MENOPAUSE
Death and Rebirth ~ The Power of Transformation (part 1)
by Sophia Breillatã
There may be spaces where you feel as if you are dying, and it is so, for a part of you is dying so that the new can emerge. You are dying to the life that you have lived until now, you are dying to all that went before. You are navigating a ship into unknown waters, as you embark upon this journey into your innermost depths. You are not required to carry much on this journey, for so much must be shed, surrendered, let go of now, so that you can flow freely into the new.
During menopause, a woman’s body and psyche are involved in a natural process of emptying, relinquishing anything that will not support the birth of her new life. This is, for many women, a chaotic and unpredictable time of inner reflection, energetically summing up, evaluating and weighing the balance of the life lived before menopause. This phase of death and rebirth inherently knows its own unique time and place. As she hovers in this twilight realm between death and renewal, there is frequently a long space without any sense of direction.
You are about to be reborn ~ into what? Into whom? It does not matter, for it is not yet your time to know. This time is for completion, for taking care of unfinished things, tying up loose ends, releasing friends, relationships or situations that no longer reflect the woman you are becoming. You are being purged in the purifying flames of the Dark Goddess. Come now, gently, let go, surrender, dive into this fire, dance joyously in these flames, for they embody your power, your passion, your wildness, your wisdom. At no other time in your life are you being asked to be so uncompromising, so real. Dare you become who you really are? Dare you stand, stripped naked, on the brink of this vast cauldron of female wisdom?
Of all the transforming phases of initiation for a woman, menopause is the one where she is most in need of solitude. She does not require loneliness or isolation, but a tranquil sanctuary where she can open, heal, reflect and know herself more deeply. If she is to truly know freedom, she must now embrace the courage to flow upstream within a culture that adores the unreal, the mask, the cloak of pretence and denial. During this emotional and psychological death of menopause, she is being asked to fall apart, let go, melt, disintegrate, dissolve. Standing alone, she sees that all that is unreal within her must die.
Please don’t try to rush through menopause, dear woman, as if it is something to be over and done with as soon as possible. Contemporary society has taught you to deny your innately intuitive knowing, your wisdom, your power, your love. Please create space for embracing these qualities now, for they are your loving companions throughout your menopausal pilgrimage. 
Menopause is not to be beaten, suppressed, coped with, denied or glossed over as if it is something to be ashamed of. It is here, it is natural, and it is a vital, necessary and empowering initiation into impersonal depths of femaleness. Through fear and apprehension, please don’t wait for it to be over, for that would create separation from the awesome power that is now birthing your new life. Please give yourself as much space, solitude and stillness as you need, for this is your time, and this time is precious. This phase is for gentle nurturing, for intimate communion with your body, your spirit, your female soul. Please treat this important journey of power and wisdom, and the rest of your life, with tenderhearted sacredness.
During menopause, a woman may easily become disturbed and fearful when she feels the vast power that can pulsate through her body at this time. If she resists or suppresses what is taking place within, she will not hear the call of her divine wisdom. Her body is love, her life is love, and whenever she suppresses this innate knowing, this profound truth, this vast depth of her mystery, she suffers in some way.
Contemporary society treats all the important rhythmic cycles of female life as something that must be hidden, veiled over or quickly hurried through, almost as if they aren’t really happening. You, woman, are love, and it takes real presence to be with this love, as it takes real presence to inhale the fragrance of a rose, or the freshness of the rain – soaked earth. Whenever you enter a new life transition, you are preparing to move deeper into this love. The male world expects woman to work excessively, keep busy, keep moving, act “normal,” “function,” when she is menstruating, pregnant, mothering or journeying through menopause. When a woman is menstruating, she is intuitively drawn within, away from the outer world, into the timeless realm of her inner mystery. Here, she emotionally dies and rebirths with the moon’s cycles, merging with the vast mystery of her feminine essence. She potentially enters a deeper place of consciousness at this time. The world never allows her enough space to be in this place, for it is always drawing her outwards, away from the stillness of her being. Western culture teaches her to work throughout her pregnancies, rush through childbirth and hurry through lovemaking, suppressing her softness, her vulnerability, her openness and her intuitive knowing of what is right for her body. Whenever she menstruates, makes love, becomes pregnant, gives birth or enters menopause, she dies psychologically and emotionally to the old parts of her that cannot be embraced by her new life. Each of these cycles requires presence, intimacy, openheartedness and stillness, creating a pause from the momentum of everyday activities. During menopause, when she potentially becomes Queen of her inner realm, she dies to the girl, the princess, the mother, to unreal dreams, ambitions and aspirations, inwardly embracing the harvests of all of her previous life cycles.
Male medical professionals cannot understand, and will never understand the female experience of menopause, commonly
and mistakenly viewing this powerful transformation as the death of her uterus and her femininity.A man cannot understand what she is experiencing, and neither can a younger woman.This phase of her life is so all-encompassing that she can only know it through living it.During menopause, she is so often seen as behaving strangely. Woman never behaves strangely when she is seen, acknowledged, honoured, and loved. As she dives into the depths of her awakening power, those who do not understand must wait upon the brink, for they cannot enter this awesome place with her. Nor can they surmise, calculate, imagine, intellectualise or quantify her experience, for it is not of the mind. Right now, her experience is for her alone. Later, after she has courageously traversed the vastness of this inner pilgrimage, she may be moved to speak openly of what she saw, felt or experienced.
Such a deep descent ~ you are dropping in, moving down, slipping silently into the wise depths of your womb consciousness, your heart, your soul. And, here you will find great peace, but only after your womb has released its waves of grief, its unreceived love, its withheld passion. This is such a sweet death of your old patterns, conditioning, structures, such a sweet birth of the Crone’s wisdom. You will never be the same woman again.
continued next month...
© Copyright ~ Sophia Breillatã
Not to be reproduced without author’s permission
She may be contacted at: wullegurra@hotmail.com
www.wildheartwisdom.com
Roslyne Sophia Breillat
Within the womb of every woman glows the consciousness of Mother Earth. Wildheartwisdom is a web site for nurturing the truth of this powerful feminine spirit and offers support for the female psyche’s many cyclic transformations. Wildheartwisdom focuses upon the deeper joy and purpose of menstruation, lovemaking, pregnancy, childbirth, mothering, relationships, menopause and beyond. Find spiritual guidance for healing from eating disorders, sexual abuse, miscarriage and abortion. There are currently three galleries featuring Sophia’s art and a selection of her article excerpts. As wildheartwisdom evolves more art and articles will be added as well as an extensive resource section. Sophia’s beautiful art and illustrations are for sale and she is currently seeking a publisher for her two books.
