When Cassandra Speaks

Author Elizabeth Lesser On Women As Storytellers

By Guest Writer Kris Wood

“Standing in that medieval garden, I had an experience like those deathbed visions when they say your whole life passes in front of your eyes and you finally connect all the dots. In this case, I saw the march of history pass before us. I saw what had made it into the history books and what had been left out. I understood how what we modern Westerners believe is just the way it is, is merely a sliver of time, a slice of the whole story. Being in the caves, seeing the handprints of the first storytellers and their images of fertile women and dancing animals, I got a visceral experience of how history is often a distorted window into the past, the perspective of those with the power to tell it. And once again, I was reminded of the opportunity we have to participate in changing the narrative.”

So begins the journey of the heart, mind, and soul in “Cassandra Speaks”, Elizabeth Lesser’s most recent book. It is a call to women in present times as much as it could have been to women of the past and most likely, to women of our future. The imperative of all mankind is to embrace and include women… our inclinations, voices, experiences, and perspectives to the conversation of life, government, and citizenry of the planet.

In looking to the past and the legacy of male-dominated power, we can recognize our missteps, intentional or otherwise, and take well-rounded, counseled action to repair the damage done and move our civilization toward alignment with our planet, each other, and ultimately, ourselves. While diving into one particular chapter, Albert Einstein offers a quote about a shift in consciousness being needed to solve current problems. It’s here where his definition of insanity came to my mind, only to have Elizabeth Lesser actually mention those exact quotes. But actually, Einstein didn’t actually share either of those quotes! What he did say was… 

“A new type of thinking is essential if mankind is to survive and move to higher levels. Often in evolutionary processes, a species must adapt to new conditions in order to survive. Today we must abandon competition and secure cooperation. This must be the central fact in all our considerations… Otherwise, we face certain disaster.“

We need a new type of thinking… one that does not exclude the current dominant voice, which is male, but  instead values the female as equally important. This makes our next step in supporting humankind in its survival is not nearly as daunting. We aren’t required to completely dismantle what exists. Rather we are called to simply add layers to it that address inequity, racism, poverty, privilege, and other social disparities. When the old thinking stance of “them versus us “evolves into an “all/us“ mentality, it becomes easier to visualize the greater good because all join at the helm of this change… all engage and benefit from the redirection of focus and energy.

While espousing the need to include the Feminine in our considerations, Cassandra Speaks also addresses the opposite side of the conversation…when we reflect on the unreasonable demands made of men in this aggressive, tough, and dominating culture, it is clear to see how easily our unbalanced world came to be.  A reflection from Ms. Lesser’s childhood sums it up quite well…

“To share your feelings openly, to give words to fears, to reveal that you aren’t as sure of yourself as you may look, this is paramount to treason in the world of the strong-silent type. I’m grateful to my father for teaching my sisters and me how to garner our strength and not to be grumblers or quitters. He modeled forward movement, independence, and resourcefulness. But when it came to connecting, communicating, and showing us the soft side of his heart, he had no skills whatsoever.”

This is not an uncommon experience. I’m sure we can all think of several people who mirror this reality involving a lack of essential skills required to navigate the world we find ourselves in today. The good news is that half of the valuable information/skills are already present. It’s the inclusion of the “soft skills” that are needed to balance things out.

With that said, no one expects a utopia where everyone agrees and sings Kumbaya each night. Instead, our focus needs to be a healthy, inclusive, and respectful engagement on any topic…not an exchange that results in either participant having to endure death threats. Violence begets violence… This has been proven century after century to devastating results.  Instead, consider this thought from Lesser :

“New thinking leaders would be bold and decisive but would regard violence as the tactic of cowards and war as a lack of imagination. They would seek to understand and guide, as opposed to dominate or punish. They would lean toward inclusion; they would not want others to fear them.“

Bold words. Bold ideas. But given the state of our world today, with power-hungry narcissists dictating without care, much less thought, those who must come after them must demand bold new ways of being found! 

“Cassandra Speaks” provides the opportunity to read and then consider how many stories, myths, fairytales, and religious texts have scorned, dismissed, and rejected women. This includes adversely impacting them at the time of their writing/telling and how that subjugation is still being used today to hold women back. Stories like Adam and Eve, Venus and Galeta, Pandora, Cassandra, and others throughout centuries, countries, and belief systems. 

As our country’s male-dominated legislators consider tearing away a woman’s right to own her own body, an awakening to the stories that have been told and passed down and are now accepted as fact or just the way it is critically important. The time for change is here as much as ever. It is important, therefore, to look at ourselves to see where we may be perpetuating these beliefs or limitations and let the change begin in you and in your home. At that point, who knows where it will spread?

At the end of Cassandra Speaks, Ms. Lesser offers an insightful exercise to help us get started, to reflect on ourselves, our beliefs, our values, and our blessings. It is a wonderful opportunity to open up to what’s deep within and eager to surface. It’s from this place of self-reflection that we can step into this changing narrative and make a positive and affirming step forward. One at a time…

(See the exercise below.)