** The call was recorded: LISTEN HERE **
The time has come to step up and talk to men...about men. I've successfully buried myself in a sea of awakened and awakening women honoring the sacred feminine and I'm now being called forth to venture into territory I've not addressed in public yet.
Being married to a man and raising a son means that I, like many of you, encounter male energy daily. Being a strong woman, I expect to and want to be surrounded by strong men. The wound of the feminine has been examined by many generations, this one being no different. My task is often to do a thorough excavation of what goes underground for women, fragmented and lost for ages. My personal work is to walk the path of the sacred feminine, also to encourage balance with one's inner masculine reserve so that when one needs to show up as a warrior, she has it at hand. We have met or are actively meeting our inner queens. It is possession by the animus which we women are learning to navigate.
As a woman leading women, I find myself looking to men and seeing that there is work to be done here, too. A piece of the collective soul has been sacrificed and it must be repaired, renewed, re-strengthened. Something must be returned to men by the culture that has been lost for at least a hundred years, maybe since the time when the sacred feminine originally went missing (that is to say, shoved out, or burned at the stake) and psyches grew whacked out of proportion for a lack of it.
When I dig into my heart, I see men in suffering. They don't get what they need when they're young, as often the repressing of emotions begins long before speaking does. "Boys don't cry", "Don't be a sissy." Coming of age seems to bring hardship as adolescent men, questing for their armor, are still shackled in mother's garments, receiving mixed messages from the women in their lives about what women want, and what it takes to be a man. Sometimes receiving little or no guidance from adult men about how to navigate rage, hormones, tender emotions, relationships, careers, and physical confidence, leaves him loaded with no place to put it. An acceptable man today might simply shove confusion and repressed emotions down even deeper. An unacceptable man will get even for childhood lack by acting out his imbalances or troubles in battle, in the workplace, on women, or perhaps his children.
All this to say, what I'm hungry for is the male VOICE. I hear the voices of women loud and clear. I want to hear men speaking out for men, helping men in the areas that they need strengthening, creating critical mass-level messages for young men that reach their ears in plenty of time, and stick. I don't want to be a strong woman in a sea of Nice Guys or inflated illusions. I'm asking men to give us the truth. I'm ready to support you in all of the areas you need me.
I am ready to champion your cause.
Join Maggie Hollinbeck, Hannah Marcotti, David Tejeda and myself, in an open discussion about the wounded masculine archetype. Men, please bring your voices. They're more important than ever. Let's rock this Solstice 2012 transformation by learning all we can. ♥
Date: Thursday, December 20, 2013
Time: 9:00-10:30am PST
Phone number: 805.399.1000
Code: 186916#
