The Hero's Journey Vs.

The Way of the Feminine ~

The Hero�s Journey is the masculine path of transformation. It is a Call to

Adventure, a slaying of dragons, a battle between good and evil. It is ultimately a
quest to be reunited with the lost feminine within us, men and women alike.

The Feminine�s Journey looks quite different. The Yin aspect of the path is not a
Call to Adventure. It is a Call to Surrender. A call to quiet and stillness,
receptivity and patience. While the masculine braves a treacherous world, the
feminine weaves herself a cocoon. Where the masculine seeks to achieve a goal, the
feminine waits in uncertainty. She waits in darkness. Not knowing. Not doing. Just
being. And enduring. Enduring suffering that is sometimes so great and never-ending
it seems unendurable. But it is here, in this cocoon, that the feminine will
ultimately be reunited with the lost masculine.

To be clear, the feminine is not doing nothing in her not doing. Nor is she a
victim of her suffering. There is much going on but it is invisible to the eye. She
is active in her passivity. Strong in her surrender. And she must strike the
miraculous balance of being with her suffering without seeking to control the
outcome - and also without completely giving up.

She is pinned to a cross in which there is no solution. Her task is to bear the
heavy tension. And submit to the eternal injustice that befell her. Until
hopefully, maybe, one day... grace comes from deep within and all around and the
cross is reconciled.

But day after day she waits. Often hidden away. Usually in solitude. How long can
this possibly last? It could be years. There is no end in sight. And the
possibility that it will never end is part of what brings her to her knees. She
realizes, finally, she is not in charge here. She cannot incubate this egg of
potential on her own. She must hand it over to the Great Mother. It is she who
holds our fate in her hands. It is she who we must entrust our lives to. It is she
who teaches us just how much control we do not have - and how much we truly do.

And unlike the epic battles of the Hero�s journey, the Feminine�s tasks in myths
and fairytales are tedious, time-consuming, take commitment, seem trivial and
require the help of animals and magic. There are no dragons to slay, but rather
beans to sort, stinging nettle to weave, straw to spin into gold. She is not sure
anything will come of all of this but neither is she sure nothing will. She only
knows she doesn�t know, and she must do her part. She must keep following the
breadcrumbs on the inner path of her psyche.

This slow, unexciting path goes against almost every aspect of our culture. The
Hero�s Journey, while treacherous and not for the faint of heart, is worshipped as
the myth of our time. This is not the case for the Feminine's way. It does not make
for million dollar blockbusters and best selling novels. It opposes our busy and
fast-paced society. And to the immature masculine - both in the culture and in the
person themselves - it can appear as if the one on the Feminine Journey is doing
nothing and wasting her time. These voices will constantly exclaim: "You need to do
more! You need to solve this now. You must stop feeling that. Nothing is happening!
You're being lazy. Hurry Up!"

But if we listen to these voices, we will either refuse the call or find ourselves
stuck along the way. Unable to surrender, unable to move forward. Our suffering
then will grow exponentially and our bodies will protest and our lives may become
impossible, or maybe barren. Or, if we have begun the journey already, but wish to
rush to the end, we could break the incubating egg and kill the potential.
One of the keys on this path is to teach the masculine within to be a comforting
and illuminating companion in the darkness rather than an obstacle. When he learns
to honor and help the way of the feminine, the resistance melts, the way unfolds
and the union draws nearer.

And then one day, a day we never knew would come, the cocoon begins to hatch. Just
enough to feel a ray of sunlight on our face. Just enough to breathe in the fresh
air and hear the new life calling. While the Hero's Journey ends in surrender, like
Yin springing from Yang, the Feminine's Journey ends in action. Like Yang springing
from Yin. As the cocoon opens, so too does the world. While returning may not be
easy and our life still not perfectly sorted, we will make our way with the
strength of the matured Masculine by our side, and the Feminine herself
transformed.

Leyla Aylin, Midwives of the Soul