Female State of Mind

“So not every female human being is necessarily a woman; she must take part in this mysterious and endangered reality known as femininity. Is femininity secreted by the ovaries? Is it enshrined in a Platonic heaven? Is a frilly petticoat enough to bring it down to earth? Although some women zealously strive to embody it, the model has never been patented.” Simone de Beauvoir.

This seems like a good place to start. It may not be where we end because this is a big subject. One that has been studied and debated by many scholars and will continue to evolve as we evolve as humans and our society evolves as the collective of we humans. This discussion is not meant to reinvent the wheel or suggest that I have the answer that someone else hasn’t already shared. It’s not meant to suggest that this is the one and only definition of female, and that there can be no others. No, it’s really about establishing where my head is at so that you know where I’m coming from, so that we’re working from the same foundation in how we define the words that shape the work and the thoughts here.

Let’s start with some of the easier points. For our purposes, female is essentially the embodiment of the feminine. We’re using it as an adverb, not a noun. It does not mean gender although many women tend to embody female “characteristics” well, not always, but often.  However, we all have the potential for embodying both feminine and masculine qualities and many of us already do. Yes, let’s look for opportunities to recognize and honor the embodiment of the feminine in a male body hoping that one day, there will be no need to distinguish between the two. So for the purposes of this work, this philosophy, this opinion, female is the feminine regardless of what it looks like or what shape it comes in.

But what does it look like? How do we know it when we see it? This is the real work. This is where things get difficult and confusing, gender lines get blurred and challenged and emotions get triggered when identity is challenged or perceived to be judged. So let’s start with something less personal, the female in nature. From a Chinese perspective, the female is yin, and yin is described as earth, passive, docile, slow, dark, cold, soft, moist, and consuming while the male is Yang and represents the opposite. In Chinese mythology, it is believed that the world went from being formless chaos to what it is today because Yin and Yang at one point became balanced with one another allowing for creation to take form. Today, Yin is always dancing with Yang, sometimes they are balanced and in equilibrium while at other times there is more of one than the other.

Image by disoniador on Pixabay

While women and men may embody many of their respective Yin or Yang qualities, it’s more complex than that because of this dance between Yin and Yang within everything, even ourselves and how that interacts with our actions and interactions as humans. When we think of the feminine as embodied in human form it is receptive, it welcomes with open arms, it is inclusive, it is nurturing and it is love. It is community, it is the great Mother, it is the greater good over the individual, it is peace. When we see the feminine in action, we see a bountiful existence for all. We see equality for all. We see life.

Being feminine means being gentle but not necessarily weak. Being feminine means taking care of oneself in order to best serve her needs and not just the needs of others or the corporation. Being feminine means tuning into all wisdom not just that of the analytical thinking brain. Being feminine means living in harmony with our surroundings recognizing that we are all one sharing in this planet and not extracting from these surroundings in an imbalanced way. Being feminine means being capable of empathizing in order to prevent the mutual damage of otherizing. Being feminine is creating, tapping into that creative flow, in all it’s many forms.

As the Tao suggests, it’s not Yin or Yang, black or white, feminine or masculine? It’s questionable that we should even be using the words feminine and masculine because of their origin. They grew out of a need to describe the traits that were generally observed to be embodied by each respective gender or even imposed on each gender. As the world changes and the concepts of gender are becoming challenged and possibly even obsolete, we may serve ourselves better if we understand the characteristics that were once assumed to be gender specific to be gender neutral and therefore requiring of new terminology. Maybe that’s the best way forward after all. Until that time, I’ll still be talking femininity.

226 “Decoding Health” Sarah Ann Carlson

Sarah Carlson is a health coach who was diagnosed with breast cancer in late 2020. What followed was a deep plunge into her health, genetics, nutrient levels and energetic and mental healing as she figured out the roadmap to wellness, vitality, and resilience that was individualized and informed by her unique genetics.

At this point, the deep darkest night of the soul of her cancer journey is passed, and despite being stage 2A at time of her surgery, she just celebrated her one year anniversary of her diagnosis with her first mammogram and ultrasound, and is well and cancer-free! She’s learned a lot along the way and is now helping others decode their health. You can sign up for Sarah’s newsletter and follow her on Instagram  @decodinghealthprogram to get notifications about podcast episodes, blog posts, happenings, or to just hear about her work and her journey.

Today’s episode is rich with useful information. Some key take aways: a one size approach may not be the most efficient or the most effective approach to managing one’s health; it’s important to have a complete picture of your health including genetics and nutrient levels via bloodwork; hormone imbalance in women is prevalent, but there’s lots that can be done; speaking of, it’s important for you to know about choline; there are good and not so good ways to detox the body, it can happen quite naturally with the proper support; knowing how and where your body is taking in toxins is a part of the overall equation; health also encompasses emotional wellbeing and intergenerational trauma.

Here’s where you can learn more about People’s Place Holistic Care Day.

Today’s show was engineered by Ian Seda of Radio Kingston.

Our show music is from Shana Falana !!! She’s playing OPUS 40 this Friday! Last Friday was rained out.

Feel free to email me, say hello: she@iwantwhatshehas.org

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225 Lisa Marie Darling “Soundscapes and Lullabies”

New York-based sound healing artist Lisa Marie Darling crafts meditational soundscapes to foster emotional and energetic reconnection. Through a cappella vocalization and experimental, looped melody formation, Lisa creates otherworldly compositions to aid in identifying and unlocking fossilized trauma and grief. To date, she has released three albums—Darling Lullabies (2014), Canciones De Cuna (2017), and Into The Deep (2022). Her latest album presents a guided journey through inner emotional landscapes, integrating the vital healing energies of the celestial bodies of Earth, Sedna, Venus, Saturn, Mercury, and the moons of Mars, Jupiter, and Neptune. Listeners will be led into a calming space where surrender, meditation, reflection, and contemplation feel safe, possible, and sacred.

Today, Lisa shares her background and why she began doing the sound work including the four major life events that led her to the work including her mystical experiences and her life’s challenges. We begin talking about lullabies and their potent ability to heal and reduce pain and suffering not only babies, but also during palliative care. We then get to listen to some of the soundscapes, and she talks about how they came to be through her connection to astrology and planetary energies. We end our conversation talking about Lisa’s advocacy work to reduce sound pollution that was infiltrating her living space.

To experience the magic firsthand, you can join one of Lisa’s livestream Soundscape Journey events via the free Insight Timer meditation app. You can also find her music on Spotify, Bandcamp, SoundCloud, and YouTube or follow Darling on Instagram and TikTok. If you are interested in hosting a live Soundscape Journey event in the Hudson Valley area, you can contact Lisa directly and you can learn more about her work and all of her online and in-person offerings via http://www.lisamariedarling.com.

Finally, you can learn more about the Headstone Gallery event in which Lisa’s Soundscapes will be a part of coming opening June 4th over here.

And here’s your Forever Conscious Moon report for the upcoming New Moon!

Today’s show was engineered by Ian Seda of Radio Kingston.

Our show music is from Shana Falana !!! She’s playing OPUS 40 this Friday!

Feel free to email me, say hello: she@iwantwhatshehas.org

** Please: SUBSCRIBE to the pod and leave a REVIEW wherever you are listening, it helps other users FIND IT

http://iwantwhatshehas.org/podcast

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224 “BLOOM” with Circle Creative Collective

Today I am joined by Melissa Hewitt, Mirabai Trent, and Jenny Wonderling from Circle Creative Collective to talk about their upcoming happening, BLOOM, and their ongoing work to build on their commitment of connecting and inspiring diverse communities by sharing and preserving traditional crafts and skills.

BLOOM: the Rebirth invites you to rediscover your dreams and your most joyous and authentic you. Step upon candlelit paths through interactive dreamscapes celebrating wonder and the fullness of spring. Join our visceral journey through the woods and be both witness and player on an exuberant full sensory experience where performance meets the sacred and celebration. This is avant-garde ceremony, breaking the bounds and touching pure magic as creativity emerges from the trees and forest floor, falls from the sky, and is illuminated all around you. It’s a spectacle, an inspiration, an awakening and an offering to the earth and our collective future. This May, meet magical creatures who will share wisdom, music, dance, and even bring healing. BLOOM is living theater wrapped in a prayer.

We also talked about their offerings Sankofa, Chrysalis for teens program, and their Craft Preservation workshops. It was a lively and loving conversation about their relationships to rebirth, joy, conscious living and connecting in community.

Hope to see some of you at BLOOM on May 28th or June 4th at the Stone Ridge Orchard! Remember to reach out to them if you want to help out or would like to request a sliding scale ticket discount.

Oh, and here’s the information on this Saturday’s Together for Mental Health Community Walk.

Today’s show was engineered by Ian Seda of Radio Kingston.

Our show music is from Shana Falana !!!

Feel free to email me, say hello: she@iwantwhatshehas.org

** Please: SUBSCRIBE to the pod and leave a REVIEW wherever you are listening, it helps other users FIND IT

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223 “The Birth Show” with Marielena Ferrer

On this month’s installment of Politics and Spirituality with Marielena Ferrer we go deep into birth and the many facets of this conversation including; immaculate conception, unwanted pregnancies, and rebirths.

Here’s the NPR article we referenced, and here’s Tanaaz’s Full Moon Lunar Eclipse report.

Today’s show was engineered by Ian Seda of Radio Kingston.

Our show music is from Shana Falana !!!

Feel free to email me, say hello: she@iwantwhatshehas.org

** Please: SUBSCRIBE to the pod and leave a REVIEW wherever you are listening, it helps other users FIND IT

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222 Kia Abilay “The Gift of Listening” and Lisa Hantes “The Gift of Giving”

Today I celebrate the life of Kia Abilay. She was a guest on the show September 21, 2021 when she talked about her book, The Gift of Listening: Cultivating Your Connection to Spirit. The part of her story we didn’t get into in her interview was how she had been diagnosed with esophageal cancer and what she was doing to heal from it. Kia passed on November 22, 2021 and so today, on her birthday and the day of her Celebration of Life, I read from portions of her book in her honor.

Then in the second hour of the of the show, I am joined by Lisa Hantes president of the board of directors for Angel Food East, one of Kia’s favorite local charities which was chosen for remembrance donations in her honor. Lisa has been the board president for the last 8 years and is also a volunteer chef.  Locals may know her as the GM and co-proprietor of Keegan Ales, where she worked together with her husband Tommy for the past 10-12 years. She also works with Ulster Literacy association as a grant administrator and tutor trainer. Lisa lets us know how we can support the work of Angel Food East and all the cool happenings on the horizon at Keegans.

Don’t forget about Marielena’s opening this Friday at the Dorsky in New Paltz!

Today’s show was engineered by Ian Seda of Radio Kingston.

Our show music is from Shana Falana !!!

Feel free to email me, say hello: she@iwantwhatshehas.org

** Please: SUBSCRIBE to the pod and leave a REVIEW wherever you are listening, it helps other users FIND IT

http://iwantwhatshehas.org/podcast

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