A. Justin Sterling - The Weekends and the Sterling Institute of Relationship
In the beginning…
A. Justin Sterling had a professional relationship with a director of a women’s organization that counseled women about how to be successful in their career. Working together they began to see a correlation between women’s ability to be successful in their careers and their inability to be successful in their personal relationships. The women’s organization began referring clients to Justin for counseling and he experienced a great deal of success with those clients. Then they decided it might be productive to address in a seminar style format the similar issues that these women had. The first seminars were very successful and the women who completed them referred other women and it grew from there.
A. Justin Sterling’s philosophy about men and women, relationships and marriage:
Justin’s essential core of his philosophy is that men and women are different on many different levels - biological, psychological, intellectual, and emotional. The model of relationship Justin encourages both men and women to adopt is one which is predicated upon defining the differences between men and women; and identifying, embracing, and projecting those differences into the relationship. As men and women begin to understand and accept their differences, they can begin to respect and accept each other in a successful long-term relationship that is based on celebrating those differences rather than trying to become more like each other.
Basic philosophy of the Sterling Women’s Weekend:
The basic philosophy of the Sterling Women’s Weekend helps women accept and embrace all their female characteristics, so that they make wise life choices. These choices are very personal, ones that will affect the direction and outcome of the rest of her life. A woman’s freedom lies in the acceptance of her feminine nature, not in trying to adopt what are fundamentally male characteristics.
Basic philosophy of the Sterling Men’s Weekend:
The basic philosophy of the Sterling Men’s Weekend is that men must be encouraged to rediscover their essential masculinity and, through that, redefine what it means to be male in this culture. The Sterling Men’s Weekend philosophy helps men understand the conflicts they face and find their own power, success and personal freedom through becoming “the man they always wanted to be”.
A. Justin Sterling on the Sterling Men’s and Women’s Weekends:
The Sterling Men’s and Women’s Weekends are very personal, and the women and men who attend these Sterling Weekends do so for very personal reasons and to deal with very personal issues. The Sterling Men’s and Women’s Weekends are not quite in the mainstream and people who are in sensitive positions, positions of influence and power, might not want to be associated with something that isn’t quite mainstream. We are careful to make sure we protect the privacy of the men and women who attend. The Sterling Men’s and Women’s Weekends offer a means of profound insight and self-discovery.
A. Justin Sterling on what he hopes to achieve through his work:
Justin’s hope is to have some kind of affect on decreasing the divorce rate, and reducing the devastating effects divorce has on children, as well as the way these children of divorce affect future generations. Divorce hurts children. With over 50% of marriages ending in divorce, we are raising a generation of people who are unable to form deep and lasting emotional bonds with other people, the key factor in keeping a marriage together. As men and women become more connected to their essential natures and learn what it takes to create and maintain a successful long-term relationship, the ills of society will diminish. Justin hopes the work the Sterling Institute is doing will bring lasting benefit to our society.
A. Justin Sterling on: A “true global community”
People are beginning to realize how alike we are when reduced to our basic elements. It does not matter where we are from or what our backgrounds are, there are some basic desires and needs that bring us together. As the world becomes smaller, the things we have in common become more obvious. As we begin to witness a global economic community, we are poised for a more emotional, personal, and value-oriented global community.