By Angela Dunning
“Feminine power is about loving, relating, holding presence for one another.”
~ Marion Woodman
All of us, men and women, have a unique opportunity right now to consciously birth The Feminine. Never in human history has there been a time when this has been so. As the pendulum of nature swings to rebalance itself, The Feminine is now pushing herself through each and every one us. This is both an honor and a responsibility to be taken seriously.
Women today are finding that they need to consciously focus on rediscovering their own innate feminine wisdom, ways and values. They are steadily casting-off wounded masculine and Patriarchal ways of behaving and thinking, and instead, are reinserting feelings, empathy and above all, love into their everyday lives; both at home and at work. They are learning to cherish their body, not as an object for the outside world, but as their own beloved vessel, so long neglected but faithfully still there, just waiting for us to pay her attention and love. They are also starting to value their deep intuitive ways.
Equally, because men also have an inner-feminine side they too are being called to this path. They are starting to listen to their own feminine soul’s voice; her needs and ways; to stop projecting her out onto women outside of themselves, and rather, to allow her to steer him towards his own true feelings and capacity to love. When men can relate to their inner-feminine then relations between the sexes will also begin to improve.
This is by no means going to be a smooth process. The term ‘birthing’ in the title of this article speaks to the necessary pain and labor involved for each individual. As well as the wider society, which has to also grapple with deeply entrenched cultural and religious beliefs and traditions, some of which are going to vigorously oppose such a birthing. We are already seeing backlashes from certain political groups, fringe elements and religions who are not going to accept such enormous change without serious opposition. Yet, we must all hold steady. And, we must also accept that we are in this for the long haul, this is not going to happen in one generation as after all, we’re talking about changing CENTURIES of history and one-sidedness; not mere decades.
Still, change is indeed happening on the personal level and on the social and political levels. We only have to look at the number of women’s groups, circles and organizations which have sprung up in the past few years alone. As well as some of the key women who have emerged as leaders in recent years such as Malala Yousafzai, who champions education for girls globally, and Greta Thunberg who is leading the youth climate change movement, to name just two. Then, in January this year we had the utterly unprecedented privilege of seeing the largest number of women ever elected to the United States Congress. Their inauguration involved the again unprecedented and beautiful sight of grandmothers and grandchildren filling the chamber to celebrate this historic occasion and vital cultural shift. Some of these newly elected congresswomen are openly and fearlessly bringing feminine values to the table as they begin to reprioritize public services towards long neglected issues, such as care for the land we all walk on; the quality of the air we breathe, and advocating on behalf of those who are the most marginalized and vulnerable in society.
These are Feminine principles in action. This is the way of The Feminine. If women can do the hard work of reclaiming their own feminine self and power, and if men can join them in learning about their own feminine-side, then more love will be brought to the table: The dining table, the boardroom and yes, the political leaders’ tables, now and in the years ahead. Then, the issues facing all of us, including our children and our beloved planet can be viewed radically differently as solutions can be creatively birthed through the loving yet fearless Feminine, just waiting to take her seat at ALL of our tables.
