Maria and my therapist calmed my worries.  Both said that as long as these guides were helpful voices, and as long as I could distinguish the real world from the imaginal world, I was good.  Still, I was concerned, and my parents and husband were concerned too.  I remember when I told Maria that my mom was worried about me “hearing voices“. She said, “kiddo, in my family growing up on the land, if a kid wasn’t hearing voices of their guidance by the time they were 13, we were seriously worried about them.“ 

She went on to explain that around puberty, the young people in her family were initiated into their responsibility as a member of the clan. They were given their own free choice completely, and tested for courage, strength, and integrity. They were trained in how to be responsible with their burgeoning sexual and creative power. They were held to agreements to navigate relationships with integrity. They promised to be an honest, upstanding and responsible member of the clan.  They were honored for their intrinsic natural power.

I was struck by how different this is from our modern culture’s approach to dealing with teenagers. In my world, teenagers are often seen as rebellious troublemakers. We are afraid of the power that is rising in them. Seems to me, we don’t have the cultural structures to help them learn to wield that power. Instead, we just try to control and punish them. We restrict them from many activities (often ineffectively).  We aren’t doing too well educating them in holding their sexual creative power in integrity, either. Our rules, punishments, and dogmatism don’t work too well, in my opinion. And even as adults, we are sometimes left wondering how to manage our power, sexual, creative, and otherwise, without creating drama and hurt.

It’s rare, outside of religious commitment celebrations, to see a teenager being given an intentional right of passage ceremony for this monumental initiation into creative and sexual power. But life brings the passage, regardless!  In our teen years, we face incredible real-life challenges to test our will, our resolve, our integrity.  And later in our lives, these themes resurface over and over again!

Many of us missed out on a healthy version of this Life Passage.  We may have grown up feeling ashamed, blocked, or reactionary when it comes to our power to create, our sexual power, our power in general. 

Our wounds around a missing this Passage are compounded by the prevalence of sexual abuse and discrimination. Our trauma, shame, and powerless feelings combine to shut down our confidence, courage, and charisma. This is the damage when we miss out on this passage.

If a student in my Business Academy is having trouble standing in their worth, we look at this passage.  If they have repeated limitations of their success, we check this one out.

This is exactly why I include ALL my Business Academy mentees in my Wisdom Mentorship as well.  For Wisdom Based Business people, the path of healing and self development is INTRINSICALLY linked to the path of growing business and success.

Throughout our lives, we are faced with the challenge to stand up in our own power and voice, even when it seems scary, dangerous, or when trauma fills us with anxiety.  No where do I see this more than for business owners.  Again and again, this path challenges us to stand up for ourselves, to speak up, and to stand in our power, publicly!

This Power Passage is critical for expanding your creativity, your power, your leadership.  That’s why we pay attention to these passages in all of my programs.  They are the key to expanding in all areas of life.