Words can be so limiting. As soon as we describe something, it ceases to expand. Learn to read with all your senses. There is much to learn
… in between the lines.

In my early days of discovery, I was a happily married womyn. My obligations were few. No children, no evening job to attend to. My husband enjoyed the TV which afforded me the space to read, read, and read! I read every book that crossed my path. I would sit for hours in front of the computer screen and just surf to my heart’s content.

On the Internet, it seemed that pages about ancient cultures and the Goddess kept popping up unsolicited. Like a sponge, I soaked up every story and every nuance. All of it resonated with me as if I was remembering rather than reading for the first time.

These stories were filled with hard facts. Yet, it was what was between the lines that spoke to me. As you read these words, it is between the lines that I am asking you to allow yourself to learn from.

Hard facts are important. Dates, names, a person’s age, etc. are the hard facts. Heart facts are equally important. How a person felt at the time of the incident or how a situation was interpreted are the heart facts. Hard facts speak to our intelligence. They fill the IQ (intelligence quotient). Heart facts speak to our emotions. They fill the EQ (emotional quotient).

We are given hard and heart facts all the time. This doesn’t just happen in school or when we are watching the discovery channel. We receive hard and heart facts everyday in our personal lives. We meet a person, exchange names and then we tell our story. For me, holding onto and remembering the hard facts, like the person’s name is the tough part. However, remembering her story is easy. When a person speaks, I hear with all my senses. I hear with my intuition and my imagination. My mind is drawing pictures throughout the conversation. A womyn may be telling me of her newborn baby and I’ll automatically picture the little bundle of joy cooing or stretching or gazing up at its mother’s eyes. If she told me the baby’s name and weight, how many hours her labor was, I may not remember the details. I’ll remember it was long or short. I’ll remember the baby was tiny or robust. But the actual hard facts don’t resonate with me as much as heart facts of the story.

I’m telling you these things because I want you to read with all your senses. I want you to hear between the lines and find the meaning for yourself. Too often we get stuck in the details and we miss the message. For example, when I hear different Christian sects arguing over whether Mary was a virgin or not; or did Jesus really walk on the surface of the water, I am thinking to myself, “they’re missing the point and starting a war over details!” In the argument over whether God is a Supreme Being, or Omnipresence, or a Great Void, I wonder, “what is the sense in deciphering that?” It’s great conversation, but are we getting the grandeur of the meaning of God?

In yet another example of being caught up only in the hard facts, please observe our judicial system. In the actual court process where lawyers are asking witnesses to give yes or no answers, I think to myself, “there is color to the story and you’re not getting the full picture if you are looking for a simple yes or no.” The heart facts matter!

When we open our imagination and hear with all our senses, we can hear the messages that we need. When we depend on just the hard facts, we are out of balance. We are not getting the full picture. When we speak of cavemen and leave out cave wymyn we are coloring a picture that is inaccurate. Sure, it may be faster to just say cavemen, but subtly it leaves out wymyn altogether. The word mankind leaves out womyn kind. Again, it may be subtle, but make no mistake, it is powerfully influential. When we read that we are made in the likeness and image of God where does that leave little girls? It is subtle, yet I ask you to consider it. Little boys can actually believe that they are made in the image of the Almighty. What happens in the minds of little girls? Same goes for the common thought of a Buddha or Krishna. The world’s establishments guide us toward religious leaders and avatars. The majority of these avatars are male. Subtly, powerfully, femininity takes a back seat.

Our imaginations form our reality. There are many, many reasons why the female gender is not considered equal. A huge reason is because we are neglected or oppressed in every aspect of history and religion.

When I enrolled in Seminary (a school for the training of clergy i.e. priests, ministers, rabbis, etc.), the Rabbi said, “although people use many words to describe God, i.e. Allah, Jehovah, Goddess, the Universe etc., we will be using the word God and the pronoun He because it is more acceptable, more universally understood and quite frankly just easier.” And I thought to myself, “Patriarchy.” I knew She was not going to be a serious part of our study … I didn’t even flinch. I’d bring Her in when it was the right time. I knew I needed this course and I wasn’t going to let anyone’s ignorance hold me or Her back. All the facts matter.

Laura Tria is an Ordained Interfaith Minister, Modern Day clergy, Life Coach, Spiritual Counselor, Master Reiki Healer and author of Her Story —A Feminine Interpretation of Ancient Knowledge. Laura has been in practice for 20 years serving as Priestess, Pastor and Friend. She founded The New Light Sanctuary in 2011 and is the owner and operator of I Serve, a company devoted to assisting the community with their unique spiritual needs. She is a Visionary who believes knowing our spiritual past will ground us and help us to build a brighter healthier future. Laura can be contacted at 631-487-3194 or email revltria@gmail.com. www.lauratria.com.