Menstruation is Power
by Alexandra Pope
The stress sensitive barometer in women, the menstrual cycle is
an exquisite
system for sensing both physical and psychological well-being.
Menstruation
is an initiatory time, when women can potentially open to a highly
charged
altered state, giving them access to a singular kind of power.
The power of self awareness, deep feeling, knowingness,
intuition. A
power that matures over time with each cycle.
Cycles are the very basis of life, the means by which nature and
humans
regenerate. To go against them is a recipe for disaster. To listen
to them
adds a richness and connection to life. Women who medicate their
menstrual
cycle through the use of the Pill are in danger not only of
harming their
physical health, but also of cauterizing the depths of their inner
natures.
Something will never feel complete. In short, they can end up
living a half
life.
The tendencies in the ovulatory phase of the cycle are more
outer focused,
linear, left brain, feeling fairly clear (no messy emotion) and
productive,
with plenty of energy for others. As we move into the menstrual
phase of
the cycle women tend to become more inner focused. The transition
to this
inner state is often signaled by feelings of irritability, anger,
overwhelm,
greater dreaminess and vagueness. The people around us often feel
more like
an irritant.
Opposites are amplified. For example you may experience feeling
driven
one moment and then flip into its opposite, becoming drifty and
dreamy the
next. A feeling of purposefulness may fall away to be replaced by
questioning
about one's self and what one is doing.
This can also take the form of criticism of self and others, or
simply
depression. The single most dominant characteristic of this phase
is sensitivity.
We become more permeable both to our own depths but also to the
world.
Ironically the power of menstruation comes from the one thing we
usually
condemn in ourselves at this time: this very sensitivity. It is a
wonderful
opening to feeling and spirit. If you can travel through this
opening with
greater acceptance, you'll experience over time an illumination
and knowingness
that will suffuse the whole of your life. Your deep feelings are
an awesome
intelligence, a form of knowing, sometimes prescient, that goes
beyond surface
realities. Without our capacity for depth of feeling, and, yes, it
includes
all the so called 'negative' ones, life would lack meaning and
intimacy,
ecstasy and joy .
The sensitivity extends the acreage of our souls, encourages us
to examine
and challenge ourselves and the world we live in. If the task
feels too
great, the sensitivity of menstruation too overwhelming, we should
neither
condemn ourselves nor menstruation.
That would be like shooting the messenger. Instead we must learn
to
value and harness the power that comes from our greater openness.
Take a
stand for more womanly ways of knowing that can track feeling,
listen to
gut instinct, notice synchronicities, catch the intuitive flashes
and recognize
the connections between all things. Intellect is immeasurably
matured by
such skills of knowing.
At menstruation we are being called to attend to ourselves and
to matters
beyond the mundane surface level of existence. True power comes
from our
capacity to travel in both inner and outer worlds, to experience
emotional
and spiritual depths along with our intellectual rigor. This is
true for
both women and men. Women are blessed with an inner process, the
menstrual
cycle, that reminds us of and supports these capacities. This is a
wonderful
gift. A kind of blessing.
Copyright 2002 Alexandra Pope
Alexandra Pope is the author of "The Wild Genie: The Healing
Power of
Menstruation" (2001, Sally Milner Publishing) and "Walking
with the Genie: the Modern Woman's Menstrual Health Kit" (2001,
self
published)
Alexandra Pope is a psychotherapist and facilitator.
She runs menstrual health and Wild Genie workshops, and
co-facilitates
'The Power of the Feminine' workshop in Australia.
Contact details: aepope@ozemail.com.au
PO Box 1018, Bondi Junction,
NSW 3155 Australia