Today we are experiencing the re-emergence of the goddess culture.
Everywhere women are awakening to their intuitive power and reclaiming a
position of leadership lost long ago. For men, the question now becomes,
how can we react to the call of the Goddess in our lives? Whether in a new
relationship to Gaia, or in a personal relationship, what changes must we
make in how we relate to the feminine in order to move into a balance with
the Goddess? One archetype of this relationship can be found in the Green
Man who can be a nurturing and calm model to help men rebalance their
energies away from the power and competitive patterns of patriarchy.
From earliest times, masculine deities were always
associated with the Great Goddess acting as the son, lover and guardian of
her. Examine the Egyptian Osiris and the Hindu god Shiva who cared for and
were nurtured by the great mother. Dionysis' relationship with the goddess
also reminds us of a responsibility to feel the ecstatic intoxication of
sensuality and emotion.
In his Celtic incarnation, the Green Man is
often depicted as a face surrounded by leaves, such that the greenery
seems to be a art of his face. The green man expresses life through his
mouth; his words about natural experience are the leaves that surround
him. Now he comes to rescue our thoughts and language from the conditioned
patterns of the 20th century.
For men to balance the feminine
within them and create a deeper connection to nature brings a wealth of
knowledge not won through schooling or competition but through feeling.
One way to experience those feelings is to honor the Earth. We now have an
increasing awareness of the effect of humanity on the natural environment
and it is imperative we find ways to connect deeply with the planet as she
is changing. Whether it is taking long walks, volunteering for clean-up
details or protesting the destruction of the beauty and natural resources
of this planet, we must move into stewardship of this shared and sacred
home. As the Earth experiences increased chaotic climactic activity, we
can use these new feelings of honoring and love to transmit and direct
healing, peaceful energy to the planet, helping her to release pent-up
energies in a manner less destructive to her human inhabitants.
More importantly, men need to restructure their
relationships with women in their lives. No longer will the Goddess be
consumed by the power cravings of the male species. As men, we must come
to understand that women do not want power for themselves as we do, but
will gladly share it - if and when they are supported emotionally. In this
struggle for balance, we men must lead with a new set of skills.
One skill we need to establish is one of deep listening which
allows the appropriate expression of feelings and allows women to process
allot the emotions that are present in any given moment. The Goddess needs
to have her wants, needs, fears, and feelings heard. And why not? We have
for too long dismissed them. Men's communication style needs to move from
a place of reacting or fixing, so that we can meet the Goddess with
awareness and responsiveness, without fear, denial, defensiveness or being
attached to the outcome. This deep and empowering work starts, of course,
with inner dialogue with our own goddess. If we are successful in bringing
ourselves to full and complete balance, then our meeting with the Goddess
will empower us and inspire us to a greater life. We need the love of the
Goddess and the only way to feel her power is not to demand it but to be
in partnership. We cannot merge with our higher selves without clearing
all the old emotional patterns and releasing beliefs that restrict full
emotional expression.
Transformation of our feelings is a major testing ground for our
spiritual selves as we seek physical plane mastery. The lesson of this
time is about working through it — not creating division or separation,
but unity. Now is the time to awaken, to deeply and totally break up and
break through old emotions and to live in a place founded in love.
The Green Man must tie vigilant and
support the Goddess lovingly with an open hand, mind
and heart. In our journey, we have called each other to this time so that
we can share, trigger, encourage, mirror and support each other in living
this healing work. To do this is to have the freedom and joy of a deep and
significant loving experience. Once a woman can give expression to all of
her feelings, once she has a safe place to process, then she can honor the
man in such a way as to love him completely. If a man demands that the
woman serve him first, then the man perpetuates an imbalance. Men must
understand this as an evolutionary act and take all steps necessary, no
matter how difficult, to reach out with trust and love to their partners.
You will be in joy when she enjoys.
____________________
John Kalb is a new media strategist. He can be contacted by
email at john@activation.com.
This article was originally published in Spirit
of Change Magazine—not to be confused with OfSpirit.com Holistic
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Change, New England's Premiere Holistic "Print" magazine,
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