Empowered and Aligned

"the common divide" - a tension between needs that pull us

in two different directions at once.

Ann Snitow

Feminist, Theorist

We all experience "the common divide" at one time or another whether it is in reference to leaving home, changing careers, becoming a wife and mother, or questioning any of the great aspects of life.  The division is between diverse parts of our very self and the decision of which needs are to be recognized and met.  In time, we learn to honor and respect all parts of the self, creating a sense of wholeness.

THE ROOT OF THIS LONGING by Carol Lee Flinders discusses inner conflicts that tend to create the "common divide".  The conflicts that many women experience are between: "embracing silence vs. finding voice;  relinquishing ego vs. establishing 'self';  resisting desire vs. reclaiming the body; and enclosure vs. freedom."  The book explores the sources of these conflicts and how they can be reconciled.

By traveling upon a spiritual path, we learn to listen, but deflect comments and opinions that keep us limited.  The louder our inner voice grows, the less we depend upon the judgments of others.  The more we honor and respect what grows within us, the more satisfied and fulfilled we become.  As we learn to blend all parts of our inner self together, we become empowered and aligned with our personal goals and spiritual connections.  We find our selves intimately connected with all there is through a personal relationship with Divine Spirit.