A friend of mine mentioned that we both belong to the feminine inquiry tradition.
I hadn’t heard that term before, and hadn’t really thought of it that way. But I see how it fits.
Here are some of what’s been important to me lately (most of it for a while), that can be seen as feminine:
An emphasis on love. Finding love for what’s here, for this experience, for this part of me and my experience I previously pushed away or ignored. Recognizing that identification (velcro, beliefs) come from love, from a wish to protect, and deep caring.
An emphasis on allowing. Allowing what’s here, this experience as it is. Notice it’s already allowed. Allowing even resistance, contractions, fear and more.
An emphasis on resting with what’s here. Notice. Allow. Rest with even discomfort, tension, resistance, contractions.
An emphasis on feeling. Feeling the sensations that are here. Feeling what I have to feel if I don’t do the compulsive behavior that’s coming up for me to do. Feeling what seems most uncomfortable, here and now.
And the inquiry part:
Inquiring into all of this. Inquire into what’s here. Notice the images, words, sensations. Ask simple questions to see more clearly what’s already here.
So yes, this is a feminine inquiry tradition. It’s love oriented. Feeling oriented. Inquiry oriented. It’s gentle, in a way. And also unsentimental and direct.
It’s even disillusionment oriented. And that too can be seen as feminine. That’s what a mother will do when it’s needed for the welfare of her children and family.
Of course, the reason we may see this as feminine is our stories about it. And these are adopted from tradition and culture. It’s a label. And it doesn’t need that label, which is partly why I haven’t thought about it this way, and may not use that term again in the future. (Unless someone else uses it, and I join in because it fits and helps us connect.)
I can find more ways my path fits the feminine inquiry tradition. It’s a path of beauty, noticing and appreciating the beauty in love, truth, and really all expressions of Spirit, even what a thought may call ugly. It’s a path of making myself available for those who may be interested in trying some of the things I offer. (Rather than proselytizing.) It’s a path of following the guidance of the heart and the inner voice. It’s a path of asking Spirit (life, God) for guidance. It’s a path of recognizing I really don’t know. It’s a path of social engagement. (Less now, for health reasons, but in my past and possibly future.)
I see how this has been a part of my path from the beginning. And also how there was more of a head center emphasis in the beginning (masculine, seeing all as Spirit), shortly joined by an heart emphasis (love for all, recognizing all as love), and more recently a belly emphasis (cleaning out emotional material, feeling all as Spirit).
Note: When I use the word love here, it means mostly the love that comes from recognizing all as Spirit. A love that doesn’t depend on feelings, or even very much on states. It can, of course, also be a feeling, a sense of the heart opening in a more felt sense, but it doesn’t depend on it. It’s more the love of the left hand removing a splinter from the right. It does so without depending on feeling love. (Although if that’s there, that’s just the icing on the cake, and it happens with a knowing that this felt love will come and go, and that’s fine.)