Women’s Wisdom

For many years I have known that there is a difference between the men and women’s spiritual teachings. Unfortunately many of the women’s spiritual teachings and initiations have been forgotten or lost. My woman friend studied with two male elders of two different cultures and traditions, the Quechua high in the Andes and the Kahuna of Hawaii. Interestingly enough they both said that they know that there are women’s spiritual teachings but that of course neither of them knew anything about them because they are men. They also both shared with her that in their traditions, women were allowed to receive the men’s teachings but men were not allowed to receive the women’s teachings. The women’s teachings were done in secrecy – in part, that is also why some of the teachings have been lost or forgotten. The women’s teachings were done only with women because they involved the specific teachings connected to women’s monthly menstrual (moon time ) cycles – the sacred blood mystery. At the same time, the teachings and initiations can never be completely lost or forgotten because they are written in the DNA of women’s cells. It is time for us to remember and to share.

The loss or forgetting of the women’s spiritual teachings and our willingness to just go in ignorance along with the men’s teachings and initiations shows just how disconnected we as women are from the divine feminine. The divine feminine is embodied by Mother Earth and therefore it is no surprise that in the same ignorance we are not honouring Mother Earth, that we pollute and destroy her body. It is no surprise that in ignorance, we pollute and destroy our own physical bodies and we see this in the epidemic of breast and ovarian cancer, heart disease etc. etc. Destroying the Earth and our own physical bodies as representatives of Mother Earth are an obvious result when women are not passing down to the next generations, the women’s spiritual teachings and initiations. These are those teachings and initiations that call forward the divine feminine in balance.

Just as there are certain things that only men can do, there are certain roles that only women can play in the spiritual realms and on the material plane. Women are uniquely gifted to co-create children, give birth and be Mothers. The 13 Original Clan Mothers by Jamie Sams outlines some of the ancient teachings and women’s medicine. In her book, Jamie Sams says that her first teacher in Mexico, a man, Joaquin Muriel Espinosa, took her to two Kiowa Grandmothers, Grandmother Cisi and Grandmother Berta realizing that she needed to learn Women’s Medicine instead of the Male Warrior Way. What a wonderful gift to Jamie that her male teacher was able to recognize and honour that there is a vast difference between the divine feminine principle and the divine masculine principle as well a vast difference between the women’s teachings and the men’s. For more details please see The 13 Original Clan Mothers).

The women’s teachings are of course wider and broader than those that any one person can cover as they come from many traditions. At the same time, the teachings possess a universal truth that speaks to the heart of a woman and that transcend time, space and location.

What as women – we do know regarding the women’s spiritual teachings must be passed on to every woman, mother, daughter, sister, friend who feels the yearning to know and embody her full divine feminine and to have the knowledge of women’s medicine (which is multidimensional and multi-facetted). It is the salve for many women whose souls are starving for this connection. Culturally we live in a world where for so long women’s traditions, medicines and power has been scorned, denied, looked down upon, been feared. It is now time for every woman who chooses to reconnect with the divine feminine in herself, to be proud and to honour that which is an inherent gift and that is so needed in a world dominated by linear, intellectual thinking. Each woman must follow her heart and intuition and see where they lead her and when there listening to various teachings to see what resonates with her. Receive the teachings of men and women but have the knowledge and awareness of what is the difference. Make choices about the spiritual initiations you will do and do them with knowledge, not from a place of ignorance or blindly following a shaman, medicine man or spiritual teacher who has no knowledge themselves of the difference in teachings for men and women. At the same time, we as women should not expect men to have knowledge of the women’s teachings at this time. We as women are still in the process of remembering and reviving them.

I like the Grandmothers and like Jamie Sams feel concerned about the imbalance that is further exacerbated in women when we learning the men’s teachings and go through the men’s initations. In particular any ceremonies where hallucinatory states are induced either by deprivation of food and water or where plants are ingested  can in fact potentially damage a woman’s energetic fields because woman are different than men, physiologically, mentally ( read studies on how the brain differs in the sexes). (I know that there is so much use of the plant medicine that some are calling “sacred plant medicine” and indeed there is no questioning the sacredness of plants and their healing properties but they need to be used in the right context and for the right reasons.)  Also because of the different ways that men and women are; men have needed the deprivation of food, water and/or the sacred plants to induce vision.  When you reach true enlightenment and a high state of awareness whether you are a man or woman, you need nothing from the outside to maintain the state of vision and enlightenment.  The cleaner and purer your emotional, physical, mental and spiritual state – the more Light you bring through. Your own Light and the Light of Spirit and Mother Earth. You don’t need other energies including plants that induce other hallucinatory states of being without you being just able to achieve that on your own. There are many who are taking these plants on a regular basis (daily, weekly, monthly, yearly) – I’ve heard all of these. All I can say is that if the motivation comes from a wounded place and the person is addicted to the experiences – then that is not true spirit based motivation – it is motivation from the human ego. It is easy for people to delude themselves about their motivations to take the plant energy into their bodies when the intention sounds so positive – “I intend to deepen my spiritual path and knowledge.” Remember that original usage for men was supervised by the tribal shaman or medicine man who had journeyed with the young man and men through their lives. The plant medicine may have been taken once in their lives or done once and once the vision that was received was put into place many years later (which is often how long it takes to put a vision into place) only then would the medicine be used again.

Many so- called spiritual teachers have no real knowledge or awareness of why and how the differences between men and women affect the specific exercises, ceremonies and rituals. The spiritual teachings and initiations are meant to have each soul connect more deeply to the Earth and Spirit, not to cause damage. It is now time for the medicine women, sha-women and spiritual warrioress-es to share the ancient knowledge we have with our Sisters.

I will continue to stand behind the reality that you do not require anything from the outside including the plants to achieve a cosmic and divine state of consciousness where vision and wisdom and messages are received and followed in every minute of every day. These are also the teachings that I am sharing with the children and youth who have come to me for training and continue to come. Thankfully many of them already know these teachings.

I am now sharing the teaching and spiritual initiations for women that I am aware of. Just as in the work that I do with children, youth, executives and CEOs in the area of spirituality- I am encouraging each and every woman to claim her power especially her spiritual wisdom including psyhic, intuitive and healing abilities. We live in a time where it is important that we have knowledge of the traditions and that we have the freedom to co-create with Spirit and the Earth, the rituals and ceremonies that resonate with the place where we find ourselves, in the consciousness we find ourselves in and with the consciousness of our soul tribe. The teachings and initiations more than anything else help a woman to come back to herself, to her soul, to her being and to her reason for being. They help a woman to come home, home to herself and to Spirit and to Mother Earth. I invite you to become an embodiment of the women’s wisdom/spiritual teachings, the teachings that you know and that already reside in your heart and the cells of your body, waiting to be honoured and reawakened.

This is an example of the connection that we as women have with each other and with the other beings of the Earth and sea – “I am one with the Earth and Sea and all beings.” I had just performed a ceremony for the sea turtles in Hawai’i. The word for turtle in Hawai’ian is “honu” and the word for Mother Earth is “honua”. My friend, Tracy and I went over to a tidal pool and were dangling our feet in it when this turtle came up and hugged our legs with her flippers and kissed us on the feet!!! This video represents “The Turtle Sisterhood”.

  This is the book, The 13 Original Clan Mothers by Jamie Sams. Click the book cover to order.