Alexandra: In this episode you will learn about the energy dynamic of the menstrual cycle. You will learn how to come into a good relationship with both the masculine and feminine inside you. In the last podcast we described to you the initiation process that women go through from menarche to menopause.We are going to look at the energy dynamic each menstrual month. Think of the menstrual cycle as having two poles. The north and south. Menstruation is the South Pole. Ovulation is the North Pole. The two stabilising points. At Menstruation you bleed. At Ovulation you produce an egg. Our spirit travels between each poles as we move from menstruation to ovulation and back again. The pre ovulatory and the pre-menstrual times are more dynamic.Let me begin by describing what happens at menstruation. The key thing we want to say is awareness is the activating force. At menstruation awareness is drawn inwards activating your inner life and spiritual world. It’s like the inner lights of you all start to blaze. It’s like in Winter when the lights are all blazing on the inside of the houses and it is dark outside. The same is true in menstruation, you inner lights are blazing, your spiritual life comes alive and mundane life or outer life dims.
Sjanie: As we begin moving from this South Pole anchor there is a rise in the outer lights of mundane life. They slowly begin to light up and the inner light dims down. There is a shift of awareness from the inward looking of menstruation to taking in more of the world around of us. Like the dawn of a new day. The light starts to illuminate the world. A stirring and activity. A movement that starts to happen. We are waking up from our slumber like a new dawn. We become more engaged. It can feel light and playful. We are fresh and unencumbered. Hope and possibility. A youthful uplifting feeling, like surfing a wave. There’s a quality of effortlessness and there can be quite a nice pace to that as you move towards ovulation.
Alexandra: It’s like a rising inner yes to our being. An affirmation of ourselves, our consciousness is most connected to what is happening in the outer world at ovulation. We are least present to our inner world at this moment in the cycle. Our inner light is dimmed – it is high noon – and the outer lights are now blazing. High summer, you are kind of on top of the world and your own needs are quiescent. You can be all things to all people. And then we begin to move into the second part of the cycle and we start to reverse the process.The outer lights get dimmer and dimmer and the inner lights start to come up more and more. We leave ovulation and begin our descent into the dark. It feels like a descent into autumn. We are descending into the inner light of ourselves and the second half of the cycle as you shift towards a more expanded consciousness. The transition can be a tricky one as you come off that summer high. At ovulation you can feel invincible. Moving towards menstruation, it’s reality check time.
Sjanie: When I didn’t pay attention to my cycle I felt undone by the crossover from my inner summer to winter but now I can feel it moving and I start to slow down and say no more often.
Alexandra: The most challenging time for most women because we don’t notice the light changing. And then the darkest hour of the cycle is just before menstruation. It can be the most dangerous if we are not conscious of it. We can feel negative toward ourselves, especially if we are unaware of where we are in our cycle when this happens. Actually this ‘dark’ is the dimming of the outer lights, and behind that apparent ‘dark’ is the inner light of you. There is a moment when the lights are out outside. If you can be aware of the moment you can touch into the inner light.Sjanie: Because you don’t have the will to go on and run out of steam, you begin to let go more and rest in the arms of the greater rhythm that is carrying you. You have no choice. And so we’re returned to menstruation again.
Alexandra: we are then plugged into our inner consciousness. We are moving from the outer lights being amplified (at ovulation) to the inner lights being amplified (at menstruation). This is the most amazing psychological process.
Sjanie: Lets recap. This dynamic that underpins our menstrual cycle…expansion of energy from menstruation to ovulation. Contraction, breaking down, undoing from ovulation to menstruation. A shift of energy from active on one side, more energised and full of vitality to petering out of energy and into a more receptive state. Awareness shifts from deeply internal at menstruation to being engaged with the world around you at ovulation.
Alexandra: Menstruation is where you are most embodied in your spiritual world. Ovulation most embodied in your outward, material life.
Sjanie: At menstruation you feel rooted into your inner world. And at ovulation you feel more part of life in a worldly way. They are opposites sides of the same coin.
Alexandra: At menopause there is a coming together of those two
Alexandra: The creative energy or tendency of the first half of the cycle we call the via positiva, the way of the masculine, and it’s your ability to go out and do things, set goals and set agenda, to impose your agenda on the world. It’s one way of creating. And it’s a super energy.The creative energy or tendency of the second half of the cycle we all the via negativa – the way of the Feminine. We don’t know how to celebrate this creative way in our society. It’s about the power of the encounter, the power of co-creation. Not about imposing your agenda but rather unfolding what wants to come through. To work in collaboration. In this way we birth new ideas that have never been known before. This is subtle, it’s about courting something, listening and responding. A fabulous skill to have because it helps you to be able to work with the Unknown. It isn’t about one Way being better than the other. They both need each other for each to have their full brilliance.As a woman you are graced with being educated in the via positiva and the via negativa. And learning how to manage their unique powers.
Sjanie: Some of us will feel much more at home in one of these spheres. This is the place where we shine. Alexandra is a classic via negativa woman. This is where her natural strengths lie. You can take a moment to reflect on which one do you lean towards. Which one feels more familiar, effortless or more you.
Alexandra: Are you more comfortable in the first half of the cycle or the second of the cycle. People like myself feel like we are naturally at home in the second half of the cycle.
Sjanie: It is through menstrual cycle awareness that you can really explore this. Which current of energy do you feel that you are currently in. Clock that in your charting and journaling. You can see where your strength is and where your challenge is. Between now and the next episode, check in. Which current of energy am I in? It’s a good experiment to do.
Alexandra: Notice the cross over moment. You can literally notice how you are feeling negotiating the shift from one to the other.Sxjanie: The most pronounced moment moving from one to the other. I feel a jolt.
Alexandra: What we have described here are the two creating currents that are at the foundation of your inner cosmos as a woman. We will go into more detail about this cosmos in the next session. Get to work right away with familiarising yourself with this. Holding your inner cosmos.
Check out Episode 6 - ‘The Inner Seasons - Your Personal Guide to Getting to Know Yourself’
