Aphrodite
SEXUALITY MEETS SPIRITUALITY. IF THAT IDEA RESONATES WITH YOU, KEEP READING…
As I’ve mentioned before on my welcome page, I’ve lived a fragmented life where I’ve compartmentalized aspects of myself. Like one of those people who’s food can’t touch, certain qualities weren’t allowed to overlap with others. Many of us do this without recognizing it and it’s fucking exhausting. Tearing down walls is a process. During this process what’s come up is a recognition that I need to heal the separation I’ve created between my sexuality and spirituality and I know I’m not alone.
WE NEED TO BEGIN TO SEE SEXUALITY THROUGH THE LENS OF SPIRITUALITY SO THAT WE CAN GIVE BIRTH TO A MORE HOLISTIC LIFE AND RELAX INTO OUR HIGHER POWER.
Marianne Williamson recently hosted a weekend seminar called “Aphrodite Training: On the Convergence of Woman, Goddess and Lover” and before knowing too much about it, I had a strong feeling that I somehow needed to know more. As I’ve since learned, this inclination is a clear sign that Aphrodite’s energy is calling me. It wouldn’t have caught my attention if I didn’t recognize she’s a part of me. And I definitely wouldn’t have Clarissa Pinkola Estés’ Women Who Run with the Wolves sitting on my book shelf (admittedly half-read, but still…). That feeling was so strong that I ended up winning access to the Livestream training through a Twitter contest (#lawofattraction) and to pay it forward, I want to share what I've learned so far with you...
In the book Goddesses in Everywoman Jean Shinoda Bolen names the different goddesses that women tend to embody. Each goddess has different qualities about her. Aphrodite is the goddess that represents beauty, love, sexuality, creativity and procreativity. She gives birth to children, ideas and projects. She brings out the best in men by being a source of joy and confidence. And when Aphrodite is “in her temple”, she expresses her sexuality freely with a man that truly honors her divinity.
BASICALLY, SHE’S THE GROWN-ASS WOMAN IN US.
Embracing Aphrodite can be scary to some of us. Women’s powers have been suppressed by society for generations. Most of us have been socialized to see ourselves and other women through the Madonna/Whore dichotomy that interprets different aspects of ourselves as good (spirituality) and others as bad (sexuality), when in reality everything is divine when we’re operating from within the temple. Also, Marianne tells us, feminism has played a role in our suppression of Aphrodite because we’ve subtly defined femininity as weak. I consider myself a feminist but can recognize that we’ve pursued equality mainly through embodying masculine energies. We’ve put the pants on in the relationships, become bread winners and while all that is great, it has come at the expense of our Aphrodite qualities. We’re out in the world being badass during the day and come home and forget to soften up so that those gentler energies can be expressed at night.
AS A RESULT OF SOCIETY’S DOMINATING PERSPECTIVES, MOST OF US HAVE EITHER DISOWNED OR DISTORTED APHRODITE’S ENERGIES, CAUSING US TO FEEL FRAGMENTED, UNBALANCED AND WITH A FAIR SHARE OF HEARTACHE.
The experience manifests differently for those in a relationship and those not currently in relationship, but learning to resurrect this goddess in our lives will lead to more holistic romantic relationships in the present and future. If you’ve read this far, I’m gonna take a guess and say there is something about this topic that is needing your attention. The first step we take in the resurrection is to reflect on how you've suppressed, disowned or taken Aphrodite out of the temple... or all of the above. Take this week to journal or just think about it. As I continue the training, I will share what Marianne Williamson suggests as the next step for resurrecting Mighty Aphrodite and how merging your sexuality with your spirituality can lead to better relationships. Stay tuned for next week's post.
Side Note - This is just the tip of the iceberg on this topic and filtered through my understanding. If you want to get a more in depth understanding, I highly recommend taking the training straight from the wisdom of Marianne Williamson.