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from Wakeup-World Website
by Western Women. 2009
Looking at the speakers and their subjects, I was surprised that a conference dedicated to 'ecology, consciousness, human evolution, spirituality, future' didn't include a topic that explored the outcomes of the imbalance of the feminine and masculine in our patriarchal societies.
This was reflected in the line up of speakers, who were predominantly male.
I checked a few more events in the consciousness conference calendar and found a similar picture:
This wouldn't be worth mentioning if we were dealing with a different subject, but it certainly warrants some reflection when we look at conferences within the consciousness, ecology and spirituality scene.
We all begin to understand that a
functioning, sustainable whole requires the feminine and the
masculine to be integrated within the individual and within humanity
as a whole, and we are increasingly aware of the dysfunctional
results of millennia of human development based almost solely on
patriarchal, masculine value systems.
They show themselves in the way we use wars as a means of conflict resolution and in the non-caring, self-centered attitudes of our societies.
They have led to the exclusion of the
feminine from
our major religions and to valuing
individual success, hierarchical structures and left-brain
scientific thinking more than caring for communities, sharing
structures and emotional intelligence and connection.
When I asked my friend, who is a heart- and soul-orientated guy, this question, he replied,
Yes, that's exactly it!
It is a kind of 'thoughtless' acceptance of the status quo...
As far as we know, it was the earth - nature itself - who provided our ancient, tribal forefathers and mothers with the concept of the Great Mother and with a value system based on nature's ways and cycles.
The Great Mother was a symbol of life itself. In her womb grew all of life; from her body emerged all of life; she sustained all of life through the nourishment she provided, and all living things retuned to her when dying.
Therefore, the Great Mother, as an
inclusive force of life and its cycles, was seen as being sacred.
The feminine principle stems in its origins from this nature-based concept, as the female body exhibits the same patterns and cycles as nature.
Consequently, the feminine was seen as the life-giving, nurturing, sustaining and life-embracing force, the 'creative vessel of life that contained, birthed, nurtured and protected'.
Not surprising, then, that ancient
people respected the feminine.
And as all of this was happening, our spiritual systems changed:
We went from female goddesses and
priestesses, to both male and female deities, and then to the
dominance of the male gods and male priests.
This became increasingly evident in ancient Greece around 500-400 BC, but so far as our current state of consciousness is concerned the subjugation of the feminine principle reached its culmination in,
In these three 'religions
of the book' the 'one masculine God in the sky' is
firmly established whilst the sacred feminine disappears either
completely or is, as in Christianity for instance, replaced with a
split, guilty woman and a holy mother, subordinated to her son.
The feminine, which is defined as the,
...was increasingly suppressed, belittled, devalued, silenced and even persecuted - and firmly defined as 'inferior' to the masculine force, which is the head-centered (analytical), rational, hierarchically directed, seeding, fight-orientated and conquering force.
Basic attributes of the feminine principle, the life-giving, life-sustaining, the nurturing, the emotional, the intuitive, the inclusive and connective, as well as the wild, nature-based force need now to be brought to the fore, valued and implemented.
These values need to enter into our
consciousness as a system on which we base our way of life, our
relating to each other and our decisions, if we want to find ways
and means to create positive change.
No longer is it helpful to look at our problematic development needs from a dis-connected, head-centered, self-serving, exploiting view of life.
We need to cultivate a way of being that strives for emotional connection and honors intuitive knowing, a consciousness that helps us to experience ourselves as being part of the whole living community.
No longer can we afford to base our life on a war consciousness that demands,
No longer can we afford to turn a blind eye when looking at the mental health statistics, which show that a quarter of the UK population now suffers from depression and/or anxiety.
Our rational, pharmaceutical and profitable approach to this problem is to medicate, but we need the nurturing, caring, sharing, compassionate and feminine approach if we are to create a society that does not suffer chronically from mental health problems.
And no longer can we ignore that
loneliness and isolation is at an all-time high in our elders,
who should be the source of our wisdom teachings, and
in our young people, who are our future.
In other words, no longer can we afford to cultivate a consciousness that is based on masculine principles.
When we allow ourselves to explore the feminine as a principle, to look at deeper ways of experiencing it, to bring feminine principle values, such as,
...and much more, then we will, and not before time, be taking vital steps in the right direction.
Needless to say, I believe that the
'consciousness scene' should be at the forefront of this.
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