The Unknown in the Divine Feminine

How does the practice of the Divine Feminine deal with the mind's apprehension and fear of the unknown? Goddess traditions and Goddess wisdom from ancient spirituality of India embrace the nature of the mind to feel fear and apprehension in the face of mystery. The Divine Feminine practices include specific ways of dealing with the mind's fear of the unknown. The practice of mystery, which is the heart of Goddess Wisdom in Indian culture, is the source of teaching through revelation. Therefore the practice enables you to encounter mystery and the unknown. Through the invocation of the Goddesses, such as Goddess Kali and others, the practice is always held in the Divine presence. The embodied presence of the Goddesses provides a space of compassion and strength in the face of mystery and the unknown. Indian dance as used in the practice is designed to deal with your uncertainty and unease when faced with the unknown. The role of the teacher and facilitator is to accompany you in your practice so that you are guided through the moments of mystery in the Divine Feminine.

The Unknown in the Divine Feminine Transcript

SPEAKERS

Padma Menon

Padma Menon  00:00

Today I want to reflect with you about a question that I get asked sometimes by the women that I practice within my individual programs, and sometimes even in my group classes. And this is about the combination of excitement and apprehension that some of them feel when they start the program or when they're considering the program. And sometimes the apprehension seems to get the better of them. Now, if you're listening to this, and you can resonate with this, then this video is for you. 

For me, the combination of excitement and apprehension is not unusual, when you consider a program like this Goddess tradition, which is a practice of mystery and Revelation. When your mind senses mystery, and I don't mean pretend mystery, because the mind really knows when a mystery is a pretend mystery. And when it's really a mystery, when it actually senses that there is mystery, there is an invitation to step into the unknown, that there is an invitation to leave behind things that you know, and to move into a space of Revelation, it is very normal for the mind to feel apprehensive. Because truly, the mind does not like mystery. Let's face it, the mind does not like mystery. And a Goddess tradition, this Goddess tradition is based on wisdom coming through revelation to you. And of course, Revelation only happens when you don't already know something. So how does this Goddess tradition deal with apprehension, because it absolutely recognizes and has ways to help you to move through apprehension. And there are three ways in which it does this. 

Firstly, the first thing we do in the practice is that you invoke the Goddess. So when you come into the practice, you choose a Goddess that you want to work with. And we invoke this Goddess, not as a story of fantasy, or imagination, but it is invoked in a very visceral way as a state of being as an experience in your body. So you carry this divine state of being this Goddess Consciousness, which underpins your practice. So in moments of apprehension and uncertainty, we always are in the presence in the state of being of this powerful Goddess Consciousness. 

The second thing is that these traditions are thousands of years old. And it is a sophisticated practice of mystery and Revelation. So it absolutely sees and recognizes that the mind will have moments of uncertainty and apprehension. And this is integrated into part of the practice itself. 

And thirdly, the role of the teacher or the facilitator, which in this case, in this tradition, it will be me. So my role is to accompany you in this practice. So this means that you are never alone in those moments of uncertainty, or apprehension that I'm there to provide you guidance, to find your own wisdom and teaching to move through those moments. And I can tell you that very often, when I practice with women, it is exactly that moment of uncertainty and apprehension that holds the greatest wisdom and that holds the wisdom and the teaching that is necessary for you to come into your spiritual liberation and your unconditional freedom. And that is the promise and the beauty of this ancient Goddess tradition. 

So I do hope that if you have those moments of excitement and apprehension that you will hold that and you will be able to consider how revelation comes through mystery and mystery is always something that the mind is not comfortable with. But it can be brought into the beauty of revelation when the wisdom of your teaching is revealed to you.