The Power of Softness - Part I
Inspired by Karine Martin
Dear One,
Thank you for joining Nourishing the Sacred, a space to feed your heart with the Wisdom of Women, here on Substack. I am so glad to be here with you!
My name is Erica, and from the feet of the Himalayas to the heart of Florence, and to the highways of the U.S., I’ve been travelling - solo and on donations - to interview women of wisdom. Their stories, energies, and testimonies are gathered now in the Women Awakening Project in the form of books, video interviews available on our Youtube Channel and this newsletter. I’m here to take you on a journey into the wisdom of women that can inspire you to feed the sacred within you in gentle ways.
The second woman I met and interviewed in my search for the sacred in women’s experiences is Karine Martin, a Taoist nun and Quanzhen priestess. After meeting Jetsunma Tenzin Palmo in the Kangra Valley, in April 2023 I returned to Rishikesh and continued attending Advaita Vedanta satsangs every day (teachings on Non-Duality).
One afternoon, the swami, a monk in the Hindu tradition, invited Karine Martin to speak at an interfaith dialogue. I was deeply inspired by Karine Martin’s words! With the power of softness, she delivered teachings that were simple yet profoundly moving, taking us into the heart of the Taoist tradition. A few days later, she kindly offered me an interview for the Women Awakening Project.
Karine has lived for more than fifteen years in Taoist temples in China and is the founder of the Tao-France association in Montluçon, near Lyon, France, where I went to meet her one year later. The complete interview will be featured in the book Women in Love with the Divine (Shambhala, 2026).
With Karine, Tao France Association, Montluçon, France, June 2024
"The Tao Te Ching teaches that Softness is the most powerful force in the world."
—Karine Martin
What does it mean that Softness is Powerful? Karine chose a precise image to describe it: “For example, a drop of water, if it falls on a stone in the same spot, continuously and gently, it will wear away the stone. Instead of using strength and a hammer—and getting tired in the process—with time and regularity, gentleness and kindness, that drop of water which that falls again and again on the same spot on the stone, wears it away. This is the feminine quality.”
Karine also added, “In meditation we sit softly with receptivity, every day, at the same time, on our cushion. We do not push; we do not use strength. Instead, we bring our soft attention to our breath or body, or to our mind. The observation done in this way, on a regular basis, will open the darkness, will wear away the stone, will let the light in.”
Softness is the way in.
We do not reach the depths of ourselves by pushing harder, striving more, or applying force. The path inward is the opposite of tension—it is a yielding, a softening, a surrender.
Softness is not weakness. It is not passivity or absence of power. In fact, it is a power so profound it doesn’t need to prove anything. It holds, embraces, transforms. It meets hardness and doesn’t recoil—it dances with it, surrounds it, absorbs it.
Just as the yin-yang symbol—core of Taoist philosophy—teaches that within every polarity lives the seed of its opposite, so too in every moment of softness there is a quiet strength, and in every moment of hardness there is a hidden invitation to yield. A hardened heart can return to tenderness. A tender heart knows the textures of hardness and does not fear them.
This inner dialogue—between softness and hardness, between yin and yang—lives in each of us. We see it mirrored all around us: the petal and the stone, the breeze and the mountain, the flowing water and the rooted tree. Nature does not choose one or the other. She allows both, and teaches us the beauty of their dance.
When we begin to recognize the intelligence of softness, we allow ourselves to come home—into the body, into stillness, into presence.
“Water is fluid, soft, and yielding. But water will wear away rock, which is rigid and cannot yield. As a rule, whatever is fluid, soft, and yielding will overcome whatever is rigid and hard. This is another paradox: what is soft is strong.”
— Lao Tzu
So today, I offer you an invitation.
Tune in your Power of Softness
In Taoist philosophy, softness is not weakness—it is wisdom in motion. Like water, it adjusts, flows, and carves through stone without resistance. True softness doesn’t collapse; it yields, and in doing so, it transforms.
Psychologically and relationally, softness allows for intimacy. When we drop our armor and show up undefended, we create a field of safety—where presence becomes possible, and real connection can take root.
Feminine energy moves in waves, spirals, and seasons—not in straight lines. Softness teaches us to honor rhythms, to listen, to wait. It trusts the wisdom of the root as much as the bloom. Power doesn’t always push—it sometimes rests.
For Self Reflection
Softness reveals itself in the spaces between effort and ease—
in the silent rhythm that carries your breath,
in the gentle imprint your feet leave on the earth,
in the quiet recognition of your own gaze,
and in the subtle grace of words spoken—whether in tenderness or tension.
It is not a destination to reach, but a current to follow,
a gentle unfolding that invites you home
to the place where truth rests softly within.
A Formula to Carry With You
“I allow softness to show me a different kind of power.”
GO DEEPER
You can delve deeper into the topic of The power of Softness by watching this interview with Karine Martin.
I hope you like the interview and find it inspiring and nourishing for your heart.
If you haven’t done it yet, and if you are interested and curious about the video interviews, visit & subscribe to the Women Awakening Project YouTube Channel.
A Beautiful Occasion to Meet in Person
In a month’s time, I’ll be speaking about the Women Awakening Project at the Summer School in Olgiate Olona (VA). If you happen to be in northern Italy on Saturday, July 5th, I warmly invite you to join us!
I hope you’ll find this sharing beneficial and inspiring. Let’s grow together our capacity of allowing life to unfold guided by our deep intuition and the power of softness!
GET IN CONTACT
As this process unfold, you are really welcomed to drop me a line, telling me how does it feel for you to come in contact with the wisdom of these women, to share how your own wisdom is guiding you in your life or to ask any questions regarding the Women Awakening Project.
Thanks for reading Women Awakening Project !
Let’s Nourish It Together
This newsletter is an invitation — a digital sanctuary — to gather, reflect, and grow the sacred within.
You can explore the first interviews on YouTube → https://www.youtube.com/@TheWomenAwakeningProject
And visit the website to learn more → http://www.womenawakeningproject.com
Thank you for your presence.
With Love & Gratitude,
Erica
Women Awakening Project
www.womenawakeningproject.com