LifeUnity In A New Light
~Happy Mother's Day~
There is no better day than Mother's day to acknowledge and celebrate that which has been stirring my very being over the past few weeks.
To celebrate mothers - the women - who very literally gave us the space in which to grow.
It began many years ago as I started to feel the growing pull towards Unity, towards the feeling that perhaps we really are all connected. That the earth, the elements, our bodies, our friends and strangers, our thoughts, and living beings (and perhaps even spirits we would not recognize as living) are deeply entwined with our own being that we think of as "an individual".
It grew as I studied Psychology and then "Wellness" in graduate work - trying to define a sense of health beyond just sickness. It has morphed through study and practice in the disciplines of photography, human sexuality, religious study, life coaching, spiritual study, and most recently and perhaps most relevant, Buddhism, yoga, and the arts.
All of these disciplines are simply providing a different language for that which I try to live and teach (more appropriately, "radiate"...but teaching suffices as a expression for now.)
Over the past few weeks, a different language - and thus, a different way of seeing and understanding this way of being has emerged. It has not let me go...appearing in random sites I come across, books that somehow find their way to my feet (dust covered from years of neglect), shows and magazine articles that, in such a timely manner, speak exactly this language...even in dreams.
It is a language whose most recognized words, those that often define the language, are Masculine and Feminine.
It is the concept of Femininity and its coordinating Masculine principles, of space and form, of being and doing, aggression and passivity that has become the lenses of the glasses through which I now study the world.
Over the next week (at least), I will be delving into this
through my posts and sharing art that has arisen from this.
I will be asking everyone who reads this to (at least temporarily) let go of connotations associated with the words I am using.
I will admit - I was hesitant to even delve into "femininity". At its best it is an over-used phrase, a catch-phrase of the days. At its worst, it is another excuse to practice division, honoring one part of the whole while negating or worse - degrading - the other. And yet, after being hit over the head repeatedly by the universe, there is no ignoring that this word and - most importantly - the associated concepts, are stories I need to now let flow through me.
I have been writing, painting, sketching, and living stories associated with these concepts. Among those that have emerged and those that I will be discussing this week:
- Releasing connotations: How "Feminine" and "Masculine" have little to do with biological sex, how these terms are simply another way (perhaps more universally understood) to address Unity, self-awareness, yoga, and creative living
- Business (particularly online business) and the harmful trends being continued (e.g. as masculine principles of aggression are embraced (even unconsciously) and feminine principles of unconditional acceptance are lessened in importance
- Social media and my thoughts on how the above masculine principles of business are permeating the more feminine world of social interaction...and how this can be both harmful and beneficial
- My Artistic expressions (metaphors, poetry & paintings) of how I understand the necessities and beauty of the dance between form and space, strength and release, stillness and flow, love and hate, painting and the laundry, yoga and the gas pump.
- Creative expression and your responsibilities to become aware of your own masculine and feminine principles and how they play out in your own life
- The human body and how yoga, running, and body awareness relate to our ideas and connotations of our own masculinity and feminity
- Fascinating people I admire and honor who have already delved into this topic through their own lives and the wisdom they can share
- Related principles that may speak to you more than "feminine wisdom" or related terms, but that hold the same messages and how I've found to incorporate these into my own life (and perhaps how you can too)
...and so much more as I continue to live and explore.
I will continue to write on those topics I've been exploring over the past months but they will take on this lens, this masculine/feminine, this "out-there"/practical, this business/anti-business, this...well,...this attempt at truly exploring "Life Unity".
As I have said, it is often hard to find the words or the images to describe what I am experiencing. Heavily influenced by my studies in yoga and Buddhism, I find myself relating to esoteric ideas of self and no-self while exploring how this concept of the missing feminine principles in my life relate to how I parent my two children. To say it has been life-changing might be an understatement.
These concepts cannot be simultaneously more "woo-woo" and yet more mundane. The mystical and the practical are deeply intertwining. How can I begin to explain?
But - also as I mentioned - I literally feel burning within and know that while I am meant to experience all of this, I am also meant to share these stories.
It is selfish of me to not share this because I'm afraid of not finding the right words or just repeating what someone else has said or losing those who can't relate right now with how I'm sharing this. Fear is no excuse.
So I stumble into this adventure, hopefully bringing you along with me. I will try to put into words and art what I'm still trying to understand myself.
Together we will leave no stone unturned, delving into the darkest aspects - those things that sometimes aren't socially acceptable to discuss. Because this awareness calls for full commitment. We cannot shy away from those topics that make us uncomfortable or, in the case of those with online presence, might mean we lose some followers.
We cannot shy away from that which calls to us, even if it calls to us from a darkness in which we have no idea what lies within...or beyond.
To my fellow traveller, my Self, here's to the journey....
Namaste.