20 Aug The Egg Meditation
I invented The Egg Meditation after reading Becoming a Woman by Dr. Toni Grant. The book was the first time I encountered the idea that as women, we are losing our yin. Dr. Grant never used that language, but as a Jungian she taught that humans are made up of different components or subpersonalities, and that as modern women; we are emphasizing our active “doing” parts at the expense of our quiet “being” parts. Today, women are busy expressing our assertiveness: becoming CEO’s, stripping for our lovers and being on top. We reject what has classically been considered female: being quiet, receptive, and demure. We’re all yang and no yin.
When I took sex education in high school, we were shown the most amazing video of an egg being impregnated by a sperm. There She sat, unmoving, glowing, queenly, radiating, waiting patiently in all her splendor. The sperm were wriggling and squirming and jockeying for position, all of them anxious to enter Her. One victorious little tadpole finally succeeded. The egg didn’t move a muscle, and, except for a little squeal of ecstasy when he entered, appeared unmoved by the whole experience.
The old fashioned way of pursuit was reportedly like this: men pursued women who were non-active. Men did all the work. Then during the radical changes of the 70’s, Germaine Greer exhorted women to take the lead and pursue whichever men we wanted — it seemed like a good idea at the time. Men and women should certainly do whatever is right for their personal temperament. Nevertheless, neither modern men nor women have any connection to their yin self.
I took some time and meditated on the Egg, imagining myself as Her: sitting silently, radiating, waiting. After practicing a few times, I took it on the road. Since I’m an average looking woman, I’d never been approached all that much in bars, so as usual, I sat and watched all the hotties move on each other. I closed my eyes there on my barstool and did my Egg Meditation, envisioning myself as the Queen Egg, glowing, unmoving, and calm. When I opened my eyes, much to my surprise, several attractive men had wriggled up, jockeying for position. I never got approached so much in all my life as I did that night.
Yang is looking for yin, sorely missing in today’s world. I’m not advocating that women give up the gains we’ve made, not by a long shot. But both men and women are missing the element of yin. That’s why some men think they want younger or submissive women. Most modern men don’t really want submissive; they want a worthy partner. But yang is looking for yin and not more yang. There has to be a balance.
So just for a few minutes, imagine…you’re the queen Egg, sitting unmoving… getting fully in touch with your feminine side.
© 2014 Catherine Auman This article is an excerpt from Catherine’s book Shortcuts to Mindfulness: 100 Ways to Personal and Spiritual Growth
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