Finding a God/dess That Looks Like Me!

We all have our stories; stories and experiences that change us; that make us who we are and help determine why we do what we do. After searching through my own experiences and how I became who I am today, I’ve decided to share my story; the story of why I’m committed to helping others (women and men) embrace the feminine principle as a way to heal our selves, our relationships and our world.

Once upon a time . . .

I was blindsided—angrily accused of appropriating her Native culture. I left her tent in tears, unaware in that moment, that she had sparked a critical turning point in my life.

My then-husband and I had traveled from our home in Southwest Ohio to the Lake Huron area in Canada to attend something called The Four Winds Assembly; a gathering of Indigenous People and those of us answering the call to participate. One of the main reasons for our journey north was to hear Thomas Berry, author of The Dream of The Earth, deliver the keynote address. (We’d both fallen in love with Thomas Berry & this book.)

Now, with that Native woman’s command that I “find a god that looks like me” ringing in my ears, I felt hurt and confused, unsure of where to turn. I had learned, after all, that God was a judgmental yet loving white male with a beard. So where did that leave me? I felt empty. I had always respected the native ways of honoring the earth and all beings, loved how my heart sang when I called out to the trees, the sky, the clouds as grandfather, uncle or sister as I had been taught. I had been humbled as I prayed in sweat lodges led by Native American elders but never thought of ‘appropriating’ their traditions. Now I felt lost. Unsure where I could find a god that looked like me.

A short time later my husband gave me a book – not just any book, but a life-changing read that was the beginning of one of the most beautiful adventures of my life; one that continues to this day! That book was The Chalice and the Blade by Riane Eisler. As I read, my heart began to sing in that way that we, as women, know when sacred truth sends chills and tingles through every cell of our bodies.

Past as Prologue

Eisler is a cultural historian, systems scientist, attorney and author among her many achievements. In The Chalice and the Blade, she documents the findings of archaeologists, sociologists, cultural and art historians and others as a way to answer her own personal questions about man’s inhumanity to man (and woman) and her realization that there was a time in prehistory when, as she discovered, “that war and the “war of the sexes” are neither divinely nor biologically ordained. . .” She goes on to say that this book “provides verification that a better future is possible—and is in fact firmly rooted in the haunting drama of what actually happened in our past.”

The Chalice and the Blade opened a door for me into our cultural past and the possibility that the world of the present and our immediate past — a world where endless wars and human and planetary suffering constantly fill our news feeds doesn’t have to be our future.

What I found in her book was proof that there was a divine feminine; a divine being who looked like me and represents what I now understand as the feminine principle. She is an entity with whom women can relate, someone whose power is benevolent, who doesn’t command but rather, connects in partnership with the masculine; whose power is available to and inherent in both women and men.

Eisler’s book sparked a fire in me; a fire that burned hot and inspired me to learn more; to learn all I could about the wisdom and earthiness of the Great Goddesses of Greece, Egypt, Europe, Great Britain and Ireland. I devoured every book I could find about these goddesses and participated in workshops with women who were also on fire, committed to reclaiming and celebrating the feminine principle.

Discovering Herstory

That inner fire led me to begin offering my own Goddess Reclaiming workshops so that other women could learn about the feminine heritage that isn’t found in our history books. Like me, the women who participated in these gatherings had never before heard of the early Goddess culture but were open and hungry to learn.

I believe that women and men of today knowingly or unknowingly share that hunger. We hunger for peace, for a way of coming together to create a different world; a world that honors our precious Earth Mother, that honors the gifts of both the feminine and the masculine; where we see each other as equal partners—a world and cultures that honor all life, including that of the natural world.

Imagination and vision — based on archeological and historical proof — shows us that it is possible! The probability depends on us, and our willingness to put disbelief aside and become the makers; the creators of a world where women and men can work together as partners. If we are open and honest we can make this vision a reality; we can create heaven right here on earth for all beings!

Imagine . . .

As Riane Eisler says in the introduction of her book, “Of all life-forms on this planet, only we can plant and harvest fields, compose poetry and music, seek truth and justice, teach a child to read and write—or even laugh and cry. Because of our unique ability to imagine new realities and realize these through ever more advanced technologies, we are quite literally partners in our own evolution.”

Imagine, with me, the truth of these lyrics from John Lennon’s song, Imagine: “Imagine all the people, living life in peace . . . Imagine all the people, sharing all the world. You may say I’m a dreamer, but I’m not the only one. I hope someday you’ll join us And the world will live as one.”

Can you imagine this world—where no one is considered less or better than anyone else? A world where the feminine and masculine qualities in each of us is respected and celebrated? I hope you will join me on this journey to discover that time in history when the feminine and the masculine energies came together in partnership to create a peaceful, harmonious world — and the possibilities their lives and their world hold for us today.

To say ‘yes’ to this invitation, you need do nothing but stay tuned for the Great Unveiling of what’s to come!

Blessed Be.
Lina Landess