Herstory

Welcome to “Herstory,” an inspiring journey through 16 heartwarming stories that illuminate the essence of the feminine force. This book delves into the depths of the universal Mother – Mother Earth, our earthly mothers, and our heavenly mother – and the feminine path inwards, while also highlighting the collective power of our shared experiences.

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About Us

Our Journey

Our story began with a collective realization: the narrative of our culture, past and present, had long been dominated by a singular perspective, overshadowing the rich, multifaceted essence of the feminine. Inspired by the need to bring balance and depth to this narrative, “Herstory” was born. It is a labor of love, a fusion of diverse voices and experiences that converge to celebrate the feminine, in no form and in all its forms.

Wo/men
We invite you to join us in this journey of rediscovery, reconnection, and rebalancing, as we weave together the threads of the past, present, and future into a tapestry that truly represents the whole of humanity. Herstory is for women, men and other genders because we all have a feminine (and masculine) side to ourselves. Throughout the site we use this listing ‘wo/men’ to emphasize that.

A harmony of opposites
Our history and also our daily life is filled with beautiful moments and challenges. Difficult things may have happened to you in your past or present. As life we are always whole, even though there can be moments we may feel broken as a person. Life embraces all, every thought and every feeling. We are humans with thoughts and feelings and we are eternal being. A harmony of opposites.

You and I 
Because you are human, you will always experience peaks and valleys in life. Love and suffering are inextricably linked. It may feel like you are in a free fall, when you are let down by people or things don’t turn out the way you hoped. Maybe it helps when you know that you are not alone. That God(dess) is with you, life as it happens and your presence is enough. On my heart in beautiful calligrafphy You’ve written words that only You and I can know. Rumi.  

Shadow, unconscious me
Together, the Herstory stories paint a picture of the current transition from Societies out of Balance to Societies in Balance. We are never really lost but we find ourselves in the sacred union, a felt balance between the two essences of life, the receiving feminine and the external masculine energy, when both energies are valued and equivalent. In our history we became more familiar with the masculine world of ‘doing’ and reason and the receiving feminine became overlooked and unconscious. Every unconscious and rejected part and feelings in ourselves we first see in ‘others’ as our shadow or false ego. But this is no ‘other’, this is our own unconscious Self. The ego projects what is unconscious ‘outside’ in the form of the ‘other’. So ‘the other’ is our mirror on our path to becoming whole, to embracing our deepest dark. Then our unarmored and totally inhabited heart is the source of full life.     

 

 

Be and become whole
Your life journey makes you dance with the feminine and the masculine, with your divinity and humanity, with non-duality and duality, heaven and earth.
‘Being whole’ is what you always are, regardless of your consciousness or circumstances. All is love. It makes you love yourself and your fellow man exactly as they are now. The richness and diversity of all your sisters and brothers. ‘Become whole’ is about overcoming the primal wound of your sexuality. In this way you also ‘feel whole’, combining the innocence, light and love of your ‘being’ with living the unique beauty, magic, inner truth and feelings of your ‘body’. ‘Become whole’ is the result of an open heart and mind with life flowing through you.  

Connecting and transcending the opposites
The fusion in love between the feminine and the masculine, between god and goddess or between man and woman, is about transcending the opposites, the ego. There is no longer a burdensome duality (light/dark, good/bad) but there is a transcendent and overarching principle at work: the highest state of consciousness, which is also the divine consciousness.

You have always been enlightened but you do not experience it. You will experience it through holy union within yourself, in your mind and then in the world.

Anna as ‘the Great Mother’

Eroticism, love & sexuality united
In deepening the relationship with yourself (this is not something you need to ‘do’, but what happens as a result of awakening) the two opposites become one again emotionally, physically. Love is born from suffering, when suffering is infused with love. Because the injustice in our lives, is our own pain. To love without suffering is possible. This is pure eroticism, you come fully alive. You receive life and the fulfillment of your life’s needs (not those of your shadow) like recognition, appreciation, space for yourself, beauty, fun. This is love longing for itself. Your sexuality takes shape. Love & sexuality united. 🌈🌹

 

” I was pretty young when I realized that not everything in life is meant to be a beautiful story.

My parents both died at the age of 53, and from that moment on, I was at the end of my teenage years, I became familiar with grief, suffering and death.

Later I experienced that not every person we feel something deep and moving with is meant to make a home within us, is meant to be a forever. Sometimes people come into our lives to teach us how to love and sometimes people come into our lives to teach us how not to love. How not to settle, how not to shrink ourselves ever again.

Yes, sometimes people touch the wound in our heart and although that’s painful, it’s also okay and even something to thank for, because their lessons always stay and that is what matters. 

That is what remains….. “

Anna

IMAGINE A WOMAN

Imagine a woman who honors her experience and tells her stories.
Who no longer begs to be loved for her soul and all of her being
for she understands that her soul is infinitely connected with All-that-is.

Imagine a woman who trusts and respects herself.
A woman who listens to her needs and desires.
Who meets them with tenderness and grace.

Imagine a woman who acknowledges the past’s
Influence on the present.
A woman who has walked through her past.
Who has healed into the present.

Imagine a women who has started loving herself, for all that she is
and she is learning to love every emotion, the happy and the less happy ones
and she is grateful for all of it.

Imagine a woman who authors her own life.
A woman who exerts, initiates, and moves on her own behalf.
Who refuses to surrender except to her truest self and wisest voice.

Imagine a woman who names her own gods.
A woman who imagines the divine in her image and likeness.
Who loves delving ever deeper into the mystical, the magical and infinite wonder of life
and that which is beyond what is just of the earth.

Imagine a woman in love with her own body.
A woman who believes her body is enough, just as it is.
Who celebrates its rhythms and cycles as an exquisite resource.

Imagine a woman who honors the body of the Goddess in her changing body.
A woman who celebrates the accumulation of her years and her wisdom.
Who refuses to use her life-energy disguising the changes in her body and life.

Imagine a woman who values the women in her life.
A woman who sits in circles of women.
Who is reminded of the truth about herself when she forgets.

Imagine yourself as this woman.

-Patricia Lynn Reilly (free to)

Connecting wo/men with their love, sexuality and herstory

Love on Earth

‘Love on earth’ is not something we should do in the world from our ego. Just by being we do everything that needs to be done, because we are perfect in every moment. Let the rose inside your heart bloom on its own, don’t rush. Everything has its time, every time has its why. Open your heart, everything will happen naturally..simply. We experience life and gain insights step-by-step. What unconsious is in ourselves we first see in others. The feminine path inwards awakens the Divine Feminine in ourselves.

Life is made up of two poles. You can only be yourself and feel separate.

Being love in heaven, your divinity, oneness, your female pole

We are a soul and have an ego or body, both coming from the divine source or consiousness. The person, thinking and feeling, can be seen as an instrument through which the soul can experience itself in this human form. The soul, love and freedom as the essence of who you are is non-judgmental, unconditional and lasting. You experience your oneness with life, with that which is, ‘inside’ and ‘outside’ you. That it’s just right the way it is. This is the nondual reality of the present moment, not a future destination.

Feeling love on earth, your humanity, twoness, your male pole

In duality we experience ourselves as a person with a body and mind. This is love as an experience. There are two sides to the person. Because of the identification with our head, conditionings and thoughts, there can be a shadow that prevents you from feeling love. Through the identification with the body and its feelings, you can ‘feel love like the earth’. Feeling love is like the earth, our body, in which every human experience, feeling and emotion comes and goes and gets meaning from our ‘I’

Primal wound

All pain and suffering in the world is always deeply about the primal wound of separatedness. The apparent separate self (what you are not) and the separation from the unity between the feminine and masculine poles within ourselves, between being and feeling, between mind and body and between true self and ego. This is the basis of all stress, anxiety and trauma.

By living the stories around it, the old imprints, judgments and attachments from the stories stored in the body-mind are increasingly released.

Gender Neutral

Qwill (2015) by American artist, Aleah Chapin (born in 1986).

PAINTING – oil on canvas
213 x 127 cm, 84 x 50 in approx

 

In her 2016 solo exhibition, Body/Being, Aleah Chapin showed a series of monumentally-scaled nudes navigating the boundaries of gender specificity, exploring both the male and female experience of the body. The series was partly inspired by the gender transformation experiences of Chapin’s cousin Qwill, who had recently come out as gender neutral.

 

Chapin’s frank, lovingly-crafted nudes are powerfully human and uncannily present: painter Eric Fischl calls Chapin “the best and most disturbing painter of flesh alive today.”

 

 

Herstory Podcast

Love & Sexuality


it’s a woman and man’s world 

In this podcast I explore ‘love & sexuality’. The connecting and transcending of contradictions. That is the eroticism of coming fully alive. It is the full life within yourself. 

In this world we are mainly familiar with the male energy of contradictions, action and reason. That’s why in this podcast I take you on a journey to the heart of the divine feminine and her sexuality: being and feeling love, in innocence and with joy of life.

 

 

A feminine Narrative 

Rewriting History and Culture 

Our history has largely been told from a masculine perspective, just as our world has been shaped by it. “Herstory” aims to balance this narrative by shedding light on the feminine side of our human nature and culture and everything related to it. Its worldview, its history, primal force(s), traditions, symbols, heroines and goddesses in women and men.

Discovering the Feminine Divine

Embark on a journey exploring the sacred feminine in global cultures and religions, uncovering its pivotal role in shaping spirituality and societal norms.

Mother Earth's Wisdom

Delve into the lessons Mother Earth imparts, illustrating our intrinsic bond with nature and its cyclic rhythms, fostering a deeper ecological consciousness.

Celebrating Female Heroines

Celebrate historical women who defied conventions, their stories illuminating the path of courage and change, inspiring new generations.

Understanding Feminine Symbols

Unravel the meanings behind ancient symbols of femininity, tracing their evolution and significance across various cultures and epochs.

Personal Stories of Strength

Encounter personal narratives that highlight the transformative power of the feminine spirit, echoing universal themes of endurance and hope.

The Role of Women in Mythology

Explore the impact of goddesses and mythical female figures, understanding how they’ve sculpted our perception of femininity and strength.

Embracing Feminine Energy

Investigate the influence of feminine energy in daily life, learning how its nurturing and intuitive qualities bring balance and harmony.

Feminine in Art and Literature

Appreciate the representation and celebration of femininity in diverse art forms and literature, recognizing its profound cultural impact.

Transition to Balance

Understand the shift from patriarchal dominance to a more equitable, holistic worldview, highlighting the need for gender balance in society.

Don’t Miss

News And Updates

Dive deep into the themes of our book and explore the multifaceted aspects of the feminine in our daily lives, culture, and history.

Stoppen met Herstory

Afgelopen week heb ik alle auteurs van Herstory gemaild om te vertellen dat ik stop met mijn inzet voor Herstory en het boek niet ga uitgeven. Ik voel dat het patriarchaat niet meer een conditionering is met overtuigingen die me in de dualiteit houden. Ik voel mentale...

Altaar

Altaar

Sinds gisteren hebben we dit mooie altaar in ons huis. In de voorkamer waar je even rustig kan zitten. Sacha van Keulen heeft het met veel gevoel gemaakt uit het altaar van afgelopen donderdag, onze huiskamerontmoeting.   In het altaar van ons godinnenhuis met de drie...

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