We hope that you will find it inspiring and meaningful and something that you will look forward to reading. For years we have dreamed of this time when we could publish articles, pictures, poems, and stories about the passages and initiations into manhood, accompanied by topics like men’s health, sexuality, raising children, marriage, divorce, father’s rights, teenage suicide, young fathers, the work life, giving back and more.

With this publication, The Men’s Leadership Alliance is taking a step forward in expanding its mission to be a “Resource for the Male Soul.” We want to deepen the inquiry and the dialogue about what it means to live a soulful life...

This Journal feels like a new beginning of something old. Many years ago some of us now involved in MLA published a small paper called the Men’s Council Journal. It ran for several years and was a wonderful place for men to speak from their hearts.

I know this Journal is something different and will have its own unique style and focus but I trust that it will also be a place where men can speak from their hearts and souls. It will be a new place on the spiral...

Do you still hear your brother singing at an evening circle from your Art of Leadership training? Men have repeatedly asked for copies of songs they hear from their time in the canyon. The first collection of 12 songs titled "Sapphire Canyon Men and Music - Volume 1" is now available from MLA, and all proceeds from CD sales go to support our work. Find out how to get your copy.

The inquiry into simplicity is among the great holy questions that has been with humanity forever. It brings us to a central paradox: the very contemplation of simplicity draws us into complexity. The idea of living in uncluttered ways, with hearts connected to the undying truths that sustain the joy of life, can quickly become complicated. Once our brains get a hold of the concept, they can systematically lead us into a labyrinth and we may find ourselves yearning for those simpler times when we didn't worry about simplicity...

• Change and Connection - You and the MLA Newsletter - by Lee Hansen
• Sediment Sick - Poetry by David Colson