The Human Group - Magic and the feminine

Magic and the Feminine.

(This post is a reflection upon a discussion group with the above topic. It includes my own hypothesis as well as summary from the discussion.)

This was a difficult one to find the flow.

There was hesitation to jump into the subject of the feminine.

This inability to explore the feminine emphasises the unexplored territory of the feminine and in turn invites us to contemplate.

Members of the discussion commented on the difficulty they have in distinguishing the feminine from the biological female human. This seemed to be the block or the reasoned excuse hiding the sheer ignorance we all shared in distinguishing the feminine.

Suggestions were made to ignite flow such as; 'lets explore the feminine as a metaphor, symbol or a piece of art that has infinite definitions'.

and this;

The wave and the particle.

One sits before endless possibilities and the other is one defined actuality. The wave's nature could be said to be observing all that is before it without defining any particular pathway. The wave could represent acceptance, possibility, infinity, everything at once.

The particle is one possibility acted out and completely embodied, all other possibilities cease to exist. There is a certain tunnel vision associated with the particle, much like our societal dependence on what we know, rather than what we don't know.

Unfortunately as this suggestion was put forth, the metaphor did not set sail in encouraging a brainstorming dive into the feminine.

The discussion picked up on the paradox of discussing the feminine. Described as representing the unknown, qualitative and indefinable as we sort to define it, the feminine further became ungraspable, illusive, evasive and mysterious.

These attributes, (the unknown, qualitative, indefinable, ungraspable, illusive, evasive and mysterious), more qualitative and represented more by our experience than the words we spoke became more representative of the feminine. I am discovering this more as I reflect on the discussion. Indirectly we were exploring the feminine and it successfully evaded our conceptual minds.

A member then discussed their shift from being overly focused upon seeking approval and what society deemed as masculine; footy, beer, the lads, objectifying women, to more feminine. In exploring this experience; spirituality, compassion, empathy and self inquiry were brought into this human's focus. An observation of meditation retreats attracting more women was brought to consensus among the group. Again as this experience was offered not one human pulled forth attributes of the feminine. Although hiding behind definitions/words; compassion, empathy and spirituality all came to mind.

So like the wave form the feminine can not be pinned down to an all inclusive definition. Yet upon reflection on the discussion it can be experienced. Therefore perhaps experience is the only way to explore the feminine further?

It seems there is an 'observer effect' (1) when focusing our minds upon the feminine and in doing so it ceases to be the feminine in which we seek to witness. Much like 'Shrodinger's Cat' (2), in which the cat in the box is not known to be alive or dead until looked upon. Therefore in the time before the cat is looked upon it exists as the possibility of alive and the possibility of dead. This 'state of possibility' or 'quantum superposition' (3) could be one way of describing the nature of the feminine/yin energy, interconnectedness, union, the garden before the masculine pursuit of knowledge has witnessed it and defined it into a particle, therefore denying the phenomena any other existence.

Quantum superposition is when all possibilities of the wave are added, much like an ocean wave combining with another to make a bigger ocean wave. It is inclusive. Now replace 'the wave' with 'possibility' and we can add infinite amount of possibilities to coincide with other possibilities. Going one step further, what if 'possibility' included all that we knew and did not know; this is what i would hypothesise as being the state of the wave and the state of the feminine.

The discussion needed a different tact as I determined a lack of flow. We moved to magic. A human mentioned a magic show and that it was built upon tricking/deceiving the audience into witnessing the unexplainable. Another member wished to have the trick explained. Turned from endless possibility to a defined particle.

The topic of magic was brought to the discussion intentionally as another attribute of the feminine. Various members of the group cast off the idea of magic as child's play or a poor attempt at explaining phenomena without the tool of science. This attitude of disregard towards magic could be directly parallel with the disregard of the feminine and the historical neglect of the intelligence of women.

The feminine qualities discovered in reflection as well as within the human group discussion:

the unknown, qualitative, indefinable, ungraspable, illusive, evasive, mysterious, qualitative, spirituality, compassion, empathy, self inquiry, the wave, indirect, experience, inclusive, and much, much more.

As I reflect upon the discussion it further clarifies the intention of this group.

We are to be in the wave form while participating in the human group in order to include one another's perspective rather than act like a particle and bump up against one another.

We flowed into pondering the question; 'Can we control our thoughts?'. The discourse flowed through 'what we resist persists', to choice and then punishment being the lack of choice. How do thoughts affect us in extreme situations? Attitude and response to thoughts, creating a relationship with our thoughts rather than fully identifying as them. This was a quick dip into a deep pool.

The discussion moved into technology versus the grass huts movement of returning to source. Disagreements were had, therefore I intervened with a question; 'How can we be grateful for this period of separation, industrialisation, capitalism, materialism? What is the evolutionary purpose of a period such as this? How can we include what we value as we move forward so that we don't throw the baby out with the bath water?'

In the remaining time we discussed incentives that serve both the environment and society.

This leaves us with the next topic;

Communication, Einstein insight and incentive.

If you would like to join the discussion go to https://www.meetup.com/The-Human-Group/.

References:

1 - Observer effect - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Observer_effect_(physics)

2 - Shrodinger's Cat - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schr%C3%B6dinger%27s_cat

3 - Quantum superposition - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quantum_superposition