Becoming the Divine Masculine

What does it mean to be masculine?

This question nags at us in the modern era, where sexuality and gender are becoming more fluid and less defined by physicality than by feeling and consciousness. Masculinity and femininity are being re-conceptualized as traits all of us carry within us to varying degrees of balance.

The key term here is balance. We have become aware of a dualistic conflict of interests, both within ourselves and within our interpersonal relationships. This balance between polarities is heavily discussed in spiritual and esoteric literature; the wheel of Yin and Yang, the dance of Shiva and Shakti, the balance of Chokmah and Binah in the Supernal Triad of the Kabbalistic Tree of Life. These models abstract the masculine/feminine principles in order to help us understand that these are not truly related to the gender of the physical body, but are in fact organizing principles of the universe of which we are a reflection made small, a microcosm.

At the highest level of reality, there is nothing but a unified field, of which we and everything else are simply vibratory variances, notes in the grand song of the universe. Consciousness is not possible at this level because it must have a reference point, someone or something else to be conscious of. This is the I AM moment, so to speak, when awareness dawns and dualism is born. Spacetime, fluid and teeming with infinite possibility, folds and warps around Light, the static emanation of energy. This lovemaking between Spacetime and Light, continually, at every moment, is what allows the processes of consciousness and form to be. This is the primary mechanistic dualism of the universe we perceive. These are the primary dualities; Spacetime as the dynamic, ever-changing feminine, and Light as the constant source of energy to be channeled by Her.

When we speak of masculine and feminine “energies” and equate them with such cosmic forces, or with the Divine presence of God or Goddess, we run into a roadblock immediately due to our cultural programming. Our conditioned ideas about gender and sexuality have left us in a state where we typically have no idea whether a behavior is masculine or feminine, beyond what we are told by others.

The question is obvious. Why do we feel the need to classify these ideas in biological terms, when these dualistic forces are so much larger than our tiny physical existence?

The simplest response to this question is that our lives mirror of these processes; this is the essence of microcosm, the entire cosmos on a tiny scale. When a lingam (penis) enters a yoni (vagina), in order to produce life, it is mirroring the universal process of creation that is happening within and around us with every given moment. Light, the constant unchanging, and Spacetime, the eternally unknown, unseeable medium from which all possibilities arise.

Allow this to sink in. Light travels at a constant speed, at all times, and spacetime bends around it in order to allow this speed. Light, then, could be conceived as the masculine principle, solid and unwavering, and spacetime as the feminine, receptive and mysterious. Early representations of Shiva in Vedic lore present him as taking the form of an endless beam of light stretching and penetrating both earth and sky.

This provides us with a lesson about what the truly masculine and feminine aspects of the self are, as opposed to what prevailing cultural paradigms have taught us.

Let us examine a few abstract, technical features of Light.

1. Light is a constant force. It always travels at 186000 miles per second. No matter how the frequency of light is measured or from where it is observed, this speed remains the same.
2. The intensity of light energy upon an object is determined by its color wavelength and the distance of the object from the light source.
3. Light will be reflected, refracted, or absorbed by an object based on that objects composition.

Don’t get too caught up on the physics of light, unless that is your inclination; the point here is that light is linear, measurable, mathematically consistent, and easy to manage . Spacetime is not so easily reduced to lists. If the concept of spacetime seems unfamiliar to you, there is good reason for this. The medium of everything other than Light, the infinite forms and functions revealed by the yielding of Spacetime to Light, is the most mysterious, unknowable process there is. The more we try to quantify it, the more we realize that we know almost nothing about it. Most of it, after all, is made up of what we call Dark Energy and Dark Matter, concepts that explain simply that we know something is there, but we have no way to perceive it.

This, here, is Divine Truth, stripped of religion, but it loses something in this rationalistic explanation. Hovering above this reductive analysis is the truth that spirituality is, in fact the interplay of these dualities, the dance between them, and there is no mathematical formula for this.

Or, is there?

The concepts of masculinity and femininity, of light and spacetime, have no meaning individually. They rely upon one another to exist, and therefore, their interactivity can be observed, quantified, and reproduced. This is what consciousness is; observation and quantification. Without Light, there is no consciousness, no awareness, but without boundaries, Light is Darkness. The interplay of shadows is where we exist.

The Divine Masculine is a constant. He is stillness and consistent energy. He brings life. He is, quite literally, the Sun, radiating boundless energy and giving of himself without expectation of reward. He needs none, for all are His children and their welfare is His own. He brings vitality to all he touches, seeding the fruit of the earth and giving of his own body when the time for rest is upon him. He is intellect and analysis, conscious thought, and rationality. He seeks stillness and simplicity in every moment. Life and Death are one to Him, for he rests in the moments between breaths, where there is only silence. All ways are clear to Him, and he is without judgement as he recognizes that all beings are within His care and deserve His protection.

He is also a passive force.

This is a difficult and confusing concept for the Western mind, in which the paradigm is twisted. Masculine energy is perceived as aggressive and domineering, whereas the feminine is considered to be submissive and weak. The very purpose of this twisted paradigm is to harness and control the energy of humans living in industrialized societies; if a leader can manipulate a man’s perception of himself, make him feel that his strengths are weaknesses, then he will be able to control anything that man does.

Again, the true masculine is a passive, still, consistent force. Imagine the sex act in a sacred spiritual context. The man is still, seated upright or laying down, focusing all his will and energy on his lingam. The woman is astride him. In a classic yabyum position, as depicted in Shaivist and Tantric Buddhist motifs, the masculine partner (Shiva) is sturdy, still, in a meditative posture, at peace. The feminine partner (Shakti) is astride him, her head thrown back in passionate ecstasy while she embraces his neck. This is a mirror of how sexual relations work, in most cases. The man may pursue the woman relentlessly, but in the end she decides when the moment is right; if he tries to force the issue, the energy transfer fails, and the act becomes simple animal carnality as she submits to his physical superiority.

The concept of physical superiority comes into play often when considering the popular conception if masculinity. Clearly, some might argue, the bigger, stronger members of the species are the dominant ones. This is true in nature, isn’t it?

Primate masculine dominance patterns have often been evoked to provide an example of “natural” human social hierarchies. Even lesser primates have been shown, however, to exhibit a high degree of learned social behavior, as well as stress and anxiety, so they may be too much like us to offer a true understanding of how deep the misunderstanding goes.

I prefer to look at our more distant cousin, the lion, as an example of why size is differentiated by gender in some species. The male lion does no hunting, does not help in caring for young, and always expects to have the first share of every kill. His mere roar is enough to keep predators at bay, and his massive size puts him at the top of almost any food chain. This is good, because a large body is also energetically expensive. It would not be efficient for a male lion to hunt for his own food, considering how much he needs to eat. For this is why males who are cut off from the pack quickly wither away. The male lion is a warrior, but he would starve without the efforts of the lionesses in his pride. This is also why there is only one adult male in the group; only so much food is available, and he does not provide any sustenance for himself.

As you can see, what appears to be dominance from an outside perspective is in fact a reflection of an important biological adaptation. Essentially, masculine size and strength exist to protect the young of a given species. This also means protecting the caregivers of the young, who in turn provide for the protector. A human male is, of course, a much more complex being than a Lion, and perfectly capable of taking care of himself, right?

How many of us actually believe this? That we are these rugged individualists who can make it on our own, without family, community, love? When did love become something to fear? Why is it not okay to be taken care of by the people you take care of?

The Divine Masculine revels in Love. He accepts the embrace and care of the Divine Feminine, his Wife, His Mother, His Daughter. He takes comfort in Her and protects Her as She gives shape and form to the Light He brings, birthing children and building hearth and home.

Who is the Divine Feminine?

We all contain a spark of Her, this mysterious Goddess, and to know the Divine Masculine is to know Her, and your relationship to Her. You know Her well. She is passion, joy, anger, fear, lust, love. All emotions, those quixotic, ephemeral things our minds can’t quite make sense of, are Hers. Even the chaotic nature of our thoughts are Hers; if a thought is Masculine, then the process of thinking, the endless stream of thoughts and emotions that make up your being, is Feminine.

To know the Divine Feminine in yourself is important. You should know where you are coming from in any given moment. It has been said that people contain varying levels of masculine/feminine energy in a balancing act which fluctuates throughout the cycles and patterns of life. I won’t belabor this particular point, other than to say that yes, we all possess various measures of these Divine forces within us. This is important to recognize and absorb.

However, if we are being honest, a man’s primary interest in the Divine Feminine is how it is expressed in others. This can manifest as a desperate need for sexual or emotional fulfillment from any partner who comes along, or a deep resentment over what is perceived as a denial of feminine energy. Seeking connection between the inner Divine Polarities is a starting point, but is only part of the journey.

I do not make a point for anyone to bring their feminine or masculine energies more into balance; after all, perfect balance is the antithesis of life. Rather, I advocate for a deep personal inventory of one’s behaviors, habits, mental constructs, and spiritual practice in order to identify which energy they are coming from.

Is your tendency to lash out at your wife because of a masculine need for silence, or out of some resentment you are carrying? If the former is true, then the fact that you are expressing a masculine principle with a feminine behavior is going to cause an unhealthy level of dissonance in your life. It would be better to calmly extract yourself from the situation. If you are experiencing valid anger, then maybe the lashing out needs to happen. Anger should be expressed; the Feminine does not like repression. In this case, if you can recognize that your Feminine is feeling slighted, you can release that energy and communicate it with a level of compassion. This doesn’t mean you won’t have an argument; it simply means you will communicate constructively about your emotions.

This does not mean, in any way, that if you are an emotional man, capable of expressing your feminine emotions, that you are not masculine. This is one of the greatest lies we have been taught in the West. Emotionality is the power of the Divine Feminine. It binds us together and transmits the Light of the Divine Masculine between us. Without it, we are cold, dead things. To open one’s self up fully to this energy is to accept it and make love with the Universe. If you can truly open up this conduit of Divinity, then all the things you have been pursuing within your current paradigm of masculinity will unfold to you almost effortlessly. The relationship, the career, the passions you’ve been pursuing will suddenly fall into your lap with enough amazing synchronicity that you will always be waiting for the other shoe to drop, but as long as you stay aligned with your polarities, you will find that the difficulties of life are not as difficult as you had previously perceived. This is not so much some magic spell as a profound perspective shift, which is the only thing that has ever significantly changed a man’s life for the better.

Such material achievement is only a small fraction of the possibilities that unfold once one begins to develop and strengthen one’s Divine Masculine traits. All things are shown to be in their proper place, and dangerous reactivity and cravings fall to the wayside. True Union with a Divine Feminine partner can be found, and from there, the Sacred Alchemy of the Great Work can begin.

You are a god, son. Time to start acting like one.