Balancing The Divine Feminine And Divine Masculine

By |2013-11-08T14:55:44+10:00November 9th, 2013|Empathy, Society|

I started to wonder about the balance between masculine and feminine, and whether our society, in Australia, is headed towards that balance.

We know that in many societies in the world, including our own, the masculine has dominated for many years, but is that starting to change?

As often happens, I received some inspiration from a television program: Doctor Quinn – Medicine Woman (again).

The story this evening was about a young female Chinese doctor, whose grandfather had disguised her as a boy, in order to save her life, and to allow her to become a doctor.  In her Chinese community, as an orphaned girl, she would have been killed at birth, and as a woman would never have been allowed to practise Chinese medicine, as her grandfather had taught her to do.

Doctor Quinn talked about her early days of being rejected as a doctor in her small community, because she was a woman, and how she had only been able to become a doctor, because of those brave women who had claimed their rights before her.

This gave the young Chinese doctor encouragement to declare her gender and to assert her place in her community as a female doctor.  It also gave her the courage to speak out against foot-binding, which could be seen as a way of keeping women forever inferior to men.

Just as Doctor Quinn had her predecessors who paved the way for her to enter a man’s world, here in Australia also, we have had those who have ‘burned their bras’ and stood up for women’s rights and equality.

Doctor Quinn honoured Cheyenne and Chinese medical practices, along with her western medicine.  She knew that, although they were different, they were not necessarily inferior.  I believe the same applies to women in our society. Women don’t want to be considered the same as men, just not as inferior.   However, I think, in many cases in our society and the modern Chinese society, women have only been able to take their place as equals, by favouring their masculine side, and neglecting their feminine attributes.

I believe that each person has within them a masculine and a feminine side, and within each couple, whether it is homosexual or heterosexual, there is a partner who is more masculine than feminine.  I believe that within each couple, and within each person, the ideal is to achieve a balance between the masculine and the feminine.

If a person is too feminine, she would be ruled completely by her emotions, and require constant pampering and protection.  If a person is too masculine, his testosterone rules his life, causing him to be aggressive, and be divorced from his own feelings, and the feelings of those with whom he interacts, leaving him with little empathy for others.

I believe it has been a long while since societies have been imbalanced towards the feminine, but many societies in our world today are imbalanced towards the masculine.  I believe they are the ones who think that war is the only way to settle an argument.  Like the imbalanced male, who might judge his masculinity by the size of his penis, such a society might judge its superiority by the size of its army, or the quantity of its nuclear arsenal.

Can we, in Australia, become a society which finds a balance between the masculine and the feminine, and shows the world a better way?

What would that balanced society look like?

Perhaps it would be one where empathy exists.  Discussion would be seen as the first resort in the resolution of any disputes.  The ability to compromise would be seen as a strength, rather than a weakness.  Love would be the basis for all decisions, but our intellect would help to guide us.

However, perhaps before we can achieve this balance as a nation, we first have to achieve it in our intimate relationships.  And perhaps before we can achieve that balance in our relationships, we first have to each achieve that balance in ourselves.

As our societies have been imbalanced towards the masculine for such a long time, there may be a tipping of the balance in the other direction for a while, before a balance is achieved in our societies, our relationships, and in ourselves.

Is it possible that, when we are ready to achieve that balance in our society, it will be those who God has created closest to this divine balance, homosexuals, who will be instrumental in guiding us towards such an ideal society?  First, however, they would need the freedom to be the people they were created to be, rather than spending their lives trying to pretend they are something they are not.  Once they can achieve such a balance, maybe they can help to show the rest of us how it’s done.

In the meantime, I believe it is time to honour the divine masculine and the divine feminine in each of us, and from there we might achieve a balanced world.

What are some ways that we can honour the masculine and the feminine in ourselves?

For instance, a woman or a man might give herself or himself a massage, in order to honour the divine feminine.  A person might visit a science museum, say, to honour the divine masculine.

What are some of the ways that we can honour the opposite gender in our partners?

A woman might give her husband flowers, or a man might give his wife a screwdriver set.

Obviously, I am new at this, as are most of you, but I would be grateful for any ideas you might have.

 

(Just as western society has changed to allow women doctors, Chinese society has also changed.  Foot binding has been banned since 1912.)

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=8966942

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foot_binding

2 Comments

  1. Jennifer November 10, 2013 at 8:57 am - Reply

    Another great article, Lorelle. Another example of changing roles is that in modern times, some men now happily become househusbands, a total role reversal.

    But on the other hand, the Catholic Church needs a major shake-up to allow women priests, especially now when there aren’t too many younger ones to replace the older priests.

    In my own life, I had a sudden thought a while back that I automatically let my husband drive if we are going anywhere together even when we are in my car. I realized it was a belief I have grown up with as my Mum didn’t learn to drive until later in her life so Dad did all the driving. Once I affirmed that a woman can drive as well as a man can, I feel this area of our lives is now more balanced.

  2. Lorelle November 10, 2013 at 3:09 pm - Reply

    I agree about the Catholic Church. I think that when the Catholic Church embraces women as equals, it will be a major step towards bringing balance to the world. I wonder if there are documents within its deepest vaults, which might tell the true story of women in Jesus’ life – women such as Mary Magdalene, and the sisters Martha and Mary. Perhaps one day there could even be a female pope.

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