Women, Evolution and Enlightenment

Women as Agents of Peace

2011-12-03T19:53:00.020-05:00

agents of Peace Action (click on peace)

Not all news is bad news from Africa. An unexpected bright news from Zambia puts African women above men in terms of commitment to do their best despite lack of skill and education.

Why so many African American Women are joining the US military?

On a different note ~
Wonder how was life like for the citizen and non-citizen women in Classical Greece.
How did Aristotle view women?
Something I am munching on for my upcoming NCIS - AHA Panel Presentation on Jan 6, 2012

In his idealised REPUBLIC, Plato foresees an upperclass of ‘guardians’ among whom the chattel status of women is abolished (i.e. she is no longer owned by her husband) and in which women were to receive equal education to men.

“It is only males who are created directly by the gods and are given souls. Those who live rightly return to the stars, but those who are ‘cowards or [lead unrighteous lives] may with reason be supposed to have changed into the nature of women in the second generation’. This downward progress may continue through successive reincarnations unless reversed. In this situation, obviously it is only men who are complete human beings and can hope for ultimate fulfilment; the best a woman can hope for is to become a man” (Plato, Timaeus 90e)." - www.Womenpreists.Org

"Women can, of course, be educated, but their minds are not adapted to the higher sciences, philosophy, or certain of the arts. Women may have happy inspirations, taste, elegance, but they have not the ideal. The difference between man and woman is the same as between animal and plant." - G.W. F. Hegel

"On the theory of the soul’s mortality, the inferiority of women’s capacity is easily accounted for. Their domestic life requires no higher faculties either of mind or body. This circumstance vanishes and becomes absolutely insignificant on the religious theory: the one sex has an equal task to perform as the other; their powers of reason and resolution ought also to have been equal, and both of them infinitely greater than at present." - David Hume, On the immortality of soul

“A real man wants two things: danger and play. Therefore he wants woman as the most dangerous plaything. Man shall be educated for war, and woman for the recreation of the warrior: all else is folly [ ... ] And women must obey and find a depth for her surface. Surface is the disposition of woman: a mobile, stormy film over shallow water. Man’s disposition, however, is deep; his river roars in subterranean caves: woman feels his strength but does not comprehend it" - Nietzsche, Zarathustra [Philosophical Misadventures: source link]

Philosophy mixed with misogyny makes a bad cocktail but a good subject for amusing kitchen conversation. How does unconscious biases develop in our family, community and culture?
Why are we men (and women) still killing our precious Girl Cells. Listen to Eve Ensler : Ted Talks

Coming back to the topic of peace, Amnesty International Commends US and Obama for Action Plan to protect women and children in conflict.

Only 1 in 13 participants in peace negotiations since 1992 have been women, and women have served as only 6 percent of negotiators in formalized peace talks. Women have never been appointed as chief mediators in U.N.-brokered talks. [Amnestyusa.org LINK ]

Redefining War, Peace, Women and Wikipedia

2011-11-09T13:18:00.011-05:00

Women, War & Peace is a bold new five-part PBS series challenging the conventional wisdom that war and peace are men’s domain. Spotlighting the stories of women in conflict zones from Bosnia to Afghanistan and Colombia to Liberia, it places women at the center of an urgent dialogue about conflict and security, and reframes our understanding of modern warfare. Featuring narrators Matt Damon, Tilda Swinton, Geena Davis and Alfre Woodard, Women, War & Peace is the most comprehensive global media initiative ever mounted on the roles of women in war and peace. Watch on your local PBS station Tuesday nights from Oct. 11 to Nov. 8.

This year’s Nobel Peace Prize went to three women champions of peace, justice and democracy: President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf of Liberia, her compatriot Leymah Gbowee, and Tawakkul Karman of Yemen. This is the first time that the Nobel Committee’s citation included a direct reference to Security Council resolution 1325. Meet the 2011 Nobel Pecae Prize Laureate Leymah Gbowee and her Story of Liberia's Women Movement to stop the Civil War.

Women and Girls Lead offers a collection of films by the world’s best independent filmmakers. These films focus on women who are working to transform their lives, their communities, and the world. Browse the list of films.

Where Are the Women in Wikipedia?

Why are there so many more men than women contributing to a "free encyclopedia that anyone can edit"? I have been an avid Wikipedia participant after 9-11 and cherised such an open platform. I had to quit many times because of the behind the wall watchdog editors erasing my edits, and I am yet to learn how to properly use the talk button. Also the 'Neutrality Policy' is likely to chuck out non-mainstream heterodox views (including womens') to maintain status quo and political correctness and perhaps even reification of Knowledge.

For example I just tried now to add the word learning with edit summary (at the bottom describing the change), along with experience and education in the first line of the definition of knowledge. And it was immediately erased without explanation. I also added the word 'unknown' (leaving edit summary blank) after the phrase 'getting familiar with someone or something' in the same definition. It is still up after 10 minutes. Who has time to check after every edit or learn all the tricks of the editing. Wikipedia seems averse to take live newsclips from youtube or references quoted in blogs or online articles. Yet I believe in open sourcing of knowledge and love to see Wikipedia grow! [Source: New York Times, Feb 2011]

Also view Latinos and Blacks for Internet Freedom.

US Silent on Convention Eliminating All Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW)

2011-09-10T21:03:00.028-04:00

"Ratifying CEDAW remains among the unfinished business of the Civil Rights movement." - Dorothy I. Height, April 13, 2010

Almost all countries have ratified the CEDAW agreement – 186 out of 193 countries have ratified. Only seven have not ratified, including the United States, Sudan, Somalia, Iran, and three small Pacific Island nations (Nauru, Palau, and Tonga).
Ratification of CEDAW in US has no financial cost. It just requires 67 Senators to stand together for women and girls.

<> Domestic violence: the landmark Violence Against Women Act, has done much to prevent domestic violence, yet two million women a year report injuries from current or former partners in the United States.
<> Maternal health: the United States ranks 41st among a ranking of 184 countries on maternal deaths during pregnancy and childbirth, below all other industrialized nations and a number of developing countries.
<> Economic security: U.S. women continue to lag behind men in income, earning on average only 77 cents for every dollar that a man makes.
<> Paid Parental Leave: Only four countries have no national law mandating paid time off for new parents : Liberia, Papua New Guinea, Swaziland, and the United States [wikipedia]
<> State of US Children: One Third of America’s poor are children—16.4 million. - Children's Defense Fund
<> Human trafficking: the Trafficking Victims Protection Act has played a pivotal role in combating human trafficking. However, estimates suggest that there may be 20,000 women, men and children trafficked into the U.S. each year. - RatifyCEDAW.org

Hillary Clinton is gathering support for CEDAW since its signing by President Carter 30 years ago. Isn't that strange? -Huffington Post, 9/20/2011

In a recent Newsweek Survey of 165 countries on the best places for Women to live with equality, Iceland, Sweden, Canada, Denmark, Finland and Norway made it to the top of the list.- Daily Beast World News, 9/20/2011

Women's equality is yet to be fully realized, says US Representative Carolyn Maloney
Find more on Status of women in the States and Middle East at the Institute for Women's Policy Research.

According to UN Women (formerly Unifem), 70% of the World's poor are women and girls. Poverty is a women's issue and there is no 'gender-neutral' budget or policy. Women perform 66% of the world’s work, produce 50% of the food, but earn 10% of the income and own 1% of the property.[source]

Spiritual Work of the Feminine, Inner work & Return to Beloved

2011-04-21T00:46:00.010-04:00

I came across this beautiful teaching series on Divine Feminine via my spiritual friend Jamie Walters, creator of Ivy Sea and Feminine Moho Mystery School.

Listen to Sufi Teacher

Llewellyn Vaughan-Lee

speaking on the Dangerous Love, Inner Work and the Beloved

More on the process of opening the mystical heart and journey from romantic, to altruistic
and perhaps enchanted love, after the personality/ego has gone through many deaths. The seed of disenchantment and dispassion and mind's obsession with form finds ultimate release.
(Rumi poems)

Why smart women make poor relationship choices? - BraveheartWomen
An Apology to Divine Feminine, a blog from Jeff Brown, author of Soulshaping

"There is a light that shines beyond all things on Earth, beyond us all,
beyond the heaven, beyond the highest, the very highest heavens.
This is the light that shines in our heart."

-Chandogya Upanishad

Also see homage to feminine by divine masculine

“The most beautiful and profound emotion we can experience is the sensation of the mystical [...] He to whom this emotion is a stranger, who can no longer wonder and stand rapt in awe, is good as dead.” – Albert Einstein

Humanity's Greatest Untapped Resource

2011-02-12T19:11:00.005-05:00

Even among all the bad news and conditions of violence, prejudice, economic deprivations, religious sanctions stacked against equality of majority of Women in the World there are some great things happening or rather women making it happen!

“Women’s strength, women’s industry, women’s wisdom are humankind’s greatest untapped resource,” the Executive Director of UN Women, Michelle Bachelet, a former president of Chile, told the first regular session of the agency’s executive board. “The challenge then for UN Women is to show our diverse constituencies how this resource can be effectively tapped in ways that benefit us all.”

UN Women – known formally as the UN Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women – was established by the General Assembly in July last year, with the merger of four former UN agencies and offices: the UN Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM), the Division for the Advancement of Women (DAW), the Office of the Special Adviser on Gender Issues, and the UN International Research and Training Institute for the Advancement of Women (UN-INSTRAW) [Source]

While surfing I came across the inspiring World Pulse site. It is a powerful global communication forum for connecting women across the World and giving them a global voice. I wrote a quick letter till late last night to the new UN Women Ex. Director Michelle Bachelet articulating my fledgling economic vision for the world.

Grandmother's are gathering locally and globally as Speakers: "We have come to empower women so that each one so empowered can begin to bring the great imbalance on earth into balance. The feminine principle of energy must be re-established to its rightful place. Each woman who receives the Grandmothers empowerment is helping infuse the much-needed energy of yin into the earth by embodying this consciousness herself. This infusion of energy gives a woman a feeling of peace and security. It increases the power of love in her, and as she goes about her daily life she becomes a blessing to others." [Source link]

13 Grandmothers from four directions gathered in 2004 to speak for seven generations. [Video Link]

Yes Madam Sir, Kiran Bedi and Doing Time, Doing Vipassana

2010-12-02T21:10:00.008-05:00

More on Kiran Bedi
Doing Time Doing Vipassana is a very moving documentary produced by Israeli Filmakers. It captures the experience of prison inmates in Delhi's notorious Tihar Jail before, during and after Vipassana training. In 1993, as the newly appointed Inspector General, Kiran Bedi, undertook major reforms of the Indian prison system. She asked for advice and found her answer inside the Tihar prison through an ancient Indian system of meditation called Vipassana, which was rediscovered by Gotama Buddha more than 2,500 years ago. Bedi's strong belief was that without reform inside prison, ex-prisoners would continue to commit crimes outside of prison. She instituted 10-day Vipassana meditation courses, first for prison staff, then for inmates. Following the success of the program in India, Vipassana has been introduced in a few prisons within USA
Prison Dharma Network is founded in 1989 by Fleet Maull, a former federal prisoner turned Dharma Teacher. PDN's mission is to provide prisoners, and those who work with them, with the most effective contemplative tools for self-transformation and rehabilitation. The US prison population exceeds 2.4 million and is out of control and we spend nearly 70 billion dollars to keep the system going. wikipedia One percent of this huge sum can easily be spent on restorative mindfulness and yoga practices for long term rehab and recidivism reduction. Without citizen awareness and civic action this is not likely to happen. [Alabama prison Interview by Buddhist Geek]

Burning Times, Andocentrism in Sangha-Society, Dalai Lama and Karmapa's Forecast

2010-08-17T18:48:00.034-04:00

There was mass incarceration of millions of women during the Nazi Holocaust era. Not only Jewish women, but Polish, Roma (gypsy) and disable institutionalized women. Read their story here.

All religions and cultures contain strains of misogyny (prejudice, fear and aversion of women that is culturally sanctioned and socially accepted). See youtube "Women in Buddhism" by Venerable Karma Lekshe,
and "Women in Tibetan Buddhism" by Sarah Riser.

HH Dalai Lama commented recently that Buddhism has no gender bias and next Dalai Lama could be a female, if that form is more suitable for propagating dharma, but it better be an attractive female. [Read more here] :). He also commented earlier in Vancouver that the world will be saved by Western women. [Source Link]. The Seventeenth Gyalwang Karmapa stunned an international audience in Bodhgaya last winter by making an unprecedented declaration of commitment to ordaining women as bhikshunis in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition. Asked when there would be bhikshuni ordination in the Tibetan tradition,he leaned forward and said, in English, “I will do it.” The traditional “eight heavy rules” institutionalize women’s second-class status in Buddhist monasteries―women must submit to male leadership, senior nuns must take their place behind junior monks―and in most Buddhist lineages women are denied full ordination. [The Time Has Come - Article, Buddhadharma, S.2010]

It is interesting to note that in the Sutta on Bondage, Buddha spoke about transcending gender identification as part of his teaching on anatta and enlightenment. Here is a thoughtful blog by Bhikkhu Sujato of Australia on the prevalence of sexism, andocentrism and misogyny in Buddhist Sanghas. He says "Sexism is irrelevant or disproportional discrimination against a person based on their gender. Sexism is by definition wrong, since it harms women by depriving them of their full humanity. In a more subtle sense, sexism harms men too, since men’s sense of security is maintained by harming the ones they love."

I was quite moved by reading the life stories of some leading Women in Buddha's time, especially of Mallika (my grandma's namesake). They must be read in the social, cultural, spiritual context and ethos of the time.
The feminine principle in Vajrayana tradition signifies knowledge or wisdom, as well as the experience of sunyata. "Sunyata which is emptiness and openness, is also described in terms of the feminine principle - as the consort of all the buddhas. Prajna, or discriminating awareness, is described in terms of feminine principle too as the mother of all the Buddhas, she who gives birth to the very idea of enlightenment. This very notion of enlightenment was started by her, by prajna. But she who made the Buddhas speak, communicate, is sunyata. With sunyata there is a lot of room, openness, groundlessness, no one is standing on any ground, so communication can take place freely." - Chyogyam Trungpa (Nalanda Translation Committee 2008-09 newsletter)

A new dawn is emerging here for American Engaged Buddhism with the first historic ordination of Theravada nuns in the US and the western hemisphere! (see images 8/29/2010).

Wondering...what could be the effect of some traumatic ancient cultural traditions like male-female circumcision on the development of individual and collective male-female psyche? Does the drug of the new millenium alter our brain and our mutual capacity to co-evolve and experience the sacred?
And how could Board Members and Sangha members stop enabling behaviors and compliance patterns that are harmful for the individual member and the Sangha? [NY Times reports Scandal in a NY Zen Sangha 8-20-2010]

The science of epigenetics (beyond genetics) show that DNA is not the only controller of traits or habits. The expression of genes (switching mechanism) is largeley dependent on and influenced by the living environment including psycho-social, cultural and emotional environment.

Female Male Brain Wiring

2010-03-17T12:52:00.022-04:00

This is a continuation of an earlier thread on Female Brain in this blog.
Recently I came across this humorous video "A Tale of Two Brains" that may help us understand and develop compassion for the other gender and improve communication.

"All men should strive to learn before they die what they are running from, and to, and why" - James Gruber

Men has 6.5 times more gray matter than women and women has 10 times more white matter than men and this may explain why men and women feel, think, emotionally connect and remember people, places, events, objects, situations, concepts differently. It is not easy to tell whether the male-female brain differences are more inherent at birth or develop due to environment [See article at How Stuff Works ]

Women also have the benefit or disadvantage of having a larger Corpus Callosum and deep Limbic System. [Source and Link ].

It would be interesting to see intra-gender variations in same culture and between gender differnces across culture and also the impact of early education and home environment on brain development. Also this may shed light on how our education system, particularly elementary, higher and adult education can improve whole brain communication through interdisciplinary and cross culture study, holistic mind-body and healing arts, visual art, music, free motion, and self-directed learning.

On a different note here's an exploration of gender differences in perception and use of Complementary & Alternative Medicine from UCSD, School of Medicine.

There will be always men and women who step out of the boundaries set by their culture, society, tradition, religion and gender. Here is Charles Gilchrist talking about an ancient subject that appeals to both left and right brain oriented people. The subject is Sacred Geometry, which transforms our habitual ways of seeing and sensing the natural world and appreciate the beauty of ordinary things.

Nobel Peace Laureates Award Annie Lenox 2009 Peace Prize

2009-11-12T15:04:00.002-05:00

Meeting in Berlin, a group of Nobel Peace Prize laureates have awarded Scottish singer Annie Lennox their own peace award for her work with women and children suffering from AIDS in Africa. The World Summit of Nobel Peace Prize Laureates was meeting for the tenth time and the theme of their talks was "breaking down walls and building bridges."

The World March was recognized in Berlin on Wednesday, November 11, 2009 by the 10th World Summit of Nobel Peace Prize Laureates. The occasion was marked by a speech by Silo, founder of Universalist Humanism and an acknowledged inspiration for the March. “For the first time in history an event of this magnitude has been put in motion by the participants themselves,” he said. “The true strength of this impulse is born in the simple act of one who, out of conscience, joins a dignified cause and shares it with others." (Read full text of talk)

Brave Women of Liberia Struggle for Peace

2009-10-08T23:10:00.016-04:00

'Pray the devil back to hell' is a documentary film that tells the story of how a group of Liberian women paved the way to make it possible for Ellen Johnson Sirleaf to become the first democratically elected President in Africa in January 16, 2006. Dr. Johnson-Sirleaf made a keynote speech at a workshop on gender and infrastructure co-sponsored by the World Bank and the Government of Japan. After winning the election she talks about her vision of Liberia in Nov 2006. PBS Independent lens captures the Iron Ladies of Liberia.

She is recently barred from office for 30 years by the Truth and Reconciliation Office, she helped to set up in 2005. The role of The US government in Liberia remains unclear. CIA had reportedly used Liberia as a base to attempt the overthrow of Gadaffi's regime in Libya. The First Liberian Civil War (1989-1996), which was one of Africa's bloodiest, claimed the lives of more than 200,000 Liberians and further displaced a million others into refugee camps in neighboring countries.

Women ravaged by war in Sub-Saharan Africa, Sudan, Congo, Rwanda and other places are organizing to meet global food crisis, hunger and malnourishment with the help of Women For Women International.

Women and children are the largest yet mostly invisible casualties of War. See PBS wideangle episodes on Women, War and Peace.

Jimmy Carter Walks Out of his Faith Group in Support of Women's Equality

2009-07-21T11:40:00.009-04:00

In a rare stance, ex-president (1977-1981) and Nobel Peace prize winner 2002 Jimmy Carter walks out of Southern Baptist convention in support of Women's equality and freedom in all faiths and declaration of Universal Human Rights.

I have been a practising Christian all my life and a deacon and Bible teacher for many years. My faith is a source of strength and comfort to me, as religious beliefs are to hundreds of millions of people around the world. So my decision to sever my ties with the Southern Baptist Convention, after six decades, was painful and difficult. It was, however, an unavoidable decision when the convention's leaders, quoting a few carefully selected Bible verses and claiming that Eve was created second to Adam and was responsible for original sin, ordained that women must be "subservient" to their husbands and prohibited from serving as deacons, pastors or chaplains in the military service.

This view that women are somehow inferior to men is not restricted to one religion or belief. Women are prevented from playing a full and equal role in many faiths. Nor, tragically, does its influence stop at the walls of the church, mosque, synagogue or temple. This discrimination, unjustifiably attributed to a Higher Authority, has provided a reason or excuse for the deprivation of women's equal rights across the world for centuries.

At its most repugnant, the belief that women must be subjugated to the wishes of men excuses slavery, violence, forced prostitution, genital mutilation and national laws that omit rape as a crime. But it also costs many millions of girls and women control over their own bodies and lives, and continues to deny them fair access to education, health, employment and influence within their own communities.

The impact of these religious beliefs touches every aspect of our lives. They help explain why in many countries boys are educated before girls; why girls are told when and whom they must marry; and why many face enormous and unacceptable risks in pregnancy and childbirth because their basic health needs are not met.

In some Islamic nations, women are restricted in their movements, punished for permitting the exposure of an arm or ankle, deprived of education, prohibited from driving a car or competing with men for a job. If a woman is raped, she is often most severely punished as the guilty party in the crime.

The same discriminatory thinking lies behind the continuing gender gap in pay and why there are still so few women in office in the West. The root of this prejudice lies deep in our histories, but its impact is felt every day. It is not women and girls alone who suffer. It damages all of us. The evidence shows that investing in women and girls delivers major benefits for society. An educated woman has healthier children. She is more likely to send them to school. She earns more and invests what she earns in her family. It is simply self-defeating for any community to discriminate against half its population. We need to challenge these self-serving and outdated attitudes and practices - as we are seeing in Iran where women are at the forefront of the battle for democracy and freedom.

I understand, however, why many political leaders can be reluctant about stepping into this minefield. Religion, and tradition, are powerful and sensitive areas to challenge. But my fellow Elders and I, who come from many faiths and backgrounds, no longer need to worry about winning votes or avoiding controversy - and we are deeply committed to challenging injustice wherever we see it."

The Elders are an independent group of eminent global leaders, brought together by former South African president Nelson Mandela, who offer their influence and experience to support peace building, help address major causes of human suffering and promote the shared interests of humanity. We have decided to draw particular attention to the responsibility of religious and traditional leaders in ensuring equality and human rights and have recently published a statement that declares: "The justification of discrimination against women and girls on grounds of religion or tradition, as if it were prescribed by a Higher Authority, is unacceptable."

We are calling on all leaders to challenge and change the harmful teachings and practices, no matter how ingrained, which justify discrimination against women. We ask, in particular, that leaders of all religions have the courage to acknowledge and emphasise the positive messages of dignity and equality that all the world's major faiths share. The carefully selected verses found in the Holy Scriptures to justify the superiority of men owe more to time and place - and the determination of male leaders to hold onto their influence - than eternal truths. Similar biblical excerpts could be found to support the approval of slavery and the timid acquiescence to oppressive rulers.

I am also familiar with vivid descriptions in the same Scriptures in which women are revered as pre-eminent leaders. During the years of the early Christian church women served as deacons, priests, bishops, apostles, teachers and prophets. It wasn't until the fourth century that dominant Christian leaders, all men, twisted and distorted Holy Scriptures to perpetuate their ascendant positions within the religious hierarchy.

Read Carter's significant position paper here and also comment at BPF Virtual Chapter at ning.com. Poor and vulnerable women all over the world are exploited by third largest criminal enterprise after weapons and drugs. See the East European Women Speak in this documentary.

New finds worth exploring~

2008-12-04T16:25:00.014-05:00

Some time ago I received an invitation email from the International Museum of Women.
My first thought was it was about eminent women from the past as most museums are. I was delightfully surprised to see what a powerful and inspiring site it is profiling living and socially engaged women from all continents and backgrounds especially from areas where women's rights have a long history of suppression. It has a very proactive community action section. Listen to Jessica Jackley, co-founder of Kiva about the power of micro-finance and peer support to change lives. Last year I joined Kiva and am delighted to see how my contribution just keeps giving on and on.

My soul friend Jamie Walter is constantly tuning into her deep feminine wisdom and recreating herself in new visionary ways. Please check out her Deep Feminine and New Edge Pioneers Portals and her cool teleclasses. Waving at you Jamie!

An American Woman's Journey as Peace Pilgrim

2008-09-16T13:38:00.012-04:00

From 1953 to 1981 a silver haired woman calling herself only "Peace Pilgrim" walked more than 25,000 miles on a personal pilgrimage for peace. She vowed to "remain a wanderer until mankind has learned the way of peace, walking until given shelter and fasting until given food." In the course of her 28 year pilgrimage she touched the hearts, minds, and lives of thousands of individuals all across North America.

Her message was both simple and profound. It continues to inspire people all over the world. She had no organizational backing, carried no money, and would not even ask for food or shelter. It had to be offered without asking. For 28 years all her needs were met. She spoke to all who would listen about the entire peace picture; peace among nations, peace among groups, and the very important "inner peace" because she believed that was where peace began. Watch her speak to a college class.

Peace also requires we protect and nourish the most vulnerable, innocent and exploited girls and children subject to human trafficking around the world.

"Blessed are the Peacemakers, for they shall be called sons (and daughters) of God." - Jesus

"God became human, so humans might become God." - St. Athanasius of Alexandria

Female and Male Brain: Evolutionary Need to Connect

2008-05-01T21:14:00.021-04:00

Louann Brizendine, M.D. a pioneering neuron-psychiatrist "has done a great favor to every man who are looking to find a satisfying answer to Freud’s question, ‘What does a woman want?’comments Daniel Goleman, author of 'Social intelligence".

Her book “The Female Brain” show how the unique structure of the female brain determines how women think, what they value, how they communicate, and whom they’ll love. Research shows an astonishing array of structural, chemical, genetic, hormonal and functional brain differences between women and men. They have different brain sensitivities to stress and conflict and use different areas and circuits in brain to solve problems, process language, experience and store the same strong emotion.

A woman uses about 20,000 words a day, while a man about 7,000
A woman remember fights that a man insists never happened
Sexual thoughts enter a woman’s brain once every couple of days, but enter a man’s brain about once every minute. [It is somewhat of a mystery why Buddha, the Awakened one was initially quite hesistant about admitting nuns in the Sangha. Perhaps to shelter and evolve male brain impulse beyond biological drives to spiritual consciousness. That's has been my sense for some years now!
A woman knows what people are feeling, while a man can’t spot an emotion unless somebody cries or threaten’s bodily harm. Could it be the reason why so many relationships breakdown, because women feel men are not emotionally available to support them?
A teen girl is obsessed with her looks and talking on phone focused intensely on her emotion and communication; as testosterone takes over male brain, teen boys grow less communicative and more focused on scoring-in games and in backseat of car.
Male brains are larger by about 9%, women and men however have the same number of brain cells hich are just packed more densely in female- cinched into a smaller skull
Women remember smallest details of their first date and their biggest fights, while their husbands barely remember that these things happened
In the brain center for language and hearing women have 11% more neuron than men. Hippocampus – hub of memory and emotion formation and brain circuit for observing emotion is larger in female brain
Men, by contrast, have two and a half times the brain space devoted to sex drive and larger circuits for action and aggression. These basic structural differences could explain perceptive differences.
Men also have larger processors in the primitive core area of brain – amygdale, which registers fear and triggers aggression. Some men can go zero to fistfight in seconds, why many women will try anything to defuse conflict.
Overall the female brain is gifted at quickly assessing the thoughts, beliefs and intentions of others, based on smallest hints.
Unlike females, in the male brain most emotions trigger less gut sensation and more rational thought. The typical male brain wants to avoid emotion at all costs.
New born girls less than a day old respond more to human faces and cry of other babies than do boys.
Female brain has a tremendous aversion to conflict for fear of angering other person and losing relationship. She avoids anger and confrontation the same way a man avoids emotion. In case of extreme discomfort in a relationship, female brain can go into same spectrum as seizure and there are extra processing or chewing on anger happens in pre-frontal and the anterior cingulate cortex.
Women have different emotional perceptions, realities, responses and memories than do men and these differences based on brain circuitry and function – are at the heart of many misunderstandings.
There may be more mirror neurons in the human female brain than in the male brain (p 118). Mirror neuron are associated with empathy, language ability and understanding intentions of other.
Men have about 6½ times more grey matter in the brain related to cognition and intelligence than women, while women have nearly 10 times more white matter related to cognition and intelligence than men. Grey matter processes information locally in the brain, whereas white matter networks and connects information between different centres. This grey/white matter difference is one reason men tend to excel when focusing on one task only, while women excel at integrating and assessing information from wider sources of the brain and can multitask with more ease. (Leadership & Sexes by Michael Gurian). Also see white matter matters.

comment: Brain is not a passive organ. It is a very active learning and adaptive mechanism. There is clearly a great need for empathy and clear communication of feelings between genders and parent-child of complementary sex; perhaps fathers allowing daughters to express anger or encouraging healthy conflicts and mothers teaching sons empathy and healthy expression of feelings and difficult emotions. . The more we are willing to understand each other and appreciate our differences the better chances we have at creating enduring and satisfying relationships.

Voices of Sacred Feminine

2008-05-01T21:12:00.006-04:00

VOICES OF THE SACRED FEMININE
Internet Radio Show
with Karen Tate

LISTEN LIVE EVERY WEDNESDAY
6PM Pacific Time/9PM Eastern Time
Listen from the Archives at your Convenience
Subscribe to PIVTR and Download Interviews

About the Show

The Sacred Feminine, whether an archetype, ideology or deity, has been absent from the center stage of the world for centuries. In her absence, humanity has grown up like a child without it's mother. Humans are in chaos and disharmony worldwide in part because the feminine face of god has been stripped from too many of our cultures, religions and psyches.

We are like children with an emptiness in our hearts and we compensate in ways that have had tragic consequences for humankind. In this show, author, scholar and Goddess Advocate, Karen Tate, will encourage listeners to rethink, reclaim, and reawaken the Divine Feminine, She of Ten Thousand Names, personally, politically and spiritually as they hear voices redefining this resurging movement to restore the Great Mother to her throne.

Who among us isn�t tired of turning on the television or radio and hearing how fear, greed and abuse of power is sending our world spiraling out of control? Who is not ashamed to read the paper and see what passes for the norm these days? Are there others out there tired of our leaders failing us and being part of the problem as they are immersed in scandals, lies, and corruption? Where are the guideposts and benchmarks that help us steer a healthy course? Everything old is new again. Let us remember her story and vision. Her Thousand Names can be a catalyst to make positive change. Whether you embrace Goddess as deity or ideal, as archetype or metaphor, the Sacred Feminine, restored to her rightful throne, is one answer, one method, one vehicle that might change the face of the world. And we must herald her coming.....

Browse the show archive

The TAO of Evolutionary Enlightenment

2008-03-18T13:18:00.011-04:00

Quotes From Tao Te Ching ~

When Masculine and Feminine combine, all things achieve harmony.

Knowing Others is Wisdom, Knowing Self is Enlightenment.

Knowing ignorance is strength, ignoring knowledge is sickness; the sage is not sick, because he is sick of sickness; as such he is not sick.

In the pursuit of learning, everyday something is acquired, In the pursuit of Tao, something is dropped

The softest thing in the universe, overcomes the hardest thing in the universe
That without substance can enter where there is no room
Hence the sage knows the value of non-action.

Man follows the earth,
Earth follows heaven,
Heaven follows the Tao
Tao follows what is natural

The sage stays behind, thus he is ahead,
He is detached, thus at one with all
Through selfless action, he attains fulfillment.
Because he does not compete
He does not meet competition

The highest good is like water
Water does not strive
It gives life to ten thousand things
It flows in places men reject
So it is like the Tao

SHE ALONE DOES NOT COMPETE, AND SO THE WORLD CAN NEVER OVERCOME HER - Lao Tzu
Most quotes come from Tao Te Ching, Translation by Gia-fu Feng and Jane English

Confession of a Bodhisattva: Difficult Birth of Divine Masculine

2007-11-15T21:45:00.010-05:00

My friend Jamie sent me an interesting blog which I can very much relate to from my own real encounter with boomeritic bodhisattvas of both gender. Ken Wilber describes 'boomeritis' as a strange mixture of very high cognitive capacity of the green meme and its eagalitarianism and noble pluralism, infected with rather low state of emotional narcisissm and ego-centric reactivism regressing to pre-conventional narcissistic attitudes that go against anything integral or even universal.

Reactivism and resistance in any form overt or subtle arises due to exposure to repeated hurts and unmet emotional needs, actual and perceived in relationships from opposites sex parent/teacher, siblings/friends or partner/boss and our inability to stay with, voice, accept, recognize and reconcile this pain welling from within.

The old ways of fight or flight to cope with perceived or real physical danger fails miserably in case of emotional pain and alienation. Material success and social image do not compensate for the pervasive sense of alienation, lack of intimacy and human warmth that conscious men and women are feeling deep inside their hearts now.

As Deepak Chopra in The Book of Secrets comments:

"If it weren't for the enormous effort we put into denial, repression, and doubt, life would be a constant revealation. It takes a thousand of choices to keep the book of secrets closed, but it only takes a single breakthrough to open it again. The locked door is inside you, and so is the key."

"The Divine Feminine voice in me said she was waiting for five little boys to grow up (Buddhism, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Judaism). She needs -literally- to make love in this world, to give birth to a new way for the planet to exist. She has been holding her love and attention over this planet for thousands of years, watching as five little boys have had their way with a World they are not mature enough to steward. She is waiting to usher in a future, but she can't do it alone, and she won't have a partner until the five little boys grow up. Humanity's survival depends on it.

Not the survival of the religions, or faith, or god, or even the planet. People. If people are going to keep living, if we have hope of being around in 1,000 or 10,000 years from now, we will have grow into a full, mature balance with the feminine -at every level of ourselves.

....I had a very distorted perspective of love, family, relationship, and spirituality. I was a dissociated Zen Practitioner. My idea of practice was climbing into my Buddhist Tree Fort in the clouds and removing myself from the mess of reality, family, relationships. My wife is the only one who's ever been able to get me out of that tree fort in the sky." - Qouted from musician Stuart Davis's blog

Five other human endeavors suffering from boomeritis are the fields of Science & Technology; Art & Architecture, Economics & Politics; Ecology and Environment; and New Age Spirituality. Science and technology of course impacts medicine, health, education and psychology (See Spiral Dynamics of memes).

"Love is the most universal, the most tremendous, the most mysterious of the cosmic forces. Is it truly possible for humanity to continue to live and grow without asking itself how much truth and energy it is losing by neglecting its incredible powers of love?" -

Pierre. Teilhard de Chardin, The Spirit of the Earth,1931

"Fearlessness is the most prominent characteristic of all bodhisattvas and all who tread the bodhisattva path. For them, life has lost its terrors and suffering its sting. Instead of scorning earthly existence, or condemning its 'imperfection', they fill it with a new meaning." -Lama Anagorika Govinda, A Living Buddhism for the West

Feminine Principle in World Traditions

2007-11-06T11:09:00.000-05:00

This morning I just came to this beautiful recording by Tara Brach, which weaves through her personal experiences and stories of Dalai Lama and other monks, Jungian Archetypes, African and Native American wisdom tales, her miscarriage experience and much more....

You can listen to this and many other wonderful free audio from the Spirit Rock Foundation, Dharmaseed.org
here Feminine Principle in Buddhism by Tara Brach, Enjoy!

During the Great Jubilee, Pope John Paul II issued an apology for all the past sins of the Roman Catholic Church, dividing the sins into seven categories. Among general sins, sins in service of the truth, sins against Christian unity, sins against Jews, sins against respect of love, peace and culture, and sins against human rights, he also apologized for sins against the dignity of women and minorities. Misogyny can be traced back to the origins of Modern civilization, such as in Greece and Judea, in which stories and legends on the Fall of Man into a world of tragedy and death had been brought about by a woman.[See wikipedia, Misogyny in Religion]

Theri Sanghamitta, daughter of the Buddhist Emperor Ashoka (272-232 B.C.), was the first female Dhamma Ambassador in recorded history sent from one Head of State at the express invitation of another Head of State.

Quotes from Book of Proverbs

2007-10-06T12:14:00.001-04:00

She is more precious than all riches: and all the things that are desired, are not to be compared to her. (3:15)
Her ways are beautiful ways, and all her paths are peaceable. (3:17)
She is a tree of life to them that lay hold on her: and he that shall retain her is blessed. (3:18)
Exalt her [Lady Wisdom], and she will exalt you; she will honor you if you embrace her (4:8)
She will place on your head a beautiful garland; she will bestow on you a crown of glory (4:9)

Keep hold of instruction; do not let go: Gaurd her, for she is your life. (4:13)

My son, keep the commandments of thy father, and forsake not the law of thy mother. (6:20)

Book of Proverbs

Homage to Feminine by Divine Masculine

2007-09-27T10:46:00.006-04:00

Love is the prerogative of the brave. A coward is incapable of love. - Gandhi

"I have worshipped woman as the living embodiment of the spirit of service and sacrifice." - Gandhi

"Man can never be a woman's equal in the spirit of selfless service with which nature has endowed her." - Gandhi

"I will far rather see the race of man extinct than that we should become less than beasts by making the noblest of God's creation, woman, the object of our lust." - Quoted from Mohandas K. Gandhi

"Woman is the embodiment of love, man is here to behold her radiance" - Bernie Prior

Morphing Portraits of Women in Art

The Woman

by Rabindranath Tagore

God, with his message of love, has sent women as guardians of individuals, and, in this their divine vocation, individuals are more to them than army and navy and parliament, shops and factories. Here they have their service in God's own temple of reality, where love is of more value than power.

Man can not altogether crush woman's nature into dust or into his dead building materials. Woman's home may have been shattered, but woman is not, and cannot, herself be killed. It is not that woman is merely seeking her freedom of livelihood, struggling against man's monopoly of business, but against man's monopoly of civilization where he is breaking her heart every day and desolating her life. She must restore the lost social balance by putting the full weight of the woman into the creation of the human world.

Men have seen the absurdity of today's civilization, which is based upon nationalism,- that is to say, on economics and politics- and its consequent militarism. Men have been losing their freedom and their humanity in order to fit themselves for vast mechanical organizations. So the next civilization, it is hoped! ! ! ! , will be based not merely upon economical and political competition and exploitation but upon world- wide social co-operation; upon spiritual ideals of reciprocity and not upon economic ideals of efficiency. And then women will have their true place.

Because men have been building up vast and monstrous organizations they have got into, the habit of thinking that this turning-out power has something of the nature of perfection in itself. The habit is ingrained in them, and it is difficult for them to see where truth is missing in their present ideal of progress. But woman can bring her fresh mind and all her power of sympathy to this new task of building up a spiritual civilization, if she will be conscious of her responsibilities."

____
Adoration of Divine Mother

Poem by Sri Aurobindo , Savitri, Book III

Hers is the mystery the Night conceals;
The spirit's alchemist energy is hers;
She is the golden bridge, the wonderful fire.
The luminous heart of the Unknown is she,
A power of silence in the depths of God;

She is the Force, the inevitable Word,
The magnet of our difficult ascent,
The Sun from which we kindle all our suns,
The Light that leans from the unrealised Vasts,
The joy that beckons from the impossible,
The Might of all that never yet came down.

All Nature dumbly calls to her alone
To heal with her feet the aching throb of life
And break the seals on the dim soul of man
And kindle her fire in the closed heart of things.
All here shall be one day her sweetness' home,
All contraries prepare her harmony;

Towards her our knowledge climbs, our passion gropes;
In her miraculous rapture we shall dwell,
Her clasp shall turn to ecstasy our pain.
Our self shall be One Self with All through her.

___

On Female Enlightened Teachers

2007-08-25T16:44:00.005-04:00

Q: Was there a time when there were a lot of enlightened females, is it a cycle?

Rinpoche: Long time ago there were a lot of female teachers. In India and in Tibet as well. There were always female teachers, and one problem that we have is that most of the female teachers, their life stories are not recorded. There is no books, no texts. One reason for this is that the female enlightened beings, they didn't have a lot of disciples. The reason is, many female teachers and enlightened beings, a lot of them had children, they lived at home. They didn't really give formal teachings. They're occupied with having children and so forth, but they were highly realized beings. They were recognized by other lamas -- "She is emanation of Tara. She is emanation of Vajrayogini, so on." So they didn't have disciples. This is one reason. Also, there were female teachers, like yoginis, who were wandering around, themselves living in caves and villages. Also, it's partly because of society, you know, male chauvinist society. So the people always go to men teachers, lamas who have many disciples, they don't go to female teachers. And also female teachers are modest and humble, so they just don't care if they have disciples or not. They just do their own practice. So there was none recalled in stories, unfortunately. But there was many teachers, enlightened ones. And long time, of course, there were more female teachers. I think it's possible, it's true, there will be more women teachers in the future. [Guru Yoga Teaching by Lama Zasep Tulku Rinpoche, 1998, Van.Canada

“The Mother Tantra says that if one is not aware in vision, it is unlikely that one will be aware in behavior. If one is not aware in behavior, one is unlikely to be aware in dream. And if one is not aware in dream, then one is unlikely to be aware in the bardo after death.” -- The Tibetan Yogas of Dream and Sleep, by Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche, pgs. 81-82.

Quotes by Women

2007-08-03T08:46:00.000-04:00

The isolation of every human soul and the necessity of self-dependence must give each individual the right, to choose his own surroundings.

Nature never repeats herself,
and the possibilities of one human soul will never be found in another.

The strongest reason for giving woman all the opportunities for higher education, for the full development of her faculties, forces of mind and body; for giving her the most enlarged freedom of thought and action;
a complete emancipation from all forms of bondage, of custom, dependence, superstition; from all the crippling influences of fear, is the solitude and personal responsibility of her own individual life. The strongest reason why we ask for woman a voice in the government under which she lives; in the religion she is asked to believe; equality in social life, where she is the chief factor; a place in the trades and professions, where she may earn her bread, is because of her birthright to self-sovereignty; because, as an individual, she must rely on herself.

Whatever the theories may be of woman's dependence on man, in the supreme moments of her life he can not bear her burdens. Alone she goes to the gates of death to give life to every man that is born into the world. No one can share her fears, no one can mitigate her pangs; and if her sorrow is greater than she can bear, alone she passes beyond the gates into the vast unknown.

- Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Solitude of Soul

Celebrating Women's Day!

2007-06-26T00:49:00.000-04:00

A note with a poem arrived from a friend's friend in Calcutta, reminding me to take a pause and celebrate the worth of all women today March 8, 2007! So I took a full breath mindfully and felt a deep sacred bond with all my spiritual sisters across time-space of many cultures and history. A great sense of freedom and joy engulfed me! I felt truely happy to be who I am, no longer needing the validation of my worth from my children, spouse, family, in-laws, relatives, friends, work, career, accomplishments or social expectations or anything external to me, including the neediness to have a man around and it feels great just to be fully who I am….the whole me smiling as the golden Sun peeping through the window on my face. God must have a sense of humor!

The Woman

When God made woman late on the 6th day
An angel asked, “Why spend so much time on her” And God answered

"Just observe the details I use to make her"

“She must endure, but unlike plastic, she must survive on all kinds of food, and able to embrace different kids at same time, give a hug that heal anything from a bruised knee to a broken heart and do all this with just two hands”.

The angel was impressed. “Just two hands….impossible! Too much work for a day!" Just wait till I finish”, said the Lord. “I am so close to complete this creation,
which will be the favourite of my heart"
“She cures herself when sick and she can work 18 hours a day”.

“But you have made her so soft, Lord” “She is soft”, said the Lord,
“But I have also made her strong. You can’t imagine what she can endure and overcome."

“Can she think?” the angel asked. “Not only can she think, she can reason and negotiate.” the lord answered. The angel touched the woman'sn cheek...
“Lord, it seems this creation is leaking! You have put too many burdens on her.”
“She is not leaking….it’s a tear” the lord corrected the angel,
“Tears are her way of expressing grief, her doubts,
her love, her loneliness, her suffering and her pride.”

This made a big impression on the angel; “Lord, you are genius. You thought of everything.
The woman is indeed marvellous! Indeed she is! Woman has strengths that amazes man. She can handle trouble and carry heavy burdens.
She holds happiness, love and opinions. She smiles when feeling like screaming.

She sings when she feels like crying, crys when she is happy and laughs when she is afraid.
She fights for what she feels in her heart and stands up against injustice. She doesn’t take “no” for an answer, when she can see a better solution. She gives herself so
her family can thrive. She takes her friend to the doctor if she is afraid.

Her love is unconditional

She cries when her kids are victorious. She is happy when her friends do well.
She is glad when she hears of a birth or a wedding. Her heart is broken when a next of kin or friend dies. But she finds the strength to get on with life.She knows that a kiss and a hug can heal a broken heart.

There is only One thing Wrong with her

She forgets what she is worth…

and her silent role in Human Evolution

and Evolutionary Enlightenment Now!

Here's more on International woman's Day

Please share it with women you love. Thank you.