The Bliss Blog

What is the Sacred Feminine?  It is a conversation that has been a part of my life for the past 10 years as I explore my own Divine nature. Many of the women I encounter are also fascinated with the concepts as they too embrace their true beauty.

 Many traditions call forth the energies of deity-essence, in terms of having properties associate with the feminine aspects of being. Throughout centuries, prior to the coming of a patriarchal approach to spirituality, the Life Force Energy was considered to be of the Divine Feminine; a creating and sustaining power.  We are accustomed to considering the feminine to be only nurturing and protecting.

The archetype of Goddess is multi-cultural. Julie Loar’s book entitled Goddesses For Every Day: Exploring The Wisdom & Power of the Divine Feminine Around The World, shows the various faces of the Goddess. Each seems to bear both light and dark sides, vulnerability and strength.  What is particularly striking about this book, is its expansive and inclusive nature.  Most people are familiar with Greek and Roman Goddesses. I recall learning about them in junior high school with the caveat that these were mythological beings. Growing up in a Judeo-Christian culture; that was to be expected. Loar opens the door and invites in a plethora of Sacred Feminine beings. There is Lorop (LOR-ahp) whose primary aspect is Mystery. She hails from Micronesia and is of the sea.  Uke Mochi (OOH-key MO-chee) is the Shinto Goddess of food and rice. Holda (HOL-dah) is a Teutonic deity who flies through the night sky’s and delivers gifts, much like Santa.  

There are 366 Goddesses profiled, one for each day of the year (and a bonus:).  I was delighted to see that the Goddess who represents my birthday; October 13th  is Hi’ iaka (hee EYE-ah-kah) Hawaiian Goddess of dance and she who breathes fire into volcanos, since dance both soothes and enlivens me and many who know me, consider me a fire-y  and passionate person. 

At the top of each page is a descriptive quality and at the bottom is an inspiring affirmation. Another unique component to the structure of the book is that Loar connects the Goddesses with the 12 zodiac signs.

The narrative about each Goddess is a fascinating glimpse into cultures worldwide.This book is both magical and practical and serves to illuminate our understanding of creating and life sustaining energies.

www.julieloar.com

When we consider prayer, most folks think about petitioning, asking, begging, pleading, cajoling for something we believe we don’t have. Instead, I prefer to think of prayer in terms of gratitude for what is already in my life and what I am inviting into my life.

When I was in attending The New Seminary, I wrote something called Prayer Is Portable with the idea that it is something that need not be done in an edifice such as church, synagogue, temple or mosque. It is not necessary to have an intermediary such as priest, minister, rabbi or imam.  There is a direct line between our hearts and that of the “God of our understanding.” (to use a 12 step recovery term)

Gregg Braden shares a story called Pray Rain in his book Secrets of The Lost Mode of Prayer. I had heard him tell it during a presentation he offered in Philadelphia a few years ago and have heard it many times since then. It never fails to amaze me.

Gregg tells about a time of drought in northern New Mexico, when a Native American friend asked him to join him for an early-morning hike to a medicine wheel so he could pray rain. They walked for a couple hours to a circle of stones on the ground divided by an X or stones within the circle. Gregg’s friend explained that the wheel itself had not power, but was a place of focus for the one invoking the prayer. His friend then took off his shoes, stepped into the circle, honored the four directions and his ancestors,. placed his hands in prayer position, closed his eyes and stood soon motionless.

After a few moments, he said he had finished and was ready to leave. Gregg said “Already? I thought you were going to pray for rain!”

“‘No,’ he replied. ‘I said that I would pray rain. If I had prayed for rain, it could never happen.’”

“He began by describing how the elders of his village had shared the secrets of prayer with him when he was young boy. The key, he said, is that when we ask for something to happen, we give power to what we do not have. Prayers for healing empower the sickness. Prayers for rain empower the drought. ‘Continuing to ask for these things only gives more power to the things that we would like to change,’ he said.”

Gregg’s friend explained: “I began to have the feeling of what rain feels like. I felt the feeling of rain on my body, and what it feels like to stand with my naked feet in the mud of our village plaza because there has been so much rain. I smelled the smells of rain on the earthen walls in our village, and felt what it feels like to walk through fields of corn chest deep high because there has been so much rain.”

It started to rain the next day and continued on for many days.  That is the way of things. When we live AS IF something is already so, then we can live into it more fully and freely.

The Birth of The Divine Child

As winter’s darkness descends, our hearts tremble. But is it of fear or celebration? Dread of the shadow or anticipation of the Light? Ask of the voice within that knows all things for what they are. And wait in silence for the answer to arise. Still your mind of the busy chatter that fills it to capacity with all that does not serve. Within the comfort of the shadow realms, take a moment to look about. Put aside your trepidation, for in truth, there is no cause to hide. We are of that soft shadow just we are of the Light that will soon replace it. In order for new life to spring forth, the seeds of that anticipated growth require the blanket of rich, moist soil to embrace them. The intelligence within those seeds knows that they must lie dormant for a bit. Think that they worry? Not likely, for they are one with nature. They know no separation. So why must we?

On December 21^st, we welcome the birth of the New Solar year and the onset of winter. God and Goddess dance as one in the forms of the Great Mother and Sun Child. Swirling and soaring, melting the chill from our bones and souls. Enticing us to join in the ballet of Being. Crimson like the blood that flows through our veins, moss green that carpets the earth, feather white that gently blankets the reaching branches, stretching to the heavens, asking for a blessing from All That Is. The message from the One is of trust that all is well, despite appearances. It is of shifting our focus from darkness to light, from terror to safety, from condemnation to affirmation.

As the Light ascends, so too do we. Rising from the depths of self-doubt into certainty. Expanding from our limited view of what we can do into All that we Are. Surrendering with arms cast wide in the knowing that we will be safely carried into the next moment. Recognizing the sacred in each act of love, each word of support, each thought of kindness. Seeing the Highest in each soul. Embracing what is so. Cultivating wisdom. Creating from our hearts’ desires. Emboldening our passions. Singing a celestial song with words of Divine origin. Stretching our comfort zones.

And as we do this, we witness the Birth of the Divine Child within us. Blessed Be.

Edie Weinstein copyright 2004