So here we are. I'm going to write about the Divine Feminine.
If you feel a slight (or big) contraction whilst reading that word, I get you.
The sacred has been gradually consumed by our materialistic, 'capitalize- on- everything' culture and something deep inside of me recoils when I see all the ‘goddesses’ posting selfies on insta, or watch someone calling himself a shaman while wearing feathers on his head on FB. That's the reason why I have been shying away from using words like ‘spiritual’, sacred, divine, holy, god/goddess.
Instead, I called myself an Embodiment Coach.
It's the integration between the human and the divine. It's not just our ability to open up to higher realms, to perceive angels, spirits, and light but to be able to deeply ground that wisdom into our bodies and with that into our relationships.
For me, that's the true sign of spirituality: how healthy are your relationships with yourself, with your loved ones, with your environment, and yes, with God(dess)?
So embodiment felt safer, more scientific, like I could speak to more people without being labeled ‘new agey’. But it also meant I was hiding behind the ‘data’: the knowing, the explaining, the understanding. Getting hooked on the idea that somehow we can ‘understand’ it all. Talk about it. Figure it all out. (A study has shown nature is good for you. As if we didn't know.)
The problem is, it wasn't making me any happier. Even though my clients would get more clarity and with that amazing results in their lives, something inside of me was shriveling up.
Man cannot survive on bread alone. (Or bytes of data, for that matter. )
Our souls need the nourishment of the mystery.
Of discovery.
Of intimate communion with this energy inside that aches to be felt through our hands, feet, and whole bodies.
A yearning to reach into our depths beyond what we already know.
An ache to die into…Love.
(In aboriginal terms it means to enter Dreamtime, and in Jungian psychology: to enter the archetypical mind of the subconscious.)
We are spiritual beings.
And those realms of the spirit cannot be entered through the intellect. Stillness, meditation, yoga are definitely ways to do it.
And yet, I wonder if you have a similar experience to me. My practice like so many other things in our busy world somehow got hijacked by my inner slavedriver.
It became 'another thing' I had to tick off the list just in order to do life and feel semi-ok.
But that's NOT how I want to move through life!
When I connect to the sacred I want to come from a space of love, not overwhelm and survival. From a space of devotion and not obligation.
I want to feel true love, true joy, true peace.
This is what brings me to the divine feminine and the need for balance.
In my own journey, I got to see how I still made a big distinction between the spiritual and the creative:
It's totally ok for me to meditate and do yoga. (In my mind that is fully sanctioned for efficiency)
But to get my paintbrushes out?
Well, hold your horses. Gotta do the dishes first. Reply to emails, call friends, make sure I've connected with my partner and that dinner is on the table.
Because painting, well, it's just playing, right. Mucking around. A nice pastime. If I don't have my whole business set up around it (and make a profit with it), what's the point? It's just for me.
And here it is, the problem: it's just for me. As if that was not enough.
Uff.
Yes, it is JUST for me.
But exactly therein lies its deep wisdom and medicine.
It's my holy temple, my inner sanctuary where I can, JUST for me, …just be.
No agenda. No trying to clear my mind and coming to a sense of stillness, no trying to open up my body and letting go of tension, no trying to be spiritual or improving anything. No doing at all.
(And since my livelihood is not dependent on it, no pressure of performance and having to create anything of ‘value’ whatsoever either.)
There is literally no reason for it, except for MY enjoyment and pleasure.
Just me and the unknown. A blank empty canvas.
An intimate dance that moves me ever so deeper through and beyond all the layers of my human self. It's alchemy.
As I work on the canvas, the canvas starts working on me. When I allow myself to be taken by its mystery, I feel connected to HER, the divine feminine. She is the one guiding, teaching, and showing me all the layers of life, of love, and how they all move together. My heart and hand, moved by emotion, become a part of this incredible process of creation.
I'm indeed one with her. We all are.
It's not something I can easily put into words.
How do you describe the divine? Maybe I should heed the wisdom of the below and be quiet for fear of trivializing it.
But I cannot shut up. Maybe because I AM a woman and not a man, and maybe because what works for some feels incomplete for others.
The more that I move through this increasingly digitalized and scientific world, the more I miss HER.
Exactly because I cannot grasp her and put her in a box (so my mind is happy and can feel more in control). It doesn't work that way. If I want to feel alive I need to let go of the 'knowing'.
Because of this, the longing, the yearning for her becomes an urge that propels me forward. Makes me go deeper and wider.
I realize that THIS is the practice of the divine feminine.
Through her longing for union and love, she beckons us deeper into our bodies. And she does so by making the urge for creative expression almost unbearable. This spiritual and creative energy is the SAME. There is no separation.
It moves through all of us.
And it honestly fills me with so much sadness to realize how many of us have been crippled in our creativity as it became something that needs to produce a result, something pretty maybe, rather than something that is sacred, and therefore playful and exempt from all expectation.
It's literally like a bird with one wing flying in circles not realizing that there is a whole other part that is not optional but necessary to fly straight. And be whole.
So here is why I'm writing all this.
I want to make you aware that your creative self is as important as all the other teachings you heed. For she is a master of love.
I want to give you permission to honor her. For she bears awesome gifts.
I want to encourage you to take her seriously. For she holds great wisdom.
I want to cajole you to play more and feel her in your body. For she brings incredible amounts of pleasure.
I want to challenge you to connect with Her more often, maybe even on a daily basis. For she is ready to guide you through all your ups and downs, making you feel safe.
And I want to invite you to join me in dreaming and weaving together a New Story.
For yourself and for the world. That's why She is here.
We are the only ones who can do this. We can bring back balance to this world.
But we have to create it in ourselves first.
PS: I'm working on bringing together a new offering that's exactly about this. A place to meet our own selves through a creative medium of your choice, whether that's singing, writing, dancing, pottering, cooking, or painting. It's a deep dive into embracing the divine feminine in our daily lives. And if this resonates, I would love your feedback. I'm still in the brainstorming process of it all and would love to hear what YOU long for. So PM me!! please, please, please, don't be shy! I really want to hear from you.
PS: (As promised, that's the painting I've been busy with the last weeks. You can go to my Instagram to see the whole process unfold. And since I don't have enough walls to hang my art on, it is looking for a new home, so if you really love it, PM me!)
If you like what you read, you can buy me a coffee! Thank you!
Kasia Patzelt is an Artist and Embodiment Coach. She helps women to embody their Divine Feminine through Intuitive Painting and Embodiment practices.