Ensoulment

“I wanted to find a common thread that brought us all together.”

These are the words of Loris Simon Salum, a beautiful 20-something woman who was struggling to find the meaning of life. She went in search of answers and in the process of making an award-winning film and penning a thought-provocative book, Ensoulment: Exploring the Feminine Principle in Western Culture, she invites others to share in the dialogue.

“While in college at Rice University I felt awakened yet confused about who I was and where I was going in my life,” reflects Loris who moved to Houston from Mexico City at age nine. I began to examine what people will do once they graduate school.”

She sought to find out answers to so many questions. Loris focused on women for answers, “seeking out those hidden traits that women surely held deep in their bosoms the womanly forces that must hold the key to inner liberation and world peace.”

But she realized as she searched for what noted psychologist Carl Jung coined as the feminine, she wasn’t looking to focus on gender. The feminine is something inside each of us – men and women – and Loris went on to interview dozens of male and female experts, authors, professors, and psychoanalysts. She narrowed her attention to the six primary areas that consume or influence us most; the media, the body, men, relationships, the workforce and religion.

Loris is available to discuss:
· What she came to discover about the meaning of life.
· How we can each get in touch with our feminine side.
· How many of us have doubts, fears, concerns, and misconceptions about how to live life fully.
· What needs to change about our perceptions on gender.
· Multicultural perspectives that can help us live a fuller life.
· How to overcome struggles when it comes to a healthy body image.
· Ways to overcome workplace and career struggles.
· Why women should feel empowered to overcome the roles society has assigned their gender.
· How to develop and maintain healthier relationships.

Ensoulment is an encounter with a younger filmmaker struggling to explain the feminine, in accordance with psychologist Carl Jung’s theories. She interviews authors and leaders, including Dr. James Hollis, Dr. Abigail Disney, Rev. Dr. Serene Jones, Dr. Cynthia Eller and Dr. Anne Fausto-Sterling, amongst others, to broaden her perspective about what the feminine is and how it takes place in Western culture. What starts out as an attempt to make a film, ends in a search of meaning, belonging and the path back to her true self.

Loris makes some strong, insightful conclusions, including these points:
· The feminine is a psychological phenomenon not associated with gender.
· The feminine refers to qualities such as creativity, receptiveness, and/or nurturance. These qualities are mostly paired with right-brained thinking or emotional intelligence. (Masculine qualities are mostly paired with reason, logic, hierarchies and structure.)
· The mission of the book is to bring attention to the feminine qualities we have devalued as a society. The intention is not to promote a solely feminine lifestyle, but to reach a balance between feminine and masculine qualities.
· An individual that practices nurturing both feminine and masculine qualities within him/her is much more likely to lead a healthier life, inside and out.
· The area of depth psychology tends to be written and discussed in such a way that it can become too academic for the layperson. On the other hand, Millennials are facing, obstacles that have outgrown the expertise of previous generations (social media, constant connectivity, unhealthy workforce, evolved gender roles, etc.); this book helps translate an older wisdom that can be applied to modern complications It’s an application of depth psychology onto 21st century Western society with perspectives coming from numerous backgrounds and different personalities, which is very new and different from what is out there.

Her film and book bring a unique perspective on the discussion about what’s truly important and worth valuing.

“Our documentary and book play with the premise that in present day Western culture, feminine qualities in our psyches have been devalued,” says Loris. “As we devalue these feminine principles within ourselves, we will continue to devalue them in the world. We will not give nature the importance it deserves, will not listen to our body before subjecting it to heavy levels of stress or unhealthy habits, will not honor men that show their feelings, or create a space for those who do not choose to label success as a purely economic outcome.

“The feminine in the film and book reminds us of society’s lack of soul-values that have permeated our lifelong set of priorities. There is a voice inside of us all that is yearning to be heard, a voice that cares not about external sources of perfection, a longing that stretches beyond our personal restrictions. The feminine is what we have lost and what we must find again.”

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