“Your joy matters, it's the greatest strength you have.” - Woman Stands Shining
In this episode of Moonwise, I speak with Diné grandmother, activist, artist, and ceremonial leader Woman Stands Shining about joy as strength and remembering our role as women in the sacred hoop of life.
Woman Stands Shining is a voice for global peace, and her paintings are created as tools for individual, earth, and global healing. She has presented at numerous conferences, events, and indigenous gatherings around the world. She lives in Taos, New Mexico, and hopes all peoples of the earth "can learn from Indigenous experience and re-member themselves and their own birth-right relationship with Mother Earth." Woman Stands Shining draws upon the deep Indigenous sciences of thriving life to reframe inquiries about sustainability and balance, and she is devoted to supporting the next generations, the “Women’s Nation” and the “Men’s Nation” in being functional members of the “Hoop of Life" and upholding the honor of being human.
In our conversation, she talks about women's role as visionaries for the community and her powerful experience in the moon lodge. She reminds us that in this time of great transition as a species, we need to listen to the women because they are built to give and receive instructions from Mother Earth about how to be on the planet now. She says, "we need the feminine language again." She urges women to express themselves, "the way you think is needed, your language that's not linear is needed, your emotional content is needed."
She also affirms that the role of woman as spiritual conduit transcends cultural differences. She says, "I've put women of every race in moon lodge and the same thing happens to them every single time."
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