them to lead with Relational Authority™-anchored in initiation, integration, and inspiration.

Having been adopted twice and walked through the dark night of divorce, he rebuilt his life from the inside out. Now co-host of "The Sacred We," he helps men transform their relationships-starting with themselves-and create legacies of love, presence, and purpose.

Episode Summary

In this episode, Michael Perry sits down with Mike Elliott to explore the deeper purpose and power behind men’s groups and the role they can play in helping men grow, heal, and reconnect with themselves and each other.

Mike shares his personal journey into men’s work and how spaces built on honesty, accountability, and brotherhood can create profound transformation. We talk about why so many men feel isolated despite appearing strong on the outside, and how men’s circles offer something that modern culture rarely provides: a place where men can show up fully, be challenged, and be supported at the same time.

Throughout the conversation we explore the path toward mature masculinity, what it means to integrate both masculine and feminine energies, and why vulnerability is not weakness but one of the foundations of real strength. Mike also discusses mentorship, shadow work, and the importance of community when it comes to doing the deeper work of becoming the man you want to be.

This conversation is about more than men’s groups. It’s about rediscovering brotherhood, stepping into personal responsibility, and creating spaces where men can grow into more grounded, conscious, and authentic versions of themselves.

Whether you're curious about men's work, searching for deeper connection, or simply wondering what actually happens inside a men’s group, this episode offers insight into why these communities are becoming such an important part of many men’s lives.

Key Topics

The four archetypes of mature masculinity: lover, warrior, magician, king

The importance of men's circles and community for emotional health

Shadow work and inner child healing as tools for transformation

Balancing masculine and feminine energies for authentic living

The role of mentorship and vulnerability in personal growth

Keywords

men's work, masculinity, mature masculinity, men's groups, men's circles, brotherhood, men's community, modern masculinity, healthy masculinity, vulnerability, emotional intelligence, shadow work, personal growth, inner healing, self awareness, men's healing, men's mental health, authentic masculinity, personal development, mentorship, male mentorship, accountability, men's support groups, conscious masculinity, men's spirituality, men's empowerment, men's leadership, emotional growth, relationships, men's relationships, self mastery, purpose, men's purpose, integrity, men's development, men's transformation, brotherhood circles, men's coaching, conscious men, masculine energy, feminine energy integration, authentic living, psychological growth, men's wellness, self discovery, men's accountability, men's healing journey, men's self improvement, growth mindset, community building, deep conversations, personal transformation

There are seasons of life where everything feels personal. Your emotions feel like truth. Your thoughts feel absolute. The world feels like it’s happening to you.

And then something shifts.

In this episode, Michael Perry and Justin Gates explore the four stages of consciousness and how awareness evolves over time. This isn’t about spiritual superiority or ranking yourself. It’s about recognizing the shifts you’ve already experienced and learning how to stabilize growth.

Consciousness is developmental. It’s the expanding space between stimulus and response. Between emotion and identity. Between story and truth.

We break down:

• What it means when life feels like it’s happening to you
• How awareness begins when you realize perception shapes experience
• The shift into agency and alignment
• The stage where resistance softens and identity becomes less rigid
• Why shadow work and humility are essential for real growth
• How “spiritual ego” can sneak in during development
• Why stress can pull you backward and why that’s normal

You’ll walk away with practical reflection questions and a clearer understanding of where you’re perceiving from right now.

Because growth doesn’t just change how you behave.
It changes how you experience reality.

Reactive identity. Emotional fusion. Black-and-white thinking.
Powerful conviction, but very little space between trigger and response.

You can observe your thoughts and patterns. Insight grows.
There’s awareness after the reaction, but interruption is still difficult.

You begin choosing alignment over impulse.
Values guide behavior. Agency strengthens.
The pause starts happening before the reaction.

Resistance softens. Identity becomes less rigid.
Curiosity replaces defensiveness.
Peace becomes less conditional.

Important reminder:
These stages are fluid. You might be highly conscious in one area of life and reactive in another. This is a spectrum, not a ladder.

The Four Stages We Discuss

1. Life Is Happening To Me

2. Life Is Happening By Me

3. Life Is Happening Through Me

4. Life Is Happening As Me

• Where does life currently feel like it’s happening to you?
• Where are you aware of your patterns but still repeating them?
• What would it look like to pause once this week before reacting?
• Where have you already integrated growth that once felt impossible?

Take one current challenge and write about it from each stage:

If life is happening to me, how do I interpret this?
If life is happening by me, how might my perception be shaping this?
If life is happening through me, what choice do I have?
If life is happening as me, what integration is emerging?

Notice how the emotional tone shifts as perception shifts.

Consciousness as developmental
Shadow work and ownership
Humility in spiritual growth
The danger of spiritual ego
The expanding space between stimulus and response
Alignment over reaction

Keywords

consciousness, stages of consciousness, self awareness, personal growth, shadow work, ego, spiritual development, emotional intelligence, identity, perception shapes reality, stimulus and response, nervous system awareness, emotional regulation, accountability, humility, spiritual ego, awakening, self mastery, psychological growth, mindset shifts, reactive patterns, values based living, integration, alignment, inner work, self reflection, breaking patterns, healing journey, awareness expansion, mindset development, personal responsibility, growth mindset, masculine development, men’s growth, conscious living, identity work, self observation, transformation, perspective shift, intentional living

Why does real change feel so difficult even when you’re doing the work?

In Season 2, Episode 1 of The New Ashla Podcast, Justin V. Gates and Michael Perry explore why awareness is the true foundation of self-mastery and why most personal growth fails without trained consciousness. Self-discipline without perception becomes repression. Insight without awareness becomes illusion.

This episode examines the difference between thinking and being aware, why unconscious patterns continue to shape behavior, and how perception determines emotional experience. Through grounded psycho-spiritual teaching rooted in the Path of Ashla, they explain how consciousness can be trained in daily life, not just understood intellectually.

If you are seeking emotional healing, inner authority, spiritual discipline, or deeper self-awareness, this episode offers a practical framework for cultivating awareness without ego inflation, spiritual bypassing, or illusion.

Self-mastery does not begin with control.
It begins with seeing clearly.

Train your consciousness.
Strengthen your perception.
Build inner authority from the inside out.

New Ashla Links:

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Keywords

awareness, self mastery, consciousness training, emotional awareness, inner authority, spiritual discipline, personal growth, psycho spiritual development, self awareness practice, emotional intelligence, shadow work, identity transformation, mindfulness training, reaction vs response, conscious living, how to train consciousness, difference between awareness and thinking, how to stop reacting emotionally, how to build inner authority, training awareness in daily life, emotional patterns and self mastery