yogic man or yogic god? |
It got me thinking. Why haven't I referred to my buddy Drew who practices yoga as a god? How come men aren't recognizing each other in their divinity and saying, "wow, what a god." What started out as as just a joke is now turning into an inquiry.
Sexism, gender stereotyping, post-feminist revolution and divine recognition comes to mind. Is it some kind of feminist revolutionary language women will say to empower themselves with? Or, is it just divine recognition of each others' truest qualities coming forth through language and being that women are comfortable with in showing and recognizing in each other? What is the dark, shadow side of this? Is there one? Is it a way of demonstrating a gender power shift? What if a man referred to another man as a god? Would that be too sexist or macho for women? Or would it be too radical for how men are supposed to act towards each other in our aging Piscean world. Hmmm...This is getting interesting.
In any case, I still find the whole sociological breakdown funny. We've all gone through this life together, from the beginning-man and woman have walked the earth side-by-side, have we forgotten this? I wonder if sometimes we have and think that maybe we really are from different planets. Even Venus and Mars in Roman mythology speaks to our differences, it's not just a book.
Mars being the god of war who was married to Bellona but had a lover in Venus. War is synonymous with destruction and in todays current, brutality, selfishness, greed, capitalism and in mythological terminology-deceit and even adultery, the savages! It's easy to blend the connotation of man/god/Mars together and drop it in a not-so-friendly box of stereotypes. Venus on the other hand represents love, beauty and fertility. Today women celebrate and are celebrated for their ability to procreate and shine out in the world, at least in the West. But it's funny how we as men don't refer to each other as gods. Could it be b/c we are still enacting a 'boy psychology' as authors Moore and Gillette coin in their book, 'King, Warrior, Magician, Lover?' In this case why would we want to be referred to each other as god's when we are clearly acting like mortal boys. So, yeah, whew. Us men being called god's. And I'm not even pushing for it to happen. But to hear it out there in the world, well that would just be weird, wouldn't it? 'Yo man.. Drew, he is such a god, so powerful and handsome!' Never happens. Maybe cool or smart or something?
But who am I to be the world's authority on divine recognition? Maybe men do call each other god's? Maybe in remote places around the world like some Polynesian islands or California men are cultivating a new way of referring to themselves and each other in the transformed dialect of 'God'? I mean why not? Women are goddesses, right? Wouldn't that by default equate a man to be a god? Actually, now that I am writing this I remember my friend Patrick, who lives in Burlington, VT. Patrick has a section of his house where prayer, yoga and meditation take place. That room is called the 'GGIT.' An acronym for 'God's and Goddesses In Training.'
Ahhh, I see now. As long as it's an all-inclusive affair for Zeus's and Hera's we're kosher. It's been an imbalance of power all along! The goddesses need the gods, and the god's need the goddesses! It's a call to action for men all over to become more godly and step into their natural essence themselves! Right? Women have been referring to themselves as goddesses b/c they secretly want their male counterparts to step up and do the same so they can too be recognized by men as such and so that men can become the idyllic personification the women are so longing for,... yeah?
Is this what divine godliness looks like? |
B~
haha... in California indeed... my male friends the other day had a "God's Night Out"... sort of half jokingly. I think, as you said, the Goddess thing is cool, a little bit overdone but has a lot to do with women being more open and ready to acknowledge each other as such, and at the same time craving more openly that recognition of our own divinity... we need those affirmations, ya hear that, gods? meanwhile, the divine shines in each of us and the more we clear away the filters the more we attract other people shining forth on their path, be they Gods or Goddesses. And, if nothing else... Fake it till you Make it!!
ReplyDeleteAwesome Mr. Waloff... great insight... great writing. Keep it up and keep asking the questions and share your gift. And yes, we are Gods!! Woohoo!!
ReplyDeleteHey Brandon,
ReplyDeleteThank you for the topic. I actually like the idea of guys incorporating the term "god" into their identity. Having high standards for ourselves usually propels us to new heights.
As for goddess, this terms is helping me lately. I am remembering and owning my goddess potential with this term and the energy associated with it.
A few years ago, however, I didn't feel ready for it and didn't like when others used it. If we're ready, let's embrace these ideals and see how close we can get to embodying the reality of them.