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Spirit of Ma'at: "The Divine Feminine" — Vol 4 No 3 with Gloria Taylor Brown by Julia Griffin
One of the things we have all experienced in creating the Spirit of Ma'at for you this month is that when women try to talk about the new female energy, they find that it's really difficult to put into words.
Part of the reason seems to be that we are still on this journey, and we don't yet know where we are going. There's "something in the air," and it's new. Things are not the same. We are not the same. And yet, what is this something that's in the air? How have we changed? We wanted in this issue to go beyond things like "equal pay for equal work" and the other stereotypes of women's liberation. Instead, we were reaching to understand the underlying spiritual vibration that is happening. It's something we all feel. It's affecting everyone, both men and women. But what, exactly, is it? In one sense, it's a feeling that the old ways — of being in relationship, of doing a job, of managing time, of dressing, of eating, of whatever we normally do by tradition or habit — just aren't working any more. But what is working now? And how can we find it? Gloria Taylor Brown, who helps create the yearly Women of Wisdom Conference in Seattle, Washington, works and interacts on a daily basis with many prominent writers, speakers and teachers in the field of women's consciousness. So we asked Gloria — based on her own experiences, what she has learned from her many contacts, and what she perceives in the women who attend the Conference each year — to try to find some words to describe the new Divine Feminine energy that so many of us, both men and women, are feeling. Julia: Many women say that their entry into this new energy has involved shamanic practices and Native American ritual. Can you comment on this. Gloria: It's true for me, as well. In fact, I am half Native American and half Irish. I think shamanic practices help us into this new energy because they help us to connect the inner and outer worlds. Shamanic practices, including Native American spirituality, are about experiencing the connectedness between inner and outer reality. Somewhere between 16,000 and 11,000 BCE, there seems to have been a small group that shared the belief in the interconnectedness of all things. This belief system embodied the idea that all things are sacred and divine, and that we are spiritual beings having a physical experience. As time passed, different societies and tribes interpreted the core beliefs in different ways, but they still retained that central perception of the sacredness and interconnectedness of all things. The shamanic way is a part of that ancient tradition. It is a path of learning that connects that which is seen with that which is not seen. In shamanic journeying, whether we are male or female, we move into the space of making this connection between the inner and outer worlds, and becoming a whole person. In this place of wholeness, it is possible to experience duality from a different perspective. When we connect the universe without to the universe within, Nature responds to our innermost thoughts. The wind, trees, leaves, and grass move with our thoughts or spiritual yearnings. Moving into this space of wholeness affords us tremendous power. When we can move within while connecting to the world without, we become wild. Being wild makes us present. The goal of the shamanic experience is to become present, not as a physical human being, but as a spirit who is having a physical experience. When we are truly present, there is a type of ruthlessness that happens. You can't hide what you think is right or wrong. And you can't hide your strength. About three thousand years ago, "civilized" man and woman decided that they were separate from Nature. They forgot that we are basically spirits having a physical experience, and began to believe instead that they were above Nature. So for many of us, the shamanic experience is about coming home. Julia: I also wanted to mention the Dark Side. I feel that a lot of women talk about "Love and Light," and don't want to go into the Shadow. But the Shadow seems valuable to me. Gloria: The brighter the light, the darker the shadow. This is the rule. We can't just focus on the light. The more we try to go into the Light, the more the Shadow will show. The yin and yang symbolically show us that light and darkness must be in balance. Our ego work is to learn to know the Shadow. We have to walk into those dark parts of our being, saying to ourselves, "I'm here, so let's deal with it." This is part of our journey. A big part of the shamanic tradition is about going into the darkness, the tunnels of the Earth, to the very darkest, deepest parts of what is — and from there, reassembling the self. We bring this knowledge back in order to come into wholeness. Julia: How do you think the changes that are happening will affect our relationships? Gloria: One thing I see that has to happen is that there can't be any more male or female bashing. The shift in paradigm will require that men and women see each other as we really are. We will both have to step into who we are for the good of all concerned. If I want a positive relationship with a man, then it is necessary for me to see the good in him. We will have to support one another completely, both as individuals and as a couple. We will have to honor the God and Goddess in one another. It's what the Hindus are doing when they say, "Namaste" — I bow before the Divine in you. Julia: And the Mayans say, "In lak'ech" — I am another you. Gloria: Yes, that is the way must learn to see one another. We will have to learn to see the best in each other, to say, "The God in me honors the God in you." And this means redefining our concepts of what constitutes a relationship. There are many kinds of relationships. For many, sex is simply an animalistic urge to reproduce, but we can look beyond the body and simply have a spiritually based relationship. I constantly work on raising the frequency for relationships. I had two five-year contracts with two different men — two five-year marriages — and they simply didn't work. I really wanted someone to support me in all aspects of life — sickness, health, after loving, after fighting. I have that now. Part of the change is the recognition that whenever we call in a higher energy, the lower energy will give way. This is genetic, and our DNA is calling us to go higher. This is an opportunity we have never had before. When you call in this higher energy, the situation will change. Either the energy will change, or you can get out. Getting out also can be a valid option. We may decide to create our own families. It may be that you fit with your birth family. But it's also possible to divorce your family and create a ritual of connecting to your family of choice. We can consciously recreate the family we want. You may make a connection with someone who becomes your true sister, your spiritual sister. We don't have to have the same mother or father to be brothers and sisters. We also have to stop denying our sexuality. When we are very energized, people find us sexually attractive. That's where discrimination comes in — we don't have to sleep with everyone who finds us attractive, we can make positive choices. But we do have to acknowledge our sexuality. Julia: I feel that we are in the middle of something, not here or there. What do we know about the paradigm that's coming in? Gloria: A central aspect of the paradigm shift we are in the midst of as women involves realizing that there is no one who is coming to rescue us. We will rescue ourselves. The place that we are going is where we are. We are the people we have been waiting for. We are the ones we have been waiting for. What we seek comes from the inside, not the outside. But mainly, as you suggest, the new paradigm is a plane of thought or being that is too new and too immense for us to comprehend. It's very difficult to talk about. It is a way of being that we have not known before. So here we are, all looking at reality through our own little keyhole and trying to make sense of what we are seeing through this narrow, limited vision. But what's happening is much bigger than we can see. It's far beyond what our little brains can comprehend with words like "sexuality," "God," or "Goddess" — or Internet articles about the changing paradigm. We are on a fast track, moving at a pace that may seem too rapid for many. It can seem frightening. Some of it seems good, some seems bad — yet it's all part of the journey and so it's all perfect, it's all a gift. We need to go through it all. All we can do is stay "present." Julia: What advice do you have for women on this journey who want to become more of who they really are? Gloria: First, tune in to the right channel. Go within to listen to that quiet inner voice. Pregnancy or being with child is a good analogy to this inner listening. In fact, if you are really in tune, you know the moment the child is conceived. You don't need a doctor to tell you that your body is preparing a new life. Allow yourself to find out what makes you happy. Then begin to see what fits that and what doesn't. Read the "signs." Listen to your inner guidance. You may want a certain food. You don't know why, but you listen to that inner guidance, eat the food, and feel better. Or you may eat the wrong food, and then throw up, or be up all night with a headache. So you learn to listen. Julia: Actually, this new female energy seems very apparent to me. I can feel it kinesthetically. But for those who have not experienced this or who are not aware of it, what would you say the "new female" beingness is like? Gloria: First of all, we notice that energy doesn't work the way it used to. For example, I went to a retreat this weekend expecting to receive instructions on meeting and making goals in the physical world, and that didn't happen at all. Also, there were Tarot readings. Now for me, the cards have always shown certain paths that I should follow for money or success or whatever. But this time, the cards showed something else, something undefined. Nothing works the same way. All of the rules have changed. The new feminine way of being becomes very apparent when we try to relate to time in the old way. Here's an example. Let's say I have an appointment at 10 a.m., and for some reason, the harder I try to meet that deadline, the more stressed I become. So I work through the stress and force myself to be at the appointment on time — and then the person doesn't show up, and leaves a message saying, "I couldn't make it. I'll see you tomorrow." And I realize that the entire time I was hurrying and working to be there at 10, I had this feeling that it would be better if this meeting were to take place tomorrow. It's all about getting out of the way and letting things happen. We have to let go of control. The more we try to control things, the worse it gets. The new energy is a lot like water. The more you try to grasp it, the less you have in your hand. The more you try to grasp at this energy, the more it eludes you. It is very Zen. It feels like Nirvana when you connect with it. It's passive, and yet it is out of control. It is gentle; it is subtle. It's about holding still and stopping. It's not like a hurricane, but like a whisper. It's about trusting. And we don't know how to trust. We can't strive for it, we can't look for it. We just have to feel it.
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