Like a coin, there are two sides to every human being. Irrespective of your gender, you'll exhibit these sides. And these traits are bandied as "energies" because while they are a core part of who you are, they will shift, change and morph according to your environment and circumstances.
Enter our Masculine and Feminine energy.
Your inner masculine and feminine energies vibrate within you. Often, you'll hear therapists refer to masculine and feminine energies as "Yin and Yang," respectively.
These energies play pivotal roles in your existence; they influence how you relate to others, to yourself, how you feel about life, how much you tap into your potential. Balancing them both within bring a deeper sense of fulfillment, love, wisdom and joy to life.
What is Masculine Energy?
Masculine energy, or "Greater Yang," as it is sometimes called, reflects the characteristics of a male. Masculine energy has been likened to the sun. Like the sun, this energy type takes charge, leads, and illuminates.
Masculine energy takes actions and has some unique characteristics. If your Masculine Energy is powerful, the following will be your strengths.
You love to build
Makes decisions
Fixes things
Protective
Strong
Self-confident.
Competitive
Seeks freedom
Independent
Analytical.
Creative
Visionary
Practical
Weaknesses:
When this energy is too dominant or wounded, you may encounter the following:
Stress
Fatigue and exhaustion (burn out)
Inner conflict
Aggressive or repression of anger
Foolish Risk Taking
Living in the head
You avoid connection
You are afraid to be emotionally vulnerable
You disregard/view the lives of others as less valuable
What is Feminine Energy?
Feminine energy, referred to as "Greater Yin," has similar characteristics to the Moon. The Moon has cycles like a woman and harnesses light energy from the Sun. Feminine energy, like the Moon, shines bright sometimes, while at other times, it gets gloomy.
Feminine energy embodies the softness of a female, and it is inspiring and creates life. This energy has the following characteristics;
Loves beauty
Desires love
Stimulates creativity
Nurturing
Supportive
Intuitive
Empathic
Compassionate
Creative
Emotional
Fluid
Passionate
When you have balanced and strong feminine energy, you tend to have a powerful connection to your body and mind, you value your life and who you are, and you'll make decisions based on what you feel in your heart.
Weakness:
If your feminine energy is too dominant or wounded, you may come across as;
Weak
Unfocused
Lonely
Unstable
Emotional volatile or chaotic. Feeling like you are drowning in emotions.
Powerless
Stuck in the victim mentality
Overly giving to others
Overly needy in relationship/co-dependent
People pleasing
Energy and Individuality.
Naturally, masculine energy derives pleasure in "doing." The feminine energy loves ``being" herself. However, one of these energies will triumph over the other based on the situation and external circumstances. This is natural, as there is a natural ebb and flow to life as well. For example, while a woman may naturally have a more feminine flow & a man has innate masculine tendencies, it can be that a woman is strong in her masculine and exhibits more masculine energy based on her life story. Furthermore, different cultures may bring out one energy more than the other. Individuals in different roles may shift between their two energies: a man in a leadership role may be strong in his masculine and becomes more feminine in his romantic relationship.
Energy and Relationship.
While a strong bond of love brings two people together, the polarity between the masculine and feminine energies is what ignites passion and makes a relationship more interesting.
This doesn't mean a couple can't have the same energies and have a rewarding relationship. It means that couples with polar energies complement each other better. If a man has masculine energy and a woman has feminine energy, both parties will flow well and become functional in the union. It can also be that the masculine has more feminine energy and the woman has more masculine energy, causing them to attract. However it generally becomes a bit difficult if both partners have the similar sides as being strong or dominant. For example, if both individuals in the relationship are experiencing strong masculine energies, this will likely cause the couple to repel, experience explosive fights, display more stubbornness, become more flighty between each other.
Energy and Career.
The masculine and feminine energies also affect your career choice. Some jobs will be well-executed better by your feminine side, and other tasks will fit masculine energies.
Ideally, within the construct of your career, you are able to utilize both sides. Males or females in the creative field such as artists utilize their feminine side to create and be in a flow, within the male energy of construct and structure (perhaps following a process they have been taught). Lawyers, or more left-brain positions, may use their feminine side in creative/intuitive problem solving and when considering an outcome that is suitable for all parties, then use their masculine side to see the context and structure in which they are working in, and cognitively problem solving the matter at hand. Presenting the solution typically requires both sides – the ability to be aware and shift how one proposes the solution according to the listeners (feminine) while maintaining focus on reaching the goal of the talk (masculine).
If, as a woman, you're nestled in a male-dominated field, you may find yourself adopting the "Miss Independent" or dominating personality which is leaning towards the masculine energy. And this will make it hard for you to flow nicely with other women. On the other side, you are likely to attract men who cannot meet up to the tasks of being masculine men as you fill that role. Such men can hardly meet your needs because they do not have the drive or purpose you desire, and are likely to be more feminine.
In today’s modern age, these two energies fluctuate a lot within individuals as women and men are finding themselves in careers that may have been gender identified. Opportunities are vastly different today than previously in history. For this reason, it is ideal to keep in mind how engaging in a career that is not in tune with your feminine/masculine side could create an imbalance and strain.
Your Energies and Burn-Out.
Burn out can happen in two ways: being overly in the masculine, and also being overly in the feminine. As we already know, the masculine is focused on executing, doing, accomplishing, whereas the feminine is in tune with her/his body, mind, feelings, wellbeing. Burn-out in this case happens when we are overly in our masculine and lacking in our feminine. In the ideal scenario, we are able to accomplish our tasks, duties, and goals (masculine) and also be aware, take care of ourselves (self-care) and work with the conditions of our body(feminine)
When burn-out occurs due to being overly in feminine, this will happen because the individual is over-giving/caring towards others (and thus, also not replenishing themselves). Our feminine side reflects this because it makes us pour out of ourselves. Doing so in an excessive way, we will give and literally empty ourselves. If your feminine energy does not take time out for self-care, you'll experience burnout.
If you have not learnt the habit of saying "NO" – whether to others or to yourself - you'll find yourself constantly burnt out.
How to Balance your Energy.
Balancing both your masculine and feminine energies is necessary for feeling fulfilled, grounded, and more vitality in life.
Humankind needs both energies to survive. Being more masculine may cause people to feel uncomfortable, agitated and unsafe with you because you may be more aggressive, stubborn, pushy and forceful. Being too feminine can cause people to also feel a lack of respect for you, as well as potentially smothered by you and feel tired after being with you because you are not able to manage your emotions, you may be over-giving and overly dependent.
To find harmony, embark on a journey of self-discovery to observe what resonates with you. This may mean you challenge what society, friends, and coworkers expect from you.
Consider first aspects of both energies that resonate with you in various areas of your life. How they benefit you. Then consider which aspects you feel uncomfortable or struggle with.
Then you can start to explore some healing or tools to rebalance.
To dive deeper into this, Chris Vogel and I cover all this and more in our upcoming workshop – Inner Man & Inner Woman workshop - at Maja Healing.
Join us in proclaiming your power by striking a balance between both energies. This will help you move towards health, harmony, and freedom!
