Eivind Figenschau Skjellum

Founder

eivind-skjellumEivind Figenschau Skjellum's formal background is within the fields of Information Technology and Graphic Design. He has been a student of spirituality and consciousness since 2001, after an early existential crisis forced him to rethink the way he was living his life and his relationships. Early meditation-induced energetic experiences sealed the deal and propelled him forwards with great dedication into Buddhism. Tibetan Buddhism has been his spiritual homebase since 2003, and for many years he meditated extensively, attending retreats and sitting 1-2 hours every day without fail.

Eivind picked up gestalt therapy to go deeper with shadow work in 2004. This revealed many hitherto unconfronted issues regarding childhood and sexuality. That process lasted for almost two years, and towards the end of it, he was introduced to the book The Game by Neill Strauss, which triggered in him both aversion and fascination.

With these feelings working their way through his bodymind, he went on spiritual pilgrimage to India at the end of 2006. In Boudhgaya, at the very place of the Buddha's enlightenment, came a huge turning point – a woman walked silently into the night and he dared not shout her name. It became apparent, suddenly and with tremendous force, that despite all the thousands of hours of meditation, he was still afraid of being hurt by women. There was a lack of balance in the different lines of development, which he recognized as dangerous, and he resolved to change his life upon his return home.

After returning to Norway, he dedicated himself whole-heartedly to figuring out these unchartered territories. In this process, he discovered that many people associated with the world described by Strauss's book were lacking in integrity. They were generally good people, hurt from life as he was, but they were willing to basically lie to get laid, which seemed an odd thing, as being true to one's word is the cornerstone of manhood. Eivind wasn't willing to discard the foundation of his masculinity as an expression of masculinity – the oedipal pathology seemed too strong – so he honed in on the few people that put integrity as the absolute prerequisite for anything and everything in life  and moved on. Results were quick and fulfilling relationships with women followed.

Important influences on Eivind's life have been Ken Wilber, David Deida, taiji master Pamela Hiley, Robert Bly, Douglas Gillette, Robert Moore, myriad Tibetan Buddhist and other spiritual teachers. Also, men's work through with Dag Furuholmen and Eirik Balavoine (Levende Maskulinitet), being initiated into Manhood by the Mankind Project at the New Warrior Training Adventure and running men's groups have been incredibly important contributions to Eivind's life.

Along the way, Eivind has experimented with introducing consciousness training in high schools, as well as briefly facilitating the Peace Point Youth Council. He is currently, besides keeping Masculinity-Movies.com up and running, co-leading Authentic World Norway, an organization that puts on communication and self-development workshops in Oslo, Norway. Additionally, having tired of male-bashing in the public sphere, he is entering the fray with his message that men and masculinity make a tremendously positive contribution to society.

Movie reviews by Eivind Figenschau Skjellum

Articles by Eivind Figenschau Skjellum

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  • Donovan Mccl

    Hi Eivind,

    Absolutely fantastic breakdown of King, Warrior, Magician, Lover. It’s a pretty complex (and touchy) subject and your summary, diagrams, and breakdown made a world of difference. Thanks man!! And good luck with your journey :)

  • Anonymous

    Cheers, Donovan. I’m glad my KWML means something to you. The video of the Lover archetype will hopefully arrive soon – making the set complete :-)

  • http://www.facebook.com/juliana.u.rose Juliana Rose

    I have just discovered some of your work on the net and am astounded at the depth and breadth of it–I wondered if you have developed any experiential workshops incorporating your knowledge and research.  I see great potential for this. I also wondered if you would give your blessing to me to use some of your concepts in a workshop I am creating for men  and women utilizing your concepts.  I always give credit to sources.  I have worked formerly as a college instructor of English. 

  • EivindFS

    Hi Juliana! Thanks – I’m glad you are here and finding value in my work.

    My first hit is that I would be happy to let you use some of my concepts in a workshop. Most definitely. And I would like to speak with you about how that would look first. Anytime we both have time on Skype would be a good opportunity to have that conversation.

    Personally, I *have* started putting on workshops lately. Mainly featuring the KWML Archetypes, but also with Authentic Relating stuff under the Authentic World umbrella.

    And there will be more. Let’s connect. Write me on the contact page and I’m sure we can find a way to help each other :-)

    Eivind