What does it mean to carry masculine energy? As the ancient Greeks and Romans understood, it means building specific virtues that lead to human flourishing.

True manliness shows through core virtues like courage, loyalty, industry, resilience, personal responsibility, self-reliance, integrity, and sacrifice.

A masculine man is defined by more than just outward displays of physical strength—he radiates a deep sense of purpose and clarity that guides his every action. Masculine men are assertive and confident, standing firm in their values and decisions while staying open to growth. This assertiveness is not about dominance, but about having the courage to express your own ideas and take responsibility for your actions.

Emotional resilience is another hallmark. You can weather life's storms with composure, using challenges as opportunities to strengthen your character. You are grounded and reliable, providing a steady presence for those around you. Whether in relationships, work, or personal pursuits, masculine energy is expressed through focus, discipline, and a commitment to integrity.

This combination of physical strength, emotional resilience, and a strong sense of self makes you a source of stability and inspiration in your community. But these characteristics don't come from reading about them—they're built through the trials of initiation and the ongoing work of integration.

They're built by creating kinetic energy through action.

There's an important distinction to make here. Manhood is the opposite of boyhood, not womanhood. A child is self-centred, fearful, and dependent. A man is bold, courageous, respectful, independent, and of service to others. Thus you become a man when you mature and leave behind childish things.

This philosophy prevents the shallow approach to manliness that constantly worries about whether something is "manly" or "girly." Instead, it focuses on inner values and character. Both men and women should aim for virtuous excellence—but the path to those virtues and how they're expressed differs between the genders.

Here's a fundamental principle hidden in ancient wisdom about gender: masculine energy is active, feminine energy is receptive. This isn't about gender identity (that's a modern confusion)—this is about understanding traditional, ancient wisdom.

Masculine energy is active. It does stuff in the world. It gives, it provides, it acts upon things. Our ancestors saw the sun as masculine because it's active—it gives heat, it provides the necessary warmth and light that we need to go and do stuff.

Feminine energy is receptive. It takes stuff and nurtures stuff. The moon is seen as feminine—receptive, charging off the tides and emotions, governing the energy that is received. The light from the moon is a reflection of the sun. Nature is seen as feminine. She receives stuff from her ecosystem and brings forth fruit. A woman receives semen and brings forth a baby.

This active/receptive principle is crucial for understanding how to raise and channel masculine energy. Men need to be active first—moving, building, competing, winning, achieving. This isn't optional biology; it's how masculine energy actually works.

When you live the virtues through this active masculine principle, that is your manliness. The same notes played on different instruments produce different sounds—neither better than the other, but each with its unique expression.

For years, mainstream psychology tried to convince men that their masculine energy was the problem. The American Psychological Association (APA) published guidelines in 2018 that essentially blamed masculinity for men's mental health problems. They claimed that traditional masculine traits like competitiveness, dominance, and aggression were harmful and needed to be "eroded."

This was complete nonsense, and many psychologists knew it.

The APA has since changed its view of masculinity, quietly removing the parts of their mission statement that attacked traditional manhood. Why? Because their original stance wasn't based on good science—it was based on political pressure and activism.

Here's the truth that got buried: competitiveness, dominance, and aggression are normal and even healthy masculine traits.

They create energy. The problem isn't having these traits—it's not knowing what to do with them.

Think about it this way: these traits create static energy inside you. If this energy just stays as static energy with no outlet, it builds up and affects your body and mind. Like an overcharged battery without an outlet, it wants to explode. You become irritable, angry, depressed, or destructive—not because the traits are bad, but because you haven't learnt to channel them properly.

The solution isn't to "erase" your masculinity or make you more like women, as the APA originally suggested. The solution is to channel that static energy into kinetic energy through proper outlets: physical training, competition, building things, solving problems, protecting and providing for others.

When psychologists told men to suppress their masculine traits, they were essentially telling hybrid cars not to drive. The result? Millions of men with dead batteries, wondering why they feel empty and lost.

Developing masculine energy is an intentional journey that calls for self-awareness and consistent practice.

You need to charge your batteries. But here's the key: you can't charge your batteries by sitting around thinking about charging them.

Remember: masculine energy works backwards. You don't store up energy first and then go be active. You need to be active first, and that activity creates the energy reserves you need.

This begins with recognising your own strengths and areas for growth, then actively working to build a stronger sense of direction and confidence. But the work is primarily physical and action-oriented, not mental.

Your body is not separate from your mind—it's the vehicle through which you experience masculine energy. Physical strength training, martial arts, endurance challenges, and activities that push your limits are essential.

Manliness doesn't just happen—you cannot think your way into masculine energy; you must embody it. You must create kinetic energy through movement and effort.

Masculine energy is deeply intertwined with spirituality, offering you a pathway to greater purpose, meaning, and connection with the world.

When you're in touch with your masculine energy, you often feel a strong sense of direction and a calling to something greater than yourself.

Practices such as meditation, time in nature, or spiritual study help cultivate this connection, grounding masculine energy in a sense of awe and reverence for life. True masculine strength is not just physical—it's also emotional resilience, mental clarity, and a commitment to living with integrity.

These qualities are essential for spiritual growth, enabling you to face life's challenges with faith and courage.

Many traditional spiritual paths understood the need for masculine initiation. Vision quests, fasting, pilgrimage, and ordeal rituals were designed to forge spiritual warriors—men who had faced death and returned transformed. Modern spirituality often bypasses this, offering comfort instead of transformation.

Seek the harder path.

By embracing your masculine energy, you can deepen your spiritual practice, finding fulfilment not only in achievement but in the experience of being part of a larger, interconnected world.

This spiritual dimension of masculine energy brings a sense of peace, purpose, and belonging that enriches every aspect of your life.

While modern society lacks a culture of manhood, this doesn't mean the path is closed.

In fact, for men with the courage to seek it, the upside is that your manliness will be born not of outward pressures or cultural expectations, but from inner values, conscience, truth, and heart.

The challenge for today's man is to become part of the little tribes that still offer invaluable rites-of-passage.

The military, churches, fraternal organisations, and adventures of other sorts can still help you cross the bridge into manhood. Or the passage may come to you by accident, through the strong and resilient handling of the death of a father or the contraction of a disease.

These smaller communities understand something essential: men have a harder time moving from boyhood into manhood than women do moving into mature adulthood. You often need a push to leave adolescence behind. It's easier to remain dependent, to stay as a consumer instead of a creator, to live for self instead of others.

Find your tribe. Seek out men who are committed to the same journey towards excellence and virtue. These relationships will provide the accountability, challenge, and support you need to continue growing.

They'll help you convert your static energy into kinetic energy through shared challenges and achievements.

Raising and channelling your masculine energy is both physical and psychological.

It requires a set of processes and habits that men have adopted throughout history.

In short, when you think and behave like a traditional man—cultivating the virtues, undergoing initiation, integrating your shadow, converting static energy into kinetic energy—you are rewarded with more masculine energy.

But this wisdom has been largely forgotten. The rites-of-passage, the brotherhood, the tested principles that once guided boys into men have been scattered and lost in modern life.

​That's why I created Banish This Now—to recover and share the forgotten masculine wisdom that can transform your life.

It's completely FREE!

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