I keep sitting and trying to write about the Red Tent movie screening night. I keep thinking about the power of Our Circle of Awakening. I am finding it incredibly hard to put into words… what I feel, what I see. It is pure magic, and adequate words seem to fail me.
“When women gather, the world changes”. I see it happen, each and every time. It does not matter if we gather by the thousands or just two of us. We merge, and laughter and tears flow freely. When we know that the space being held for us is sacred and true, we can be raw and unfiltered in a way that the world needs us to be. In a way WE need us to be. There is a consciousness raising on this planet right now when it comes to women and girls. Some might say this is Goddess Rising. I am one of those people. I am one of those women.
In our society, we are being increasingly challenged to change our narrow view about the value of feminine qualities. For example, vulnerability (traditionally thought of as being more feminine) is starting to be seen as an asset, not a liability. Historically women have been more cooperative than competitive. We are willing to nurse a sister’s baby and harvest a meal for the tribe. It has been known for a long time that educating a girl will benefit her whole community, not just the girl. Women are beginning to see that when we lift each other up that we ALL benefit. Women and men. And we don’t have to be “down” to be lifted… we can always bring one another higher.
The past month has been fraught with challenges for far too many of the women I know: injury, loss, illness, struggle. True tragedy has befallen women who I love dearly. Yet every single day I wake to find myself ever more joyful and hopeful. How can that be? It is certainly not because I do not feel their pain or because I avert my eyes or heart.
It is because I sit with them… we sit together, all of us, right in the middle of it. Whatever “it” may be. It is because we know that in our greatest sorrow and our greatest joy we here for one another. Even if we have only just met. We know we can place ourselves in the center of a circle of women and soak up whatever we might need. It is unconditionally offered. It is unconditionally received.
Then I see these women, I see us move through it, to the other side. On the other side we come face to face with an older, stronger, more confident, wiser woman. It may take awhile to find our way to her, but she is always there waiting patiently. Not that these experiences do not break us wide open, because they do. It is that these experiences do not leave us that way. Women may have nights when they come to Our Circle in pieces, but we help to put one another together again. We remind each other of the strength inside ourselves by seeing it in one another. We are a mirror for the other. We share our stories. We remember we are not alone.
In circles, in red tents, in the gathering of women there is power. There is love. There is gratitude. There is hope. There is joy. We sing, we dance, we meditate. We have the opportunity to show up 100% as we are. We have the opportunity to show up at our best or at our worst. We are celebrated for it all. There is a relaxing into our power that happens in women only spaces when we know we can let the armor fall away and give ourselves permission to truly be seen.
And a beautiful, natural consequence of a women’s gathering? The men are left to gather as well. Women’s empowerment is not only about the women. It has an amazing ability to ripple its positivity outward. The men who love us are supporting this coming into our greatness and helping in their own way. I find it very symbolic that for the Red Tent, flowers and wine were provided by the men who appreciate what we women are doing. They appreciate who we are being. Men value this shift also. As I said, it is magical and lifts everyone.
It is this that allows me to wake in the morning with a lightness in my heart and smile on my face. Because I truly believe that these women, US, WE are creating a universal shift for the better by being true to our experiences. We ARE lifting ourselves and each other higher. We are raising our daughters and our sons from this place of love and generosity. And as they always do, the children are paying attention. They are watching. We are taking our relaxed power into the workplace and into our culture. People are noticing, people are listening. The value of the feminine energies, which we all possess, is being recognized and honored. Except where there is fear of the power of women, but that is another blog for another time…
For the women, for my sisters: Thank you from the very depths of my heart for being you. Thank you for allowing me to hold a space for us to gather and grow. We have been coming together for approaching 2 years now… And the momentum is building. The community is growing. The magic is spreading. I hear month after month how important Our Circle has become to you. It is important to me too. I invited more Goddess into my life, and there you were. Many of you had been there all along. It was just that now we had a day, a time to gather, and with intention. I have always said that there is something absolutely essential to my personal dharma about Our Circle. I could not do this without you. And I know in the very fibers of my being… We are an essential key to the future. I can not wait to see where we go from here. The best is yet to come. I love you all.