Tag: Divine Feminine

More on Signs and Wonders

Over the years, I have learned to trust those signs that come to me, and the more that I trust them, the clearer they become. The more I pay attention and trust those messages, the more I can trust my own inner compass to lead me to what is right for me.

Goddess Inspired

July 9, 2021
2 Comments on More on Signs and Wonders

Tagged Divine Feminine, Faith, Inner Knowing, Messages, Signs

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More on Signs and Wonders

I published a blog in early June about how the Divine Feminine speaks to me and how I have been led by Her to Her over the course of many years. This week I received a series of very clear messages from Her. All I had to do was to listen.

I have taken on a new and somewhat daunting volunteer job with a children’s advocacy center. While I am thrilled and excited about doing this work, I find that it is taking a lot of time away from the spiritual practices that I developed during the Covid lockdowns. Because of the time crunch, I have been contemplating ending my blog. Yesterday, when I got the bill for the upcoming year of hosting the website, the domain name, and all the things that it takes to publish my site, I was thinking that, in addition to taking up a lot of time, it was becoming too expensive. It was one more reason to let it go.

However, over the weekend I received a request from my spiritual director to use one of my poems in a workshop led by chaplains. On Wednesday there was an email in my inbox from one of my readers, a thoughtful commentary on the blog that I wrote about closure. I seldom receive feedback on my blogs. I am called to write them and let them go, to find their way to the folks that need to read them. That commentary was a delightful and encouraging surprise.

In my meditation yesterday I drew the Goddess card of the High Priestess. The message of that card is to be the bridge from the Goddess to the world. It was a reminder to listen to the innate wisdom of the Divine within and to share that wisdom with the world. Then I drew the raccoon from my animal spirit deck. That card said, “Decide what you really want. You have the ingenuity to claim it.” This morning I drew Eve, “who is the embodiment of primal, female, creative energy.” My animal card was penguin, whose message is to be my authentic self.

All these things, both separately and collectively, point me to continue to write this blog. These are clear signs that speak directly to the decision I am trying to make. My task is to listen to the messages and to trust that I am on the right path for me.

I have an inner knowing, an innate sense of the direction that I need to take. But I don’t always listen to that inner voice. I need something clearer to point me in the right direction because I don’t always trust myself. Over the years, I have learned to trust those signs that come to me, and the more that I trust them, the clearer they become. The more I pay attention and trust those messages, the more I can trust my own inner compass to lead me to what is right for me.

The Divine Feminine continues to call me to write. After writing a blog, I don’t usually recognize the words as my own. I am given the subject and the words to write. I send those words out into the ether, but I have no idea if they resonate with anyone or not. It is an act of faith that whoever needs to hear will hear. I answer the call by writing. The universe does everything else.

When Does the Spiritual Become Political?

The Goddess Speaks in Signs and Wonders and in the Deepest Stirrings of Your Heart

I have consciously been drawn to the Sacred Feminine for over thirty years; unconsciously I have been drawn to Her my entire life. Many women have felt Her calling and questioned the status quo in their hearts, but until now women haven’t had the words or experiences to be able to articulate that longing for a Divine that mirrored their own souls.

Goddess Inspired

June 3, 2021

Tagged Divine Feminine, goddess, Signs, Soul Stirring

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The Goddess Speaks in Signs and Wonders and in the Deepest Stirrings of Your Heart

In many spiritual circles much is being said about the Sacred Feminine and restoring the balance between Masculine and Feminine. Deepak Chopra just offered a 21 day meditation experience on Activating the Divine Feminine. There are numbers of books to be found on awakening the Sacred Feminine, and many spiritual teachers are bringing these ideas to consciousness.

But these ideas are not new. I have consciously been drawn to the Sacred Feminine for over thirty years; unconsciously I have been drawn to Her my entire life. Many women have felt Her calling and questioned the status quo in their hearts, but until now women haven’t had the words or experiences to be able to articulate that longing for a Divine that mirrored their own souls.

Having been reared in a conservative Baptist home, I struggled with listening to that voice in my heart of hearts that has led me to the Goddess. My early conditioning and indoctrination told me to deny Her and run away from anything remotely resembling “Idolatry, witchcraft, devil worship, female, astrology,” – you get the picture. Anything that wasn’t completely masculine and completely Baptist was not allowed.

But as a woman, I became more and more disillusioned by the treatment of women by the conservative, Patriarchal church. It was hard to let go of the old beliefs. Family and friends definitely did not approve of my new thoughts and beliefs. The Church, which was home and community and family, was not even able to hear the questions that kept popping up in my soul. It was certainly not okay to doubt the validity of the Patriarchal party line. In the beginning of my quest, I was certain that I was going straight to hell for even entertaining the idea that God might actually be a woman.

However, the idea of someone like me being God, was in my head and my heart. Once the idea comes, there is no turning back.

One night, in the very beginning of my quest, I dreamed a “big” dream. I was contemplating giving up my studies in Feminist Theology. Those studies were rocking my world and opening up my heart to new possibilities. They were also terrifying, because I knew that once I started down this path, my life would never be the same.

In the dream, I heard the words over and over all night long, “Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.” When I woke the next morning, I went straight to the Bible, Philippians 2:12,13 says: …Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for God is at work in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.

At that moment I realized that I was responsible for my own soul’s work. I had permission to go where my soul led. That was the first sign and wonder. All I had to do was to listen.

Since then, there have been many signs and wonders in this powerful journey towards the Goddess. I remember being consumed with doubt and walking into someone’s office which featured a goddess statue in the waiting room. Another time I found a wheat stalk (symbol of Demeter) where there was no wheat. Whenever I see a full moon my entire being fills with inexplicable longing. On more than one occasion, the right book shows up at the exact right time to answer a specific question. Dreams, something someone says, a song lyric, an Oracle card that speaks to my exact situation – these are all signs and wonders which point the way.

Walking this path has never been easy. In the beginning there were no teachers and few allies. Family members have been hurt and disappointed by my straying from their dogma. But at each fork in the road, the Goddess has provided signs and wonders to help guide me – always in the direction of the Sacred Feminine. I cannot deny the signs and wonders that have spoken to my heart, the voice of the Great Mother leading me home to Her.

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

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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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