Feminine Power is Universal
Date: 13 March 2021 | Author: Edina de Jong – Hodžić
I grew up in a socialist country, (former) Yugoslavia and as a little girl I remember the 8th of March tradition. I can still see my mom looking forward to a day off from work, receiving flowers (carnation) and meeting her female colleagues and friends for lunch to celebrate this day. It was a positive and uplifting tradition for women. The women felt seen, recognised and connected to each other which is a beautiful result of this day.
Since I finished my studies in 2004 in the Netherlands I have been observing how the tradition of 8th of March re-emerged and has been used as a platform for the Women Empowerment movement. I have always supported this movement although 17 years later I ask myself if we have succeeded in building a world with more Diversity and Inclusion? For sure we can say that we have made some progress looking at the different dashboards portraying women and ethnic minorities in positions of power. Though, have we intuitively connected deeper with our true Feminine Power?
When we talk about Diversity and Inclusion I notice how much we have reduced this ‘movement’ to labels: gender, age, ethnicity, religion, etc. Although this way of looking at Diversity makes it easier to report about, it’s measurable and dashboard-proof which is an important criteria that we have in our modern left brain focused world. Though, the risk is that we lose ourselves in labels and we forget what Diversity is truly about. Our Diversity is defined by our authenticity, our unique essence, our gifts/talents (genius), not by an external label such as gender, age or ethnicity. I would even say that labels separate and have a limiting effect on the very thing that we’re trying to accelerate: true empowerment.
Over the last five years I have observed a global campaign that encourages women to claim their place, strive for positions of power and to speak-up. These seem to be very noble intentions to support the empowerment of women. But are they helping on the long run?
I observe women today unconsciously looking to the outside world to empower them, to give them that position that they deeply long for and that title that will give them a feeling of recognition. But the only place that will give women true empowerment is by re-claiming it within. When women wait for the outside world to save them, to recognise them, to love them, to support them, to value them – they’re actually drifting away from their true Feminine Power. As a result, women tend to loose their authenticity which is a key quality of their Feminine Power. Feminine Power is the quiet inner force that creates and it can only be recollected by going inwards.
“If you are ever tempted to look for outside approval, realize that you have compromised your integrity.”
Epictetus (Greek philosopher)
The tendency of women to look outside themselves for power, is visible in the social media trend that I picked up on where women tend to promote other women in positions of power (political, business and entertainment industry) and celebrate them as great Leaders and role models. In principle, there is nothing wrong with celebrating other women and men as long as we keep the end goal in mind: re-connecting to our own inner Diversity and power.
The Feminine Power is not just present in women, it is also present in men. It’s an Universal Power. And nothing is really possible without the balancing act of the Feminine and Masculine Power. One without the other is like a bird trying to fly with one wing.
Exploring this unique balance within ourselves is the path of the Alchemist. Our individual Authenticity comes from this process of exploring our Feminine and Masculine Power, healing our wounds and embracing both.
“The union of feminine and masculine energies within the individual is the basis of all creation.”
Shakti Gawain
One of the most visible misconceptions in the current Women Empowerment movement is that we tend to mistake Feminine Power for Masculine Power. This is not strange as we are living in a world that has been designed by the masculine. In that regard, women have come to adapt themselves to that environment in order to become successful. What this situation has created is that woman today are comfortable expressing their Masculine Power at the cost of their Feminine Power. In my 12+ corporate career I have worked with many women that were considered successful though that success was mostly coming from their Masculine expression. So far, this was the only way for women to succeed in current hierarchical systems that we have built in our societies. The paradox is that true Feminine Power doesn’t flourish in hierarchical environments because those environments are not built of principles of Nature which is a key principle of feminine energy. Hierarchical environments only limit and diminish true Feminine Power.
I believe that it’s time for a different dialogue on the subject of women empowerment and diversity, one where we talk about healing our co-dependency with external systems and giving ourselves the recognition and permission to express our true nature and essence. Both Women and Men today are being called to acknowledge their Inner Feminine Power, Authenticity and Diversity. This is a joint effort towards a world of true Diversity.
We can all start welcoming back the Feminine expression into our lives by being present to how we feel, acknowledging our feelings and accepting them. The way of the Feminine is the way inward, the way within, the way inside.
Feminine Power You are the quiet force yet powerful You are the wisdom yet unseen You are the flow of nature yet forgotten You are the compassionate yet denied You are the creative yet ignored You are the ancestral voice yet suppressed You are authentic yet hidden You are the feminine power rising in me, in you, in him, in us, in the world Keep rising Poem by Edina 🤍