From Medford, New Jersey
By Cindy Weinstein
Tanesha stood before me in prayer mode, palm heels at my chest, fingertips gently brushing my throat. Moments drifted with my eyes shut, sensing other women encircling my space, gently grounding each shoulder. Eventually, my wet eyes opened and met Tanesha’s smiling reflection. And then bewildered, I saw only Tanesha standing alone, supporting my upper frame, leaving me to reverberate at the heart and throat center where her physicality no longer lay present.
There exists a compelling transference among women, the ability to lift and rejoice in one another long after we’ve lost claim to ourselves. Perhaps our resonant imprint harkens to a biblical time when women, while undeniably subservient to menfolk, carried, shared and fueled THEIR stories within tribes. They bled and fed together, and ultimately enriched one another with mysterious tales of life’s unfolding.
During the Middle Ages, when women healers were accused of crimes against the Catholic Church and deemed “Witches,” precedents concerning women’s health care and political class emerged. The Witches, often illiterate, yet well versed in empirical trial and error, herbal remedy and midwifery, were mostly peasants serving the peasantry.
With their motives questioned and autonomy denied, repressed women ultimately lost sight of their self-worth and contribution. Historically, from submissive imagery in advertising to the promulgation of beauty stereotypes, women have absorbed specific details concerning how, and who, they must or should be.
Yet, a Calling persists, an all too ignored sense of KNOWING, a forgotten message. How do young girls, eventual women, come to find and trust in their own voice?
Recently, mentoring courses designed for young girls have garnered popularity. Topics range from addressing the body positively to establishing behavioral differences between aggression, assertion and passivity. Empowerment is the goal of numerous websites with names such as “SheHeroes,” ”FearlesslyGirl” and “Rise Up,” a group specifically dedicated to global transformation in the areas of safety, health and education.
Oftentimes, Sisterhood circles unfold organically as women gravitate toward local support groups, from Le Leche League for mothering and breast-feeding tips to simple camaraderie and encouragement at the local gym. More esoteric is the The Red Tent Movement, (based on Anita Diamant’s novel), where women gather, heal, and reflect with stories of strength and solidarity. In large cities and small towns, arrays of safe, sacred unions form in celebration and confirmation, many offering deference and gratitude to the Goddesses and Great Ancestral Mothers who preceded them. They collectively recall and reclaim a divine inherent Goodness, self-respect and honor. Renewal unfolds through stimulating sensory activities, encompassing movement, music, journaling and conversation. Communally, women rediscover connective threads, ultimately positioning themselves toward healing and freeing future daughters from contemporary struggles.
Cindy Weinstein currently holds a bachelor’s degree in special education and has worked primarily with the deaf preschool and elementary population. She feels grateful for having witnessed, on numerous occasions, the unique gifts and talents offered by the students in her care. Cindy is our ground reporter for Medford, N.J.