Jean Shinoda Bolen at the Parliament of the World's Religions

how do you feel the Traditions are keeping up with the fast pace of change that we're facing now on the planet oh basically they're not that the fundamentalists of all of the major religions are struggling to hold their position of hierarch hierarchy and and and uh the result is that we're having I mean basically the wars that we're having all over this planet have religious differences as one of the fundamental problems evoking the conflicts and so from a standpoint of dogma and power dominance religion is a major separating experience for people and spirituality which we all have in common is being ignored when we all get in touch with the spirituality which is not about Dogma but about what we that we inherently all feel all over the world that we have a soul and that we are connected to each other and to Divinity in some way that is profound and is difficult to explain because it basically is a mystical or inner experience so when people gather together and have a sense of shared spirituality in silence often then we connect when we start to argue over my God is better than your God or my God loves me better than your God or your inferior God loves you less or some mess we have we have all the troubles we have and basically religion begins to look like an extraordinarily dysfunctional family argument among Brothers mostly and see I think that it's up to women to bring the femine principle into culture into Consciousness and that I think is the only way that we'll manage to get out of the The Squeeze we're in cuz we are we're in a transition zone we'll either make it through it or we won't and if we make it through I really bet that it will be because women globally uh look after the principle of connectedness of look after children and become involved in and and become involved women have to become empowered can you just say briefly what when you refer to that transition zone that we're in that we're going to make it through or not what what you're referring to when you say that well one we've moved from nationalism to planetary Consciousness or or that's what we are we're now we're now a global culture and we find our s limited by our more provincial views coming into a global global place so how do we find what we have in common or can we find what we have in common or will we continue to struggle over our differences that's a major transition what do you see as the value of an event like this ultimately the agenda that I personally have considerable faith in is is the potential of there being a at a fifth Women's World Conference women from all over the world connected in principle uh about the need for nurturing and sustaining the children and the planet and now having the means through emails internets uh to support one another and nurture whatever movement is going on wherever it is happening for example the woman who was going to be stoned in Nigeria I wasn't stoned because of the internet connections all over the world that sent reams of thousands of of emails to the Nigerian government saying we're watching this is really not right to do and somehow they found a way not to Stone her to death which is just one story one person but the internet potential along with women who are in fact empowered for the first time historically I it's a major thing if you look back in the bigger picture of History it's only been in the late 20th century that women in the western part of the world in the United States specifically um became had equal access to education resources and really changed options and their lives and affected everything now it's not a perfect world yet it's not perfectly equal but consider that there has never been a generation ever in the whole history of Western Civilization where women in general had the opportunity for equality of education and opportunity and employment and things like that and consider that there are 45 to 50 million American women who have been affected by the women's movement who are still here now my specific uh positive attitude has to do with thinking we have about a 20 year window to change the world mhm and we personally have been affected by the change in our world that we live through and now we have about 1 to two to three degrees of connection when we come to something like this we make more connections personal connections we a group of women then make friends with women who are in many different countries who are in positions of influence and so that connectedness that interconnectedness and the energy in which women will cross National boundaries because of not being involved in the politics so much as they are involved in the um social issues do you think that do you think the Traditions are going to make it through this transition point or do you do you do you think we'll probably end up with a a whole new kind of tradition or new set of traditions do you think we need a new a new religion to to sort of shake off the shackles of of the the old ways or do you think they they can adapt fast enough to meet you know to meet this change human beings have always had a spiritual or a reverence for the sacred built in so I think it's in our genes so humankind has at its highest nature I think a sense of reverence for life and life means the life of the animals the planet and each other and I think we've lost it in our Wars and things every religion has an Essence that is Mystical that has to do with connection with divinity every every religion has a sense of community and then there is this whole complex of power that is also part of every religious exper every religion so there's a tension between the the institution of the religion and the reason for the religion in the first place which was a numinosity okay how that numinosity can can uh be realized as belonging to everyone and each having a particular path that makes sense out of the experience because that's what we try to do we're we're a meaning oriented species and maybe someday we'll actually be homo sapien sapien which is our name which sapiens being wisdom I mean the only way that we can get through the transition which is a potential to destroy ourselves or evolve is by living up to our name Homo sapiens sapiens can we truly be wise see I think wisdom and compassion always go together that you can't have one without without the other and that behind wisdom and compassion there is a spiritual connection an inner connection and regard regardless of wherever you are whatever your education has been whatever your religion has been if you could just go to that level and realize that everyone on this planet has that level also then there really is Hope and I think that that uh po change to come about at this point that it's up to women and men For Whom the feminine principle is is a conscious part of themselves to help bring it about