Wisdom of MenoPassage: your own deep feminine knowing…to make a shift
MenoPassage: a holistic Journey through the menopausal years.
Menopause can be very tough, a time when women seem to lose their bearing to some extent and need to work their way through increased anxiety, instability, perhaps depression and reestablish their sense of direction and identity. Even though nowadays there are many solutions readily at hand, a little guidance through the maze of options may well be warranted, especially if it can address more than just the basic health issues of the menopausal years.
I would like to introduce you to the MenoGuide. She is personified by an OWL! She represents your own inner wisdom that has already led you through so many stages of developing as a woman and is ready to accompany you through yet another journey. Indeed, MenoPassage is about a journey and encompasses body, mind and Spirit, and we need to honor the wisdom of Spirit in lending us guidance in managing our body and our mind. The OWL’s wisdom is given voice by many great experts in the field, but the reason she is able to guide you is that she is actually within you, a deep inner knowing that guides you in transforming the many challenges of the menopausal years into new opportunities for growth and creativity.
The MenoGuide – the OWL – is highly experienced in leading you through the thick, the dark and the magic of MenoPassage and allowing you to see the new potential unfolding for you. Her sight is sharp in the dark of the night and in her wisdom, she loves exploring all the recesses where the obstacles to your well-being may be hidden. Her world encompasses magic, mystery and ancient knowledge, and this is exactly what she wants to share with you. The OWL is known to be in perfect synchrony with the moon’s cycles of renewal. Deeply connected to femininity and fertility, she loves to guide women into a cycle of renewal after reproductive fertility has come to an end.
We will explore a variety of experts that seem to reflect her wisdom, such as gynecologist Christiane Northrup, author of “The wisdom of menopause”, “The secret pleasures of menopause” and “Goddesses never age”, and neurologist Daniel Amen, author of “Unleash the power of the female barin”. We will also look at the ancient Chinese as they encourage self tending during this challenging time of life and shed a different light on the physiology of menopause. They ancient Chinese are experts at ushering in the “second springtime” of a woman’s life. And we will use compassionate inquiry to unravel the personal pitfalls that women may be encountering. All this is part of the exploratory wisdom of the OWL.
Today, we will begin with the Owl’s wisdom as reflected in the writings of Christiane Northrup MD, a visionary pioneer and a leading authority in the field of women’s health and wellness, addressing the unity of mind, body, emotions, and spirit.
Because in essence, the menopausal years rock the boat, they are such a powerful wake up call to be in touch with our vital force, bring deep nourishment to ourselves and learn to bring our kingdom into new balance. As the hormones recede, you may now become aware of underlying levels of fatigue, anxiety, lack of motivation or direction, it may feel like a breakdown, but in essence it is a breakthrough. It is a bit of a cleansing fire.
Indeed, according to Christiane Northrup MD
In the course of menopause and thereafter, we can be” more in touch with what really matters to us, and our bodies act as incredibly accurate barometers that indicate how closely we live our lives in-line with our true heart’s desires… The menopausal transition is a wake-up call that’s urging you to make changes that will keep you in touch with your vital life force (sometimes called chi or prana). “
It is time to bring in more self-tending, be cognizant of the need for rest, touch, acknowledgement, intimacy and find a connection to inner guidance. As long as there is disconnect and denial, pain will ensue, which takes a lot of energy to uphold. It is time to do deep physical and emotional housecleaning to rid your self of all the old baggage that might be holding you back from unfolding into… such as the relationships and undertakings in our lives that deplete us because we fail to take charge and make sure we draw some benefit. With the shift may come a much greater ability to create the life we love.
Christiane Northrup MD
“The truth about this time of life is that when you have the courage to change your beliefs and behaviors so that you speak your truth and dare to cultivate pleasure instead of stress, you have the power to create a life of unbridled joy, unlimited abundance, and vibrant health.”
The OWL is sending out an invitation to wholeheartedly cultivate a deep current of pleasure in our lives. This may not imply veering towards a hedonistic life… far from it, perhaps it is more of an invitation to move into deeper self-acceptance and self-embracing, tending to the deeper pleasures of the moment, the rich ness of friendship, beauty and sensuality that we are so much more able to open to as we mature. In many ways, this simply implies giving ourselves permission and delving deeper into what truly matters for us.
Christiane Northrup MD:
You have a chance of having “a much stronger creative drive now since your life energy isn’t being used in order to have periods and create babies. Instead, it gets rerouted into powerful urges to create other things—anything from a personal journal of poetry and sketches to a thriving new business… This is a time in life when your creative juices are ready and willing to flow like never before, even if you haven’t previously thought of yourself as very creative.”
As we start tending more towards our own need for deep nourishment, our creative juices may start flowing like never before. It is a bit like a flower opening in the sunshine of the new love and nourishment we bring to it. Many perceptions come together in a new way, we are able to synthesize a new understanding that will lead us to new ventures. And a new guidance will emerge as we become more open to a deeper current within our lives.
Christiane Northrup MD:
“Whatever doesn’t feed our soul and doesn’t make us feel vibrantly alive needs to fall by the wayside now. Our lives have no room for such things anymore. Everything we think, say, and do from this point on will either keep us actively engaged in living passionately and joyfully, or it will hasten degeneration and increase our chances of poor health and disease. It’s our choice to make.”
Be cause of the profound internal shifts and changes, it becomes so much more necessary to take a strong stance and make the changes that now suit us in a whole new way.
Again, from Christiane Northrup:
“Women who make a point of maintaining a strong, passionate life force become magnetically attractive to uplifting people and circumstances. So while you’re having a great time with all of the wonderful things you’re bringing into your life, you’ll also be sending out signals that say to the universe, I’m loving life and loving that I love life, so bring on more of the good stuff! The universe always responds, because whatever you give your attention to grows. And when you give your attention to bringing life-affirming, fun things into your life, you open up a channel for more of the same to come in. It’s as simple as that. In fact, this feeling of being in love with life itself is absolutely vital if you want to have a passionate, fulfilling relationship with a partner.”
This work in turn leads to the springtime of a whole new chapter of life, and we have so much more maturity to bring to it. The more we understand it is OUR CHOICE and that we get to embrace OUR OWN FREEDOM, the better this will go.
Bibliography:
Northrup, Christiane: “The Wisdom of Menopause.” New York: Bantam Books, 2012