We didn't know what to expect when we started to arrange the Circles of Light event in Helsinki last weekend to honor the Annunciation Day of Maria. We wanted to give back to the Creator and serve in gratitude and let the women feel the appreciation of their femininity. So many women still struggle with their self-worth and courage to follow their hearts. The feminine energy is in all of us and it is meant to be in balance despite the sex we were born into. The feminine energy is the creative force within us that comes out as multiple talents like imagination, feelings, intuition, esthetics, symbols and contemplation. In the current society we don't show appreciation towards these qualities. The rational mind dominates most parts of our lives. 

We had to do a lot of mental-emotional purification work before the event was able to manifest. The biggest challenges had to do with the contradiction between spirituality and religiousness as well as hidden egoistic behavior and the actual co-creation between women. Some of the challenges revealed themselves after the event when stopping to reflect on what really happened. The outcome of the event itself was beautiful, soul- moving sharing and encounters. We learned that forgiveness is possible on a collective level when it is expressed with true humbleness and sorrow over one´s own mistakes. Thank you Jouko Ollikainen for your powerful story of how you started painting the Crying Marias on everyday objects. 

Thank you Nelly Jurvelius for sharing your powerful journey with Hildegard von Bingen, Sarita Vahtera and Teemu Ritanen for your beautiful musical creation especially arranged for this event, Suvituuli Siikasaari for your magical soul singing, Cristina Andersson for your strong interpretation of Jean Sibelius´ pieces and Linn Bekkevik for birthing the idea of Circles of Light in Stockholm as well as defending the light in the challenges of the whole day (getting the light over from Sweden through all kinds of obstacles). 

Staying in one´s faith, truth and power is all that it takes when you want something to be done despite of opposing forces. It was quite a ride, but worth it! Together we are strong. Blessings to all!

This poem is Hildegard von Bingen's "Quia ergo femina", translated into Finnish by Anna-Maija Raittila:

Siunaus lepää naisen yllä

Kuolemasta johon nainen oli suostunut
Sai voiton valoisa Neitsyt
Ja niin lepää nyt naisen olemuksessa
taivaan siunaus,
siunaus ennen kaikkea luomakuntaa
koska Jumala tuli ihmiseksi
tässä autuaassa, suloisimmassa neitseessä.

The passing week has provided us with some messy experiences with narcissistic behavior patterns. It has forced us again to stop, wonder and heal this phenomena and it´s destructive impact on everybody involved. 
We are all affected by it in some way be it at work, at home or at a hobby - nobody is safe from it today. It is so widely spread and people in general lack awareness and concrete tools to work with it and protect themselves from it. It is such a twisted energy that it manipulates both your rational mind and your emotions. 
You loose direction and perspective of what is the most important thing to do and you end up feeling so bad because you cannot express yourself truthfully. In the worst case you can be made to feel so small that you have no other option than surrender to it (and loose yourself!) or to escape from it to save yourself. 

Awareness is the first step to freedom. By accepting that I am part of the mechanism in keeping up the collective denial pattern of how we use each other for our own purposes (to receive attention and love) helps to start the release and healing process. Only a person who has healed this within themselves can help another to become free. 

We used one of our most efficient tools, The Non-Personal Awareness Process (NPA) by Joel Young to face the pure energy of narcissism and lack of love. The energy could be experienced as an infinite sense of emptiness and isolation, coldness and metal-like hardness. There is also a sense of becoming very small and powerless with a huge burden and sadness around the heart. When the energy started to release there was an experience of immense freedom, lightness and ability to breath and be yourself.  A total sense of relief. Finally.

We decided to invite a new kind of pattern with the same NPA practice, the energy of purity. Why purity? 
As human beings it is most important to be able to express ourselves purely - as we really are. It provided a sense of lightness, both in the body, mind and heart. This sensation functions as an invitation to people and situations in your life where you are allowed to be your pure self. 

 

  

What does a person need to grow, to become a whole person, to flourish?

Simple answer: love. 

In my work I see this as a constant theme. There is such a huge amount of coldness, emotional emptiness, even hardness that is making people escape into performing relationships, work - our entire lives, and to seek for outside entertainment & material in a never-ending yearning for acceptance and love. 

In seeking for this fulfilment from the outside, we become empty shells who have the right to consume anything - other people (abuse of others and natural resources), material goods (to try to satisfy the hollowness inside), experiences (both physical and even spiritual). Are we willing to put up with it, for how long and at what cost?? 

And of course, as a coach, I ask "what what do you need to break free from it"? We need a true connection to another person, a will to accept the lack of love in my life and surrendering to forgiveness and healing. We are sharing our "tools" in our events and here in the blog, but the most important thing to do is to act towards change.

There are ordinary people living in love all over the world, but is it so that our visible culture is now led by forces of "power over"? What are we willing to do to create a culture of co-creation? Are we willing to renew our concept of leadership?