Month: November 2020

Where Opposites Meet

It occurred to me recently that the Divine Feminine is the womb where opposites meet.

November 26, 2020

Tagged Alchemy, Blending, container, goddess, Opposites

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It is fall now, and the weather is cooling and crisping. The light has a different quality, and the sun is at a different angle in the sky. Even though the days are still warm in Texas, the nights are beginning to cool off. It is the perfect weather for a big pot of chili and some cornbread. I gather the ingredients and begin to put them together in my big cast iron pot. I brown chunks of meat, onions, and garlic. I add tomatoes, corn, black beans, chili powder, cumin, and anything else that might add to the flavor of the meal that simmers on the stove.

By themselves, any one ingredient may not be all that tasty. When simmered together all afternoon, however, the various flavors begin to blend and meld into a harmonious whole that wakes up the taste buds and causes stomachs to growl in anticipation. But what does making chili have to do with the Divine Feminine?

Many people describe the womb of the Divine Feminine as a container. She holds everything – light, dark; good, evil; surety, doubt; life, death – without judgement. There is room for everything within the container/womb of the Divine Feminine. All the duality, all the opposites that exist can be held in that womb. It occurred to me recently that the Divine Feminine is the womb where opposites meet.

Think about it. In that sacred container everything is held, but like the chili in the pot, the whole that results is much more than the sum of its parts. Everything that is held, while it might not seem very acceptable by itself, becomes a part of a change that is alchemical in nature. The finished product becomes a beautiful creation that is only possible because each ingredient contributes to the whole. That container, the womb of the Divine Feminine, births wholeness and beauty, but all the parts must be present for the birth to take place.

So how then can we consider ourselves as “less than?” We are whole because of the sum of our parts – the dualities, and the opposites. We have permission from the Mother herself to love those parts of ourselves which have been labeled as not-acceptable. That is the essence of pure love and wholeness, and it is within ourselves; it is not ‘out there’ somewhere in a distant and unattainable heaven.

This is in strong contrast to my experience of Patriarchal Christianity. In that paradigm, there is no room for the opposites. The darkness must be driven away; good must overcome evil; surety must always win over doubt; death is always to be feared and conquered. It is only through a belief in something outside of ourselves (Christ), however, that the opposites can be dealt with. In the Western Christian tradition, however, these opposites are not transmuted, but rather are banished or denied.

Metaphorically, I now look at the Divine Feminine as a symbol of the Holy Grail, the divine container which alchemically transforms dross into gold. And that container is within each of us, not outside of ourselves. In the womb of the Divine Feminine, everything, the lovely and the not so lovely, comes together as part of the recipe for wholeness.

Think of the infinity symbol _∞ . That symbol has no beginning and no end. Whatever is on the extreme points of the symbol ultimately joins in the middle. There is ebb and flow, but everything is a part of the whole. That to me, is the womb of the Sacred Feminine – the container where there is room for the opposites. It is when we consciously bring those dualities and opposites together in that sacred container/womb that we become the tasty, juicy, whole souls that we are meant to be.

Barbara Garland
November, 202

When Does the Spiritual Become Political?

Say “Yes” to the Presence of the Sacred in All Things

Saying “yes” to the presence of the sacred in all things means saying “yes” to the presence of the sacred in myself.

Goddess Inspired

November 20, 2020

Tagged Life, Sacred, Service, soul

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Say “Yes” to the Presence of the Sacred in All Things

I once had a dream in which I was defending my dissertation before a panel of women. The leader was a beautiful black woman who pointed to me and said, “I know what you are. You are an Animist.”

When I looked up the word I found it meant one who believes that natural objects, natural phenomena, and the universe itself possess souls. It follows then that an Animist believes that everything, because it has a soul, is Sacred.

That dream occurred very early in my quest for the Sacred Feminine, but it has resonated with me for many years. The more I learn, the more I understand that there is something Sacred about everything. If I can look through the eyes of the Goddess, and see the sacredness in everything, then it changes my perspective. It causes an enormous shift in my outlook. But it is not an easy leap.

Accepting the presence of the Sacred in all things means that I see holiness in everything, from the smallest insect to the mightiest tree. I know, not just in my head, but in the deepest depths of my soul, that all life is to be cherished and held in holy esteem.

Seeing the sacred in all things means more than seeing the sacred in life. It also means seeing the sacred in the inert, in what we judge as lifeless. Rocks, rivers, mountains, the earth herself – those too are sacred and holy creations. In seeing them as such, I become much more cognizant of how I relate to them. That one small change in perspective makes all the difference in how I treat our Mother, the earth. If everything is Sacred, then it is much harder to use up or exploit nature. It makes the task of tackling climate change a real priority, rather than a political issue. It makes a difference in how we approach issues of sustainability and of materialism. Our perspective moves to how we might honor the natural world, instead of how we are tempted to use it up.

Really embodying the concept that everything is sacred also leads to the idea that I, myself, am sacred. Accepting oneself as sacred goes against the Patriarchal story that we are all flawed and less than. It means that I no longer denigrate and put myself down. It means that I no longer let myself be used or abused. It empowers me to be more, to love more, and to accept myself in a deeper way. And when I accept my own self as holy and sacred, then I can more easily see the sacredness of others.

If I see the Sacredness of every human being, then it becomes very difficult to make that human into the ‘other.’ I can no longer judge or describe that person as less than. I can no longer treat him/her as expendable or see a life that is any less valuable than my own. It opens my heart to see that other people are truly made of the same stuff as myself. It allows me to more fully embrace the idea that we are the same – cells of God/dess’ body, whose purpose is to love one another.

It naturally follows that if we truly love one another as sacred souls, we no longer make war. We find ways to peacefully resolve our differences. We honor each other’s gifts and help each other find healing. We stand together, not apart.

Even as we look at the earth, at life, and at the natural resources with which we have been blessed, we can also see the sacred in human-made things. The Holy comes through in beauty – beautiful art, music, the written word. All the many things that inspire or that bring pleasure through the senses, become sacred artifacts that lead us to joy and peace.

However, I would also posit that there is also something sacred about the less-than-perfect. As humans strive for perfection, their failures are also sacred monuments to making an effort. Those things that seem tragic can be the holy building blocks of evolution and growth. For no birth can come without the gestational period of quiet and darkness, even pain.

If I truly listen to the voice of the divine, then I am saying ‘yes’ to the presence of the Sacred in all things; if I am mindful, grateful, and in the moment, I am saying ‘yes’ to the presence of the Sacred in all things; if I wait in the silence, if I open my awareness, even a little, I am saying ‘yes’ to the presence of the Sacred in all things.

As I begin to say that ‘yes’ to the Sacred Presence in everything, I expand my awareness to all things. I open my eyes and truly say ‘yes’ to all of creation. I begin to relate to everything in a way that is deeper and more open, in a way that is not about how something can serve me, but about how I can serve.

How can I serve today?

Barbara Garland
November 20, 2020

Inviting – A New Paradigm of Co-creation

In the Patriarchal faith community in which I grew up, I was told over and over again to give up, to surrender to the authority of Jesus and of God, the father…Even though my culture told me to surrender, I did not like it or really understand what that meant. It felt like annihilation.

Goddess Inspired

November 13, 2020

Tagged allowing, Co-creation, Divine Feminine, Inviting, Patriarchy

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Inviting – A New Paradigm of Co-creation

In the Patriarchal faith community in which I grew up, I was told over and over again to give up, to surrender to the authority of Jesus and of God, the father. I sang the hymn, “I Surrender All,” at hundreds of altar calls. In that faith community it was essential to surrender your entire being to Jesus in order to be saved from hell and eternal damnation. In those growing up years, I tried over and over again to submit and to surrender, but a little voice in my head kept raising alarm bells. Something was just not right. Even though my culture told me to surrender, I did not like or really understand what that meant. It felt like annihilation.

So many spiritual teachings encourage us to surrender, to give up our egos and to merge with the divine, which in those paradigms, is outside of ourselves. For me, surrender means giving up my true Self into another’s control. As I grew older and began to explore my spiritual self, I began to use the word, “allow.” The idea of allowing was somewhat more palatable, but it still didn’t feel entirely comfortable. This week, in a conversation with my highly evolved daughter, we talked about the word invite. Invite is a word that really resonated with me. It is a word that I can wholeheartedly accept. To invite Spirit is thrilling and exciting. It resonates in my body. In my soul it feels more evolved and enlightened as well as deeply feminine.

I decided to explore a bit further, first by defining the terms:

Surrender means to cease resistance to an enemy or opponent and submit to their authority.
Allow means to give someone permission to do something; to admit the truth of something; to concede.
Invite means to make a formal or polite request for something from someone.

So how do these words fit into my evolving spiritual paradigm?

Surrender is a patriarchal term from Patriarchal religion. It has to do with something inimical or in opposition to myself and it requires submission to something outside of myself. This implies that God is the enemy and that, in order to be whole, I must submit totally to that outside authority, that male figure in the sky. God, the outside authority, rules over me and by implication is my enemy. Allowing feels a little better, but it still implies that something outside of myself is the authority. While I am giving permission for the outer authority to enter my Self, I am conceding that I need this outside source in order to be whole. In both surrendering and allowing, I am dependent on something outside of myself to rule my life.

As I think of the word, invite, my whole being relaxes into a much different state than when I think of surrendering or even allowing. When I invite, I am opening myself to a dear friend or companion. I am asking for fellowship and communion. I am not under the thumb of something or someone outside of myself, nor am I giving up. It feels more like love.

Issuing an invitation is a deeply feminine way of connecting with the divine. When I am inviting, I am asking the Sacred Feminine to co-create my life with me. There is no coercion, no giving up, no concessions to or from an outside source. It is an invitation to that which is already inside of me to dance the dance of life with me. It is not based on conquest or giving up. It is based on mutuality and respect. Inviting Spirit changes the paradigm from one of the great God in the sky, who is an enemy until you surrender, to the paradigm of the loving mother within who waits for an invitation to join me in co-creation.

I am still mulling over the implications of what it means to invite co-creation with the Divine Feminine who resides within me. I know that what I am writing today may not be completely clear. It is not completely clear in my mind, but it feels like it is very important to put out into the universe. I am curious as to whether you have had some of the same thoughts and questions in your own spiritual journey and whether or not you have resolved them. Are these questions just a matter of semantics or does something resonate with you when you hear the word, invite? Let me hear from you, and I will share your comments with my readers.

I invite you to join with me in this journey to the Sacred Feminine within.

Barbara Garland
November 11, 2020

Balance – the Key to Wholeness

Goddess Inspired

November 6, 2020

Tagged balance, Feminine, Masculine, wholeness, yin-yang

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Balance – the Key to Wholeness

As I work with the ideas of balance and wholeness in my own life, I am more convinced than ever that spiritual wholeness comes from balance between the inner masculine and inner feminine. Our bodies and spirits, the yang and the yin, the masculine and the feminine need to be balanced and aligned in order for us to be whole. And individual balance and wholeness leads to collective balance and wholeness. As I become more balanced, so does the world.

For too long, Patriarchy has ruled the western world. As Christianity became the dominant European, and subsequently American, religion, anything that had to do with the Goddess was literally destroyed. Goddess temples were destroyed or appropriated as Christian churches. Priestesses were supplanted by priests, who even wore feminine garb (cassocks) in taking over the role of priestess. Early popes postulated that women did not have souls. Thousands, some say hundreds of thousands, of women were tortured and burned at the stake as witches. Women and women’s purviews became the property of men. Theology, medicine, midwifery, herbalism, and commerce were taken over by men and ruled by men. In short, anything feminine was regarded as dark, evil, sinful, or unclean. The masculine way of doing supplanted the feminine way of being. The yang overshadowed the yin. As a result, there is no longer a balance, and our world has been the worse for it.

In toxic patriarchy, everything is outside of ourselves. God is “out there.” Success is defined as outer achievement in the world. There is a constant emphasis on doing more, accumulating more, winning more, conquering more. Salvation comes from outside of ourselves through putting trust in Jesus or Allah, or a set of proscribed teachings. The hero’s journey consists of conquest.

The Divine Feminine, however, leads us to the inner world. Goddess resides within. There is value in lying fallow in the darkness as new life gestates. There is value in being, in receiving, in stillness, in nurturing, in collaboration. The world is not ours to conquer, but rather is a collaborative partner in co-creation. Salvation comes from claiming all the parts of ourselves – the good, the bad, the ugly, as well as the beautiful and the transcendent – and integrating them into our whole selves.

As more and more women begin to awaken spiritually, there is a growing awareness that balance needs to be restored. The answer is not to replace the masculine with the feminine. That would be just as imbalanced in the other direction. The answer is to restore balance. It is important to use the gifts of both masculine and feminine to solve the world’s problems. The yin/yang are complementary, not oppositional. There is no light without dark, joy without sorrow, creation without destruction. It is the balance that makes us whole.

As a priestess of the Goddess, it is my role to restore that balance, both in my own life and in my dealings with the world. I must balance my inner masculine and feminine and live out that balance in my dealings in the world. I must balance the relational with the rational, the dark with the light, the being with the doing, the intuitive with the cognitive, internal wisdom with external knowledge. I must model balance, using both masculine and feminine approaches. Sometimes my approach may be more masculine: sometimes it will be more feminine, depending on the circumstances in which I find myself. But ultimately, I must be balanced, I must model balance, and I must teach balance. For it is in balance that I, and the world, become whole.

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New blogs will be added to this post every Friday.

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About Me

I am a seeker of truth, a truth teller, a lover of the Divine Feminine, an aspiring writer, a mystery, an open book, a work in progress. I have lived a long and varied life, and now in my seventies, I am being called to share some of what I have learned over the years. I hope to share the wisdom of the deep Feminine that is being channeled through me.

If the Goddess has ever whispered to you, I invite you to join me on an incredible journey of love and discovery. May you hear Her wisdom through these words.

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