By Amelia Glynn

When Will Keepin, PhD, author and president of the Satyana Institute, a non-profit service and training organization, invited the audience to stand and participate in a group exercise, I felt myself gripped by a familiar panic.

I had intentionally chosen a “safe” seat in the back of the dimly lit room at the California Institute of Integral Studies (CIIS) where I had gathered with about 70 other people to hear Keepin discuss his new book Divine Duality: The Power of Reconciliation Between Women and Men (Hohm Press, Nov. ’07). As someone who cringes at stuff as mundane as partner yoga, I was ready to bolt.

After stalling by pretending to search for something in my bag for as long as was socially appropriate, I reluctantly joined the others who — upon the encouragement of Keepin and Satyana program director, Cynthia Brix — were already walking briskly around the room, acknowledging each other with their eyes (Oh god). After a few uneasy laps, Brix and Keepin asked us to find a partner and answer a question often used as an icebreaker in Satyana’s gender reconciliation workshops: “What do you like most about being a man or a woman?” Huh? “Uh… you go first,” I offered lamely to my partner, a kind looking man with a beard. When my turn came, I was still rendered mute. I realized that not only had I never been asked this question, but also that I had rarely allowed myself to consider how my gender makes me different — other than the obvious physical and biological distinctions, of course.

Although the majority of people in the room didn’t seem phased by this question, I know that I’m not alone. The women’s and men’s movements of the last century have both illuminated and muddled issues surrounding gender identity for all of us. While helping to create numerous opportunities for women, the feminist movement has also put into question gender roles — particularly highlighting the need for women to do and be it all (witness the “superwoman” pandemic). The beginning of the second wave of American feminism in the late 1960s was met with the men’s rights movement, which, starting in the early 1990s was often expressed as an anti-feminist backlash by those who perceived the feminist movement to be excessive, emasculating and misandrist. These two movements, although positive in myriad ways, have also served to polarize men and women by accentuating differences rather than celebrating the masculine and feminine that exists in each of us.

Keepin, a mathematical physicist by training and former whistleblower for the nuclear power industry, became interested in the field of gender reconciliation in the early 1990s. Following his intensive training in transpersonal psychology and eastern spiritual traditions, he co-founded the Satyana Institute in 1996. In the past 12 years, more than 700 people from all over the world have attended his workshops including peace activists, physicians and health professionals, social workers, environmental leaders, government officials, religious ministers and leaders from the women’s and men’s movements.

I was curious to learn about the effectiveness and potential applications of his gender reconciliation workshops. What sets them apart from other forms of group therapy? Do they have lasting and measurable effects? Could I benefit from something like this (assuming I could temporarily table my fear of most things “woo-woo”)?

Keepin, who has a calm soothing voice and impressive laugh lines, believes gender reconciliation has the ability to facilitate awakening regardless of participants’ religious faith, education, socio-economic status, cultural background, philosophical beliefs or spiritual orientation. “The human heart is universal and when it opens, union happens,” he says.

He has witnessed profound effects in diverse cultural contexts ranging from the affluent West to societies of severe gender oppression, including South Africa and India (For more on this, click here). He is also applying the tenets from his workshops to help bridge the differences between Protestants and Catholics in Northern Ireland and between Palestinians and Israelis in the Middle East.