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Divine Feminine, Divine Masculine

“Divine Feminine” and “Divine Masculine” are terms that I hear often, even attributed to me, yet must admit that I don’t fully understand. I hear them invoked in the world, particularly the feminine. Particularly by women. As an energy. As a spirit. As a marker to identify an evolutionary shift in culture. As a way of being that interrupts the pattern of organizing solely around the masculine.

Divine Feminine and Divine Masculine feel important. I want to feel them as invitations. And though easy to connect and associate them with gender, I don’t want to make them so small.

I’ve just come from four days of a healing intensive in which the divine feminine was invoked many times. Beautifully, I would say, and in a group of 35 that was 70% women. It was spoken as an invitation to come into different ways of seeing and being in the world and with one another. It does have a softness, yet is not to be confused with gooeyness. There is utterly clear and sharp purpose in the divine feminine.

It was my Grandmother on my father’s side that first introduced me in the late 1980s to Riane Eisler’s The Chalice and the Blade. It was then that I first became more aware of the dominance of a cultural story that amplifies the masculine — no, wait, eclipses the feminine — and I believe appropriately, was challenging the roots of that story. To challenge such a deeply engrained story is to point to the invisible. Invisible habits. Invisible routine. Invisible embedded beliefs that create structures and leadership forms. That separates. That divides. A good friend jokingly referenced this to me years ago when he said that men only think in two ways — fuck it or kill it. Ouch. There is a truth in that.

This last weekend, there was much pointing to that invisible. There was much that happened through the realms of story, love, kindness, embodiment. Activation. All of this was good and will stay with me for a long time.

I noticed after this event that I wanted to speak particularly to the men, to the invitation toward not just the divine feminine, but also to the divine masculine. The culture making called for is not an abandonment of all things masculine. Sometimes it can feel this way. Or be comically referenced this way. As confusing as it may be, the planet’s evolution calls for men also to step into clarity. Away from fears (or through them). Away from blame (or through it). Away from shame (or through it). Men too, need to step up to be with and in the culture making that is happening.

I imagine that we as humans will find our way. I hope that is so. To an evolved culture that doesn’t unintentionally replace masculinity with an imposed femininity. I feel the call for men — now I am speaking of gender — to remember the best of who we are, even the forgotten parts, yet that reside I believe in our DNA. It may reach back thousands of years, but we men also know a divine wholeness together. It is inspirational to be with women that have reanimated this part of themselves individually and together. I believe this is changing and evolving the planet.

Our job as men is not simply to watch. Even if we don’t fully understand (ah, there a pattern — if we don’t understand, ignore it, or shame it, dismiss it…). Ours also is to participate.

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Gifts of Circle - Question Cardsasd
Gifts of Circle is 30 short essays divided into 4 sections: 1) Circle's Bigger Purpose, 2) Circle's Practice, 3) Circle's First Requirements, and 4) Circle's Possibility for Men. From the Introduction: "Circle is what I turn to in the most comprehensive stories I know -- the stories of human beings trying to be kind and aware together, trying to make a difference in varied causes for which we need to go well together. Circle is also what I turn to in the most immediate needs that live right in front of me and in front of most of us -- sharing dreams and difficulties, exploring conflicts and coherences. Circle is what I turn to. Circle is what turns us to each other."

Question Cards is an accompanying tool to Gifts of Circle. Each card (34) offers a quote from the corresponding chapter in the book, followed by sample questions to grow your Circle hosting skills and to create connection, courage, and compassionate action among groups you host in Circle.

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is a collection of 10 poems. From A Note of Beginning: "This collection of poems arises from the many conversations I've been having about nature. Nature as guide. Nature as wild. Nature as organized. I remain a human being that so appreciates a curious nature in people. That so appreciates questions that pick fruit from inner being, that gather insights and intuitions to a basket, and then brings the to table to be enjoyed and shared over the next week."

This set of Note Cards (8 cards + envelopes)  quotes a few favorite passages from poems in In My Nature. I offer them as inspiration. And leave room for you to write personal notes.

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This set of Note Cards (8 cards + envelopes)  quotes a few favorite passages from poems in Most Mornings. I offer them as inspiration. And leave room for you to write personal notes.

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