By Loris Simon Salum, Special for USDR
“I wanted to find a common thread that brought us all together.”
These are the words of Loris Simon Salum, a beautiful 20-something woman who was struggling to find the meaning of life. She went in search of answers and in the process of making an award-winning film and penning a thought-provocative book, Ensoulment: Exploring the Feminine Principle in Western Culture (www.ensoulmentfilm.com), she invites others to share in the dialogue.
She sought to find out answers to so many questions. Loris focused on women for answers, “seeking out those hidden traits that women surely held deep in their bosoms the womanly forces that must hold the key to inner liberation and world peace.”
But she realized as she searched for what noted psychologist Carl Jung coined as the feminine, she wasn’t looking to focus on gender. The feminine is something inside each of us – men and women – and Loris went on to interview dozens of male and female experts, authors, professors, and psychoanalysts. She narrowed her attention to the six primary areas that consume or influence us most: the media, the body, men, relationships, the workforce and religion.
Ensoulment is an encounter with a younger filmmaker struggling to explain the feminine, in accordance with psychologist Carl Jung’s theories. She interviews authors and leaders, including Dr. James Hollis, Dr. Abigail Disney, Rev. Dr. Serene Jones, and Dr. Anne Fausto-Sterling, amongst others, to broaden her perspective about what the feminine is and how it takes place in Western culture. What starts out as an attempt to make a film, ends in a search of meaning, belonging and the path back to her true self.
Loris makes some strong, insightful conclusions, including these points:
- The feminine is a psychological phenomenon not associated with gender.
- The feminine refers to qualities such as creativity, receptiveness, and/or nurturance. These qualities are mostly paired with right-brained thinking or emotional intelligence.
- The mission of the book is to bring attention to the feminine qualities we have devalued as a society. The intention is not to promote a solely feminine lifestyle, but to reach a balance between feminine and masculine qualities.
- An individual that practices nurturing both feminine and masculine qualities within him/her is much more likely to lead a healthier life, inside and out.
SOURCE Loris Simon Salum
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