The main thing I’ve been reading recently is Jeff Kripal’s book on Esalen, and I’m just past the half-way point. It’s a huge book, but well worth the effort. Slowly, gradually, as the perspectives of the various personalities who have left their stamp on Esalen seep into my consciousness, I become ever more deeply aware that the sacred is in our very cells. The divine could not possibly be closer to us in our human embodiment . . . it is just a matter of changing our perspectives.

In many ways the Magdalene energy has always, for me, been about moving closer to our divine selves and overcoming the barriers that create the illusion of separation.

Annali, I loved how you put it: “we are Jesus. We are the sons and daughters of God.” I also feel the realm of the Divine is very near to us. That it is invisible, but close enough to touch and to touch us. What a lovely way with words you have!

Bridgitt

“Mary Magdalene has become the embodiment of the divine for me.” — Hopefully without arrogance, balanced by the divine I find all around me, I have become the embodiment of the divine for me.

Re: gender definitions/stereotypes discussion…
For me the aspect of the “definitions” we encounter in our culture & ourselves which we ignore to our peril is that most of our conceptions are based on a patriarcal paradigm. Indeed Aint I a woman? For me the process of finding a language which expresses unity IN difference is part of the journey of the Magdalene example and teaching - the more deeply we are able to journey inward and experience our own “otherness” - in other words, “stand alone in our own right” - and simulatniously deepen our conciousness of both the otherness and our oneness of each entity we encounter the more deeply we will live in the infinitely diverse divine.
For me this ties very closely to the sacredness of sexuality. For me this is not about procreation or ordering of society or the mystical experience as it is expressed by non-mystics. My experience of sex as sacred is double. First, my greatest joy/ pleasure lies in creating joy/pleasure in my Beloved. My awareness in this reality enlivens every aspect of my life. This is as true for same gender love as for mixed gender love. Perhaps hardest of all in my understanding & certainly last in my awakening to the sacredness of our sexuality is that it is true even - maybe especially - is my still awkward sensing that I am also my own Beloved, and I am also honoring my own spark of divinity.
Second only because I am stuck in linear expressiion, but valuable because it is not separate, is that my experience of giving as my unltimate joy is not intellectual, not emotional, but cellular.
I experience the Magdalene as sharing her truth that divinity is not only very near (in the other/Jesus) but is part of (in her self). The wonderful mystery I think I will never stop learning from and absorbing is that each is complete in her/his self and simultainiously in essential need of other.

In gratitude - Madeleine Manning

But your response underscores the difficulty of defining the terms “masculine” and “feminine” without resort to what ultimately come down to a bunch of stereotypes.

In the end, I think that it is our life’s work to find the perfect humanity within ourselves–the perfect humanity in which is found our divinity. I am not advocating androgyny as the remedy for the gender divide, but acceptance of ourselves and others in our unique individuality.

Marjorie Procter-Smith wrote in her book Praying With Our Eyes Open that what women need is not the Divine Feminine but the Divine Feminist. And I would add that we need her on the Supreme Court!

My answer to your question, with honesty and humor, is “I don’t know.” I think “feminine” is an attribute each individual must define for her, or him, self. For me, femininity is part of how I have always defined myself and something I have always felt comfortable being. I’m not even sure I can explain why.

I also define myself as a feminist and like you, would love to see the need for feminism to come to an end. I’ve become aware recently, however, that many young women see feminism itself as antiquated. The trouble is, the societal conventions that feminism sprang up to fight are still incredibly pervasive…one glaring example is the Supreme Court’s recent decision regarding reproductive rights.

One thing I try to remember, and frankly, it took a very long time for this to sink in, is, to paraphrase Eleanor Roosevelt, “No one can make you feel othered without your consent.” I certainly don’t mean that to sound pat because I find myself feeling othered by people, my family in particular. I remind myself that I do not consent to being othered. And as more and more “others” are standing up and refusing to be othered, the individual humanity of all will be revalued and revalorized.

And that is the message I now carry in my heart…that the Teacher “has prepared us and made us true Human beings.” That divinity and salvation is found within each and every one of us, male or female, masculine or feminine, or anywhere in between or outside of those narrow definitions.

So shall it be.

I agree with Betty that we have to be mindful of “othering.” So how do we deal with the fundamentalist voices that shout down non-literal or contextualized interpretations of canonical texts, and invalidate extracanonical sources altogether? Can we be in conversation with those voices and not be “othered” by them?

How do we deal with the enormous repression of sexuality that is intrinsic to traditional Christianity? We can see the tragic results of this repression, from the marginalization of women in church leadership to the sexual abuse of children by supposedly celibate clergy. It’s a shame the Valentinian view of sexuality didn’t gain more traction!

I have a question for Bridgitt: how do I keep from feeling “othered” when my friends want to reclaim and revalorize “the feminine” but I can’t even figure out what the word means? I ask the question both honestly and with humor. I have been trying for years to understand what people mean by “the feminine” without making any progress whatsoever. Not a bit. To quote Sojourner Truth, “Ain’t I a woman?” But I don’t feel that I am either “feminine” or “masculine.” I am just a person.

It seems to me that what we need is a revalorization of our humanness, of which our femaleness or maleness is one facet of many, a facet that is not determinative of how our creativity manifests itself. It is in our creativity—of which sexual generativity is one manifestation—that we most reflect the divine image. We—male and female—create friendships, networks of relationship, ideas, blogs, works of literary, visual and musical art, theories, inventions, and all manner of stuff. Sex and procreation are important human activities too, but not everyone procreates (or even wants to), and we know now that healthy sexuality expresses itself in various ways.

I am feminist who would like to see the need for feminism come to an end. In a world in which gender was not the first category assigned to everyone, and was never seen as limiting what an individual could be or accomplish, we could revalorize our unique and individual humanity.

Gee, that sounds sort of like the Gospel of Mary, doesn’t it? “Do not weep and be distressed nor let your hearts be irresolute. For his grace will be with you all and will shelter you. Rather we should praise his greatness, for he has prepared us and made us true Human beings” (trans. Karen King).

(Prof. DeConick, I am really looking forward to your upcoming book on the Gospel of Judas!)