Men's Liberation Follow up

Brotherhood & Beyond

The Meeting of

Masculinity and Femininity

Men‘s Liberation Online Follow up

A brief history of gender roles and role definitions from the Indian mythology to Greek gods to Carl Jung and the roots of psychology

Every age and every culture has its heroes and role models: The gods, the rulers, the pop stars or influencers. And our idols serve for many as role models in defining what it means to be a man or to be a woman.

But role models are often stereotypes and they inspire imitation and are therefore always a distraction from our authentic and individual sense of our own inner qualities. For this reason, this course does not include any new guidance or definitions of gender roles. Its up to us to find our for ourselves.

This course is an invitation to go beyond stereotypes and preconceptions and to get to know these incredibly fascinating, multi-layered and magnetic polarities in our psyche in a completely new and open-minded way.

4 Dimensions of the Feminine and Masculine Principles

First complete the "Digital Story" below and then answer the following questions:

1. Observe each day whether you were more in the strong, soft, hard or weak aspects. If the shadow sides (hard or weak) were activated, what triggered them?

2. How are the dynamics of the 4 aspects playing out in your work and love relationship(s)?

A Digital Story about the dance

of masculine and feminine aspects

Click on picture below

Herkules and Aphrodite

Carl Jung: "A Human Being is Masculine AND Feminine,

not only Man OR Woman"

Carl Jung, Liber Novus, 1920

"You seek the feminine in women and the masculine in men. And so there are always only men and women. But where is the human being!?

You, man, should not look for the feminine in the women, but in yourself, search and recognize, because you have this from the beginning. It pleases you, however, to play the masculine, because you drive with it on a trodden track.

You, woman, should not look for the masculine in the man, but accept it in yourself, since you carry the masculine in you from the beginning. But it pleases you and it is easy to play the feminine. And when a man despises you, he despises you because he despises his own femininity.

But the human being is masculine AND feminine, not only man OR woman. You can not really tell from your soul to which gender it belongs. But if you look carefully, you will see that the most masculine man has a feminine soul, and the most feminine woman has a masculine soul."

The Tale of Ardhnarishwar

The union of the feminine and masculine principles

SHIVA & SHAKTI

ARDHNARISHWAR

Ardhanarishvara represents the synthesis ofthe masculine and feminine energies of the universe

The Story of Ardhanarishar - Avatar of Lord Shiva

After Lord Brahma created the world, he found that there was no further evolution in his world. Everything remained exactly as he had created it. Animals, birds, people and plants, did not evolve. No children were born! The problem was that Brahma had created only male beings! The world he had formed in his image was dull and barren.

When Brahma Ji saw this, he became very angry and he asked Lord Shiva for advice. Shiva suggested the creation of Maithuni. To explain the meaning of Maithuni, Lord Shiva revealed himself in the form of Ardhanarishvara: one half of Shiva had a feminine form and the other half had a masculine form.

Brahma asked the feminine half of Lord Shiva to create female plants, animals and humans so that his creation, 'the world' could continue to grow. This was the moment at the beginning of creation when the male and female were separated.

What does Ardhanarishvara represent?

Ardhanarishwara represents the perfect union of the complementary opposites that form the world and life in it: Femininity and Masculinity, Earth and Sky, Darkness and Light, Moon and Sun.
Ardhanarishvara shows the inseparability of the two principles by representing both united in one body. The union of masculine and feminine energies is the power of creation and what life is based on.

What does the legend of Ardhanarishvara convey?
1. Every human being has both masculine and feminine parts.
2. Our creativity has its origin in the field of tension between these complementary opposites.
3. The two sides of our nature have been separated and we long, consciously or unconsciously, to reunite these essential aspects of our soul.