Feminine Energy and Spiritual Evolution

The world we find ourselves in and our existential predicament as souls having a human experience is the preoccupation of all who dare to explore their purpose and the meaning of life. As such, have you ever given thought to your soul’s gender? Can the inner ‘us’ possess both feminine and masculine natures in varying degrees? Are these natures revealed by human events in distinct ways being played out on the world stage?

Culturally, we relate to feminine energy as ‘compassionate’ and masculine energy as ‘forceful.’ Where intuition and creativity are considered feminine, logic and pragmatism are considered masculine. In truth, all people are a mixture of both energies, and the personality or life display reveals which energy is dominant irrespective of anatomically determined gender designations. This is my own conviction or theory, if you prefer, but I think gender identity, male-to-female and female-to-male, are expressions of spiritual evolution being played out in human evolution. A radical idea, I know.

My own transgender journey began with a profound spiritual awakening. Reaching a level of higher consciousness empowered me to accept my authentic self as a feminine soul assigned as a male at birth. Religious and social pressures had repressed my self-identification as female, but now I felt free and validated. I hated forcing myself to fit in as a boy, and as I matured, I did what males do to cure myself of feeling female, including dating girls and getting married to try to overcome feelings of inadequacy and depression. Obviously, it didn’t work.

We live in a binary masculine-feminine world, dominated by the masculine binary for the entire span of human history. [Editor’s Note: European culture or “Western” culture is male dominated but matriarchy does exist.] Only recently did Western culture begin to accept women as near-equals in a “man’s world.” Women didn’t receive the right to vote in America until the 19th Amendment was passed on August 18, 1920. The British Parliament granted women the right to vote in 1918. Gross inequality still exists in many parts of the world. Even in the enlightened “democracy” of the United States women are still fighting for equal pay in the work place.

This isn’t about the politics of gender equality. This post is to introduce the religious, philosophical and mythological role of what I refer to as “feminine energy” in bringing about the spiritual evolution of our planet. I mention gender equality issues because we can review history and watch current events unfold for spiritual evolutionary clues. Presently we can’t see the peaceful end. One might wonder, will we ever get there?

Humankind’s spiritual evolution is mirrored by what happens around us, even in the chaos in our nation’s capital and the verbal macho sparring between two leaders bringing us to the brink of a nuclear holocaust. Throughout human history, conflict has been a necessary evil in this process, which is metaphorically referred to in the Judea-Christian Bible as “birth pains” The pain of birth brings forth something beautiful.

The concept of coming together and balance, or marriage, of masculine and feminine energies is found in Judaism, Christianity, Buddhism, Hinduism, and the mythology of many cultures. The Greek word for ‘spirit’ in the New Testament, neuma, is neutral in gender, yet it is preceded by a feminine pronoun. The Hebrew word for spirit, ruach, is a feminine noun literally translated as “breath.” The Tao describes the world as male-yang energies and female-yin energies in constant motion. Lao-Tzu, the attributed author of the Tao Te Ching (English translation: The “Way”) implores us to “embrace the feminine way.”

With the current hostile political and religious environment, bigotry and evil is being exposed, and it appears evolution is in reverse. What is happening now, however painful and fearful, is bringing more awareness to the LGBTQ fight for equality. If we can look past the scary media coverage, there is a recoil stiffening the resolve of our community and our allies. In the face of conservative religious persecution, more and more worship communities are becoming inclusive and even advocates for our cause. I have the idealistic, perhaps unrealistic, viewpoint that the freedom to declare and express our gender is where the human race and the planet we inhabit is heading; toward a more enlightened people driven by generations of spiritual and societal revolution and evolution.

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Tags: featured, Identity, opinion, spirituality, Transgender

Category: Transgender Body & Soul