The Cult of True Womanhood

I was an English Literature major in college and we would read books that took place through the ages and dissect how it represented the state of the world at that time. There were so many movements that were followed and eventually rebelled against (like the dark ages, yikes!).
 
One that has stuck with me is “The Cult of True Womanhood” from the early 19^th century. There was this principal of thought that a true lady embodied Purity, Piety, Submissiveness and Domesticity.

There are pamphlets and books to explain these traits to women so that they could embody them.

These qualities would make her “The Light of the Home” according the literature.

She was submissive to her husband, kept the house running smoothly and of course was virtuous as she did this.

And did the husband need to be any of those things???

Well, it’s a new day.

“The Light of the Home” no longer must be this quiet woman who bows to her husband (who let’s face it could’ve been out visiting the whore houses and getting drunk. Or just take off, while she was stuck home in her silence with no recourse).

It’s no longer about him.

It’s about us.

And women aren’t going to be so quiet anymore.

They won’t be beaten, raped, or assaulted into silence.

You’re seeing that with the Cosby trial, with the fall of Harvey Weinstein, the #metoo and #timesup movements.

With Malala.

To be The Light of the Home we can be empowered. We can use our voices. We can create a life that we love, that suits us.

We can be ourselves, whoever that may be.

We are gathering again.

We are gathering again.

We are gathering again.

And this time, we won’t be so quiet.

We will be the Light, but not the light shining on a man. We will be the light shining, shining from within for all. This light can spill over into our love lives and be a shared union.

The Cult of True Womanhood is changing, from Submissive to Empowered. Maybe even a little loud.

Are you feeling it?

Are you seeing it?

How is it affecting you? I’d love to hear from you in the comments.

XOXO,

You should see my boys get ready for a road trip. It doesn’t matter if we’re going to be driving for two hours or ten. They have neck pillows, video games, we have TV’s we add to the car and they have a whole pouch of movies. They have games and things to color with, snacks at their feet and a water bottle. They are PRE-FRICKIN-PARED when we leave town!

The funny thing about it is that they are ready for anything. Traffic. A short drive. A long drive. Stops along the way. They just know they are going SOMEWHERE and they should bring everything.

Well, I think answering our calling is a lot like that. We need things. We have an idea of where we’re headed, maybe of vague one at best, and it could take awhile to get there.

I do hear stories of people who finally accepted they had a gift, offered it and it all grew rather easily from there.

BUT THAT HAS NOT BEEN MY EXPERIENCE.

That has not been the experience of many of the people I come in contact with who have gifts, just want to share them, and it ends up being an uphill battle to be heard and seen.

I FIRMLY BELIEVE MANY OF US ARE TRULY ON A HEALING JOURNEY.

So when we answer a call, our soul thinks “Great. Now we just have to heal the limiting beliefs, emotional baggage, and cognitive bias getting in our way.”

If you don’t know what’s coming it can be a shock!

A big shock.

But when you do understand it, you realize you are gathering tools. You are learning for a reason. You are interested in what you are interested in for a reason. It will serve you.

I can’t tell you how the most random customer services jobs prepared me for life 20 years later. It all comes full circle.

It’s so much better to know this in advance. Be like my boys who grab everything for the ride. They make the best of the DRIVE, not just the destination.

Here they are ready to go:

How about you? Do you have the tools for the journey or are you waiting for the arrival? I’d love to hear from you in the comments.

XOXO,

I took this photo with @michellevelascophotography when she shared the idea that she could use a slow shutter speed to make the water look mystical.

We were laughing.

There was a group of early-twenty-somethings who had made their way around the rocks and I could hear them and they occasionally popped their heads around the corner and would give an “Oops!” face, then laugh and retreat.

I told her “We better be quick!”

I decided to try for a meditation pose and quickly discovered the rock was pointy. I did my best to balance and not fall off the rock.

She told me, “When I say ‘now’ you have to hold completely still for this to work.”

I closed my eyes. I felt that beautiful connection to light I feel when I close my eyes and connect upward. The world went still but I had awareness of my surroundings.

I felt warmth and calm but could hear the group around the rocks and sense they would return any moment.

I could “see” my own kids playing down the beach with their Dad and knew they were safe.

I could hear the water surrounding me and wondered if it would knock me off the rock as I was precariously balanced.

But the water didn’t knock me off.

The group did not enter the photo.

And in that moment it wouldn’t have mattered if those things had happened. I felt calm and held.

When I looked at the photo the next day I thought “This is the modern mystic!”

The ability to go into a calm space, in the midst of so much going on at once, and feel the simultaneous connection to source and the awareness of our surroundings.

It’s being connected to our intuition as well as being able to navigate such a high-tech, 20,000 images-a-day-in-our-face world.

It’s being able to connect to others online, through the clutter.

It’s being heard.

It’s being seen.

It’s showing up.

It’s receiving information in the midst of the chaos.

It’s having fun sitting on a rock for no reason other than “Wouldn’t that make a fun shot?”

The modern mystic is the intuitive multi-tasker extraordinaire.

Isn’t she?

How are you hearing your inner guidance among the chaos? I’d love to hear from you in the comments.

XOXO,

Charlie Chaplin’s 3 Minutes and the Power of Using Your Voice – Guest Post Coral Newberry

Chaplin stayed silent years after movies began using sound, for fear of ruining the Tramp’s magic. He was warned if he spoke his career would be finished. In the last scene, when he stands up as Hitler to address a crowd of Nazis, for the final three minutes, The Little Tramp speaks.

He speaks about the power of human potential, about war and senseless killing and our proclivity to give our power away to charismatic leaders who seldom come through in the way they promise. He speaks about the invention of the airplane and the automobile and how these machines are proof of humanity’s desire to connect to each other. He speaks about dissolving borders and seeing each person as part of the whole and part of ourselves. Many people attribute this movie to America finally rising up to help defeat the Nazis.

After this movie, Chaplin lost his career, his home and his adopted country (as he was exiled from the United States shortly after).

Why would a man who had everything, risk everything for a mere three minutes?

As I watched Chaplin’s three minute speech I resonated deeply with him. I’ve lived much of my life in censored silence, too. Trying to get along, be accepted, be approved of. I convinced myself I didn’t have anything important to say–at the time it’s what I needed to believe to feel safe. But, I recently came to realize that I do have something to say (we all do) and I’m willing to risk everything to say it.

Somewhere along the evolutionary timeline of humanity we decided that the group is more important than the individual. Not realizing that the individual is the group. I understand the need for this, as there is safety in numbers, but our world is at a point where fulfilling our soul’s deepest calling matters more than safety.

Humanity is rising.

We are willing to be ostracized and left alone in order to expand. And many of us are realizing that we are thriving outside the majority. We are not being exiled. We are creating new groups with others who are like us. Yet, even within these new groups we know that our individual alignment and our own wisdom come before anything else.

When you pull away from the group and say “I no longer agree to the role I’ve played all these years”—the entire movie changes.

And every actor and participant in your life has to re-evaluate their position and decide where they now fit. It can be uncomfortable and scary. But, without those who are willing to step out and say “No more,” the play goes on forever, repeating. There is no growth and no joy. Because as expansive beings we must grow in order to be happy.

Don’t be afraid to be the one to step out and speak your truth. Don’t be afraid of who you are any longer. You will find more connection on the other side of the fear and the silent movie, than you can even imagine.

And that connection will be with your own authentic self, which will be richer than all the superficial interactions you’ve experienced previously.

Don’t be afraid of being left alone. You won’t be for long. There are lines extending out towards forever, like kids at the high dive in the summer—waiting to take that great leap into authenticity.

There are lots of us here. And we will all meet together in the end.

But first you have to jump, you have to express yourself, you have to speak. Even if it’s for only three minutes. Because, after all, three minutes can change everything.

Here is the video that changed everything for him:

What do you think? Should he have spoken? Does his three minutes inspire you to speak up the way it does me? Let me know your thoughts in the comments.

Coral Newberry is an Artist, clairvoyant, spiritual therapist, tattoo collector, and mother. You can find her here on Instagram.

*For more information about Charlie Chaplin and his exile –

1952: Charlie Chaplin banned from the US

Why was Charlie Chaplin exiled from the United States?