>    Recently I was in New York City taping a segment of a TV special created by Gary Null, long time health advocate for alternative therapies and frequent “speaker of truth to power.”  I had never met Gary before and although we spoke of many things during the two days of taping, he seemed particularly taken with the subject of bringing ourselves and our world into “balance” and “harmony.”   
    Gary’s right. We are out of balance. Our lives are spent working at a frantic pace just to keep up financially and technologically. Our consumption of natural resources is with an almost total disregard for their replenishment or eventual depletion. Historically, we live in a seemingly endless cycle of violence in one part of the world or another. Our bodies are subject to more diverse diseases than ever, and yet the inherent capacity to use our minds in innovative ways in order to change our patterns gets little of our time and focus.
    Nature has a built-in balance that, absent the intrusion of humankind, allows it to maintain and self-correct. That built-in balance can be seen in the equal participation by both genders among virtually all species of life. Except us.
    And I think therein lies the answer to why we are out of balance.   For thousands years, according to written histories and religious teachings, we humans have been suppressing and silencing the feminine voice and it’s many contributions. Deliberately denied positions of importance and power, the absence of the feminine voice and it’s inherent gifts has meant the absence of nurturing, compassion and intuition from our world. We have deprived ourselves of vital energy that is intended to work in unison, in harmony, with that which is male. The equal participation of both genders is what harmony would look like and balance would be the outcome.
    I am not a feminist or a liberal or any other label you might like to place upon me for my thoughts around all of this. Labels just make it easy for someone in disagreement to manage their own fear of difference and dismiss another’s point of view.
    What I am is a student of Nature in the tradition of Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, the Christian mystic, biologist, paleontologist and philosopher.  For me, all of the really important answers to life can be found in Nature if we are patient enough, humble enough and wise enough to be open to seeing them.
    Nature is inclusive, not exclusive. Nature makes room for female and male alike. Nature is self-organizing.
    I am not saying that all of our problems and challenges will be solved overnight by restoring the Feminine to it’s rightful place in societal evolution. What I am saying is that unless we do, we are destined to remain both out of balance and out of harmony…both within ourselves and among society at large.
    Oh yes, by the way. I mentioned the philosopher Teilhard de Chardin. Did you know the word “philosopher” was coined by the Greek mathematician Pythagoras meaning “Lover of Sophia”…the Goddess of Wisdom who was seen as the personification and embodiment of enlightenment and inspiration.
    Nobody taught me that in math class.

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