Radical Hope
Posted by Joan Norton at 5/5/2009 5:09 AM 
Categories: Events and Premieres
Tags: Mary Magdalene 14 Steps To Awaken the Sacred Feminine Women in the Circle of Mary Magdalene
Categories: Events and Premieres
Tags: Mary Magdalene 14 Steps To Awaken the Sacred Feminine Women in the Circle of Mary Magdalene
Having a background in mythic spirituality through Jungian psychology, I didn't know what to expect from the Catholic Women's Convocation in Seattle last weekend. I was happy that one of my own Jungian heroines, Jean Shinoda Bolen, would be there to hold the light for Goddess. I knew we were going to Margaret Starbird's "home town church", so to speak, and that she wanted to hold her own light for Mary Magdalene's participation in her own christian "mythology" story. The Magdalene was no where to be found in the conference's workshop titles, even though their theme was "the dawning of a radical new story". We wanted to be there together to do what we could to say her name. "Mary the Magdalene, Sacred Partner".
First let me that I've never been in a conference that big... 2,000 women and a handful of men....where people smiled so much. And where there was so much beautiful gray hair. It was fascinating for me to see how people react to "our Margaret". We'd be standing with people all around and someone would see her name tag and I'd watch their face react with startled recognition and then I could see them wanting to talk to her but not know if they should. She is so admired and has brought so much richness to women's individual lives by helping us to know we are the Beloved "feminine face of God". One woman, one of the speakers who gave a workshop, said to Margaret , "I've got your book on my bed stand and your CD in my car right now !" And a wonderful friend of hers who had organized a labyrinth room put our book's flyers there. We gave her the 14 Steps To Awaken the Sacred Feminine: Women in the Circle of Mary Magdalene book, she read it overnight, and said the next day that she loved it. The labyrinth experience of going within is exactly what our Magdalene Circle book supports.
The other side of the coin was evident also. We sat at a table for 10 and did the usual getting-to-know-you sharings and a group activity of saying what our hope was for the Church's future. You already know what Margaret and I said. At the next break in the program I noticed that two women had moved to another table. They had looked very, very uncomfortable as Margaret talked. . Claiming that Christ has a Sacred Feminine counterpart is still heretical to many. In her lectures Margaret tells the story of giving her Alabaster Jar book book to her parish priest "way back when" , thinking that would surely seal her fate with him. But instead he told her that her book could "heal the church". But goodness.... it's certainly slow going. We're hopeful, though, that at the next convocation Mary Magdalene will be a hot topic. She was His Beloved.
One woman told me she runs a monthly "WomanChurch" in her parish. She took a copy of the Magdalene Circle book, saying she would use it there. She was already a fan of Margaret's work and the new book provides an easy way to bring the Sacred Union ideas into discussion and participation. When Jean Shinoda Bolen spoke, she said that "theology divides, spirituality unites", and when women talk together informally it's definitely spirituality.
Jean Bolen has been writing for 30 years in the Jungian style about women's spirituality, in books like Goddesses in Everywoman and Crossing To Avalon. And many more. She's now an international speaker working to raise the living conditions of women throughout the world. She spoke to us about spiritual pilgrimages and the way they "quicken the divinity" inside of us. Like the labyrinth experience does, and also like the Magdalene Circle experience of sharing spiritual journey . Quickens the divinity inside . It was reassuring to hear her say that speaking about Goddess is so normal now. I have high hopes that it will become that way to talk about Mary Magdalene in christianity.
We gave out many of our postcards with the picture of the Magdalene rosaries on one side and the Magdalene Gospel life stories and legends on the other side. If any of you want some of those postcards, please let me know, they are a wonderfully easy way to show that the life of Mary Magdalene is the "Way of the Heart" in the christian story. Her lifestory and legends and the prayers to pray on the entry beads of the rosary are in the "Prayers" section of 14 Steps To Awaken the Sacred Feminine: Women in the Circle of Mary Magdalene. It's been fun to tell women that the rosaries are created on the seven pattern, the sacred number of feminine spirituality.
The 2,000 Catholic women at this convocation felt themselves as radicals and the phrase "radical hope" was used over and over again. You could tell by the sea of gray hair that these were women who had been working tirelessly for positive change for many , many years and they needed a boost of support and encouragement to continue . One wonderful speaker, Meg Wheatley, encouraged us to stop believing that hierarchical systems could create change. She said that radical change always starts with "a few of my friends and I were talking". Conversation among friends is the beginning of all movement away from limiting ideas. Just talking. I felt good hearing that because , of course, that's what Margaret and I want women to do in Magdalene Circles.
Just talk.... spirituality, not theology.
Hi Joan,
So happy to hear you and Margaret had such a spiritually refreshing experience. Can never be enough opportunities to talk to someone about Jesus' compliment, Mary. For sure, their partnership will heal us.
Blessings, sheila : )
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Hi Shiela, Thanks for your support and your hopefulness that we will have more and more opportunities to bring the healing of Sacred Partnership out into the world. As Margaret likes to say, that's what will "make the flowers bloom". xoJoan
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Hi Joan,
Yes, I think that Jean Shinoda Bolen's statement, "theology divides, spirituality unites" is really quite true. And its a human conundrum, because we are designed to perceive religion in terms of symbols, names, and theologies that arise from our sacred stories (whether about Goddess, God, Mary Magdalene, Jesus, or Buddha, etc.)
To me, these stories and the theologies they give birth to, are routes of perception for things that live beyond symbol, name, theology, or mythos.
Its such a Catch 22 because our minds need to latch onto stories and images in order to create meaning, but Spirit will always be more than these, however beautiful and magnificent our sacred stories are.
Every adherent to every religion will feel that their choice is the one that is without dogma, or fundamentalism, that their choice is closer to "the truth." So yes, theology divides us, and at the same time we need it in order to perceive the "Great Mystery."
For me, the only really healing solution, is to try to make a habit of staying with "Spirit," even while we are perceiving "Spirit" through our chosen mythos/theology lense.
I think that when we commit to individually demonstrating what we see as the virtues of a Spiritual Life (kindness, goodness, compassion given to all equally, etc.) then we move beyond Theology into Spirituality. If everyone committed to this, we would be living in a world more at one with its individual parts.
The interesting thing is that the virtues of 'Goodness' can't be forced, because the 'Enforcer' automatically falls out of the virtue of Goodness by using excessive coercion (such as blame or condemnation linked to a point of mythos/theology, such as "original sin"). So while the "Goodess" of a Spiritual Life can be discussed, and encouraged, ultimately it rests with each person's day to day choices. Our choices tell us how connected we are with the Goodness of Spirit.
Everyday challenge - can turn into everyday blessings!
Love Jennifer
"The Holy Book of Mary Magdalene"
http://www.demeter.spiritualitea.net
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Hi Jennifer, Maybe Jean meant something like "dogma", rigid theological concepts. Maybe she meant the inclination we have to put one's own theology in competition with other theologies. With individual, inner experiences of God we can't do that, can we? We can only say, "This is what I experience". No one can refute another person's experience. I agree with you that we have to have images and stories to tell us our spiritual truths.... how utterly dull it would be if we all tried to envision consciousness without form. Contemplation of "nothing".
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Very interesting. I had to look up the meaning of "theology" to understand this discussion. If you look at the M-W.com definition (http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/theology), the first two meanings are what I thought: the study of god, gods, religion. How could that be different from or opposite of spirituality? But then look at #3 & 4 - within Catholicism, a whole different meaning to the word.
Change is slow sometimes and other times surprisingly huge and fast. It is that "tipping point," when the idea or knowledge or understanding is out there, but not at all accepted, and quite a struggle, a huge effort sometimes, and then suddenly - everyone gets it and accepts and lives it.
Being able to talk in a room of Catholic women - what a brave thing to do! Even though you made it back alive and safe, I still feel awed by the endeavor.
Don't forget it is not just the power of women you are asking this Catholic world to have consciousness of; you are asking also that the world be conscious of Catholic power, its connection to the masculine world of war and money domination. A lot to overcome, but it is happening on my levels.
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Hi Sara, Thanks so much for this contribution. You're so right about the tipping point... the hundredth monkey idea...that we are all participating in. Practice of our own personal spirituality is what's doing the tipping, in my opinion. It stretches our brains. I love what you said about bridging to the Catholic world's power. I think the women within that system of thought are brave ones trying to tip it over. But we're all brave right now, don't you think? I image Ron Howard's new movie Angels and Demons will give us all a taste of how brave we are. Love to you, Joan
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