Attune to your Body Signals- (Develop a Body of Trust)- Learn to body scan to attune to your physical operating system. Consult your body, as a way to “know”. Journal and share your insights with your circle.

Awakening the Goddess In Your Life-

(Teacher Instruction)

Awaken the archetype by walking their walk, dancing their dance, breathing their breath, singing their song.  This wakes up their intelligence.

To make the program more usable as a counseling tool, have a way to assess which goddess archetypes women embody.  Also, measure their most dominant inherent type. What type are they manifesting most in their lives now? Are any of the goddess themes creating pain? Or is pain being created by putting a big piece of themselves away because they are unsure how to express it in their current lives?

Dreams will also indicate our archetypal patterns this way. Connect also to the dream program.

Resolve by: invoking strengths of that goddess type, or antidotes found through her myth.  Also, determine other helpful archetypes to draw on to gain strength, or steps from Psyche’s Myth,  Bluebeard, or the Handless Maiden.

The Mother Goddess-

Goddess Course (Venus de Willendorf)- Austria  (20,000 B.C.)

The Mother Goddess–

Some of the first goddess figures that appeared on cave walls and in artifacts were the large breasted, big- bellied women. She was an earth mother able to give and sustain life. She is much like the earth, representing the abundance of food the earth provides. The mother goddess represents creativity and abundance in all things, not just having babies.

She represented the fertility of the land and the fertility of human females. She is the mother of plants and animals and human beings. In some depictions, she herself is a plant rising from the ground. She is also shown with wild beasts. She is connected with birth- of babies and newness in our lives that stem from out pelvis, our creative center.

It is her image that shows the universe is organic, alive and sacred. Through her association with birth, death, and rebirth, the universe is shown as a cosmic web, where what is manifest and unmanifest are related, because they all stem from the same source.

Early in our evolution motherhood was the main bond of relationship. It is doubtful that early humans recognized the connection between sex and childbearing. It was believed only women held the divine power to give life. Ancient myths point to a Creatrix because babies could only be made by a female.

Women took charge of growing things generally. They became producers, gatherers, and storers of food.

Motherhood was the foundation of clan loyalties. In the bible, ancestry was passed on in a male hierarchy, before that it was matrilineal. If you think about it, this is where the deeper truth lies. We always know who are mothers are. One break with the father’s line way back, and the patrilineal lineage and names are inaccurate. —And how would you ever know?

The mystery of the female body is the mystery of birth. It is here where the unmanifest becomes manifest in all aspects of nature. The female leads through the mystery of birth the mystery of life itself.

Her images are also found in the cosmos. The milky way stars millions of light years away were thought to be drops of milk from her mighty breasts. Our ancestors saw drops of milk streaming from their mother’s breasts.

Baring and Cashford say “The flowing breast is the image of trust in the universe.”Hills and mountains were also seen as the breasts of the goddess in cultures such as Ireland and Tibet.

Maria Gimbutas, famous feminine anthropologist, and archaeologist. She calls herself an archeomythologist. She studied thousands of goddess objects and artifacts saw how this art was a symbolic language that recognized the importance of the goddess in daily life. The art was found on everyday objects, like figurines, vases and water jugs. Most of her artifacts were European from Lithuania, Croatia, Bulgaria, Romania, Ukraine, and Poland.

In Language of the Goddess, she stresses her view that the goddess is rarely just one phase of a woman’s life. So although we speak of maidens, mothers, and crones, in fact, she is really a triple nature, of birth, death, and rebirth. Most goddess images are of the Great Goddess- a holy trinity in herself, this name best describes her absolute rule, creative, destructive and regenerative abilities.

Symbols of her might be a waterfowl, bird of prey, and a snake.

A triangle shows her triple nature and also points to the vulva, the gate of birth. A double triangle, bee, and butterfly also indicate her life, death, life, nature.

In artistic symbols, the goddess might also be a bear, bird, deer, ram, sow, tree or upright stone.

Although people from many of these countries were Catholic or Orthodox, they also had ancient beliefs of an archaic goddess, related to agriculture that has been passed down in some form.

The abundant mother nurturer image also had to do with agriculture. Women used the digging stick, hoe and tended the garden and crop. She made the first containers, baskets and clay pots.  Women created weaving, calendars, and mathematics- due to calculating their menstrual cycles and when they would give birth. Women are also attributed with creating the alphabet and writing.

Bolen says that the type of consciousness with mother goddesses and vulnerable goddesses as a whole is different as well. The Greek goddesses, Hera, Demeter, and Persephone are more vulnerable, as they rely on relationships, and tend to put relationships first. An attitude that is connected, aware of the unity of life occurs. There is a more diffuse awareness that is less focused but allows someone to notice feelings, nuances and emotional tone results. Someone in a family situation and connected to others hears small cries and knows somewhat what is going on everywhere in the home. Their energy is desired by children, mates, and friends. It is like a soft light in a dark room.

Places within the Earth were seen as sacred. Caves were sacred sanctuaries, evidenced by rich paintings and rituals. The cave was the womb of Goddess, who herself birthed creation and took her children after death. Caves drew together the living and the dead. People both lived in and worshiped within caves, the body of their goddess. This is very different than churches, which are manmade, separate from the earth.

Maternal societies seemed kinder than patriarchal ones, less cruel punishments and hostility toward the young.  Matriarchal societies tended to have permissive attitudes toward sex, more freedom and higher status for women. They were more democratic and equal and pleasure oriented.

When Baring and Cashford started to write their book- The Myth of the Goddess they found that the present day goddess image was nowhere to be found in Christianity. Mary, of course, is clothed in all the old goddess images but is called Queen of Heave, not Queen of Earth. The Earth used to have her own goddess because the Earth and the goddess were made of the same substance.

Our image of Earth has also lost this divine connection. Nature and the mother both lost their sacred connection with this type of religious framework.

The habit of thinking of life as opposites seemed to come about with this religious thinking. The body is separate from the soul, mind from matter, thinking from feeling, spirit from nature.

God is a very different kind of creator than the mother goddess, as he is separate from, not woven into nature. Some of this just did not sit right with people and they continued to seek the old pagan ideas, where nature is a part of us, not separate.

Today we see that resurgence clearly in numerous ways. A few scientists claimed the earth was a being and called her Gaia. Others claimed that as we view and participate in the universe we affect it, and thus the universe is alive. Women and men, alienated from their bodies by the concept of sin and suffering, move toward kinder and more natural symbols of life.

One way to bring the myth of the goddess and mother back into consciousness is to retell the stories and myths people have retold through time and to create your own myths, where life is creative, feminine and whole.

Barring and Cashford say, “Myth is the secret opening through which the inexhaustible energies of the cosmos pour into human cultural manifestation.

To retell the stories when we had wholeness and mothers were recognized for their abundance, creativity and nurturing is to bring the body back to life and nurturing back to the cosmos.

 

Questions: (Ways to determine which goddess is active and dominant)

Where to the painful or problematic uses stem from?

Relationship- Too much or too little passion, involvement,  and intimacy?

What is it they most value and want?

What areas of life have been easiest or hardest?

What Goddess signals or messages are the clients giving off?

Visually

Hair, Clothes, Looks, Walk,

How important is their career?

What is important to them in a career?

Prestige, money, emotional fulfillment, creativity, depth, personal relationships, politics, nurturing, solitude, independence?

What path is career-wise most compelling?

Are they on that path, why or why not?

How important are children to them?

Do they have any?

How important is a relationship with men?

What function does relationship fulfill?

Security, depth, emotional fulfillment, companionship, sex, status, children?

Body Scanning

 Bridge In- Do you think of your mind and body as equal partners, or like many people in this society, have you been taught to let your mind dominate?

 

 Pre-Assessment–

Have you any of you ever found yourself responding “I’m feeling fine, even if your hands and teeth are clenched, or if you are feeling numb? If so, like many of us you could be out of touch with your bodies messages. We’re going to try an exercise to help increase our body awareness, called body scanning.

The reason for this exercise will be to allow each person to experience a sensation or lack of sensation from their body.

We will be doing a meditation where we focus on body sensations. There will be periods of silence for you to concentrate on your bodies subtle sensations. If you feel uncomfortable, or distracted, acknowledge that, relax into it and put your focus back on your body.

 

MEDITATION

 

Relax into your chair.                                                                                      1 min.

Gently Close Your Eyes.

Take a deep breath. Allow the air to fill your lungs and your tummy and chest to expand.

Let your shoulders relax. Hold your breath for the count of 10 and then gently release and take one more deep breath.  Good.

 

Now move your awareness into your throat. Notice any sensation. Is it dry,        1.5 min?

moist, tight, loose.  Does it feel this way most of the time, or does it feel different?

Do you notice any emotion that comes up with this feeling?

 

Now move your awareness to your solar plexus the area below your ribs and above the belly button. Do you have any sensations in this area? Is there any churning, tightness, or is it soft, or relaxed? Do you notice any emotion that accompanies this sensation?

 

Now just take a minute to notice any other area of your body that may be tight, cramped, clenched, or sore. Go to this area? Note the sensation. Again check for any emotion that might come up while you explore this area.

Now I’d like you to bring your awareness back to your breath. Gently bring your focus back into the room. When you are ready, open your eyes.                             .5

 

Post Assessment: Did any of you notice any body sensations? Where?                    1 min

What? Was anyone able to put a body sensation and emotion together?

Summary/ Closure– Body scanning is a technique you can access anywhere.    .5

You will increase bodies vocabulary, allowing this nonvocal, but powerful part of you to become more integrated. Remember the steps to access your bodies response- relax, breathe deeply, go to your throat, solar plexus and any part of you that feels tight, sore or unsettled. Notice any sensations check for accompanying emotions.

Now you are ready to respond authentically and feel the fullness of the whole you.

Questions-

What attitude can you take or change today that will help you choose your body more?

What action can you take today to allow you to trust your body more?

Write these intentions down. Give yourself a timeline for when you will do them, at least once a day, until next class.

Report back your results.

Dancing Your Inner Goddess-

Bringing the Goddess Home-

Into Our Bodies-

Chinese medicine has familiarity with knowing various parts of the body are related to various elements. For example, the liver is wood and qualities such as the need for self- development, jealousy and irritability.

Astrology suggests different signs rule various aspects of the body- such as Aries rules the head and Pisces the feet.

The advantage of this type of thinking is that it allows concepts to have generalities, such as everyone has a liver and if your liver is out you can become irritable and jealous. But it is highly personal at the same time because some people are wood/liver dominant, others will be fire/heart.

If you understand your liver is the organ that stagnates when you slow self- growth, you know what to do both physically- use liver cleansing or stimulating herbs, and emotionally- add something new that spurs self-development.

 

Yet, such a system has until now been a bit lacking for Goddess work.

One day while working with the Goddesses it occurred to me that one of the best ways to keep them fresh within me and to check on how active certain goddesses were within me, was to give them a home, some permanent address where I could locate their energies.

For me, my body felt like the natural place. So I consulted various chakras and places in my body to determine where various goddesses would like to locate.

I meditated, danced, journeyed and listened. Some found spots. I placed some in other areas that felt right. There was some relocation over time, and some additions, but overall the system seemed to work.

 

Where my goddesses are:

Artemis in my root- hands, and feet. As the goddess of the wild, she wanted to touch the earth, (place of the root). She also seemed to connect with my ancestors.

2^nd chakra, place of connection to others, sacred sexuality and pleasure. For me, Aphrodite located here. She feels like the Empress living in my 2^nd Chakra.

Hestia gravitated toward my 3^rd chakra. Although not really dynamic, she seemed to settle my power center and humor, giving a gentle stillness in this region. Also, she has a quiet, but determined rhythm for accomplishing, which I enjoy, as a goddess of fire and hearth, she keeps my cool body warm.

Hera located to my liver, sharing the 3^rd chakra. Her energy is much like the liver, hot, jealous, ambitious. She gives a little more energy in this center.

Kuan Yin goddess of compassion joyfully located in my heart. It is her that smiles the sacred smile to welcome and align each other goddess.

Athena lives in my throat center. It is her that tells the truth and looks for strategic and mature ways to express myself. I also sometimes consult her mother Metis, goddess of wisdom and Medusa the wild truth for answers in this center.

Hekate, the witch of wisdom resides in my 3^rd eye. She has lived long and knows the ways of the underworld and the earth. She is unafraid to see what is really there and is intuitive in nature, so the 3^rd eye is an easy fit.

On my crown resides the triple aspect of Bridget, Celtic goddess of fire.

She is a healer, seer, midwife and wise woman. She is able to keep the fires of eternity lit and burn away belief systems which no longer serve.

Up and down my spine I let Persephone and Demeter flow, like DNA, allowing the seasons of my life to change and my spine to inform me of how flexible I need to be. They are mother and daughter creators which help bring in the new and provide perspective.

So before I go to sleep at night, or if I have time in the day I connect with each region of my body- the various goddess energies to find out how they are functioning and what their needs or insights might be.

It is an effective way to get still and body scan, tune into myself and the great celestial bodies.

Now what is lacking is the male energy. When I need some animus I also tune into the gods that align with the goddesses. On my feet and root, I find Pan running with Artemis.

In my second chakra, Dionysius resides with Aphrodite.

Zeus visits Hera in my power center and can light an extra flame if need be.

 

The goddesses also at times like to talk to each other. Through dance or meditation, I sometimes facilitate the discussion.

 

For instance- if one center is out of balance I let them start.

Aphrodite in my 2^nd chakra is not receiving enough pleasure. I feel this through a sort of dissatisfaction emotionally. I ask her what she might like and she suggests some Sushi and to connect with others differently.

I let her speak to the goddesses one by one. Artemis at the root tells her pleasure would be enhanced by a walk on some healthy green moss and getting fresh air. Hestia would like to have some lovely music in the house and beautiful smells. Hera advises that Aphrodite needs to speak to Zeus, primary partner about some time together. Athena would like Aphrodite to face the truth about what is causing the dissatisfaction at a deeper level and together they realize I’m letting my boundaries weaken and I haven’t had enough time to myself for pleasure.

Each goddess speaks to Aphrodite and they can have an extended discussion for a while if the main issue seems to stem from that area. But listen to each goddess because some of the insights can be unexpected.

I then journal the response and try to take action on the advice.

 

 

Meditation/Journey:

I would like you to relax in your chair, close your eyes and breathe deeply. You are going to be touring your body and looking for which goddess will try residing in your chakras.

First, we will go to your root and feet. Feel the slow, still energy of the root. Reflect on your ancestors. Here is the element of earth. The color is red. The root governs your grounding, stability and feeling at home in your body.  Is there a goddess that naturally gravitates toward this area? If so, invite her in.

Move to your 2^nd chakra, your ovaries and breathe deeply into this watery, orange space. This is the place of connecting with others, pleasure and romance.  Is there a goddess who would like to share this sacred area with you?  Invite her in.

The third chakra is colored yellow, located in your midsection, all the way up to your ribcage. It is a place of power, fire, accomplishing and digesting life. It influences your pace and rhythm. Is there a goddess which would feel right in your mid-section. Invite her in.

The heart is airy, green, and full of love. It is potentially expansive, forgiving and peaceful.  In this place of compassion for self and others is there a goddess who would like to join you?

The throat is blue, etheric and your center for communicating with yourself and others. There is potential for truth and authentic expression. Is there a goddess who feels best in this area? Invite her in.

Your third eye is the color of indigo or sometimes purplish. It is the place you can see much that is screened from daily life. It is the source of deep knowledge and your intuitive hunches. Which goddess would you like to join you in this center?

Your crown is where beliefs come. This is a connection to the divine. Purplish/white light are emitted and brought in from this center.

This is your spiritual operating center. Which goddess will join you for your crowning glory? Invite her in.

Is there a goddess that would like to shuffle location? Are there other goddesses, which would like to enter. Find a spot for them. Where do they feel comfortable? Realize if there is a better spot to be you can switch later.

Thank all of your goddesses and welcome them to your body.

 

Take time to connect to each one and see if you are getting any messages, or if they wish to talk to each other.

Where is the Goddess in Your Body- Meditation

Meditation/Journey:

I would like you to relax in your chair, close your eyes and breathe deeply. You are going to be touring your body and looking for which goddess will try residing in your chakras.

First, we will go to your root and feet. Feel the slow, still energy of the root. Reflect on your ancestors. Here is the element of earth. The color is red. The root governs your grounding, stability and feeling at home in your body.  Is there a goddess that naturally gravitates toward this area? If so, invite her in.

Move to your 2^nd chakra, your ovaries and breathe deeply into this watery, orange space. This is the place of connecting with others, pleasure and romance.  Is there a goddess who would like to share this sacred area with you?  Invite her in.

The third chakra is colored yellow, located in your midsection, all the way up to your ribcage. It is a place of power, fire, accomplishing and digesting life. It influences your pace and rhythm. Is there a goddess which would feel right in your mid-section. Invite her in.

The heart is airy, green, and full of love. It is potentially expansive, forgiving and peaceful.  In this place of compassion for self and others is there a goddess who would like to join you?

The throat is blue, etheric and your center for communicating with yourself and others. There is potential for truth and authentic expression. Is there a goddess who feels best in this area? Invite her in.

Your third eye is the color of indigo or sometimes purplish. It is the place you can see much that is screened from daily life. It is the source of deep knowledge and your intuitive hunches. Which goddess would you like to join you in this center?

Your crown is where beliefs come. This is a connection to the divine. Purplish/white light are emitted and brought in from this center.

This is your spiritual operating center. Which goddess will join you for your crowning glory? Invite her in.

Is there a goddess that would like to shuffle location? Are there other goddesses, which would like to enter. Find a spot for them. Where do they feel comfortable? Realize if there is a better spot to be you can switch later.

Thank all of your goddesses and welcome them to your body.

 

Take time to connect to each one and see if you are getting any messages, or if they wish to talk to each other.

 

——————————————-

 

Come back to your breath. Breathe yourself into consciousness. Write about your experience. We will meet in twenty-five minutes to discuss your findings.