FMBR Editorial: Sep, 2009
The Reawakening Of The Feminine: Another Approach To Empowerment
Adrienne Juliano
This is not about women. Nor is it about men. It is about the feminine--the intuitive, nurturing quality that empowers life and self. It is about how we aren't really empowered until we discover and align with this rapidly reemerging life force.
What is empowerment? Let's explore. Often we let others rule our lives, whether directly or indirectly. Think about how many choices we make in any given day that result in giving our power to someone or something else. For instance, when our children demand something from us because they feel pressured by media advertising, especially exhortations from celebrities, certain school curricula, even "best" friends, and we may acquiesce...OR our work demands something the company needs...a tel/cell phone or other device demands our immediate response because it has become so important that we are now "slaves" to it. These are a few of the ways in which we live our "outer" daily lives at the expense of keeping true to ourselves.
Our "inner vision" may be short- or long-term, but where is it focused? On the larger life we are here to experience and manifest? Or as "victims" of a collective vision that has outlived its usefulness? Do we still remember the passionate musings of another time, when we were young? Do we have the inner strength, or clarity, to know what life can be and maybe even "should" be?
When a baby is born, do its parents appreciate this new being? Do they pray/meditate/ruminate on their child's future? Do they consciously declare that they will do their best to raise a human being who will live as an empowered person? Or will they turn over the "care and feeding" (through society's messages) of their flesh and blood to whomever or whatever is influencing society the most? MESMERIZING LARGE NUMBERS OF PEOPLE IS EASY. It is done by creating false needs--by presenting distorted images of what "success" is, and then preying on the weakened will of disempowered people.
The reemerging feminine is about empowering people--both women and men--so they can realize to what extent they are being fed "gobbledygook" in countless ways--not only in one's own country, but worldwide. Like an infectious disease spreading out of control, people all over the globe are clamoring to join the larger masses of disempowered people who are being led by disempowering leaders--whether the military, industry, or peddlers of insignificant goods and services. We can ask ourselves, is our personal inner vision limited to the images held in front of us in increasingly intrusive ways? When advertisers want us to buy something, they know that to really reach us, to tug at our soul, only three levels of sensory input are required: a picture of the product, clever words about the product, and emotionally stirring music. Think about the mass marketing of food, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, automobiles, hi-tech products and the like. Then think of the images that are used to convince us that we need those products. DO YOU FEEL EMPOWERED WHEN YOU IMPULSIVELY BUY THOSE PRODUCTS?
Also think of the various media that constantly barrage us with words and pictures of how they want us to selectively see what's happening in the world, in a nation. Not so subtly, a "tone" is created that serves to portray humanity in mostly disempowering ways, as people and countries are shown to be cruel, dictatorial, helpless, or even subhuman--unworthy of basic human rights--thus keeping large populations agitated and in a state of fear.
Intuition and nurturance or...
It isn't a very long journey from that newborn babe to its debut in service to society's need to propagate the very same limitations its parents' generation faced. What is required, it would seem, is for each of us to question whether we are encouraging intuition and nurturance OR letting ourselves be manipulated to: succumb to some grandiose idea of a powerful society that will be a bigger player in the world's economy than any other society; build an infrastructure that is largely based on shallow ends; raise little boys and girls to fight some insane war and be killed or maimed or psychologically traumatized; pave the earth with cement, bomb cities to oblivion, contaminate the world's waterways; and support a government that seems helpless or unwilling to prevent that which our intuition tells us we don't need or want.
The reemerging feminine needs to be expressed
The reemerging feminine needs to be expressed, to manifest in a meaningful way--not shoved onto the back burner to be dealt with another day: Letters need to be written when a product offends us; when an elected official doesn't serve his or her constituents' needs; when a movie or TV program insults our sensibilities through dehumanizing sex, violence, and other debasing acts. People need to "go on strike" by boycotting overpriced foods, valueless commodities, offensive media offerings, and edicts from various leaders and groups. We can boycott anything that demoralizes, disempowers, or otherwise weakens our life force--the life force that not only supplies but sustains us. One by one, we can turn away from the collective mindlessness that is erroneously called "productive society." We can pause to mourn the loss of a vapid dream, wean ourselves from a material-based culture, discover what meaningful living really means, and ultimately regroup as empowered, decision-making human beings who are guided by intuition and nurturance.
Author's note: If you feel inspired by any of these seed-ideas, I encourage you to take whatever actions are appropriate for you--not the least of which may be to email this widely and freely. Thank you.