Embracing the Sacred Feminine for a new leadership era

Weaving ancient Nature Wisdom with the Science of the New Time

This is a guest blog by Claudia van’t Hullenaar

Change is in the air

We are living in a time of transformation. There are forces at play in the world that are harmful and polarizing in addition to massive global challenges, sustainability crises, injustice, habitat loss and degradation, greed, me-ism, uncertainty and disruption, mental distress and unhappiness on individual levels. Do you feel or sense that things are falling apart or changing in hard ways?

A reversal of the world towards a New Earth 

At the same time, an increasing movement to care for our world is arising. We are living in the time that has been foretold by numerous ancient prophecies. This earth upheaval, ancient wisdom traditions, indigenous peoples and tribal shamanic societies long have known as a time of The Great Turning, a quantum leap in collective consciousness. The ancestral Andean Cosmovision speaks of the Pachakuti, a period of change and transformation, when the world is turned upside down which marks the transition to a new time. The ancestral Andean mystical traditions I am referring to, are based on the wisdom of Nature and the Cosmos and at its core it is about Life in sacred reciprocity with All Our Relations and deep love for our Mother Earth, in Quechua Pachamama, and all of her beings.

This process of evolutionary transformation has the potential to move us from our current paradigm of separation into an emerging paradigm of unity and wholeness, into an era of a wisdom society that values the sacredness of Life.

The need of balance and equilibrium for the Sacred Feminine

We are clearly living in a world of imbalances and the natural result is chaos, destruction, and uncertainty. To help shape a possible beautiful and thrivable future, we must create more inner equilibrium that includes bringing into harmony the Sacred Feminine and Sacred Masculine.

The wisdom, presence, intuition, ability to connect with the natural world, and creativity associated with the feminine archetype, is known as the Sacred Feminine and embodies nurturing, loving, compassion, tenderness, care and fearlessness.

The Sacred Feminine complements the Sacred Masculine which represents positive aspects of masculine energy which include strength, integrity, logic, practicality, protection, and the ability to take action. To make it clear, it is not about gender. All of us, women and men have both feminine and male energies, representing aspects of the human psyche.

In the Andean mystical tradition, the physical embodiment of the Sacred Feminine is also referred to as Pachamama or Mother Earth. She is seen as a living being that sustains all Life on earth. We human beings are her children, she protects us, loves us, nourishes us, and allows us to flourish.

However, there has been an excess of masculine energy with the oppression and longtime imbalance in masculine-dominated societies for many centuries, where the shadow sides of the Sacred Masculine of dominance, intimidation, competition, rigidity, suppression of emotions, and disconnection from nature, led to let us believe that power comes from overshadowing others. Many of these perspectives and beliefs have shaped our social, institutional, cultural, and political systems. The aggrandizement of “The more is better”, “getting”, competition, power over, aggression, and individualism can be witnessed everywhere. The devaluation and diminution of traditionally feminine qualities, voices, perspectives, and skills has been prevalent in patriarchal structures and had significant and far-reaching impacts on the Sacred Feminine and women, perpetuating cycles of marginalization, objectification, violence, inequality, and spiritual disconnection. This in turn, had, and has a profound impact and has serious consequences for women, men, girls, boys, individuals, communities, and the planet.

Many of us women are struggling with unique developmental challenges and hidden power blocks which express in a myriad of ways like self-sacrificing, overgiving, shame-based and victim mentality just to mention a few, even if we have lots of outer success.

The return of the wisdom of the Sacred Feminine is essential. One urgent task in these times is the developmental growth and maturation of our adult selves and represents a shift in collective consciousness towards a more balanced, loving way of being and creating harmony and wholeness in the world.

Imagine if these two equally important polarities melted into each other, finding their full expression and supporting each other, as our feminine nurturance, love, and connection to life become fearless and our actions naturally determined, and our masculine clarity, discernment, and actions become tender, compassionate where the feminine is integrated. How would the world look like? How would all of our relationships look like?

Re-membering and embracing the Sacred Feminine and deepening our relationship with Mother Earth

I was long living in imbalance and disconnection with the Self. Too often I was unconsciously doing it the masculine way compromising myself in order to fit in, be seen as woman, leader, family and home manager, to be worthy and loved. It was very painful. On my ongoing own transformation journey, I re-connected, embraced my feminine aspects, worked with the shadows, and life started to open up for me in so many wonderful ways. The greatest gift has been to have been led to and follow the call to the sacred path of the Soul of the ancient healing traditions of the Peruvian Andes and Amazon. This awakening of the Heart journey is life changing. As I continue studying and training the compassionate depths of this medicine, the profound meaning of Ayni, the sacred reciprocity, embracing and honoring the Sacred Feminine, I see that this is a potent medicine in service for an awakening world in this time of transformation. 

The Andean mystical tradition is as ancient as profound. It is a deeply earth-honoring and earth-regenerative, soul-awakening and life affirming wisdom tradition, which has a deep reverence for the Sacred Feminine, Pachamama and all of Creation.   

Embracing the Sacred Feminine helps us to reconnect with a multidimensional natural world, and reminds us of our deep interdependence with all Life and offers a recalibration of values and worldviews that transforms our relationship with Self and the Universe.

Realizing through visceral embodied experiences that the Mother Earth is our Sacred Mother is an insight of profound significance. It changes everything and cannot be unseen anymore.

After several years of walking the path of the Soul going through breakdowns and breakthroughs, I profoundly see the world from a different perspective: from the wisdom of the heart and our Sacred Nature within. It is an irreversible shift in perception. And the journey continues with ever more amazements, deepening and openings.

I came to deeply believe that the future of our world depends on our reverence and love and care for ourselves, each other and Mother Earth. Once we realize and embody this sacred relationship, that she is a living and conscious being, and the source of our birth, love, and nurture, we will choose differently.

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“We are all indigenous children to Mother Earth.” Chief Phil Lane Jr.

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The importance of expanding one’s beliefs to create new stories

I have come to re-cognize and believe that to become true stewards to our beautiful planet and all of Life:

• we need more loving and make Love our new bottom line
• it takes courage to open and soften our hearts
• healing starts with ourselves first, and that healing, growth, and transformation needs to happen on both a personal and collective level
• we need to embrace, integrate and bring wise and compassionate feminine intelligence into the world
• we need to put love and wellbeing of humanity and Mother Earth at the heart of business and leadership purpose, as well as in education and politics
• a moral foundation and integrity is centered on the wisdom of the Heart
• sustainability and climate change is also an inside job and journey
• we have to become the embodied change we wish to see
• knowledge alone does not bring the shift, it has to be integrated and embodied
• it is an evolutionary journey from the inside out
• this ancient yet new understanding must be shared and will reach those who are ready to receive

Addressing the pressing social, environmental and human concerns confronting humanity today, will require a shift away from individuality, indifference and competition toward cooperation and care. This can only happen if we finally give the inner dimension of our being the importance, space and attention it deserves.

Cutting-edge technologies, elaborated strategies, and business innovation alone will not make it. It begins with each and every one of us, within our own hearts, mind and spirit, within our families and within our communities and workplaces.

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“I think what we need at this crucial time is empathy … We need to think about our world in the sense of taking care of our world. Maybe culturally, historically, they are seen as feminine values.” Chilean Environment Minister Maisa Rojas, a climate scientist and an IPCC author.

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How we can start or continue developing ourselves

There are many ways, approaches and paths, wonderful mentors, guides, and teachers that can help developing a more loving, inclusive, and empowering relationship with ourselves, each other, nature and Mother Earth. Everyone who is ready will find their own way and preferred mentor. Research for a deeper understanding of the true nature of reality, new discoveries in various fields of science are profoundly resonant with what ancient wisdom traditions always have known. So, there are a lot of exciting things unfolding out there.

In view of the limited possibility here, I would like to share some brief ideas that come from my own inner journey, learning and practice supporting my re-membering and opening up to feminine energies:

1. Simply “Be” more
2. Be open to the possibility that there might be another way for any condition, relationship, event and situation 
3. Cultivate self-awareness, be conscious, observe and learn, and befriend your inner world and mind
4. Death and rebirth cycles are normal and part of life 
5. Words have power – be conscious with your words
6. Caretake yourself, be tender to yourself – it starts with you first – no matter who you are or what position or role you hold
7. Be curious, be open to question and inquire, dare to expand your thinking   
8. Commune with nature: be with Mother Earth, imagine her as a living conscious being, talk to her
9. Appreciate ever always
10. Use inner technologies like mindfulness practices and or meditation that help awaken one to greater awareness
11. Practice, practice, practice – all the greatest mentors do the same
12. Trust – there is a Higher Power that is bigger than your mind

It is time to go deep and work deep. It is time to address the longtime imbalances in our societies and it is up to each and everyone to choose to see with new eyes, open up to new perspectives and potentials on how we understand and see the world, the relationship with ourselves, each other and our planet and what impact that has.

What have your own experiences been on your path of growth and discovery on your life’s journey? What does this message open-up for you? What resonates with you?

To go deeper in transformational work in the field of business, I trained Transformational Coaching and Facilitation with the Institute for Women-Centered Coaching, Training and Leadership to weave the novel and the ancient with all my life and professional experiences.

If you are interested to learn more about how I can mentor and accompany you through a transformative approach to authentic and heartfelt empowerment (both for female and male individuals), please contact me directly.

If you are interested in joining an upcoming transformational workshop for women “Embracing the Sacred Feminine Power for a new leadership paradigm”, please send me a message on my website or on LinkedIn.

I am open to synergestic collaboration with like-minded progressive individuals or companies who are curious and want to bring forth new ways of addressing the challenges of our times.

In gratitude and appreciation.

Claudia van’t Hullenaar helps progressive organisations, leaders and women in sustainability to evolve from the inside out, see with new eyes and shape unitive pathways that create impact-focused action. She is an evolutionary leader, transformational coach and facilitator, holistic sustainability advisor, new paradigm storyteller, and a student and practitioner of Peruvian Ancient Nature Wisdom Traditions, Energy Medicine & Shamanic Healing Arts.

Claudia has extensive strategic sustainability and business experience including the industry of global meetings and events, tourism, and destination management. She spent more than 25 years in multi-disciplinary, cross functional, international businesses including an 11-year tenure in the corporate sector at Symantec, as well as in sustainability and consulting environments.

Claudia certified in various conscious and soul-centered leadership, personal development and spiritual transformation programs including a graduation from the Inner MBA, a leadership and business development program that integrates business and spirituality to achieve exceptional and meaningful results, focusing on inner development for conscious leadership, exceptional team building and business as a force for good. Peruvian-Austrian, raised in three different continents, Claudia lives, works and plays in English, Spanish and German. Claudia’s website is www.sustained-impact.com

Claudia on LinkedIn

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For those interested in a special 2-day overnight Regenerative Leadership Immersion with regenerative thought-leader Giles Hutchins at Springwood Farm, near London on 13/14th July – see here, places are limited.

You can join Leadership Immersions Group on LinkedIN here