In this special Integral Stage episode, Layman meets with feminine empowerment and leadership teacher, and Integral Semantics facilitator, Adriana Forte, to talk about the menstrual cycle -- the ways it is misunderstood, repressed or denied; its cosmic, biological, and psychospiritual dimensions; and the power and transformation that can attend aligning more closely and consciously with its rhythms. Together they explore the dimensions and dynamics of cyclical life; the importance of attending to cycles in embodiment practice; indigenous wisdom on the menstrual cycle; the stages of reclamation of menstrual consciousness; the 'magic' and subtle states associated with the menstrual cycle; the possible forms future society might take when we learn to better align with individual and natural cycles; and much more.
Adriana has been teaching workshops on feminine empowerment and leadership for years. In the last years she has been focusing her work and studies on Adult Development and Vertical Growth. One of her main areas of interest is on the cross-over between the feminine aspect of consciousness and Adult Development: how it shows up in the later stages (as a natural bi-product of growing up) how it flowers in men and women and how it can be used to spark/deepen the process of both waking up and growing up. She has a Bachelor Degree in Communication, a Diploma in Holistic Kinesiology and in Shamanic Womancraft. She is a coach and a qualified Integral Semantics Facilitator and is now training to become a scorer of the Stages Assessment (still unavailable in Portuguese). Her work (both with individuals and groups) is deeply influenced by Integral Theory (Wilber), Stages (O'Fallon), Action Inquiry (Torbert) and by the work of pioneers on Feminine Wisdom as Janine Parvati Baker and Jane Collings. She currently facilitates developmental retreats in Brazil.
