His Holiness the Dalai Lama stunned a sold-out audience at the Peace Summit in Vancouver last summer when he declared, “The world will be saved by the western woman.” Imagine what this protected and nurtured world will look like. I imagine a world of abundance, peace and a place where actions arise from the wisdom heart. Women have been gathering by the thousands across the globe to share and shape a collective view of this radically different world.
The signs are pointing to a massive shift as more women and men wake up to a need to transform their lives in order to transform the world. Maria Shriver’s California Women’s Conference drew over 25,000 women. While Katherine Woodward Thomas and Claire Zamitt have drawn over 50,000 women to their “Women on the Edge of Evolution” teleconferences. Rianne Eisler shared her vision of new economics with some 23,000 women in a global Inspiring Women Summit teleconference and spoke of new indices of economic measurement that give monetary value to mothering and caretaking as well as preserving nature. She suggests that factoring these into the GDP will shift awareness about their importance.
“We are living in potent times, full of challenge and also of opportunity,” says Carolyn Rivers, Founder of the Sophia Institute, a Charleston, South Carolina based organization that focuses on wisdom and cultivating heart connections. “We are exposing that which is not sustainable. Old patterns that no longer serve us, patterns of domination, aggression, greed and control – the patterns that have created the extraordinary crisis we are now in – are beginning to be overturned.” Rivers sees this movement as a sign that the Divine Feminine is taking birth and moving us to correct imbalances. The crises visible in economic struggles, wars in the Middle East and elsewhere, and the marginalization of peoples and cultures, most particularly women and children reveal the strains and pains of the current mindset based on aggression, greed and violence. Instead of giving into fear or insecurity, Rivers proposes that we look to inner wisdom, particularly inspired by the feminine tradition of Sophia, the Woman of Wisdom, to help us through these turbulent times.
Many of the leaders of women organizing these global gatherings aim to foster the feminine and bring it fully into balance with the masculine through using what Rivers refers to as, “a radical wisdom of the heart.” This mass awakening of women, which appears to be off the radar screens of most media, has the potential to open up solutions to problems by going deeper and transcending the old mindsets.
How can we help to manifest the feminine in action?
1. Listen to your conscience. Act on what its saying.
2. Become a mentor to a young woman at the workplace, in your neighborhood or place of worship. Find small ways to reach out, listen and support her.
3. Act locally to make a difference globally. Make informed choices about what you buy and consume, and how you dispose of items. Use energy, water and natural resources responsibly.
4. Support a cause that you care deeply about. You could help make a difference as a volunteer, counselor or board member.
5. Speak up and ask for what you need. Need time off of your job to care for a child or parent? Ask for it with words of wisdom and care.
6. Engage your children in the world. Help children see the world through the eyes of others, respect different cultures, develop empathy and understand the gift of giving back.
7. Be an informed citizen. Educate yourself about the world you live in and share your knowledge.
8. Attending a women’s group or conference may also inspire you. Rivers organized the first Women of Wisdom event in October to bring together those who wish to share stories, ideas and inspiration. Sue Monk Kidd, Jean Houston, Barbara Marx Hubbard and other wise women will address the new culture of the feminine emerging and explore how to activate it as individuals and in society.
Bio: Debra Moffitt
Debra Moffitt’s book, "Awake in the World: 108 Practices to Live a Divinely Inspired Life” will be published by Llewellyn Worldwide in May 2011. Read more at www.debramoffitt.com Her essays and articles appear in publications around the world and focus on drawing attention to the spiritual in a mostly material-minded world. She gives workshops in the U.S. and Europe.
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