The Way of the Divine Feminine Archives

The Feminine Divine in the Upanishads

March 17, 2017 by Pranada Comtois Leave a Comment

Sri Radha always contemplates how to serve her beloved Krishna.

The self is a spark of the fire of Consciousness. In connection with her Source, the self is alive with being, knowing and loving. Disconnected she perceives her existence as temporary, doubtful, and unhappy—the exact opposite of who she really is!

The spark who recognizes her dependence on the illuminating Source Fire and seeks her shelter there, can maintain the brilliance of her own “spark-ness,” (or uncover it) and is granted eyes to see Reality.

To stay connected with the magic of our self, to experience our self as spirit, the Upanishads whisper many secrets in mantras. But there is one especially hidden and esoteric mantra known as the maha-mantra, or the great mantra, that has revealed “the most sublime way.”

It is the mantra recommended for those who hanker to experience the world as a love affair.

Of course, we don’t refer to temporary, sexual, or physical love, but the transcendent love of the soul with our Divine Significant other.

The Kali Shantarana Upanishad discreetly discloses love’s potent mantra: Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare/ Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare.

By singing love’s secret mantra, we find spirit’s way; we remain ignited by our Fire Source: full of warmth, light, and our innate potency to co-create intensifies.

Love’s mantra grants us the inclination, knowing, and potency to illuminate the world with love.

Why? Because Hare is present in the mantra. Hare is the name of Radha, the Feminine Divine, who is the personification of wise-love. Radha’s divine love is so powerful she subjugates the Supreme—topples him from his throne—exemplifying that love is supreme, even greater than the Eternal Person. Radha is the fountainhead of all goddesses, spiritual and material. By chanting the maha-mantra we’re escorted into the world of love.

Radha desires to invest each of us with a drop of her oceanic loving capacity. Her generosity and favor make the maha-mantra unparalleled among all mantras.

The more the maha-mantra is attentively sung or softly chanted, the more we become radiant with the experience of our self and our connection with our Source, our joyful Significant Other.

To discovering your self, your Source, and the love between you,

Pulling Back the Curtain on the Feminine Divine

July 17, 2012 by Pranada Comtois Leave a Comment

Is the Feminine Divine a personification of Earth, a mother goddess representing fertility, or Sophia, the personification of wisdom? Is the Feminine Divine an umbrella term referring to goddesses in all traditions and cultures? Does the “Feminine Divine” and “Goddess” refer to the same thing? Is the Feminine Divine a metaphor? Does the term refer to a process? An energy? An identity? Is the Feminine Divine a female version of God?

When I refer to the Feminine Divine, I speak of the Fountainhead of all goddesses, divine and mundane. She’s a master of all the arts and the supreme heroine, Queen of the spiritual world. She is the embodiment of wisdom, intelligence, and discretion. Some of her representatives in the physical world wield the power of destruction along with her potency of generation.

In her original manifestation in the metaphysical realm, she demonstrates that the highest expression and ecstasy of our Self is spiritual love. She elegantly engages unconditional, pure love.

Love’s attendants: generosity, compassion, discretion, forgiveness, wisdom, empathy, inclusiveness, and justice shine in her relationships with the Divine and all others.

The Feminine Divine’s body is saturated with the bliss of pure love. Her cloth is made of devotional love. Love fuels her every word, breath, and intention. Every movement of her hand or gesture of her eyes are guided by intense, rapturous spiritual love. She is concentrated love personified. She can be pleasantly contrary—even seemingly feisty—for in acting as herself she confirms the sanctity of individuality.

She guides us to understand that unadulterated love is the language and currency of spirit and the basis of divine cosmology. Love is the energy of creation, the reason for creation.

True love animates in relationships. Love expresses itself in action and is experienced through emotions.

The ecstasy of an engaged love that is reciprocated by one and returned by another, then sent back anew with greater affections, grows unbounded in a circular exchange filling the recipient and giver deeper and wider.

Love itself expands and intensifies in these exchanges. The Self’s satisfaction from divine, unconditional love surpasses peace and happiness and knowledge and all kinds of material prosperity. The gems of unconditional love belong to rugged, courageous individuals who stand in their divine identity as a spiritual person.

When we understand the secret cosmic principle that love, individuality, and variety are constituents of spirit, we will take up our pursuit of the Way of the Feminine Divine into our lives with utmost joy, urgency, gratitude, and relief. We will find at long last that which will fill the angst of our soul: heartfulness.

Though immersed in ecstasy, the Feminine Divine’s heart aches with a piercing longing that each one of us be enrapt by the love that has captured her. A love so powerful it commands the Divine to fall at her feet in submission, bewildered by the power of pure love, and anxious to experience a fraction of what the Feminine Divine herself relishes.

This state of Being in heartfulness that the Feminine Divine exemplifies is the state to which we can strive. It is the state of our original state of Being as supreme lovers. Human evolution is meant for us to become connoisseurs of unconditional love: offering it and receiving it.

Each of us, individual units of consciousness, is generated from love, is called to love, and our greatest longing is to be loved unconditionally. Divine, devotional love is the nectar of bliss as well as the essential nutrient for sustaining our Self.

Over the past thirty years, we have mastered our minds and thoughts and lifted our lives with mindfulness. We have evolved. Yet we still feel dissatisfaction: something is missing.

We’re missing deep heartfulness, learned through the principles, causes, and sustaining factors of pure, unconditional love and the Way of the Feminine Divine. But that’s for our next installment. Tune in.

Please spread the word and share the dialogue going on here about the Feminine Divine. Share the site on Facebook and Twitter. If you haven’t already, sign up for the newsletter.

See you soon. Until then, to the Feminine Divine in men and women around the world,

What is Bhakti, the Way of the Feminine Divine?

June 2, 2012 by Pranada Comtois Leave a Comment

Bhakti’s popularity is on the rise. The more interest grows, the more often I hear people ask, What exactly is the Way of the Feminine Divine?

The answers are often inaccurate, ill-informed, not comprehensive, and confusing. I’m determined to change this.

Bhakti is an elaborate metaphysical, mystical, and philosophical wisdom tradition that teaches life is intelligently designed to give us the opportunity to master giving and receiving unconditional love to our Self, others, our environment, and the divine.

To help you understand, I’ll give you a framework by way of a quick comparison.

Bhakti is a way of Being, just as Zen is a way of Being. Bhakti is intentional heartfulness; Buddhism is intentional mindfulness.

Each way of Being has their teachers. Chaitanya is to Bhakti as Buddha is to Buddhism.

The Way of the Feminine Divine can fill some gaping, numbing holes in our collective and individual hearts, give us meaning and make sense of our unique modern experience.

Our desire for pure love and reconnecting with the Feminine Divine is bulging out all over our secular and spiritual lives and we are so close to answers we can practically taste it.

Bhakti is equally applicable for both men and women, yet it is with special interest I encourage women to understand the power of the Feminine Divine and recognize our inherent advantage in developing its perspective and attitude. Women are wired to become generous masters of relationships and givers of unconditional love, though we generally only tap the limited, conditional side of our soul’s potential.

If one of your passions is to become empowered—if you’d like to see other women empowered and in places of leadership; if you support establishing women’s rights and equality, and ending the atrocities and abuse of women and children, then the lynchpin for finally grounding that effort is in our hands when we understand the power of the Feminine Divine and apply it in to transform ourselves and others.

A great responsibility and exciting gift is passed to us. As responsible universal citizens, we can to take the Feminine Divine into both our secular and spiritual circles and far beyond addressing just women’s rights and equality—the world is ill on many fronts.

Let’s take our roles as spiritual activists.

I like Bhakti as a way of Being. My life is rich beyond measure; I find peace in even the most distressing, disorienting situations.

This state of Being did not come without a price. I paid dearly and I’d like to help you avoid some of the spins and pitfalls I took and reach sustenance faster than I did.

My blog Little Ways of Being™ is my attempt to offer you this service. I’m committed to assisting you in your journey to bring more genuine love into your life, enhance your relationships, grow your creative muses, find your pure Self, your voice, power, and gifts, gain mastery over your emotions with a wide-open heart, and allow you to tap into the power, intuition, and guidance of the Feminine Divine and pure love that controls and inspires everyone.

Understanding the way of the Feminine Divine and the state of Being in heartfulness, is simple to grasp, but takes practice to live. You’ll find a wealth of practical and intellectual material here to quench your thirst.

However much you choose to investigate the Way of the Feminine Divine, I believe you’ll find Bhakti worthy of attention, fascinating, elegant, interesting, provocative and very practical. There is truly a valuable nugget in Bhakti for everyone. Please take yours.

Please stay for a while and explore. Join our growing community to bring more heartfulness to our mindfulness and sign up for the newsletter. Come back and gather more inspiration. Feel free to ask questions and let me know, How can I be of service to you?

I look forward to getting to know you. A million hearts for you and those around you,

Welcoming the Feminine Divine

May 31, 2012 by Pranada Comtois 1 Comment

Living from our hearts gives us the wisdom, power, and intuition to fulfill our deepest yearnings, harmonize our relationships, ground us as our pure Self, and launch our voices and gifts into the world for lasting impact. I have seen firsthand how thousands of women have been transformed by living heartfulness, or Bhakti.

The global dialogues of our collective quest is so strongly rushing toward the mysteries of the heart and pure, unconditional love, that even the American business market is saturated with language like “come from your heart to develop your marketing strategy” and “become a heart-centered entrepreneur.” Every day I see more examples.

We are the most educated, independent, and powerful generation of women in history. We are savvy about cultures, traditions, and spirituality around the world. We hanker to dynamically contribute to our personal and global families and change the state of our world to bring a brighter future for those who will come after us.

Then why do we still feel a driving need to cut through what holds us back from our life purpose even though we have diligently applied ourselves to develop more vibrant relationships, nourish a deep sense of purpose, and accomplish worthy goals? Why do we still seek to assuage anxiety, depression, and stress? How will we fulfill our noble, pressing desire to be an agent for world change?

Let’s turn to the heart of who we are for possible answers.

The core attributes of our soul are the feminine characteristics love, compassion, service, generosity, and wisdom. Deeply owning these pure states by living them from our spiritual core, removes all the obstacles holding us back from being the hero/ine of our journey.

Most of us try to carry out our worthy feminine enterprise using a masculine mindset of strategizing, controlling, dissecting, and analyzing. While there is nothing wrong with integrating masculine energy, using it to activate the Feminine Divine will never work. We become receptacles to allow the Feminine Divine to come in; we don’t try to outsmart our lives and force this state of Being. Our approach, therefore, is our first challenge to enter Bhakti.

Others wistfully wane about the return of the feminine and its nourishing, healing powers. Somehow, the thinking goes, simply being a woman and accessing our femininity holds the answer to becoming genuinely heart-centered and able to unconditionally love. But we confuse mundane feminine and the Feminine Divine, and we don’t have a clear concept of the archetypal Feminine Divine. Our muddled thinking, therefore, is our second challenge in awakening the Feminine Divine.

The tools, training, and support you’ll find here will give you the riches and gifts of heartfulness that will help you blossom, flourish, expand, and usher the Feminine Divine into your heart. Whether you’re dealing with human dilemmas, or seeking to further your spiritual experience, the Way of the Feminine Divine can enrich your life.

The Way of the Feminine Divine is not a program or a system I have made up, rather I have simply translated the essence of a profound wisdom tradition that has been practiced for millennia to achieve this state of Being. I’m uniquely qualified to offer you this rare access into the tradition that is solely dedicated to developing and expressing the Feminine Divine.

During the first half of my forty-year-Bhakti practice, I lived in ashrams in the United States and India as an ascetic submerged in daily practice and learning rigorous philosophical foundations. Afterwards, I made my home an ashram with a sacred space and built two multi-million dollar businesses to support my family. In between my personal evolution and professional successes, I was a mom and wife. I taught seminars and workshops on Bhakti, and lead international campaigns for women’s spiritual rights empowering thousands of women. In other words, like you, I deal with the nitty-gritty, messy parts of living in the modern world.

Who I’m serving on a given day varies. Today I hope to serve you and make your acquaintance.

Please make yourself at home and join our growing community to bring more heartfulness to our mindfulness. You can become part of the tipping point that is set to launch us into a renaissance for women and the world. To a moment now to sign up for my newsletter.

A million hearts to you,

#occupyfemininedivine

April 15, 2012 by Pranada Comtois Leave a Comment

With this image, I’m beginning a dialogue about the framework of the Feminine Divine and its philosophical, social, and spiritual dimensions, as well as how the worldview hints at a potential Renaissance in thought.

You are the Hero/ine of Your Journey in more mythical, metaphysical, philosophical, and psychological ways than you might know. Would you like to claim the grace and glory of your true Self in its most exalted state of individual expression?

Vote. Let’s start a dialogue about the State of Being in feminine consciousness,