Women are being called forth on a mission to usher in a new way of being through their entrepreneurial endeavors, community service projects and roles as mothers, partners and friends. But the current model, which has been shaped by the masculine, has devalued and restricted some of the most powerful assets of feminine nature. Women have collectively been forced to hide, forget and/or suppress their “authentic feminine ways” which are needed to heal themselves, humanity and the planet. By consciously reconnecting with the qualities inherent to feminine nature, women can step into their authentic being, empowering themselves. Some of the ways to reclaim these feminine gifts is to align with the cycles of Nature, tune into your intuition, and tap into your feminine emotional wisdom.
One way to reconnect with your authentic feminine nature is to connect with Nature around you. Before there were calendars, women were the original time keepers. Naturally aligned with the cycles of the moon, the seasons, and circular nature of life itself; women understood the power of transformation. Unlike the sun, which represents action, growth and fire, the moon rules the feminine ways of mystery, receptivity and water. As a culture we’ve been conditioned to favor daytime and fear darkness. This reflects a collective fear, denial and neglect of the authentic feminine nature, which includes the amplitude of darkness and depth. Joseph Campbell said that we must “make your heartbeat match the beat of the universe, to match your nature with Nature.” When you tune into the cycles of the moon and the circular rhythms around you, you can come into alignment with the mystery or all things invisible, and Universal flow. This connection with the sacred will foster an inner knowing, which you can rely upon to guide you.
Tuning into inner guidance is another important part of reconnecting with the feminine. Intuition is a receptive, feminine quality, which our ancient ancestors relied upon. It’s easy to get so caught up in the busy, hectic life our society has structured. But that driven, achiever-based mentality is part of the masculine construct that doesn’t value the stillness we all need. It invariably cuts us off from our inner knowing and intuition. For in the quiet spaces between, we can better hear the gut feelings that are always there to guide us. Get in touch with your body, receive and let yourself become a receptive conduit for universal wisdom and insights. What the world really needs is women’s wisdom and truth telling. Other potent way to tap into this knowledge is through acknowledging feminine emotional wisdom.
The power of feminine emotional wisdom can be tapped into and serve as a valuable guide. Once respected, somewhere along the way women’s emotions were given a bad rap. Women get shamed for having emotions. Society tells us that emotions are bad. Emotional women are often labeled as crazy (think of the word ‘lunatic’), criticized for creating drama and encouraged to tame their emotions. Emotions are wild. Women are wild. The authentic feminine is wild. Magic happens when women are allowed to feel and safely express their own emotions, because it allows them to feel other people with empathy and compassion. This creates deep connection, action and healing. In healthy and thriving ancient indigenous cultures women were looked to as the leaders. They made all the decisions, because they felt and they knew through intuition what the children, their environment and the collective tribe needed to maintain health, well-being and unity.
By connecting with Nature, your own intuition, and your inherent emotional wisdom, you’ll reclaim your feminine nature in powerful ways. When the Dalai Lama said, “The world will be saved by western women,” he was declaring that the time is right for women to express their feminine fullness and lead the world back into balance and health. These are the inherent gifts women have carried throughout time. Redefining what it means to be a modern woman requires expanding the definition to include these powerful assets.
By Lucinda Bakken White, originally published by New Spirit Journal magazine.