“Tantra is an Eastern philosophy which posits that the universe is created by and made up of
masculine (Shiva) and feminine (Shakti) energies that infuse all things.
Both energies exist within each of us in varying amounts. Learning how to engage both fully is what ends up making a person psychologically, emotionally, and physically well. Just as you wouldn’t operate a remote control with only one battery, you need both of these energies to source your own power. They’re necessary tools for shaping your life.”
Alissa Vitti, Woman Code
Finding Balance
Balancing both masculine and feminine energies within my own body and being, finding the qualities that resonate with my own essence and experiences, aside from society’s expectations, is a current and intense fascination. Considering what aspects of the sacred masculine and sacred feminine (quite often opposed to traditional culturally conditioned ideas of the masculine and feminine) resonate within me in various areas of my life has become an on-going exercise and practice of attunement. I am able to distinguish the tone and tension of each energy stream and am beginning to notice that imbalance is occurring because I focus on, or value, one type of this sacred energy over the other. Balancing the masculine and feminine energies appears to be a fluid and continuous process of first deepening awareness of my body, and then choosing or consenting to increasing or decreasing the flow of either force, as needed.
Qualities Associated with Feminine Energy
When I do accept and encourage feminine energy, I can experience the soothing strength and power that comes with being a receptive and attractive, magnetic vessel. Below are some of the virtues and abilities associated with sacred feminine energy, or Shakti.
Empathy
Nurturing
Fluidity
Softness
Reception
Openness
Devotion
Creativity
Compassion
Community
Feelings
Support
Intuition
Life
Understanding
When I attune to the feminine stream as it pulsates through my system, I find I am able to:
Hold space for people, processes and projects to develop at their natural pace
Enjoy the process or unfolding of creation, independent of the end result
See the big picture and the interconnectedness of many parts and dimensions
Work with others and create community
Connect to emotional and physical life as a catalyst for spiritual development and transformation
Relate to others by listening deeply, sharing, and nurturing
Enjoy being an attractive, receptive magnet for the elements of love and healing that might be called for at any given time
One of the deepest learnings for me in the exploration of the feminine is the understanding that knowing is a process. Knowledge is not static but is forever changing. There is not a level of knowledge to be achieved. Once I think I know something, it opens new possibilities for greater, infinite knowing. This is an incredibly important insight for one, who, like myself, can get attached to being right or who, in lieu of integrated masculine energy, relies on the static knowing of a thing for stability.
Qualities Associated with Masculine Energy
The masculine force also pulsates through my body and when I am able to recognize it and surrender to it, I can experience my innate potency; my existence as a powerful, creative, physical presence. Below are some of the virtues and abilities associated with sacred masculine energy, or Shiva.
Leadership
Action
Reason
Logic
Adventure
Strength
Loyalty
Firmness
Survival
Confidence
Focus
Pride
Honor
Efficiency
Power
Caretaker
When I attune to the masculine stream as it pulsates through my system, I find I am able to:
Tenaciously pursue my purpose
Identify and focus on intentional action relative to my purpose
Decide when/where/how a project or process develops
Focus on the end result of a project, in service to my purpose
Focus on one thing at a time
Be present and in immediacy with my experience
Rely on myself, on my personal experience and individual achievements
Contain and direct my emotions and my body in service to my purpose
Relate to others through camaraderie, entertainment, and problem-solving
The masculine energy shows up in my personal experience in the creation of structures and rules that allow logic to express correctly. Knowledge is not fluid here, but rather static and focused on what is. When masculine energy is dominant, I place a high value on precision and exactness. There is also a sense of righteousness, relative to purpose. A willingness to do the right thing even if it means humiliation or loss. Sometimes following my life purpose means making no compromises and leaving behind people and places and things I love but I know no longer serve.
Bottom line, these dynamic forces share an interdependent relationship, which means they cannot exist without one another. Their coexistence means they affect each other constantly and is essential to achieving equilibrium. I am noticing how vital it is to learn how to switch between them, how to turn up or turn down the volume or velocity of flow on either one, so I can experience and express the dynamic balance in all my actions in life.
Sun and moon. Light and dark. Day and night. Inhale and exhale. All these complimentary pairs exist in nature. Each are essential and fundamental to the existence of the other. There is no daytime without the nighttime. There is no exhalation of breath without the inhalation of breath. These apparent opposites affect every aspect of my personal experience, and every aspect of our collective experience.
Everything has a masculine and a feminine dimension. We are all thinking, feeling and behaving according to the spoken and unspoken cultural agreements that surround these energetic partnerings. Becoming aware of how I embody energetic imbalances and understanding the different values I place on each energy is a crucial step in becoming ever-more responsible for my experience and to bringing a harmonious energetic force into this world.
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