What are the effects of the male ideal on our comfort level with vulnerability? How does this affect our ability to cultivate true intimacy in our relationships with other gay men or other men in general? What is the importance of being in touch with our emotions and how do we access them safely and express them responsibly?

How do we access, communicate with, and heal the inner child? Why is it so important? What harmful stories has our inner child adopted and how do these stories continue to play out in our adult lives and the gay tribe?

I sat down with Brett, a 56 year old thoughtful gay man originally from Minnesota currently living in Chicago to talk about his experience with people pleasing and how not to lose ourselves for the sake of other's comfortability.

What is a trauma bond and how do we heal from them? How are we as gay men trauma-bonded to each other?

What happened to the gay standard of integrity? How do we build trust and real connection despite gay culture's addiction to superficial sugar highs and the normalization of self-destructive behaviors?

The fear of abandonment...the grief resulting from abandonment...How do we cope, how do we heal, how do we stay open despite the risk it might happen again?

Visit https://roygrantlifecoach.com/index.html for links to my support groups, retreats, books, or to book a private coaching session.

What is the significance of the father archetype upon the gay male subconscious?

Visit https://roygrantlifecoach.com/index.html for links to my support groups, retreats, books, or to book a private coaching session.

Words have great power in their ability to evoke meaning and emotion in those who hear them.  They can motivate and build us up, or frighten and break us down. They have the power to create lifelong wounds, as well as the power to heal them. 

And perhaps most consequential of all, the spoken words we absorb can determine what we believe is possible for us, including whether or not we deserve to be loved.

Join the Thoughtful Gay Man in person in Chicago on Meetup: https://www.meetup.com/The-Thoughtful-Gay-Man/

For books, meditations, retreats, to become a sponsor, or to book a private life coaching session with Roy, visit: roygrantlifecoach.com

How do we know when we've given away too much of ourselves in a relationship? Why does this happen? And what can we do to prevent it?

How do we learn to break the habit of self-comparison, for ourselves and in the gay community?