Divine Feminine Legacy

A mother's fierce stand against burnout culture

🤍 Welcome to REFUGE a sacred Divine Feminine space where we can let go and let love. 🤍

In this season of my life, I am giving myself the gift of Grace while I open myself to receive support. I will not push anymore- even in the most subtle ways or for all the good reasons such as fulfilling my dreams and aspirations. Instead, I would rather be fully present to what is unfolding in my life, seeking the sacred in the mundane. This is especially true for me as a mom.

Embracing motherhood consciously as a path of self-awareness and healing- has been one of my most important calling in this lifetime.

For the astrology lover, I have Saturn (responsibility) in Cancer (Mothering/ Nurturing) in the 4th house (home and family).

Being a mom has grounded me- bringing me to heal my own relationship with my mother but even more importantly with the Great Mother - the power of the feminine.

For my daughter, I am fiercely passionate about passing on to her the torch of the Divine Feminine so she can step onto her path with her feminine essence flowing. For my son, my intention is the same: I want him to be in touch with his inner feminine so he can honour Her in all of life- not just in relation to women.

When it comes to motherhood, I feel a profound sense of responsibility- both karmic (healing the ancestral lineage) and Dharmic (following my Divine Feminine soul’s calling). I embrace this sacred motherhood path wholeheartedly, even though it occupies a significant part of my life and requires me to move more slowly with other important aspirations.

Take this month: I had plans to gently slide into wintering, exploring new qigong practices, writing new chapters of my Magdalene book and longer silent meditations.

Instead, I found myself mothering through several breakdowns and emotional lows. I had to adjust my plans - not abandon them as I know how vital maintaining a core practice for my well-being. The truth is that being the pillar that holds everything together at home requires enormous amount of love, patience, and trust.

As Dr Wu, my Chinese Kuan Yin-like acupuncturist would say: “Be the eternal sunshine in the life of your children”.

In the West, our self-centred mindset makes cultural norms to dismiss the devotion and sacrifices required for conscious, present mothering. Yet the word “sacrifice” shares its root with “to make sacred”- which why I view mothering as “ Sacred Motherhood”.

However, I am not advocating for mothering from a wounded place where we neglect self-care due to the misguided belief that women should continuously give and never receive or rest.

Sacred Mothering has a different and conscious focus. It is rooted in the understanding that in order to serve, we cannot always put ourselves first. Our children -including teenagers and young adults-hold the key to the future of this planet.

As mothers, we can help shape a kinder world by giving of our time and love to set new timelines in motion. For example, I find myself continuously advocating for my daughter’s right to be sovereign in her own life- to trust her path and her unique gifts.

Right now, my beautiful darling is seventeen, going through her last year of high school preparing to taker her International baccalaureate IB exams in May. She is also working on her portfolio for art school applications, or at least trying to, because she is in a complete burnout state. Several time this month, I ‘ve picked up her from school in a state of freeze and high anxiety.

Inside, I feel sacred rage against a system that is already trying to institutionalise her- making her believe it is normal to push beyond her emotional and physical limits for “success”. On the outside, I hold her tight and work to unravel the school’s imprints, the damage to her self-esteem, her health and to her trust in life.

No one should experience burnout out at 17 years old, and we are amongst the white privilege folks. We should be thriving with enough energy to help those less fortunate than ourselves. I can barely ask her to empty the dishwasher- I worry she will follow her brother who hit a depressive spiral and battled glandular fever with chronic fatigue for years. Meanwhile, the school is supposedly training the future leaders for top universities and corporate jobs. But to what end?

We over-educate them— the proverbial cup overflows with too much knowledge, leaving no space for intuition, reflection, creativity, developing emotional intelligence, healthy relationships, mindfulness or good self-care practices.

My daughter’s teacher- after she froze trying to take her last exams- told her not to worry and take a day off but to return to take her exams a couple of days later! He added that she should just be ‘like a machine’ until the end of term. 😱

The teacher is actually kind and meant no harm. The system itself demands everyone to force, push, and perform as if it’s normal.

Sacred motherhood becomes non-negotiable. I am here to advocate for my daughter to be sovereign in her being- to resist being imprinted by an unhealthy system even if she chooses to move through it.

Every day, through my own reclamation work and the sacred space I try to uphold for her, I keep the feminine light burning. It takes enormous devotion but it is essential work. Though, it might not be praised in monetary or social media terms, it might seed the beginning of true feminine leadership.

*The concept of being institutionalised originated from sociologist Erving Goffman's 1961 work "Asylums," where he examined how institutional settings affected human behavior and identity.

Resisting institutionalisation means maintaining your autonomy and ability to make choices aligned with your well-being, even when they conflict with institutional expectations. It's about preserving your authentic self while navigating institutional demands.*

Signs of institutionalisation in education:

Measuring self-worth primarily through grades and external validation

Inability to set personal boundaries around work and rest

Feeling guilty when not being "productive"

Prioritizing institutional timelines over personal well-being

The reality is that we are all caught up in a capitalistic system where everyone is tied to school and corporate schedules. It is important to recognise that it is not easy to re-wild yourself and create your own timeline.

However, as I encourage my daughter to do, you can advocate for yourself and refuse to give into the projected fears. I often tell my daughter to miss school and to rest at home. I reassure her constantly that she has within her everything she needs to blossom and follow her unique path. I ask her to be smart about navigating the school system and to focus on her end goal not the weekly pressures. We don’t want to get to finishing line so burned out that all her efforts lead to failing or missing final IB exams.

More importantly, I encourage her to remember what matters most to her like applying to art school and to refuse to be forced into being a high achiever to feel good about herself or fit in with her peers. I repeat regularly that health ( mental-emotional and physical) is our first wealth.

I recognise the tension between necessary challenges that help us to grow and the need for rest, beauty, creativity or pure being-ness. I don’t encourage her to step away from her life but to embrace it in a way that allows for her to spread her wings without burnout. The key, I believe, is that she remains sovereign and knows how to advocate for herself.

Several wellness, healing and spiritual practices are wonderful support to help avoid burnout at school and create a nurturing environment. These include but are not limited to:

• Twin Heart meditation for blessing and healing the school, students, teachers and those working on the premises.

• Playing at home the OM sound or other mantras on very low volume to create a energetically cleaner and more peaceful environment.

• Playing Solfeggio frequencies to promote relaxation or focus if needed for homework

• Homeopathic remedies like Oak, Buddleia, Ignatia, Phos Ac, Nux Vom.

• Flower essences (Bach Flower Rescue Remedy is a must have-always)

• lavender salt baths to cleanse the aura from all the stress

• Energetic cord cutting after school to stop energy leakage and overthinking

• Morning invocations help to create a shield of protection.

• Cooking seasonal meals with grounding and healing properties.

• Music, creativity, dancing, laughing are also powerful medicines.

To all mothers reading this:

I would love to hear your wisdom and thank YOU for all that you do. Though much goes unnoticed and words of appreciation maybe scarce, remember that all that we do with love, is deeply felt and creates ripples through the collective field.

And to those healing or grieving their relationship with their mother, mothering, and the feminine, I see you!

It is a demanding, deep process that requires immense courage. You are amazing and you are helping restore the feminine to her rightful place in a world that is desperate for feminine leadership. 🙏