I didn't make any resolutions, exactly. Or pick one perfect word to sum up my 2018. But I did listen for guidance, and my mandate became clear in that way that is too synchronistic and flowing to just be my own awesome planning. This year, I am supposed find my core, my essence, and stay close to it.
In practical terms that looks like adding a daily 20-minute home yoga practice focused on building a fierce core (with breath and body). It looks like a weekly class with a new teacher I stumbled upon who teaches Viniyoga, a practice that uses postures and breath to find balance between sthira (steady and alert) and sukha (comfortable and light). It means keeping up my Wednesday Forrest Yoga inspired class with my wise teacher Ann Hyde. It means saying no to people, opportunities and even objects that pull me away from my core (so much decluttering coming!) It means constructing a support system of writers to help me make this novel of mine a reality.
All of this focusing and centering, however, will be for naught if my worldview is shaped by archetypes that don't want me to find my center—to find what's most life-giving to me. If you are reading this from any Western country, like it or not, you have likely adopted Adam and Eve as your internal representation of inherent masculinity and femininity. You may not believe their story or accept their gender modeling in an intellectual capacity, but their DNA is deeply embedded in our cultural understanding of what it means to be male and female.
So, if Eve is my starting point, as much as I may want to live in alignment with my core truth, I have been programmed to live in alignment with others' core truths. Eve was not created to know herself. She was created to help another know himself. With this as my paradigm, I am doomed to failure. I am unable to carry out that divinely orchestrated call to stay closely tethered to my essential self.
The way out of this quandary is quite simple (not easy, but simple). We need new ideas about women's divine origins. We need a new first woman. Lucky for us, there is one waiting in the wings. Her name is Lilith and she models for us the lost art of speaking our truth and doing the hard things. Born of ancient lore and legend, she exists in the annals of Judeo-Christian Christian history as a predecessor of Eve. I blogged for Lilith Magazine this past week about how this reliance on Eve and dismissal of Lilith created fertile ground for the epidemic of sexual harassment and assault that's exploded into the #MeToo movement. If you want a more in-depth discussion of Lilith and Eve, you can listen in on my interview that just went live today as part of the Feminine Archetype Summit. And, because apparently this is message is very central to my purpose in 2018, I am also speaking about Lilith & Eve (with a dash of Sophia) at a women's retreat outside of Houston next weekend. Join me if you can!
As you work on cultivating those habits that help you live in greater alignment this year, don't forget to look at the foundational beliefs that might be making things difficult for you. Find a feminine archetype that speaks to you and make her your own. Read about her. Find imagery that gives you a tangible representation of her. Embrace what she can teach you.