Monette Chilson - Reclaiming Lilith, Reclaiming Ourselves

Monette Chilson, author of Original Resistance: Reclaiming Lilith, Reclaiming Ourselves, My Name is Lilith, and Sophia Rising: Awakening Your Sacred Wisdom Through Yoga, writes about God in the feminine and the feminine in God.

She speaks to groups big and small, in both lecture and workshop settings. She’s written for publications including Yoga Journal, Integral Yoga Magazine, and Elephant Journal and has contributed to numerous anthologies, most recently Yoga Wisdom: Warrior Tales Inspiring You On & Off the Mat and Whatever Works: Feminists of Faith Speak.

Monette was awarded an Illumination Book Award gold medal, as well as the Hoffer Small Press and First Horizon Awards.

Show Notes:
• Monette grew up in a Southern Baptist church and was raised to know a punishing God.
• Who is Lilith? Lilith was kicked out of the Garden of Eden - she was there before Eve.
• Lilith is a mythological first woman in the world. She is an archetype who is also a historical figure in the Bible that came before Eve.
• Lilith was kicked out of the garden because she wasn't interested in being dominated. She used her voice and said, "I am a full person."
• Monette started messaging to children so that they can integrate the feminine divine as young children vs. having to grow up the way we did, trying to undo the damage of omission. • If we can't see our feminine selves in God, it's impossible to see God in ourselves, so you have to start by reclaiming.
• Original Resistance, Reclaiming Lilith, Reclaiming Ourselves is a collected anthology with contributions from 45 women all over the world who resonated with the archetype of Lilith.
• It's so important for women to have stories, and see ourselves reflected in strong characters and heroines.
• Women were not given the full story. We were told stories that were exclusively told through the male lens, and it's even more damaging when it's told in a religious context because it keeps you from connecting from that vital divine feminine part of ourselves.
• Pronoun analysis in the Bible shows an exaggerated use of "his" vs. "hers." This is significant. If a woman cannot see "hers" then she cannot claim what is hers.
• It's never been ok that we, as women, have been omitted from history as whole human beings.
• Everything that we have been told has been told through the lens of men.
• In the Bible, "Sophia" means wisdom which conjures up the embodiment of the feminine divine, but it was never honored as this.
• Monette has been on a search for the feminine divine and has run into wall after wall as she has struggled to find what she was looking for.

• In many churches and religions, the female is subordinated to the man and it makes a real relationship nearly impossible.
  
• The Roofless Church in New Harmony, Indiana was where Monette accessed her freedom to stop searching and see that the universe was her "church".
  
• Language is so important. Calling your God "she" is a beautiful way to integrate or retrain ourselves as women if we want to relate to her that way. Yoga is a great playground to practice the embodiment of the masculine and the feminine and integrate the two energies .

Links Mentioned:

• Monette Chilson Twitter
• Monette Chilson Instagram
• Monette Chilson Website
• Monette Chilson Books