*How Women Bond

Women never cease to amaze me when they rally at impromptu gatherings to reignite the bonds of their ancient female past. Recently, I was invited to join a group of women on a trip to the American southwest. I knew only the trip planner. Some arrived as friendship partners or business partners; others were taking a brief hiatus from being mother, wife, fundraiser, curator, marketing analyst, or teacher. Others came for meditative time and long walks, seizing the day to reconnect with their bodies through better eating or exercise. Our only commitment: eat together at least once during the week.

Surprisingly, in six days this group went from strangers to sisterhood, laughing like old friends, sharing conversation about marriages, children, and spiritual development. Unknowingly, we granted ourselves permission to deeply explore one another’s minds with the intention of learning, and nothing more. Unthreatened by our diversity, we developed a dialogue, and we were both shocked and entertained by everyone’s perspective. By the time we participated in a drumming circle on the final evening, we beat our instruments as if it were the last day on earth, rhythm makers connecting land and sky, our dancing selves somewhere in between.

By the time the last flame was extinguished, a sense of community existed which was nothing less than magical: a pledge of support and understanding as we re-entered our individual lives. Our sacred circle was inadvertently cast. And a grounded, unstructured, woman-affirming spirituality arose from emptiness, as a consequence of creating space for wisdom to emerge.

Women Need to Gather to Share Wisdom

What is it about a woman-gathering that empowers women? It’s molding collective ideas into something that makes sense; the telling of stories; inhaling a woman’s worldly viewpoint and not a man’s. It’s about enhancing our judgment on what to let go and what to pack in the suitcase for the journey home. A woman-gathering is an opportunity to place sticky notes on those areas of our lives where we’ve lacked true self-awareness, alerting us to why we have been taking too much direction from external circumstances and not enough from a sense of our own creative power. Our individual and collective strength is greatly diminished when our minds race with what needs to be done and whose needs need to be met next, with little or no time to revisit the meaning of what we’re doing. As a result, we wander, letting life move us instead of choosing where we want to move life.

Revisit the Tribal Sisterhood

Reviving our past extends far beyond analyzing the happenstance of the immediate. It goes back to a time when tribal sisterhood existed, when women helped one another find wisdom within everyday experiences, when making spiritual room for self-discovery and renewal was as necessary as breathing. I believe we are born with a need to gather ancient women’s wisdom from all walks of life and apply it to our private expeditions. Women long to share stories of tragedy and success, to weep, giggle, and feel better about adversity, while comparing notes about how to improve our own thinking and change our individual worlds through relationships and work.

Affirm your connection regularly

Today, celebrate your ancient tribal sisterhood and the wisdom you have earned since the beginning of time. Be empowered by your women’s wisdom! Remember to love being female. Have lunch with a friend, visit your mother, or talk to the woman who works at the corner supermarket. Honor this shared connection that deepens in power and confidence daily. Affirm the wonder of you! Say:

“I am all seasons, all cycles, and all elements. I am empowered by the wisdom of women’s collective experiences since the beginning of time. I feel competent knowing my worldly perspective matters. I am a powerful, beloved female!”

© The Goddess Network, Inc. and Charlene M. Proctor, Ph.D. 2007. All Rights Reserved. See http://www.thegoddessnetwork.com/connect.php?page=eshow for more empowering thoughts! Register for The E-Show, a series of enlightening lectures!