Women's reality is changing rapidly. To be a woman today is both challenging and confusing. On the one hand, we are still involved in the traditional role of caretaking and being identified with others, and on the other, we are trying to live with a more complete sense of self. We are accepting this challenge of change and exploring new possibilities, becoming courageous and responsible enough to expose ourselves in business, politics, education and many stimulating careers. We women are flexible by nature, so we are able to adjust to changing circumstances.

Up to now, most women who have been successful in the world are those who adjusted to the male value system. To keep up with the ambitious pace of modern life, women have emphasized the performance of masculine qualities. To become recognized experts in particular fields, women have sharpened their minds and become calculating, aggressive, dominating, and outgoing.

The new millennium requires that we now find new ways to heal ourselves and the world: therefore it is necessary that we realize our responsibility and explore new possibilities and dimensions of femininity. If we are to understand our female essence, we must come to terms with our sexuality and recognize the opposite poles of masculinity and femininity within and without.

We live in a male-dominated society that is extroverted, full of activity, excitement, and tension. Sexuality clearly reflects this social phenomenon, as it is mainly focused around male desires. Sexuality is deeply engraved with male behavior patterns and fantasies that honor maximum excitement. Yang-predominant sexual behavior is full of tension and it's climax oriented.

As a consequence of this sexual orientation, little importance is given to female qualities, such as love, empathy, stillness, and depth. Rather than searching within to get in touch with our own nature, we started to imitate men and have learned to play the male game at work, in sport, and also in sex. But unfortunately, it is simply not possible for our potential to blossom out of male behavior patterns and male qualities. On the contrary, it takes us farther away from our real roots, and deep within this behavior makes us very, very unhappy.

Until now, fulfillment of female sexuality has not been given much importance. Women's traditional sexual duty has been to give pleasure and satisfaction to men, and to give birth to as many sons as possible. This view of our sexual role is still very common and deeply rooted in society. So far, we have had little opportunity to perceive our own needs and desires, or to develop a sexual identity. The majority of women do not experience the healing power of womanhood and a fulfilled sexuality that spans an entire life. The current state of affairs surrounding sexuality calls upon today's women to become more independent, and to find inner fulfillment, rather than continuously looking for love and appreciation in the outside world. I encourage women of all age groups to unearth the treasures of female sexuality, developing the feminine power of healing love, which is also our contribution to a more natural and joyful society, to nourish and heal our world.

Being a Woman is a Responsibility

Too many women still avoid facing their own situation regarding sexuality, or they may be unable to truly surrender. This is due in part to personal fears, mental blocks, or personal and collective experiences. But women also know they have a sexual responsibility of some kind. To take on that responsibility, women will have to develop these healing female sexual qualities within themselves. Getting to know their own womanhood with all its personal desires, limits, and wounds is a significant part of that. This can enable women to live their sexuality according to personal conviction and in tune with their personal truth.

Sexuality is discussed openly through the media, but this doesn't mean that we women have become more natural and relaxed about our sexuality. Nor has it made it easier to understand our sexuality any better. On the contrary, we are constantly fed inaccurate, misleading information. For the most part, we are being manipulated for commercial and entertainment purposes.

This commercially produced image of women, how we are supposed to feel, what we should like, and how we should be, has been created mostly out of male fantasies. For us women, this can be an irritating and confusing predicament. Unconsciously, we are absorbing these images in each cell of our body and being. This means we try to adjust ourselves to these artificial images. We are trapped in an absurd situation where we try to be ourselves according to superficially imposed male ideas. The price women pay in their hope to be taken care of, or loved and accepted, is too high. We pay for it with our needs, feelings, and beliefs.

How Important is Sexuality?

Women still think that enjoying sex is selfish. But sexuality is not just the satisfaction of an instinctual urge or a pleasant way for nature to ensure reproduction. Its possibilities reach far beyond this. Because many women are not in touch with their intrinsic nature, they end up playing a role that does not really suit or nourish them. They are easily manipulated or abused and find themselves playing the victim role, or are humiliated and hurt over and over again. They do not learn to access their own internal strength so their sexual potential remains hidden. With the help of the Tao, I want to invite women to explore Sexuality, so we all are able to feel it as a part of our whole being.

Women who are ready to come to terms with their sexuality, and who want to find new ways to experience it are still a small minority. In fact, the overwhelming majority of women live in a social situation where it does not even come to their minds to ask themselves, "Do I have a fulfilled sexuality?" or, "Is this all there is?" Millions of women are living in very primitive circumstances in little villages, in India for example, far below the subsistence level. Most of them are not able to read or write, and their religion and society have dictated that they worship their husband as a god. For women in these circumstances, whether they have an orgasm or not, or if it is clitoral, vaginal, or even "cosmic" is simply not an issue.

In Muslim and African communities, it is still the custom to circumcise small girls, to cut out the clitoris or the lips of the vulva. Every so often a girl dies after this painful procedure, which is often done without any anesthesia. The tradition is practiced today in over twenty-two countries. The endless pain and lack of respect which so many women have borne through the ages has become part of our collective consciousness. And this shared collective experience is what still connects and unites all women.

The Collective

In psychology, the term "collective" refers to the psychic (of the psyche, not intuitive) contents of the mind that belong to an individual, to a social group of people, to a nation or race, or to all of humanity as a whole. The modern concept of a collective consciousness was originally formed by C. G. Jung. This collective consciousness determines the behavior of a group and the content of their minds: their norms, views of life, customs, symbolism, and their sexual habits. The stronger the collective, the more meaningless the "I" becomes. The less we have developed and experienced our individuality, the more we are ruled and identified with the collective. The uniqueness of the personality is absorbed and loses its independence. We, as individuals, turn into an expression of the crowd.

People who live their lives unconsciously, without any inquiry or investigation, become like a channel; they are an open invitation for the pattern of the collective mind to act through them. That's how the predominant structures of society -- the traditions, religions, and the sexual roles of women -- get passed on through the womb, unfiltered, from generation to generation. Now the time has come where women, at least in some parts of the world, are free to give a completely new contribution to the collective, with new qualities and new possibilities.

We cannot afford to ignore the vast possibilities of womanhood. Most women are not aware that it is possible to unfold the potential of female sexuality, whether we are living in a perfect relationship, having great sex, or becoming a mother. Our possibilities go beyond our involvement in outer circumstances and can unfold irrespective of them. But these restrictive ideas about being a woman, based on dependency, are deeply engraved in our unconscious mind. The collective mind is flowing through our blood and soaking our bones with this ancient conditioning. The hidden power of sexuality reveals itself by learning the art of swimming against the mainstream.

Sexual Liberation

The bad news is that there are no valid role models for the modern woman today. The good news is that we do not need them! Over years of working with women, individually and in various workshops, it is confirmed again and again, that we do not need outer images or pictures. Every woman is carrying unlimited wisdom and strength within.

As long as we have not liberated the feminine healing power that sleeps within us, we will be hurt and humiliated over and over again, until the healer is healed. When a woman has access to her well of inner strength, she will also have the desire and courage to set herself free from the archaic chains and limitations that burden her sexuality. Women's liberation is an implosion, an explosion inward, a quantum leap that gives inner space and independence.

In the process of this liberation we are lead through all the pain we carry within, and through all the injustice to which we have been exposed over centuries. To liberate female sexuality means to free ourselves from the boundaries of identification with others who limit our perception of the vast possibilities we have in being a woman. To develop an independent sexuality based on free choice is not just the foundation of a more fulfilled life; it also carries with it the possibility of influencing the collective soul with more pleasant, joyful, and loving qualities.