"Your ambitions should not determine your life. You are a human being first, and your goals are merely adjuncts to your basic quest as a person. Life Goal: Consciousness of one’s humanity.”(Deng Ming-Dao TAO, Fulfilment, Pg. 116)
The intent of this blog is to create a safe space to connect with others and share everything and anything related to the Feminine Principle. We wish to create a better understanding of the Feminine Principle as it influences our personal lives, our culture and the world.
The one word of our title, Insight, expresses the essence of the Feminine Principle. From that one word one can extrapolate many others which begin to fill in the myriad of spaces contained within the larger concept of Feminine Principle.
The Feminine Principle is BEING writ large and expresses itself through Self-awareness, Introspection, Consciousness, Inner knowing, Gnosis, Self-knowledge, Intuition, Imagery, Wisdom, Self-discovery, Self-Actualization, etc. etc. etc.
We hope you will also eventually share your understanding of the Feminine Principle to further fill out the picture and collectively deepen our knowing of it. Tis a worthy topic that occupies one half of all the energies of the world!
Our intent is to teach, collaborate, listen, learn and share openly and respectfully our thoughts and beliefs and reciprocally receive those of others about this expansive topic.
The best experiential explanation I have been able to find for the Feminine Principle is one I use in all of my classes:
Suspend Judgements
Make No Comparisons and
Delete the need to understand. Brugh Joy
Accomplishing this places one in a state of BEING and receptivity which is a primary characteristic of the Feminine Principle.
Please note: It will always be important to comprehend that Feminine Principle does not mean Female or a particular gender. It is an energy of the world and humanity that is part of and accessible to and a part of all genders. This will be an essential tenet of all of our future explorations.
Welcome to our exploratory Journey!
So, what is the Feminine Principle? This was the question I started with about 30 years ago that has led me on a personal journey of exploration that I will be sharing through this blog. My primary resource for this entry is: Yin and Yang, The Taoist Harmony of Opposites, by J.C. Cooper.
To answer this question one must refer back thousands of years to the iconic Taoist Yin/Yang symbol shown above. The symbol of the Yin/Yang Principle or “wholeness” states that human consciousness has two complementary parts which are polar opposites. Together they create a dynamic whole and as humans we are constantly in process of balancing these opposites seeking wholeness.
The dark, Yin energy, half of the whole is the feminine energy aspect. The light, Yang energy half of the whole is the masculine energy aspect of wholeness. Each half holds within it a piece of the other energy symbolized by the contrasting dots. It is essential to perceive these as life “energies” that both male and female genders, all persons, persons possess and express in varying degrees. They are neither the emotionally charged cultural stereotypes of “ masculine” and “feminine” or female and male gender concepts with culturally assigned role characteristics which are permeated with Western culture value judgements. For the purposes of this blog, Both men and women’s bodies and psyches contain the same masculine and feminine energies and are expressed in individually unique ways that are shaped by each person’s choices.
The following is a helpful exercise that physically demonstrates how these energies operate within ourselves and in response to one another.
YIN/YANG WALKING EXERCISE (Done with a partner or in a group)
Stand comfortably and take a deep cleansing breath. I will be giving you instructions of how to move in order to have a body sense of Yin and Yang.
Begin moving in a Yin or feminine/receptive manner. Trust your inner knowing and listen to the words that describe this energy as you move. Intuition, gut feelings, earth and water, curling waves, wandering streams, curvilinear fluidity, flexibility, the moon, silver, coolness, darkness, shadows, shade, autumn and winter. Yin energy is expressed through words like incoming, meandering, resting, waiting, taking time, contemplative, winding, allowing, letting go, gathering, listening, absorbing, caring for what is present or just”being”. Move your body in a way that expresses these words.
Notice your breathing, your places of tension, where the yin energy seems to emanate from within your body. Notice too your interactions with others as they come into your path.. Be inventive, expressive and explore the fullest range of your yin qualities. Half the universe is made by this energy……………. .(5 min).
Now come back to standing and tune into how your body feels. Take a deep, centering breath.
Now, walk in a way that is expressive of your Yang/active energy, the rational/logical, the ability to “do” in the physical world, to think, speak, decide, and express ourselves in action. It is the energy within us that supports, backs up and protects the yin energy within. Yang energy is separation, intellect, action, fire and air, straight, unswerving, erect, determined, assertive, achieving, the sun, gold, heat, light, spring and summer. Half the universe is made of up of this energy…………..(5 min)
Notice your breathing, your places of tension and where the yang energy seems to emanate from your body
Now go back to the yin movement and exaggerate it! How does it feel to experience yourself as expressive, light, flowing, effortless? (2 Min) and then switch to the yang movement and exaggerate it! (2 min) Experience yourself as hot, dry, oaken, durable, decisive, etc . and then notice how others respond as they are doing the same.
Now let half do yin movement and half do yang. How do you experience the interaction? Switch to the other half doing yang and half doing yin. Play with these possibilities and periodically freeze and feel how it feels in your body and your feelings. Try one person being yin and the rest of the group yang and vice versa.
When everyone has thoroughly explored these energies, come together and talk about your feelings and reactions to this experience. All humans have access to both of these energies!!!!!!
Please share your responses, information and insights respectfully. And speak your own truth.
Follow the feminine principle:
Suspend judgments
Make no comparisons
Delete the need to understand