Many of us stumble onto our own inner Goddess during a time of crisis, great need or pain, or during moments of extraordinary passion, and full out participation in life.
The Goddess Rocks ~
By Rev. Laurie Sue Brockway
W
ho knew there was a Goddess? Most women were not exactly raised to believe that within us is a divine power. Most of us were taught that divinity is found in men, in churches, and through clergy people. When we were growing up, we were more likely playing with Barbie Dolls than chatting about drawing inspiration from Divine Female role models who looked like us.
Many of us have come to know "Goddess" as the title bestowed on 1950’s Divas of the screen or as women who embody an astounding physical beauty that most of us could never hope to emulate. Yet some of us recall our earliest experience with Goddesses in high school social studies, where we studied mythology. Even though some of the classical Greek and Roman mythology painted divine women as conniving -- and even a bit masculine -- in their approach, the tales of titan beings with super powers gave us our first glimpse of divine feminine power: The independent Artemis … The brilliant war strategist Athena … the harbinger of victory Nike … the seductive and alluring Venus. Without even giving it much thought, they have all been integrated into our culture, and accepted as symbols of female prowess – cool women who make up their own rules!
Many modern women want to learn how to make up their own rules and confidently follow the call of their hearts. Many dream of creating lives of their own making and living them joyously, without apology. We all need role models to pave the way. And there are many awesome archetypes and mythic women that can be meaningful role models because they look like us and have traits we want to emulate – and stories that we, as women, can relate to.
There are thousands of Goddesses, from so many of the world’s cultures, known by different names and images, which represented feminine aspects of divinity and also aspects of our humanity. They’re wild and mild, powerful and soft, compassionate and passionate; they’re virgins and queens, mothers and daughters, rulers of the universe who can transform the planet, nurse a baby and love their consorts simultaneously. Their images, energy and just the mere concept of female divinity can heal us, empower us, instruct us and help us find our way on life’s rocky path. They give us permission to be all we can be.
That’s why the Female Divine is a fabulous role model for women today. She’s got powers in the world, and she is connected to all that is. She’s got attitude, she’s got sass, and she’s got presence. The Goddess rocks. She does things her way. She is source of her own power. In conjunction with the creative force in the universe that makes things happen, we are too!
Without even realizing it, many of us stumble onto our own inner Goddess during a time of crisis, great need or pain, or during moments of extraordinary passion, and full out participation in life. We find her when we call upon the great reserve of power that lies within us to get through a tough experience. We discover her when we find love and feel love, and walk around open hearted and happy. We come across her in the course of trying to make ourselves stronger, fitter, happier, and more successful in life.
We see her emerge in our dreams, in our passionate desire to make dreams real and then in the moments of perseverance and victory when we truly go for it in life!
It makes practical sense to identify our own Goddess nature and consciously strengthen it. Women who make their mark in this world share an important trait – they have learned how to access their own true power. While some women have gone about it the way men tackle the world, there are other’s who have mastered the art of tapping into the Goddess within.
How do they do it? They take on challenges with a certain grit and determination … they strive toward a higher state of high self-esteem … and they consciously evolve their lives with a sense of divine entitlement, a "Goddess Consciousness" that empowers them to feel worthy, entitled and destined for success… and hence, they create magnificent lives! Halle Berry … Jennifer Lopez … Julia Roberts … Venus and Serena Williams … Oprah Winfrey … all in their own unique way, Goddesses -- all Modern Day Goddesses who each embody a different aspect of the feminine divine.
We all begin our lives as divine beings, our souls brought onto this earth from no less a place than the heavens. Thus, we are divine in nature … its just that we sometimes forget. Now is time to remember. None of us can expect to connect to the true source of our power until we understand that we are truly made in the image of the divine, created in the image of a Creator who must look like us, if we look like Her! At the very least, let us entertain the idea that just as we come into this world in the image of and with the characteristics of our human parents, we are also blessed with the same from our Divine Parents.
Men have always been raised with images and pictures of divinity that have instilled confidence in them and made them feel connected to God; and have made them feel and act like Gods. And women just have not had that advantage. We have to create it, now.
Connecting to the energy of the Divine Feminine is a direct route to the Goddess within. When we find her, we find our truest power. Women need a Goddess mirror we can hold up and look into, an image that confirms our own divinity and empowers us to be all that.
Copyright, Rev. Laurie Sue Brockway, 2002, 2006
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Rev. Laurie Sue Brockway is an interfaith and non-denominational wedding officiant and columnist. She creates unique ceremonies for couples of all backgrounds and faiths, and is also widely recognized as an expert on bridal stress and women's empowerment. She is author of A Goddess Is A Girl's Best Friend: A Divine Guide to Finding Love, Success and Happiness (Perigee Books, December 2002) and of WEDDING GODDESS: A Divine Guide To Transforming Wedding Stress into Wedding Bliss (Perigee Books, May 2005). Visit Rev. Laurie Sue Brockway at WeddingGoddess.com.
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