She Lives! Sophia Wisdom Works in the World for Gender Equality: Colette Casburn Numajiri (Coco Niji), Founder and Leader of Goddess Group, Dallas, Texas
“Including female divine names and images in worship changes the church from the ground up. It’s transformative. Not only is it important for women and girls to hear and see female images of the Divine, but it’s just as important for men and boys.”
These comments of Colette Casburn Numajiri come from her experience of female images of the Divine and from her passion for her sons to experience more than exclusively male divine images. She explains why she believes female divine images are imperative for males as well as females: “If you only see male images of the Divine, then that gives males permission to act higher than females in every way—be it in the work place, at home, on T.V. Exclusively male divine images make it seem that men and boys are holy and women and girls are not. Therefore, any abuse that a male inflicts on a female is somehow justified. And women and girls, being taught that they are the lesser sex, accept and expect the abuse. Females may even abuse each other, because they don’t see their own value and potential.”
Acting on her beliefs, Colette brings her two preschool sons, Zayden and Nikko, to New Wineskins Community, where they see visual images of the Female Divine, hear Her included in the songs and other rituals, and experience Her love through Community members. Colette sings the New Wineskins “doxology” every night to Zayden and Nikko, and in our Community meetings, they join us as we sing:
Praise God from whom all blessings flow, Whose womb gave birth to all we know, Who holds us close to Her warm breast, for nurture, love, and tenderness.–Elizabeth Watson-Martin & Lisa Taylor
Several months before her first son was born, Colette had a dream vision. In the vision she saw 12 or 13 women of various ethnicities and ages, all dressed in gleaming white. They moved toward Colette and with urgent, loving voices told her to begin a Goddess Group in Dallas. Colette at first hesitated, “You must not mean me. You know I’m about to have a baby, and I’m really busy now and will be even busier very soon. Also, I’ve never done anything like that before.” They continued, “Yes, we mean you. We have chosen you to do this sacred work, and we will be with you and guide you.” Colette says that the following morning she was inclined to dismiss this vision and to question what she had seen and heard. But then she got an email from a friend inviting her to lunch to talk about providing opportunities for more people to experience the Female Divine. Colette kept getting messages from Her that she was to start this group. So when she was eight months pregnant, Colette held the first meeting of Goddess Group in her home, leading us in healing meditations and empowering rituals. Colette continues to lead this community with wisdom and love.
Colette grew up in a Methodist household until her parents divorced. After that, she says she “tried out” other denominations. She continues: “What I’d been taught in church confused me, and I grew further and further away from the institution. At a point when I had completely rejected Christianity and spirituality (at that time the word ‘Jesus’ made me cringe!), I had my life-changing experience. It changed everything. Through a chain of miraculous events, I was led to a book, Sylvia Browne’s The Other Side and Back, that spoke of God the Mother. When I first read this, I threw the book across the room, calling it ‘Satan’! A day and a half later I picked the book back up and read it. My eyes have been opened ever since.”
Enlightened and empowered through her discovery of the Divine Feminine, Colette joins others in changing the church to include Her. “I think being a part of and supporting communities who include the Divine Feminine is an important way to bring Her to the church,” Colette says. “By finding like-minded people and inviting new people we are re-growing the church the way it was meant to be—open, loving, nurturing and equal.”
To “re-grow” the church, Colette believes we must change language and symbolism to include multicultural female names and images of the Divine. “Language and symbolism are absorbed into our consciousness and we become them. If half the population is left out at the highest level, then they will always be considered lesser than. And if so, equality is impossible. If one gender is not seen as equal to the other, peace cannot ensue. A complete imbalance occurs. It’s strange to me that this has been able to continue for two thousand or more years! The time for change has come.”
Changing the church, Colette believes, will change the wider culture. “There is so much confusion and there are so many conflicting messages coming from the church right now, and they are trickling down into every other aspect of our civilization. No gender, race, class, sexual orientation, etc., is any better than another. We are all special and important and necessary to the beauty of creation. If we change the foundation of the church by reclaiming the Divine Feminine, ultimately, we will change and heal the world. Let’s give Her back Her voice!”
And that is just what Colette is doing through her transformative work with Goddess Group and New Wineskins Community. A mystical feminist and creative writer, Colette leads visualization meditations for peace and healing. Here is one of her powerful Divine Feminine meditations: