Inspiring Women: Julie Daley: Sacred Feminine

Julie introduced herself to Veena at the World Domination Summit and mentioned her blog and asked Veena what “Unabashedly Female” brought up for her? The other responded that it made “her think of the freedom to be yourself without fear.” And that's what Julie embodies in her writing, in her art, how she teaches others.

Julie characterizes her work: “women’s wildly creative leadership emerging from within.” It’s exemplified by a deep sense of the beauty and worth and sacredness of the female body, experienced through physical presence and movement: “The deepest, darkest mysteries of creation dance their dance in a woman’s womb. Blood flows; milk pours forth; a woman’s body is creation made manifest.”

It’s subject to constant change, birth and renewal.

While there’s boldness, there’s shyness and vulnerability at the same time: “I rise to meet you and I shy away from being seen.” (The Wildest Place)

At the same, a deep connection with earth and nature, from the toes of one’s feet to the top of the head:

“Perhaps my longing for the earth, for the land is an organic recognition of the connection of woman with the earth, and an understanding that she needs us as much as we need her. To honor her is to awaken her to her beauty, to her wildness and grandeur. And perhaps, it is a way to awaken women to what we have forgotten about womanhood.” (Prayer, Longing and the Earth)

Julie writes powerfully about the negative images women receive and internalize and shows how she values herself as a woman, as a manifestation of the sacred feminine:

“I used to apologize for myself over and over. It was simply a habit borne of some belief that I couldn’t take up space in the world. Somewhere I learned that I didn’t belong to this world that seemed to be a man’s world. A world run by men, where men called the shots. Men belonged. Boys became men, but girls seemed to stay girls in this world. …

I see women apologizing for themselves over and over. I hear them say such harsh words about themselves. I want to just hold them and tell them what divine and sacred beings they are, just as I longed to be held, while having these loving words whispered into my ear.

When I feel the old familiar pangs of not belonging to this world, I find the nearest tree, flower, furry being or baby…something that reminds me of the immense variety of beauty there is in this world. Something that reminds me of the innocence that is at the heart of life. Something that reminds me that the world is owned by no one and that because it is owned by no one, we all belong to this place. Every living thing belongs to this place. We all reside in this “house of belonging“.

When I remember this, I remember what I am. A sacred being. A woman. A creation created to bring sacred life into being in infinite ways.”

(Divine Robes of Female Flesh)

And this extends to relationships:

I am no longer interested in being held by one who does not, and cannot, honor the entirety of this female nature.

I am no longer interested in being seduced by those who offer love only if I hand over my personal power.

It no longer interests me to be with someone if I must shut down, turn off, trade in the very nature that is at the heart of the wild feminine.

(The Wildest Place)

What follows is a powerful visualization Julie realized through dance and which describes so much more than the activity, the body, the person, the truth. Something connected with the earth and the cosmos, as sure as one’s feet are on the ground and the breath flows within and without, but there is something beyond that.

"I could see myself from behind. I was standing in a large clearing, surrounded by a dense grove of trees. It was late dusk, with just a little bit of light left from the parting day. While the image of my body was the physical size it is now, my energetic body was so large it went out way beyond the clearing, way out into the trees that surrounded me. I could sense myself so connected with the land and the trees, and with the earth and sky. In the vision, it was clear that I was so much more than the body. The body was within me, and the body was what I expressed through."

(The Mystery Robed in Clothes of Sacred Female Flesh)

I couldn’t convey the power and beauty that comes from Julie with astonishing regularity.

Julie just released a collection of her favorite writings, supplemented by audio recordings, for which I'm eager to set aside time.