Have you been interested in shamanism and earth-based wisdom but desiring to hear it from a divine feminine perspective? Then this episode is for you. I sit with Clinical Therapist turned Shaman + Medicine Woman Taheera Maat to discuss how we can walk this path with discernment – and honoring the feminine. We speak about the collective shift, how to reclaim the power of our wombs, the meaning of the raw feminine and more. You’re in for a deeply grounding, nourishing and juicy episode!

Connect with Taheera at ​​www.taheeramaat.com

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TRANSCRIPTION

Episode 435: Divine Feminine Shamanism + Earth-Based Womb Wisdom with Taheera Maat
By Sahara Rose

[00:12] Sahara
Namaste, it’s Sahara Rose and welcome back to The Highest Self Podcast, a place where we discuss what makes You, Your Soul’s Highest Evolvement.

[00:19] Sahara
I’m really excited to share that these Podcasts are now on video! So, if you are on Spotify, you can actually watch this on video, as well as over on YouTube. So, I’m talking to the camera right now and it just feels like another touch point to be able to be there with you in person.

[00:35] Sahara
So, if it’s your first time listening, welcome to the Podcast, this is a place where we take all topics spiritual and make them really grounded, fun, relatable, ancient, sacred. I have eight planets in Capricorn, so I’m all about grounding it back down to this reality. And this Podcast is really just so emblematic of the types of conversations that we have here.

[00:57] Sahara
So, I found Taheera Maat on Instagram, and I just loved her soulful and divine feminine approach to Shamanism.

[01:05] Sahara
So, if you haven’t heard of Shamanism before, though, I’m assuming if you’re here, you probably have, but Shamanism, and she dives into it, into this Episode as well, but just as a little predecessor, it’s about connecting to the elements and connecting to the Earth and listening to the elements to guide us through different states of consciousness in the underworld, middle world and upper world.
And I believe that all societies really had Shamanic roots. If you look at Paganism and many different ancient religious and spiritual backgrounds, all throughout the planet, we always worked with the elements.

[01:46] Sahara
In my own Persian culture, we were Zoroastrian and we do different altars for the spring equinox and the winter solstice. So, I believe that we all have these codes inside of us that want to connect deeper into earth-based wisdom, it’s just that, around most of the planet, it has been wiped out from the major religions that we have today, so it’s been forgotten and replaced, and in fact, made illegal in many parts of the world, until more recently, when there is now this resurgence. So, even Native American spiritual practices were illegal in the US until about 1979, so, I’m talking really modern. Ayurveda was illegal by the British rule in India for over 100 years of British rule, so that is why the Shamanic codes, the pagan codes, the earth-based wisdom codes were forgotten, because it was purposefully so, so we wouldn’t have access to connecting with Source without needing an intermediary, without needing a priest, an imam, a rabi, or anyone in between us, not that there’s anything wrong with that, but we all have access to connecting with Source, with higher states of consciousness, simply by accessing the water and the air and the fire, and witnessing those elements inside of us that we have the water, we have the emotions, we have the fire, we have the strength, we have the earth, we have the grounding, we are all of the elements, the air, ether.

[03:20] Sahara
So, right now, this is such a powerful time because we are remembering this. I really believe the awakening is not so much about ascension as in just leaving Earth, but it’s rather more about descension of “How can I be more in the earth, in the soil, in the roots, in the womb, in the feminine.” And both of these polarities are needed, it’s just that in modern spirituality, we so focus on the masculine pathway that is all about leaving the body, ascending, having no desires, no sexuality, no connection to earth, it’s all about being in the astral realms.
And again, that’s half of it, but the other half is the feminine, which is all about being in the body and the community, in joy, in pleasure, in love, in unity, that’s the yin and the yang, that’s what Tantra is all about. So, we see this duality in all forms of spirituality, and now, it’s just that the feminine has been repressed for so long, that finally she’s getting a voice.

[04:25] Sahara
So, that’s why we’re putting extra emphasis on the divine feminine right now, not because it’s better or more important, it’s just that it’s been repressed for thousands of years. I mean, I have many podcasts about this, check out the ones with Rev. Briana Lynn, Mia Magick, we really go into the her-story of how women and the feminine have been suppressed throughout history. I’m talking the witch hunts, I’m talking just being raped and pillaged for so many years, that finally the feminine is rising. And we still have our internalized patriarchy, even in the spiritual community of thinking that ascension and leaving your body and having no desires is better than the feminine path, the path of the heart, the path of the Shakthi.

[05:12] Sahara
So, in this Podcast episode, we really dive into this, and Taheera is such a beautiful embodiment. So, she shares that she actually began as a clinical therapist and how she found her way back into remembering herself in her Shamanic codes, and then moving to the jungles of the Dominican Republic where she lives today.

[05:31] Sahara
We also share about how important it is to have discernment when working with Shamans, just because someone calls themselves a Shaman does not mean they are a Shaman. What does the word Shaman even mean, and how can we open ourselves up to someone that we really don’t know?
I’ve seen so many women having very negative experiences. I mean, I’m talking men who are even indigenous, and call themselves the Shaman, and have ceremony with many people, also being perpetrators and rapists and sexual harassment. And I think that, sometimes in the spiritual community we don’t want to talk about that, but that’s also very real. And I think it is important because as, especially a lot of people who listen to this Podcast, you might be so excited about spirituality – I know for myself, when I was 23, I was about to just go off into the jungles of Ecuador by myself, for this two-month deep dive into plant medicine, and I didn’t know anything about it. And I’m so grateful that I ended up not going, I ended up just, there was too much conflict in my life at the time, but I’m so grateful because, again, it may have been magical, or it may have been a nightmare. So, it is important to, not just trust anyone that blindly calls themselves a Shaman. And there are different rituals and vision quests and rites of passage that really one must go through, and even, above all, you’ve got to feel the integrity within that person’s heart. And if that’s not there, even if everyone says they’re the best Shaman ever (which doesn’t even exist, there’s no best, you know). We really talk about this, and using discernment, especially as women, where we are so vulnerable, especially if there is plant medicine involved.

[07:10] Sahara
We talk about the collective shift that’s happening; how to heal trauma in our timelines; how to connect with the womb; how to reclaim the power of the womb; what does the raw feminine mean; all of these different codes and topics, we really dive into in this Episode. So, I’m so excited to share this experience with you!

[07:28] Sahara
And if you’re interested in learning more about Divine Feminine Wisdom, head to over to rosegoldgoddesses.com, this is my Divine Feminine Mystery School, we will definitely have Taheera doing activation with us. And we have so many incredible teachers, people who I personally, deeply, trust and know and carry resonance with. So, it just does some of the weaving out for you, especially in this online space where anyone can really say anything and you just don’t really know what to trust. And Taheera is just such a beautiful example of someone that, if you do carry resonance, she also does different ceremonies and workshops as well.

[08:02] Sahara
So, without further ado, let’s welcome Taheera Maat to The Highest Self Podcast.

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[09:10] Interview

[09:10] Sahara
Welcome Taheera, to The Highest Self Pocast, it’s so great to have you here!

[09:14] Taheera
I’m so excited to be here, thank you so much for having me on here!

[09:19] Sahara
And the first question I’d love to ask you is, what makes you your highest self?

[09:24] Taheera
So, just for today, I would say my imagination, just being in a pure, conscious state of my imagination and living that peaceful, beautiful, bountiful, loving life, at its fullest, at its potential and continuing to learn from that expansion. So, that’s my definition for today.

[09:49] Sahara
Love that, yes, ever evolving and so beautiful. Imagination allows us to channel and be the bridges for the realities that are seeking to come through us.
So, there’s so much I want to discuss and talk to you about today. But let’s talk a little bit about your journey, your background as a clinical therapist, working with EMDR and how you discovered Shamanism.

[10:11] Taheera
It was through my own healing journey. As I was going to school, I was coming from a very traumatic 10 years, so, as I was going to school, I naturally started to just question the restrictions in the clinical world, and although I do see some benefits of the clinical world, the spirituality piece was just not considered to be a common mental foundation for healing. And so, as I was questioning that, and also going through my own healing journey, I just naturally stared attracting different teachers, from the jungles, as I say, and they really started to help me to expand my own inner knowingness. And what was created within those few years was the bridging of the gap between the clinical applications and the Shamanic applications of what it means to be whole, what it means to come back into your sovereignty. And so, it was a journey, for sure, and it continues to be a journey, but I just love the flow of how there’s clinical aspects that can be implemented, even before people dive into the Shamanic realms and the benefits of that, yeah.

[11:24] Sahara
So beautifully said! And I love how your approach is really trauma-informed Shamanism, as you dive into these deeper layers. I think, sometimes, people drink Ayahuasca once and they think they’re a Shaman, and it could actually perpetuate more damage.
So, can you share, first of all, what is Shamanism, what does it mean to be a Shaman?

[11:46] Taheera
So, I believe there’s a difference between Shamanism and Shaman. Shamanism is the practice of living in your highest self, living in that pure conscious state of love and learning to vibrate that, and our initiations here on Earth provide us those lessons. And then, the Shaman part is just being in the knowingness of that and helping people to continue to expand in their consciousness, continue to empower them and get them back into their authentic state, through just being a conduit, being a channel of messages and ancestors, and so forth. And I believe that’s the big difference between Shamanism, everybody has that Shamanic coding within them, but to really be in that vibration is something so different, it’s more of a living vs. practicing, and your skill sets will be there no matter if you work with plant medicine or you’re an energy worker, that’s there, but to be in that vibration is to be, to be present with love and understanding.

[13:02] Sahara
And I love how you shared that sometimes we even look at becoming a Shaman in this patriarchal lens of like “You need this male to initiate you and do these certain steps”. And really, as women, I’d say we’re all, to a level, birthers of the world, we’re connected to the elements on a deeper level and we can even remember ourselves as the Shamanesses that we were for many times.
So, if someone is maybe feeling that call, but they’re like “Do I have to do a vision quest? What’s the certification I’ve got to do?” And how can we find that Shamanic coding within ourselves?

[13:41] Taheera
So, the certification is your life, it’s just your life experiences. You don’t have to go and search, you already are the experience. And like you beautifully said, we already are in that wisdom, and it’s just about life, trusting that, honoring that and continuing to dive deeper into that layer of that knowingness and coming back to that original soul wisdom, is just through experiences. It’s okay to read books, it’s okay to go study with somebody, but really, it’s your own experience and as we say, the medicine is you, you are the medicine, and just honoring what that means and honoring what that is, is about moving through the different initiations of the narratives and the traumas that are there to help us to remember, to help us to remember we are already in and coming into that knowingness and coming into that higher level of awareness so you can vibrate that. And that is really what’s going to elevate whoever you serve or however you show up, it’s going to elevate that, just by being you. It’s really that simple.

[14:50] Sahara
It really is! And I really resonate with female Shamans, first of all, the level of safety, and just hearing space not being held correctly or even abuse happening, especially when people are in sacred ceremonies and male Shamans, for whatever reason, the ego is still completely there.
So, for me, I feel a stronger kinship and also the fact that the feminine is always connected to energy and elements and transmutation on a deeper level.
So, for people wondering “How do I find Shamanic teachers and elders and people I can learn from”, what did that path look like for you?

[15:32] Taheera
Well, I never, again, I never went to search, I just would continue to dive deeper to my inner dialogue and question. I always say continue to be a question, continue to be curious of self, and those teachers will just naturally come to you. And then you have to, of course, sit with the discernment, sit with the resonance and see if that’s the best way. And I had teachers who came into my life, who taught me different experiences, some were white, some were dark, so you allow yourself just to be in the experience and it’s like you’re going through your own university of self.
And so, there’s some teachers that you are going to hold a resonance with forever, and then there’s some teachers, they were just there for a season. And you pick and choose, and it’s not about, also, honoring their traditions and their beliefs, you are an authentic being, you have your own way, so learn from those teachings, pull whatever it is out. and then continue to move forward in your involvement and your expansion, just as an individual.

[16:38] Sahara
Beautifully said! Thank you so much for sharing that. And it’s so true, it’s that own intuitive discernment of knowing “What is this teaching me?” And sometimes it’s teaching you what you don’t want, and sometimes that’s opening up your eyes to “Oh, I have that same thing that I love in that person, I have that inside of me”, and it’s just activating it and awakening. So, such powerful medicine.
So, I’d love to talk about the womb. The womb is a big, big topic here and it’s so needed right now, in the collective, as I feel there is this collective remembrance of the Holy Grail of the womb space. So, can you speak into the energetic and spiritual component of the womb?

[17:20] Taheera
What the womb is, is the universe. I mean, that’s there, right within itself, when you sit with that, you’re “Oooh!” So, therefore, you are the universe, you are the sensualized portal, you are the birthing channel. And so, we come into this existence depending upon what birth canal you come into, with narratives and contracts and past lives, and so forth, that generates a level of unclarity, but you go through those experiences. And when you’re going through those experiences, literally a womb cleansing that’s happening, because the womb is pure, sexual energy is pure. And so, coming back into that inner standing and overstanding is powerful within itself.
And so, I believe, right now, what’s happening with the planet is, more sacred feminine awakening within us to provide that safe space, as you mentioned, in order to hold and serve for more of a harmonic state. And on top of assisting the sacred masculine, because we need both, but that also elevates the sacred masculine to do their part to heal. And so, it’s a combination of both.

[18:38] Sahara
Yeah. I had a realization, a few years ago, of how much collective trauma is stored in our womb spaces. Now we see, with Epigenetics, that we were literally in our grandmother’s womb, our mother had her egg when she was in her mother’s womb, so we can see how, whatever our grandmother’s experience was at that time, is passed along to us. And just for so long, how many women cannot choose who they married. In my lineage, forced child marriage, my own grandmother had one; how much abuse; how much just collective pain and shame; and then even in this lifetime, how much that happens.
So, for people who might be listening and holding onto a lot of pain in their womb that may have caused them to disassociate – maybe they want nothing to do with their menstrual cycles, they’re on the pill and they have no intention of getting off, and maybe right now, they’re feeling that call of connecting deeper to that womb space, but they’re afraid of what it holds, what advice do you have?

[19:39] Taheera
If they’re on the path to wanting to clear the trauma, and this is where I come in and say more of a clinical application, would, to be more trauma healing because what I find in assisting and facilitating medicine journeys is, women are coming in and they’re wanting to dive deeper and they’re wanting to connect to that womb space, but the mind is carrying so much trauma, shadows are not really being rebuilt, and so, those medicines are going to speed it up pretty quickly. And so, that’s where, I believe, the traumatization happens within facilitating medicine ceremonies, so I say take your time, slow down, take a breath and use steps to clinically start to really dive into those narratives that’s in the mind that keep the womb stuck in that trauma state, because, in order to really come into the fullness, the mind, the heart and the soul, must be perfectly aligned and must flow in that oscillating vibration. And so, the mind has a huge impact on what we carry as well.
And so, it’s just like this channel that goes back and forth, the soul, the heart and the mind. And, as we know, this society is controlled by the mindset. And so, in order to clear that, start with the mental components that are happening and really dial into the narratives that’s keeping one stuck to believe that they can’t or that they’re not good enough.

[21:12] Sahara
Yes, therapy, EMDR. Can you share a little bit what EMDR is?

[21:17] Taheera
Yeah, yeah, love EMDR. So, EMDR stands for Eye Movement Dispensational Processing, and it’s a way to help to eliminate any type of traumatic experiences that keep one stuck, through a neurological wiring. And so, through the eye movements, it opens up this deplete from the cortex to connect, at that higher state of consciousness. And so, as you’re moving through the process, you’re no longer in that trauma state, but you are seeing that triggering memory and so forth, but you’re at a higher conscious state, so the body’s relaxed, the motions are more relaxed, and now, one is able to really purge and cleanse and transmit the trauma and come into that wisdom that that trauma has had on them. So, it’s very effective and I find it to be very non-invasive for people who need a little bit more of a gentle interest into the spiritual realm, but very powerful, and you will feel results like this, just within the session, after the session, because the therapist is gaging your process are you’re moving forward. So, by the end of the session, one should feel less traumatized from that experience, and then your actions show “Am I still living in that timeline or am I now functioning from a different timeline?” And so, that is just bringing that whole other level of consciousness to this present timeline.

[22:51] Sahara
Such a powerful healing modality! And I think it’s so important, like you mentioned, to, maybe before diving into plant-medicines, or as an integration with plant medicine, be working on that mental component because we really can’t bypass it and we also can’t really go deep if we don’t look at that because it’s going to be that block. So, that is such a powerful practice for people; somatic experiencing is another really great one of releasing it from your body.
So, I want to talk about the energetics of the feminine, the raw feminine rising. I feel, right now, so many of us are having these remembrances of us as wild women, of us connected to earth and connected to the cycles, and connected to the rhythms.
So, I know for yourself, you moved to the Dominican Republic recently, to really embody that archetype within you. So, can you share with us a little bit about this raw feminine, wild woman energy that is rising, and how to allow it be more in our beings without that judgment that tells us “Oh, this is not going to make me money; this is not important; this is going to get me shamed by society”.

[24:02] Taheera
Yeah. My own experience into the wildness was, first moving through stages of grief, stages of loss, identity, in order to really come into that level of understanding that I was not living in my fullness. So, it’s a trippy ride because you feel as though, if you’re moving through those stages of grief, you’re not aware that that’s all part of the process. One can get stuck back into that mindset of “Oh, well this isn’t right for me”. And so, being a wild woman is about embracing your emotions in a way where you are releasing, but also, you’re balancing out that emotional intelligence and you’re moving through the different cycles of your mind, in order to really come into that harmonic way of living in that wild woman self. And in that, that also activates the wisdom, and that also activates the “Well, what is it that I’m doing here and what do I really want to do here?” And so, from there, you start honoring, like I said, the imagination, and you start coming back to those remembrances that you had, of possibly your past life; ancestors start speaking to you. And so, this all starts to get activated and we get to a point where that society or that environment no longer serves you, and you have to make a choice, and you’re in that wisdom. So, it’s very difficult and challenging to stay in an environment that does not feed that, it’s just difficult.
So, I know for me, coming over here, I’ve been in the Dominican Republic for over 2 years now, that experience was, I call it graduating from the matrix, literally saying I’m done, I’m done on all levels, mind, body, spirit, I am done! And I want to get back to what was true to me, so what’s true for me is living in nature, being one with nature, living in the mountains and playing, and just being free with that. And so, that creates that primal energy and it only gets more activated once you are closer to what is true for you. And so, it just continues to ignite that wild woman self, which continues to ignite that wisdom within.

[26:19] Sahara
And it’s so amazing how, when we surround ourselves in nature, we remember ancient ways of being. I remember being in a river in Costa Rica, by a waterfall, and it’s almost like I had remembered, from previous lifetimes, the stones and being able to break them open, and there’s clay inside them, and make the tribal markings on my face, and just how we were so connected to every single little piece and texture; the way that the leaves just are breathing on the tree and how alive every single thing is. And even just in a few hours, it recalibrated my nervous system and it just made me think, wow, imagine if this was our own only experience; if we were raised in this; the level of attentiveness we would have to energy when we are living in that field of energy that’s not this masculine-operated, mechanical machines.

[27:15] Taheera
Yes! And that’s what I find! I find that when souls are on that soul journey, they’re naturally being called back to nature for a reason. Nature is the remembrance of the natural order of life. And like you mentioned, those activations, you could just sit in a river – I tell people all the time “You don’t have to bring your drum, you don’t have to bring the incense or polo santo, even though that’s great, but just sit in the river and let that crystalline energy of the river help you to remember that this is your true state, this is your true form”. And just sitting underneath a tree and listening to the wind; the wind has so many messages. And for us, coming from, maybe, the alternative mindset, not growing up, per say, the jungle, is this level of separation that has to merge together and say “No, I am from nature. I am from the jungles. I am the trees, I am the birds, I am the rivers”, and starting to really dive into the messages of them is really powerful, very powerful.

[28:20] Sahara
Absolutely! And I think within so many of us is this fear of nature, this fear of “Well, what if I get stuck in the wilderness and I don’t know what to do”, or the oceans. And again, it’s that hyper-separation that has happened, that we are afraid of our own mothers.

[28:40] Taheera
Yes. So, the mother womb, the Great Mother of nature. And so, I want to have people who are interested in my retreats, they’d say “Oh, I would love to come but I’m scared of insects”, I’m like, “You know that’s probably a gift, maybe you are really connected to the insects and you, coming to experience this in a safe container will provide that wisdom for you”, because a lot of times our phobias and our traumas are linked in right to our gifts.
And so, for me, I always had, I was always timid with fire, and I’m all fire, I’m fire with some water, but going through experience of coming back to this remembrance helped me to remember, I am a fire-keeper, I am the fire and I ignite that within people. But I had to go through that process and not be timid by the fire by going through my initiations of what that is.

[29:35] Sahara
That’s so powerful that that very element that you might be fearful of is your greatest gift. I’m imagining that Hallie Barrie in that movie where she’s the windstorm and she’s like flying in the wind, I’m like “If you’re afraid of a tornado, you might be her, you just don’t know.”

[29:51] Taheera
Exactly, exactly! And so, I always say, the opposite of fear is your gift; the opposite of that phobia is your gift. And it’s about just honoring that process and going through those layers of the shadow, to bring it back into the love state and to remember that “Oh, okay, I am this and this is why I had to go through this level of unclarity in order to really honor and respect that as part of my medicine”.

[30:21] Sahara
Yes. I feel for so many people, their fears are speaking their truth. Opening up that throat chakra, sharing their voice, and if the desire is there, that means that you’re meant to share that voice, and it’s just whatever you’re overcoming is of that fear, is the story that you get to share.
So, can you share how we can – you know, there’s so many people listening to this, they’re spiritual, they’re heart-centered, they have incredible messages, but it’s that imposter syndrome of “Who am I to do this?” So, how can we start to navigate that?

[30:55] Taheera
Yeah. There is different ways to navigate the separation. And I would say just continue to question the separation in a way where you realize the separation is not you, it is part of some type of programs, programming, some type of conditioning, and know that that is not pure state of consciousness. Pure state of consciousness is the oneness, is the wholeness, and it is in a place of love. So, if that energy and that narrative is not serving you, in a place of love, then now, it’s about challenging that. And coming into that wild woman self, is coming into, like I call, the warrior archetype, where it’s like you’re no longer making excuses for it, you are in war with self, which means that you have to fight the war within. And so, doing that is about possibly getting support by others, but also seeking that validation within and seeking that peace, and realizing we are peace. And that doesn’t mean you’re going to be happy all the time, peace is just being in a state of just presence.
And so, that also is honoring just the factors of life, like the human factors of life, but staying in that center self.

[32:15] Sahara
Yes. So, I want to dive into the programmings that we might receive, the limiting beliefs, the false versions of self that we believe are us. How can we start to know “Oh, this is actually coming from some conditioning outside of me?

[32:33] Taheera
Anything that takes you out of the state of love, anything that takes you out of the state of peace, and just honesty and authenticity, is a programming, and so, just leaning to really dissect that. And one of the things that I did when I first started my spiritual journey was meditation, that was my great awakening, was wanting to sit with myself, and it was just me and me, and really dialing into the drama, and the trauma of my mind, was deep. And learning to peel back those layers and providing yourself with that support is one thing, but when you learn to provide it within, and just question where is this coming from, is this coming from a place of love or is this coming from a place of fear? And your higher self, that sovereign self, will tell you directly. And it’s just believing in that message and going with that and honoring that as you move through that process and move through that transition.
And so, for me, meditation is the gateway of spiritual awakening and just learning to really conquer that mind and conquer the programs. And when we get triggered because, as we know, the society triggers us all the time with different distractions and so forth, it’s like, what are you still plugged into that is keeping you in that triggering mindset, why are you getting so lost in the chaos? And so, there’s a lesson there that needs to happen, there’s a graduation that needs to happen. It’s also honoring that and realizing that we’re not here to live in the perfections, but we’re here to understand ourselves in a harmonic way. And again, just oscillating from that mindset but really staying in the center of our hearts.

[34:27] Sahara
So beautifully expressed. And yeah, to be witness of that mind and to be really curious about where is the going to, what is the story, what is the hooks that keep taking me out. And I feel like, for a lot of women, it’s other people, it’s like “Other people need me, my husband needs me, my kids need me, my this needs me, my that needs me”, and maybe we pride ourself, maybe we’ve created an entire identity around “I’m always there for other people. I am the helpful person, people need me”, and we’ve created this entire identity off od being needed, which is actually fueling our egos need to be needed by other people, so we are, kind of, breaking out of what we can actually do to raise our vibration, and actually, really, support people by thinking it needs to be in this very physical, and also sacrificial way, that martyr wound that keeps repeating. So, do you see this often happen with your students?

[35:23] Taheera
Oh yeah! Oh yeah, a lot, a lot! You know, when I ask them “Who are you”, “I’m a mother”, “I’m a wife”, “I’m a teacher”, and it’s like, yes, that’s a part of you, but who are you really, and really diving into the ‘I am’, which is infinite, which is expansion, which is formless, and coming back to that spirit. And due to the conditioning of that masculine, distorted energy, we were oppressed by the understanding that we’re not always in the rescuing archetype, we’re here to, again, exude and elevate consciousness by just being in the vibration of love. And so, staying in that heart center is important, however, I find that women get caught up in those identities, they get lost in those identities and they lose themselves. And so, when they are on their spiritual path and those identities are dismantling, because that happens when you’re on a spiritual journey, they come into that void state of “Who am I”, and really, that’s when you dive deeper into the more Shamanic journey of understanding that you are consciousness, that you are pure consciousness. And those sub-identities will be there, but it’s not really who you are.

[36:40] Sahara
So beautifully said! I’ve witnessed, in my own healing journey, that how much of my own identity was intwined with “I’m the person everyone comes to. I help my parents, therefore I get love, through helping people, so let me help and fix and be the person they lean on, so they love me”, and that’s a distortion because that’s not being loved.

[37:07] Taheera
That’s not being love, and it’s like where I that real love, that’s what I ask people. Is that real love or is that just what you think love is? Because love is not a thinking thing, love is a vibration. And so, if you’re drained after you do all those things, was that from a place of love? And a place of love is in wholeness, it’s in the vibration of harmonies, so, therefore, when that exchange happens, there’s no depletion, you’re just still there. And so, we do have to continue to respect and honor our relationships, but taking our relationships to the next level is realizing “I’m not here to rescue you, I’m here to love you. And in order to love you, I must love myself first”, period and point blank.

[37:57] Sahara
Yes! So accurate! And I feel for so many people the programming that’s holding them back from embodying this is “It’s selfish, it’s selfish for me to not take care of people if I know that they could be doing something else”. And it’s also that ego of “How do you know what’s right for someone? How do you know what’s their karma? Hoe do you know what lessons they’re here to actually learn?” Maybe this lifetime for them isn’t even about awakening, maybe this lifetime for them is about, it’s a rest lifetime for some people, I think.

[38:30] Taheera
Exactly, exactly! And that’s when I say that inner child healing is really important because, we were conditioned to believe that something else must nurture us in a way and tell us what to do, so, therefore, now we tell people what to do, we tell people what to say, and we think we know. And it’s like, we’re not here to tell, we’re here to show and to bring and to serve, and so, that conditioning is embedded in the parenting situation of the mindset. And so, not only does that happen in the family systems, that happens in the, if you want to call it the matrix, or whatever it is, it happens in our mindset as well because a lot of us come from that society where we were told, you had to go to school, you had to get a husband, you had to get married at a certain age, but were told that, but when you really start honoring your spiritual self, is that really what you want? And that’s where that dismantlement starts taking place.

[39:31] Sahara
And that leading by example, it’s so powerful. You are leading by example, you’re like, “Hey, you didn’t make a bunch of Instagram posts, you all should move to the Dominican Republic or somewhere else”, you were just saying “I’m going to do it, and here’s my story, and I’m leading by that example”.
And I find that so many of us, whether it’s with our parents, with our children, we think that we know what’s best for them, and it’s actually really holding us back from loving and connecting with them and being present in our own experience.

[40:01] Taheera
Yeah, absolutely. And the flow of creativity gets stuck because, even, I’m a bring school, I never was good in school, when I was younger, I will always be in my imagination, it’s like “Do, do, do”, and the first thing the teacher would say like “Don’t get caught up in your imagination’, and that stuck with me, that really stuck with me, I’m like “Why, why’s that scary?” And so, over the years, I just started to really honor my imagination and honor that creativity within, and that also helped to elevate my consciousness, to know there is a level creating your own life and learning to live by that example. And lead by that example doesn’t mean that I’m telling people what to do, it’s more so just living in the truth of that, well, I trust and inspire people to do the same, that’s all. And that’s really what I believe what our medicine is, is to continue to inspire each other to come back to that authentic state.

[40:58] Sahara
Yes! And your teacher was probably saying that based off of their own fear conditioning of “I’m worried for this girl. If she stays in her imagination, she won’t get a job, she won’t make money, she won’t be able to survive in this matrix system that does not reward you for being in your imagination”. So, sometimes, even what people say out of love, is really coming from their fear because they have not known that to be possible for them.

[41:28] Taheera
Exactly! And so, that’s the thing, people are so caught up, they’re just so disconnected from the lower vibrations and the higher vibrations, and again, there’s thinking too much. There’s even books out there on how to love and how to get your partner, and it’s like, there’s these rules, there’s these guidelines that are based upon some level of fear. And there’s all different types of relationships, there’s all different types of connections, and just honoring that organic narrative for yourself is really important. And we tend to create these levels of fear based upon that foundational fear of “If I don’t do it this way, then something bad is going to happen” or “I’m not good enough”, or “I’m shaming my parents by living this life”.
I definitely went through that with my parents, despite going through that initiation with the parents and honoring my own journey, definitely ignited them to have fear over my choices. And I went through a crazy rebellious state, crazy, crazy. Growing up in a Muslim household, just on its own, and coming out of that, working on myself at a different spiritual way, out of the Muslim traditions, growing up in a Muslim tradition, really sent off this initiation for them to trust in the choices I was making. And over the years, and even for my mother’s transition, she finally said “Okay, I see you. I see you and I love you, and I understand that the choices that you made were actually helping us to have a better relationship”.
So, I tell people all the time, if you stop trying and just start being, those relationships will heal on its own.

[43:13] Sahara
So powerful! I’ve been doing a lot of work with my parents and I finally came to this place of just accepting them exactly as they are, without any ounce of hope of like “Maybe I can sign them up for a Family Constellations thing and that will cause them to see all their shit, and then we’ll sign up for therapy”, and it’s just like no. How can I expect someone to accept me unconditionally if I am not accepting them unconditionally?

[43:40] Taheera
Exactly, exactly! And, as we mentioned, everybody is on a different course, everybody’s on a different curriculum, and so, that is your parents as well. And so, bringing them to a different level of, yes, they’re my parents, but they’re also my teachers, and bringing them into that light, helps you to accept them for who they are and what they choose to do.

[44:02] Sahara
So, I’m curious, do you believe that we choose our parents as souls?

[44:07] Taheera
I do. Yes, I do. I do believe there is a knowingness of choosing all of our life choices, actually, all of them, just from my levels of experiences. And I know that for some is difficult, depending upon what type of environment you grow up in, if it’s a very traumatic household, it’s like “Did I really choose this?” There’s a part of you that knows that, I believe that is the Shaman, that this is in the knowing of the knowing; of knowing that “There’s a reason why I choose this path and there’s a reason why these parents are here as my first teachers, the lessons that I need in order to move forward as a spirit. And some people may awake to that, and some people may not, again, everybody is on a different course, a different curriculum, but I do believe we continue to choose our narratives for a higher reason.

[44:59] Sahara
I agree with you. And there have been many times I’m like “What, why didn’t I choose some spiritual hippy parents, that would’ve been a lot easier, we could’ve all just sang Kumbaya”, but I’m like “No, I needed to learn how to believe in myself, even when no one else did, I needed to learn how to be my own father and my own mother, and emotionally there for myself, because they weren’t really emotionally there for me.” So, sometimes we really do learn from that contrast and that duality because if it didn’t hurt, we wouldn’t have made the change.

[45:33] Sahara
Yes, and I believe that’s the key component of understanding trauma, is recognizing that this plain, this plain of consciousness is for us to wake up. And if you’re not hurt, for some reason, if you don’t hit that rock bottom, then you stay in this contemplative state of “Who am I? What am I doing here?”
And so, the sharper it is, and I say that just from my mother, she was definitely my greatest teacher in relationship to honoring my own womb, honoring my own mother, my own grandmother, because she was so sharp. I call it the ‘Shaman tongue’, she would just directly say and channel whatever she felt, with zero fucks given, you know.
And so, sometimes it was like a dagger, but then, later on I’m like “Oh, okay, I see why. I understand why she would say that, how she said it, thank you”, and I said thank you. Just being in gratitude is really important as we move through these lessons, always being thankful, no matter the highs and lows. Just giving thanks for the awareness is really important.

[46:38] Sahara
So beautifully said! And continuing to ask ourselves, whatever lesson is showing up, of “What is this teaching me”. And I feel, once we learn that lesson, it stops showing up in our field because we don’t need to learn that thing anymore, but until we learn that lesson, that situation just keeps repeating and manifesting in different forms, for us to finally bring about healing towards it.

[47:02] Taheera
Exactly, exactly! And it’s that ongoing knowingness of what I call the infinite awakening. It’s like, we are infinitely awakening constantly, if we are open to that possibility, which we’re all open to that possibility of continuing to awaken our consciousness and stepping into the next levels of who we are.
And so, the lessons will continue, but that’s what creates, to me, the magic here. If we didn’t have lessons to learn, then what are we doing here? What are we really doing here?
And so, it’s also that beautiful contrast of being here and loving it here. I tell people I love it here, this is great, that’s why I come back all the time, because I absolutely love it here.
And so, getting out of that victim mindset, getting out of that victim state and coming into the possibilities of actually getting to the other side.

[47:56] Sahara
And I think that’s such an important awakening, even within the spiritual journey of, I see a lot of people, they’re like “I want to go back home to my star seed planet”, “I’m not a human, I’m this galactic being”, yes, you are a star seed and you’re human, and you incarnated on Earth, at this time, for a reason, so it’s not about disassociating with everything that’s happening, but it’s like “How can I find that and create that heaven on earth right now, right here as it is?”

[48:28] Taheera
Yes, absolutely! And in order to create the heaven on earth, one must descent to ascent, so, to speak. So, if we are star seeds and we’re coming from these different planetary systems, these different constellations, then Earth is considered a descension level. And so, it’s like learning from that descension level is coming up and over the traumas and coming into the light of “I’m here to create a better world for myself and also exuberate that from continuing to show up in that authentic state of love”.

[49:04] Sahara
And that descension into the body, into the womb, and not seeing it as inferior. I feel like in, just, the spirituality that we hear of – so, whether it’s Buddhism, even Vedic spirituality, it can be very masculine-centered, it’s all about the upper chakras and ascending and non-dualism, which is half of it, but it’s not the whole thing.

[49:27] Taheera
Exactly, yes! It’s not the whole thing, and that’s when I think it speaks more to the womb wisdom and the soul wisdom. When you come back into those lower, I call them the lower chakra areas, the root, the sacral, the soul, the solar plexus, it’s really honoring that womb wisdom where we come from. And coming from these places where we’re so detached from that state of wisdom, due to that matric mindset due to these beliefs and these religions, we don’t honor that enough. And so, when you start to honor that, you go through a descension of really understanding your emotions, really understanding the traumas at such a deeper level, and that’s what’s going to create that womb healing. No matter what modalities you choose, that’s what’s going to create that really pure state of knowing that we come from the womb, we are the womb and starting to respect what that means.
And so, we have such powerful, powerful wisdom, as women, if we just honor that and just say it, just be direct and say it, and say it from that vibration, that can impact the whole entire world.

[50:43] Sahara
Exactly! And even the soil is the darkness, so we’re like “Oh, the dark energy is bad, negative”, but it’s like, the womb is the eternal darkness, that is actually where all life comes from. So, I feel like, even within, when people get into spirituality it’s like “I’m light and the white light”, which also has a lot of racism and colorism as well oflack is negative, black magic is negative magic, and it’s like, to actually descend and go deeper and feel and see that as, I find is really the ultimate experience is to find that magic in the mundane, in the ordinary, and remember – because, if we weren’t here to be humans, we would just be back on whatever star galaxy we’re from, but we chose to be here right now, so what is it teaching us?

[51:37] Taheera
Right. I love how you mention that, I call that the void because it is staying in the void of consciousness and being in that oscillating state, is creating from that state of the womb. And so, when you connect to that now, you’re in full embodiment of, if you call yourself a goddess, if you call yourself a sovereign being, you’re in full embodiment of that because you are in the state of your soul, literally, and that’s home, that is where you are elevating, you’re creating at a constant level. And when you own that, then it’s like, you come into that knowingness of how much that power that has in order to create a more harmonic reality.

[52:23] Sahara
So, good! And even finding our menstrual blood and connecting with that, and this beautiful natural ceremony that we get to sit in for however long that we may be menstruating for. And even, now, research is showing all the stem cells that are in moon blood and how powerful it is as a fertilizer for earth. I remember hearing once that there’s a prophecy that the wars began on earth when women stopped giving their blood, their menstrual blood, to the earth. And to connect back to even that sacred ritual of us offering our blood, our fertilizer, to the earth, as gratitude for all that she gives us.

[53:05] Taheera
Yes, yes, yes! It’s so powerful! And I remember going through just an initiation of that (initiation of my own menstrual cycle) and just, again, and truthfully, coming into this understanding of what am I so afraid of, why am I so untouched form myself? And that right there, just pissed me off, I should not be so disconnected from myself. So, I just intuitively started to gather my blood and take it out to nature, and just give thanks, give thanks for the opportunity of being here, and also to remember the ancestors and DNA, and like we said, the stem cells. And from there, I just started to create more of a ritual around my blood, and from there, it just cultivated so many beauties to the earth, which is the womb, which is connected to you, so it’s all alchemized.

[54:03] Sahara
So beautiful! It’s so divinely connected, and it’s almost like the further we step into this, the next part of our pathway reveals itself. Some people are like “Where do I read this all in a book?” It’s like, you are the book, you are the living experience of it.

[54:18] Taheera
Exactly! Yes! I tell people, everybody has a bestselling book within them, if they just trust the wisdom, and they trust what is already within them and just speak it out, write it out, and cultivate that energy and live in that energy. And there’s nothing wrong, books are beautiful, they’re phenomenal, but that book should give you more of a confirmation and affirmation and inspiration, to tap within, to tap into your own cosmic way of being here.

[54:47] Sahara
So true! Ah! Well, thank you so much for sharing so much beautiful wisdom with us, I could speak with you for hours! So, can you share with our listeners how they can connect with you further and also participate in one of your ceremonies in the Dominican Republic?

[55:05] Taheera
Yes, yes! So, you can find me on Instagram, that’s like my home, on a virtual level, @taheera_maat, and then, I also have taheeramaat.com, and I also have a retreat coming up here live, called The People Portal of Medicine Retreat. So, it’s going to be just a beautiful way to connect to the elements, go deeper into the womb, and really connect with self while being full and while feeling safe, just such a very sacred space.

[55:32] Sahara
Well, thank you so much for sharing your gifts with us and for being the embodiment of what is possible when we really honor our hearts and our womb spaces.

[55:41] Taheera
Thank you, thank you, sister.

[55:43] End of Interview
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[55:43] Sahara
How incredible was that conversation with Taheera?! I just love having these types of conversations because I believe it’s so important for us to dive deeper than the spiritual memes on Instagram and actually notice the nuance of all of these conversations. It’s a yes, and it’s a – you can remember yourself as a Shaman, and not every single person who calls themselves is a Shaman. And it’s so important to dive deeper into these conversations because with learning anything new, especially spirituality, there’s discernment that’s needed, and we can’t take the full picture of anything just by looking at an Instagram post or reading one email, or even reading one book, ten books, ten thousand books. No book is going to help you access the codes you carry inside of your body; it comes from the path of remembering.

[56:36] Sahara
So, I hope this conversation helped activate you and remember some of the wisdom that you carry, already, inside of your soul.

[56:44] Sahara
So, again, if you’re interested in diving deeper with a community, head over to rosegoldgoddesses.com, you can join the wait-list for when doors open again, you can find that link in the show notes.

[56:54] Sahara
So, I hope you loved this conversation and I would love for you to leave a review. So, please, share a review with me, if you’re listening to this on iTunes, and take a screenshot of that review, so I can send you a free gift as my thank you. You can email that free gift over to [email protected], take a screenshot of your review and I will send you a free gift of my unreleased book “Eat Right For Your Mind-Body Type”, which is a deep Ayurveda book all about eating right for your dosha.
So, again, take a screenshot of your review and send it over to [email protected] and I will send you over my free E-book.

[57:36] Sahara
I hope you loved this conversation, share it with people that you think it may resonate with and I’ll see you in the next one. Namaste!

Episode 435: Divine Feminine Shamanism + Earth-Based Womb Wisdom with Taheera
Maat
By Sahara Rose