Hi,
I was reading an article by Eva Madelung in Jan 2006 edition of the
Knowing Field about Bert Hellinger's famous statement:
The woman follows the man and the man must serve the feminine.
I enjoyed the article very much, but if we take Bert literally, he
doesn't say man must serve women, he says men must serve the feminine.
I take this to mean the feminine in men as well as the feminine in
women.
I know Bert refers to Taoism sometimes. In the Tao Te Ching (The
Way, the book of advice to a Chinese King) Chapter 76 says: (All
subject to subjective interpretation, is there any other?!)
The stiffest tree is ready for the axe
The soft and yielding rise above them all
Meaning
The male energy, will break under pressure
If a man can yield (become more soft and feminine) he can survive
I once had a very 'male' client in Therapy (he used tools, worked in
a factory, male pastimes, very competitive, grew up with 3 brothers,
etc etc) he was separating from his partner, who said he didn't
understand her.
In the therapy we discussed his 'maleness'. But his clothes were
very neat and often with soft designs, more feminine. So we talked
about this and I asked him if this allowed him to connect with more
of his feminine side. He said yes and with this connection he said he
felt he understood his wife better.
Maybe this is what Bert means, serve the feminine energy. However my
example is more about this man connecting with feminine energy, not
so much serving it.
However I think Bert tends to talk paradoxically, his meaning is
somewhere in between. Maybe we shouldn't take him too literally?
I would welcome any thoughts.
Thanks
David Mathes
Paradoxically somewhere between Melbourne, Australia and China,
