What a journey life can be! As most of you may already know, I did not grow up through any organized religion. I had a sense of God from my cousins and friends who went to church, but the word Goddess was not a term that even entered my world until I met my first yoga teacher. Well, perhaps the first time I remember hearing the word was from a Roseanne Barr comedy special when she referred to herself as a Domestic Goddess, but let's not count that.
In reality, when my first yoga teacher invited me to a Woman's Circle and shared her connection to the Goddess Isis through her Wiccan spiritual tradition, I was intrigued. I continued to attend circles with her for many years, finally taking a 500 hour yoga teacher training with her. Her connection to the Goddess through various rituals and classes propelled me into a dance with the Divine Feminine the rest of my adult life.
I soon began my own Women's Circles, and had a personal group that met monthly for ten years together that I held very close to my heart. In my personal practices I often chanted to the Hindu goddesses, namely, Durga, Kali, Lakshmi and Saraswati. It was through an intense one-year study with yoga teacher Shiva Rea that I began to dive deeper into a daily spiritual connection to these ladies.
The rituals that I mostly performed were simple. The lighting of a candle, the burning of incense as an offering, chanting the name of the Goddess 108 times, as well as other prayers, invocations and other steps like writing something down on paper and burning it or burying it, began a very normal and comfortable practice for me. Most of my yoga students are very familiar with my many Goddess and Moon classes over the years. I never gave it a thought that to others the Divine Feminine would be unfamiliar because she became so central to me.
Then several years ago, through a crisis and "dark night of the soul," a disconnect with the Divine Feminine arose. Everything in my spiritual life that had become so important to who I was fell apart, and I found myself on another path of learning and discovering. I believe what I was seeking was balance. I never really had a connection to the Divine Masculine, and in many of my circles this, along with just the word "God" became shunned like it was a bad thing. I always truly felt in my heart that a combination of working with both Masculine and Feminine energies was important, but when I failed to do that in my own life, the Universe stepped in.
First the Bible fell off the shelf into my hands during a conversation about the Gnostic Gospels. Then the next thing I knew I was enrolled in an Interfaith Seminary program, which eventually led to a Doctor of Ministry with The New Seminary. Attending the lectures and doing the work to understand the nature of what was mostly the Divine Masculine helped me to go deeper into prayer and practice of connection to his nature. And yet, it still did not feel complete.
It was fairly recently that I realized my home was decorated with hundreds of Buddha images. And while Buddha does often have feminine energy and features, he is decidedly masculine. I looked around my house and realized I had very few goddess images, and the ones that I did have had been boxed up for over two years since we moved from our home in South Jersey.
As I reopened many boxes labeled "Tracey's Spiritual Stuff," the Goddess reappeared, and has been making her way back into my life quite loudly. Fast forward to the coming virtual container, The Order of the Rose, where anyone can connect to the Divine Feminine Consciousness through our pre-recorded lectures and practices. It feels like the right time to do this and to help others integrate the Goddess energy into his or her own life.
If we are to heal the world...
If we are to create balance...
If we are to truly unify, we must integrate the Masculine and Feminine energies equally. The problem is that She has been vilified and demoted from many of our spiritual traditions for so long that there is a pressing need to realign to her essence and Consciousness in order for the balance to come. Through us, She must rise, and only then will peace and harmony start to flow into our world.
I asked myself how I could continue to connect more to the Divine Feminine in my own life and practices. I realized that beautifying my home and myself to reflect Her beauty within me was something that I had also forgotten. Don't tell my husband, but I think some roses and pinks are soon making their way to our bedroom. And I am also selling off many of my beautiful Buddha statues for the Masculine energy to be sprinkled into someone else's home or business. Of course I will keep a few that are dear to me, but you can parose the website (www.oneyogacenter.net) for some that are available for purchase now.
For those who want to embrace more of the Goddess, it is really simple. Open your heart to her, and listen. She may come to you through an animal, through your children, or through other means. She may speak to you, you may see her in dreams - often just the intention and invitation is enough for her to come. I also suggest digging into your bloodline and ancestry to find Goddess energy to work with. If you are Hindu, you probably grew up with much of her in your life. But for many others, you may have to dig to pagan/pre-Christian roots to find a connection to Her that feels authentic to you. If this excites you, check out our subscription channel, The Order of the Rose, and consider subscribing. There is also some free content on the Facebook page and Youtube channel of the same name.
More Women's Circles, events and offerings to come as I am sure that the more I invite the Goddess back into my life, the more stirrings will arise for my greater community.
In love, service, wisdom and beauty!
Dr. T
 |
| In Bali on retreat I worked with the goddess Lakshmi. This was the simple altar to her next to the beach. |
Comments
Post a Comment