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Welcome to Kala’s Quick Five, where I chat with fascinating authors, artists, teachers and researchers and ask them five questions about their work. My guest today is Heather Mendel, born in South Africa, she now resides in the US, where she teaches classes in Kabbalah with a feminine approach to Judaism. Her book is: Dancing in the Footsteps of Eve: Retrieving the healing gift of the Sacred Feminine for the human family through myth and mysticism.

Kala: Heather, you write about the mystical Four Worlds of Kabbalah— Intuition, Thought, Emotion and Action, accessed by the archetypal Mystic, Student, Dreamer and Humanitarian within. Can you give us a brief explanation about the four words and the archetypes?

Heather: There are many ways we engage and experience reality. We think, we feel and we act— for too many raised in western traditions, we have diminished the riches of the intuitive realm. Mysticism not only reinstates the validity of the intuitive but also acknowledges the interrelationship of intuition, thought, feeling and action as of equal importance. On the stages of our inner worlds, archetypal characters play their parts as we live out our lives. I imagine the interplay of four of them in our inner worlds. The Mystic seeks and integrates images and feelings from the intuitive realm— processing and connecting dreams, hunches, and gut-feelings. She invites us to note the synchronicities and ‘co-incidences’ that, if we attend to them, fill our days. Co-incidence we are told, is God’s way of remaining anonymous:-)

The Student dwells in the realm of language and logic and thrives through learning about the physical world, past and future, that we access through the five senses. The nostalgic and romantic Dreamer remembers times past and longs for a better future. She projects her visualizations of how the world could be. The Humanitarian understands that what we do is more important than what we think or believe. As a sacred activist she knows that alone, she cannot correct all that is wrong in the world. With the input from the Mystic, the Student and the Dreamer, she wisely chooses the areas about which she feels passionate about and tries to make a difference in those spheres by appreciating diversity, celebrating commonalities and practicing an inclusive, non-judgmental love for life that causes harm to none.

Kala: I’ve studied comparative religions my entire life, beginning in my childhood. I’ve always felt/known/believed that the story of Eve is wrong. Many of the Jewish teachings are parables, to teach and explain and not meant to be taken as completely literal. Over the centuries, the story of Eve appears to have been used to cast a shadow over the Divine Feminine, as Patriarchal rule began to arise. That’s my thoughts on the matter. Please share with our readers what your research and writings have uncovered….

Heather: A Buddhist teaching reminds us that the finger pointing at the moon is not the moon— the stories we tell, sacred and secular are all parables that invite us to delve below the surface as we seek the full meaning of the metaphors used. The story of the Garden of Eden is an ancient answer to the perennial questions of who are we and why we are here. Written thousands of years after the patriarchy was established in the Ancient Near East, the literal version of the story that we all know so well describes ‘Eve’ as the disobedient temptress and describes an earlier stage of human development that was hierarchical. God was envisaged as the authoritarian parent who needed obedience above all else. As we evolve out of our spiritual childhood as a human species, we are ready for a new story. Judaism teaches that biblical text was never meant to be read only on a literal level and offers at least four deepening levels of understanding for these ancient tales.

We are co-creators with Divinity. Delving beneath the surface of the literal story of the Garden of Eden, the metaphoric Eve, resident within each of us, emerges as humanity’s hero— the intuitive aspect of all human beings that leads our story forward. At the start, the human journey begins because of Eve’s blessed curiosity and courage. With Eve recognized and reinstated in the present, our human connection to the Sacred Feminine is reaffirmed. We honor our God-given gifts of courage and intuitive curiosity that God intends us to use— when we are ready for all that life in the physical world brings including the pain, suffering and separation as well as the joys, delights and successes that are part of every human experience. As we dance in Eve’s footsteps we reawaken the Divine Feminine whom we welcome back into our midst.

Kala: What about Lilith? Did you look deeper into the story and parables about her life?

Heather: Lilith was not a biblical character but appears in the Talmud— ancient Jewish wisdom literature that interprets biblical text. In the story of feminine energy that predates the patriarchy, she represents ‘the wild woman within.’ The legend of Lilith describes the first ‘wife of Adam’ —women’s potential prior to the patriarchy. She is the archetypal shadow of Eve, feared by men who believe that subjugation of the feminine is necessary for male empowerment. Lilith refused to be dominated and flies away. Adam asks for Divine help to bring her back, to no avail.

As women and men, we all have the power to reinvest Lilith energy into our lives and honor our independence, our intuitive wisdom and our willingness to step forward into life and its challenges with courage and fortitude.

Kala: What do you believe that the Divine Feminine presence is bringing to humanity at this time?

Heather: The feminine face of God offers balance, harmony and healing. Represented by the human capacity for true intimacy and respectful relationship with one another and the natural world, She knows that the unseen aspects of lives need to be honored. Through storytelling and deep listening she offers a pathway to sharing our and intuitive wisdom. She reminds us to laugh and not take ourselves so seriously, to still the busyness of our clock-and-calendar-driven world of past and future (Chronos) and take time to live in the present moment that is Kairos. All of these possibilities bring balance and healing to a fractured existence.

Kala: Many patriarchal religions have eliminated the Goddess/Divine Feminine from their belief systems. Do you feel that there will be a return to understanding and embracing the Goddess?

Heather: During the thousands of years of the patriarchy, She may have been dethroned, demoted and diminished but never destroyed. She is rising from the depths and we feel the transformation in consciousness that is underway. We see it in the breakdown of patriarchal institutions, the breakthrough of the blindness that separated us from nature and the natural setting which the Garden of Eden symbolizes. She is helping us to break away from hierarchical discrimination based on the outdated paradigm. As we move away from the exclusionary rituals of organized religious traditions that separate us, we reclaim the spiritual underpinnings of all faiths in which our commonality lies. In so doing, we are able to reinvest religion with spiritual sanctity. The Divine Feminine will not overpower the Divine Masculine as both are needed for the maximizing the full potential of the human journey of spiritual beings. As She takes back her power, She brings alignment, balance, healing and harmony as our consciousness continues to evolve. In Judaism there is a perfect name and image for God that fits this new evolution in consciousness— neither female nor male, God is intuited as “I shall be that I shall be” – Divinity that is constantly present and continually changing as we evolve and grow into knowing the right questions to ask.

Kala: Heather, thank you for joining me here on Kala’s Quick Five. More about Heather and her book can be found at her website: www.dancinginthefootstepsofeve.com

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More about Kala Ambrose: Kala Ambrose is an award winning author, intuitive and talk show host of the Explore Your Spirit with Kala Show. Her thought-provoking interviews entice listeners to tune in around the globe! Described by her guests and listeners as discerning, empowering and inspiring, she speaks with world renowned authors, artists, teachers and researchers delving into metaphysical, holistic and paranormal topics. Kala’s book, 9 Life Altering Lessons: Secrets of the Mystery Schools Unveiled delves into the mysteries of ancient Egyptian mystery schools and explains their wisdom teachings. Kala Ambrose is a highly interactive teacher on a mission to educate, entertain and inspire. She lectures on the Ancient Wisdom Teachings of Egypt and the Mystery Schools, Developing Business Intuition, Working with Auras, Chakras and Energy Fields, and Wise Woman Wisdom. More information about Kala at: www.ExploreYourSpirit.com and readings and consultations with available at: http://www.exploreyourspirit.com/psychic.html

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