3 Steps to Say NO to Patriarchy: Our 30th Book Launch
It feels a little surreal to be writing this – our first book was launched during Thanksgiving, 2015. It’s been 75 months and here we are, launching our 30th book. We are blessed to be able to channel and express our thoughts and experiments through recipe collections, self-help books, and poetry volumes. Our 30th offering is a collection of poems about how to overcome patriarchy.
Recently, I had a wake up call. I realized that toxic patriarchy is alive and well, and I’m swimming in it. That feeling is akin to swimming in insidiously polluted waters, and being told not only is the water pristine, but this is the only water available. This book is a result of my outright refusal to swim in this toxicity.
Patriarchy is a system in which the dominating figure is the (usually white, heterosexual) male, and all others, including females, LGBTQIA+ communities, children, and elders are expected to defer to that male. This system interacts with other factors like religion, race, ethnicity, gender, and socioeconomics to create complex waves of injustice. As a woman of Indian descent born in Fiji who spent half her life in the United States, I’ve seen more than my share of patriarchal damage.
The assumption is that patriarchy benefits men, because they are seen as superior. But the sad truth is that not only do men oppress everyone else, they also suffer from being conditioned not to show emotion, stay stoic, and be the steady provider. Men suffer heart attacks, strokes, and cancer after bottling up their negative emotions for decades. Worse, men who are abused as children turn into rapists, narcissists, and pedophiles. Where is the benefit of this false sense of superiority?
This book asks us all, regardless of gender, sexual orientation, ethnicity, race, or religion, to take three steps to overcome patriarchy and forge a new, healthier and more balanced way of life:
- Choose love over fear: Fear comes from ego, and results in insecurity, anger, aggression, and violence. Love is nurturing, kind, and life-affirming. Choose love at every step in life.
- Express your truth: Speak about your honest perspectives, and share your pain, joy, and wisdom. There is no greater release than the expression of authenticity.
- Embrace the feminine way: Regardless of your gender, the uplifting of your feminine energy is what will bring balance to a world choking with toxic masculinity. Connect with your creativity, flow, compassion, and boundaries to bring yourself back to balance.
Grab a copy of our book, Saying NO: Prevailing Over Patriarchy, and discover your own pathway to freedom from this paradigm of oppression. It’s time to create a better way.
