There’s a lot of talk about toxic masculinity these days, and it was recently when I came across the term ‘sacred masculine’ that I realized I had not heard anyone using this term before. Which is a problem. Because all I seem to read about is ‘toxic masculinity’ and ‘the sacred feminine’. The feminine cannot be sacred unless the masculine is sacred too, and the masculine cannot be toxic in isolation.
It is important to understand that while we speak of qualities as being masculine and feminine, it does not imply men and women – all of us have masculine and feminine aspects. When one half is suppressed, the other expands and takes over – so while one may manifest as a toxic aspect, the other is also toxic because it is suppressed and stagnant. A man can have a predominant toxic feminine and a woman a predominant toxic masculine, so it really isn’t gender-related. Let’s explore how these aspects manifest in our lives.
The inner masculine represents aspects which cause us
- To protect – so a person with a healthy masculine energy will not abuse power or give their power away
- To achieve + explore – so a person will be open to new things and be able to focus and concentrate, and will not become a workaholic or a slacker
- To assert – so a person will express themselves in balance and will not shout/ abuse, or take abuse.
- To provide structure – so a person will have healthy rational thinking and will not be overly intellectual or overly emotional
When the masculine energy is in excess, a person will override other people’s needs and desires, overstep boundaries through aggression and be obsessed about what they want. When it is too weak, a person will be a pushover, lazy and tired, and be too complacent.
The inner feminine represents aspects which cause us
- To nourish + nurture, empathize + accept – so a person will nourish without expectation and provide the space for growth and healing, is more open to another’s perspective, and is open to difference in opinions, appearances and belief systems
- To flow – so the person will surrender with ease, but will not be a pushover and will also not resist life – while still taking required action
- To be vulnerable – to embrace one’s feelings and the feelings of others, to respect one’s personal space while still being able to hold them in loving awareness. So the person will not smother the other person, will not exploit the vulnerability of another through emotional blackmail or shaming, or other means.
- To be resilient – a person with a strong inner feminine is extremely resilient, capable of coping with deep physical or emotional pain with grace and strength
When the feminine is too strong, it will lead to over (s)mothering and codependent relationships. A weak inner feminine will lead to resistance to life and a lack of awareness of one’s own emotions and thereby also a complete lack of empathy. A mother with a weak feminine and a strong masculine, for instance, will raise her child like a project, hoping to make an accomplishment by ‘being a great parent’ and ‘raising the child well’. A mother with balanced masculine and feminine will realize that she is not supposed to ‘make something out of a child’ but merely supposed to provide the soul enough space to express itself and its destiny.
Balancing the Inner Feminine and Masculine
The Root, Solar Plexus and Throat chakras channel masculine energy, and the Sacral, Heart and Brow chakras channel feminine energy. Most imbalances in the inner feminine come from a damaged Sacral chakra, and most imbalances in the inner masculine come from a damaged Solar Plexus chakra. So usually, if you do prolonged healing of the root to begin with, spending over 20-30 minutes healing the Root chakra (following this by healing other chakras) for a few weeks, followed by prolonged healing for the Sacral chakra for the next few weeks, followed by prolonged healing for the Solar Plexus for the next few weeks, you will see a prominent shift in the balance between your inner feminine and masculine, often also reflecting in your body.
For a shorter method, meditate on the Root with the CKR symbol if you’ve learned level 2, or in red color, if you haven’t, the SHK symbol on the Sacral, or orange color, and a golden CKR in the Solar Plexus, or a yellow ball of light. This also helps tremendously in balancing inner power and increasing resilience.
For best results, apply the both short as well as long path.
Article by Ashwita Goel, Reiki Master
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Having learned Meditation as a child, Ashwita incorporated Reiki into her life during her early teens. After a decade of witnessing the magic Reiki, she felt compelled to take up Reiki professionally, and ended her corporate career in 2007, taking up Reiki full-time. She eventually incorporated EFT, hypnotherapy and past life therapy into her work. Apart from her healing work, she teaches Reiki and meditation, and her book ‘Healing Through Reiki’ is available on Amazon. She holds regular full moon and new moon meditations at @AshwitaGoel. Her website is www.reiki-bangalore.com and her blog www.ashwita.com
What do you mean by “both short as well as long path.”? Thank you for a good article.