an energy point, near a woman’s breast, which allows energy to flow with the breast milk to the child. This chakra works with the heart and sustains and protects the child. But breast feeding is not solely a physical function as the energy from this chakra is spiritual sustenance and light given through the mother to nourish the child, and contrib- utes to the mother/child bond that most women experience as deeply nourishing. And it doesn’t have to end when children are weaned as that spiritual connec- tion is still there, but our society has dictated it has ended, and women have felt the painful awareness of that separation.
that there’s a “sameness” that has come from this equality that needs to be let go. There’s a uniqueness of women in physical procreation that mirrors a spiri- tual uniqueness. Does it make us superior? No, but it gives women unique experiences and respon- sibilities.
What Hilary is proposing is that this uniqueness of women’s bod- ies has not been understood in the spiritual implications. There are spiritual functions in our giving birth process, and even breastfeeding.
Dr. Guan-Cheng Sun, Chi Gong practitioner, explains breastfeed- ing naturally activates a chakra,
When we reclaim and honor our own bodies and their sacred pro- cesses we can see them for what they are – spiritual gifts that can be lived in so many areas.
Hilary asserts “women’s power is so tied to our bodies that to deny the body its spiritual nature means cutting ourselves off from our power. Repairing this split by surrendering into and honoring our bodies and our instincts is key.”
If we reclaim the spiritual function of our bodies, which according to Hilary includes nourishment, longing, receiving, creating, connecting with the earth, purification, creating com- munity, expressing beauty and recognizing the sacredness of life– all these powers would be
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available all the time to us and we would be women in power.
For me, reading Hilary’s book, I feel nourishment is one of the core powers. As we expand our awareness of nourishment as a power and accept it as a gift, and a responsibility, we will also see how nourishment works with other powers like the power of knowing life’s sacred- ness. This expanded vision of life as sacred is nourishing – to us and to those around us, as it changes both how we feel and how we give.
When we live the power to nourish in harmony with our longing, our heart finds its way towards situations where what we truly need and what is needed from us are often synchronized.
The more we understand how the power of nourishment works, the more we can feel nourished and the more we can nourish others. There is a way of balance that does not contrib- ute to the depletion so many women feel as they give and give to others. It helps grounds us in our bodies, as there is no separation between spirit and physical life.
It’s important to touch into this wholeness so that when we give we do not deplete our- selves. The continual inflow and
See Hilary on next page
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