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Being that your mama is all about “returning a fiercely loving feminine legacy” I certainly think about empowering your womanhood … a lot.
Since you are only five “and a half” and thus, have much more pressing matters on your mind, I’ve decided to write to you about some of my big “aha” moments and maybe one day down the road, you will read them (and maybe even dig them.)
There is so much to write, but today I want to simply tell you about motherhood and sisterhood. I was recently interviewed by an amazing woman for her “Maybe Baby” e-course and I adorably start off my interview by saying that motherhood “annihilated” me. Though the people who speak embellishmentese understand what I mean, some amazing folks emailed me desiring elaboration.
First, let me distinguish between you and motherhood.
You were hands down one of the most amazing things to ever arrive into my life. I was blown open with a fierce love when I held you for the first time. Till this day, I watch you in complete wonder. And you were born on the eve of the “pink moon” which in hindsight was the most auspicious wink from the universe of all the wisdom you would bring.
Essentially there was something about being the mother of a young child that felt so off for me. I felt a constant craving I couldn’t put my finger on. For the first year and a half, it was a riddle that teased me at every turn and I wrestled with it, and demanded it reveal itself. It eventually did.
What I finally came to realize was that I was missing a strong female community. Not too long ago and for thousands of years, women raised children together. It’s only in the last century that most modern women shifted into raising their kids with their partners. My DNA was craving the old paradigm.
My situation was an extreme case of how not to do it because I had recently moved to Seattle where I didn’t have deep roots. Couple this with my “I can do it myself”-ness (AKA an inability to receive) and I created a breeding ground of isolation.
Not developing/maintaining strong and supportive female relationships was my biggest “mistake.” When the torrential rains of motherhood hit: sleep deprivation, hormones and the pressure that every modern woman juggles, affirming sisterhood gets you through. It makes the first wildly demanding years of motherhood doable.
SO, what I mean by “annihilated” is that motherhood destroyed my illusion that I was an independent being who could do it all by myself. Realizing this truth has been one of the best things that ever happened to me.
Today, I could write pages about all that separates women from each other, but I’ll save that for another time. Know that I am on it. Also know that as soon as I realized what I was missing, I did an immediate course correct and have been soaking up sisterly love ever since.
There it is, love. For these reasons, if you should one day choose to become a parent, one of my biggest desires for you is that you feel fueled by the support of a loving female community. Yes, this is true for every aspect of life - when you have a pack of loving women behind you, you can do anything.
Love,
Mom
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I hope this email finds you beaming over the most beautiful desire list for 2012. I wrote mine yesterday and I am abuzz from all the amazingness my soul loves.
Since I am constantly reading crazy-cool stuff online, I wanted to salute you into 2012 with some hot links that I feel liberate us to be more of who we truly are.
I believe we are all living this post by Kate Northrup: It’s not going to turn out how you thought. So true. If we would only get out of the way … it’s really going to be better.
My favorite quotes this year came from Nicole Daedone:“Your desires may not lead to what you want but they will never lead you astray.” Sing it, Nicole. And I have to say that Nicole’s work has had the greatest positive influence on my life in 2011. Thank you, Nicole.
And from Mama Gena: “A woman who owns her [sensuality], owns her life.” (Though you know what she really said.) The truth of this statement makes my head spin with new realities for the world.
Here’s to 2012! May it be filled with true genius, appreciation, sensuality and desires that unfurl better than we ever could imagine.
Love,
Dara
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Seven years ago I participated in a meditation program and met Alison Anton, a Goddess of healing and integrity.
I’ll never forget the moment I saw stars. During the program’s Q&A Alison stood up and asked the guru about heeding the inner call to greatness. No offense Buddhism, but when the focus is on losing the self and realizing emptiness, Q’s like this one are few and far between. Afterward, I introduced myself to Alison and thanked her for the bold Q. Our friendship instantly took flight.
Alison is a medical intuitive. What’s that? Read on as she brilliantly answers the important stuff below. At the end there is a special offer for VOLVER readers (which I am definitely going to pounce on.) I love the work she is doing and I love even more that she is doing it. Without further ado, it is my great pleasure to bring you Returning with Alison Anton:
What exactly is Medical Intuition?
Medical intuition is using clairvoyance (or other intuitive faculties) to “look” into a person’s energetic and physical anatomy. For some practitioners the purpose is to identify or diagnose medical conditions. I don’t use it for diagnosis, but to help people tap into the underlayment of energy, karma and emotion in relation to their ailments or specific health conditions.
How did you come to find that you had this gift? How did you develop it?
Actually, I don’t see clairvoyance as a gift—it comes with the human body. I think most people use it, but don’t realize they are. I was trained to use my clairvoyance in my mid-twenties, and have been honing that skill ever since. My interest in health and medicine sprang from years of struggling with three auto-immune conditions; I then found myself studying nutrition, food, functional medicine and bodywork to help myself, and to help others who were sick. At one point I realized how valuable it would be if I put functional medicine and intuitive medicine together.
What would you say to someone who is very curious about a session but a little skeptical or afraid?
Fear is pretty normal for people who have never had a reading. Some people are a little scared of what I might say; others might think I’m going to judge them. Truth is, if a reading doesn’t VALIDATE a person in a major way, something’s wrong… (NOT with the person getting the reading, but with the person giving it). In everyone’s life, there are karmic challenges that show up physically as tension, stress and possibly disease. Yet underlying these karmic “hot spots” lay strengths, abilities and spiritual characteristics so remarkable it’s often hard to express in words. How I see it: constricted, charged, tense, sick or fearful areas almost always have the most ability behind them. So unless someone’s afraid of their own abilities or healing themselves (which happens a lot, BTW) there’s not much to be afraid of!
What was the dumbest thing that you used to believe?
I used to believe that I could heal my body by force. I believed that if I ate all the “right” foods, exercised enough, and stopped my “emotional eating” that my body would be well. I basically believed that the body was separate enough from the mind that I could use it like a slave and force it to “behave”. What I didn’t fully realize was that if we don’t work from the mind-level to re-program old patterns, it’s like screaming at a tape recorder and telling it to record. Ironically, I’ve found, that once we’ve healed this level of the mind, the body-related expectations and goals that we thought were so important are (magically) not so important anymore.
How have you learned to handle mistakes and losses?
Of all the things in my life that have helped me develop spiritually, mistakes are IT (and believe me, I’ve made a lot of them). I actually seem to have a certain karma for making mistakes. It’s not about the mistakes, per se, but my REACTIONS to them. It seems I’m learning to become acutely aware of the unconscious programs that well up with my mistakes (i.e. “You’re stupid”, “You don’t belong”, “You’re not perfect”). If I don’t react to them, it’s totally transformative—like being humble and confident at the same time. Likewise, if I DO react to them, I get to look at why I still believe these lies that are in my space. It’s a win-win either way.
I am going to play that word game with you and give you one word and you tell me the first thing that comes to mind: healing.
Healing is a frame of mind, and a way of learning how to perceive the world from spiritual eyes. Healing is learning to see all beings (including ourselves) not just as these bodies, but as remarkable beings capable of… ANYTHING. In my opinion, to be healed has little to do with the body. The body is neutral, and will follow the direction of the mind. So healing always starts at the mind level. How do we want to use these emotions? What purpose do we want for this illness? If we can be flexible and forgiving enough to be in present time with our situation (health, relationships, trials and tribulations) we can truly say we’re healing.
Sigh, now you can see why I have a crush.
If you are struggling with an issue that has mainstream medical practitioners scratching their heads, this could be just the perspective you need. Alison is offering a generous discount to VOLVER readers: 50% Off Medical Intuition Readings (!). Readings must be purchased by December 31,2011 and redeemed by January 31, 2012. Use this special link to score her goodness: http://bit.ly/juROaG
To find out more about Alison’s amazing work, please visit: AntonHealing.com
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Why would you read my blog, participate in a workshop and spend your valuable time contemplating the feminine mystery? I can only imagine you are hungry for a relevant, affirming and mighty experience of your feminine essence.
VOLVER’s offerings are crafted to encourage emotional integrity, supportive relationships and the ability to wildly meet the wildness of life. Though the personal benefit is tremendous, at the core of VOLVER’s feast is the desire to return a feminine legacy that is rich with the above.
Returning an affirming feminine legacy is VOLVER’s greatest reason for being.
You may have already noticed that the majority of women in the world are without an affirming legacy. This means that our mothers were unable to offer the information that empowers our womanhood. In many cultures like ours, this void has existed for thousands of years and in my adorable opinion, has and continues to cause loads of unnecessary suffering for women and men.
When I close my eyes and imagine this legacy restored, I see a beautiful web that connects all women. It is delicate, requires care and reverence, and is also indestructible. This web has taken some major blows in the last five millennia and despite all the aggression, it still exists today.
You’ve read it here: WHY: I believe that an affirming feminine legacy is nature’s greatest creative and healing force. HOW: I stand for and express this belief by inviting readers/participants to contemplate, research and align with the gifts of their feminine essence. WHAT: This soulful site and my workshops that return women to themselves and best of all … to each other.
Phew. Now that I got that all out, if you would like to participate in the WHAT, so you can experience the HOW and return the WHY, my next “Belonging & The Body” course is Saturday December 10th from 2-6pm and is the last “Belonging and The Body” course until March/April. REGISTRATION ENDS THIS SUNDAY: DECEMBER 4th. To score your spot and to infuse this holiday season AND Seattle winter with your feminine power->Click.
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Though there are many indomitable forces of woman nature, one of my absolute favorites is beauty. And ugh, before I write more, I need to stop and give beauty a great, big hug. Poor girl. She catches so much crap.
In our culture, beauty is a wildly confusing concept. Mainstream media’s definitions of women make us too skinny, hyper-sexual, with implants and tons of make-up. This caricature is adopted by many young women as the ideal/norm which leads to a pressure filled existence that is vulnerable to self-loathing.
Then, there are the “smart” women who judge media’s caricature as being superficial, dumb and sexualized. Many “smart” women reject the notion of beauty all together and devote their lives to being “practical.” I see this all over Seattle. Mega smart women, head to toe in REI.
No matter how hard many women try, we are thousands of years out (though most likely never) from ever being free of this beauty thing. Prior to the last 50 years, our survival for thousands of years was dependent on being attractive.
As we can clearly see in the many outwardly beautiful women who are miserable, physical beauty only takes us so far. Being attractive is a much deeper phenomenon that is deeply rooted in confidence.
Whether or not you actually “are” beautiful is a subjective hellhole, thus, a complete waste of your time. However, feeling beautiful? Feeling beautiful is a potent goldmine of feminine power that is free from mirrors, media and materialism. It is a radiant, glowing, high vibratory hum of sparkling energy that attracts others.
I believe feeling beautiful depends on three simple things:
1) Affirming sisterhood. Back in the day we relied on the reflection in water and the eyes of other women to know how we looked. Even today, we can stare in the mirror all we want, but when your best girlfriend gives you the once over and says, “You look great!” -> your cells smile. As important as it is to “validate” yourself, we are communal beings that are dependent on the eyes of others.
2) Sensual pleasure. I am not just talking orgasm (though it definitely counts). Did you ever go swimming in the ocean, skin connected to sun and sand as your body undulates with the force of the current. When you come out of the water you are flushed, relaxed, radiating from your connection to the elements. You could have mascara running down your face, but you will FEEL beautiful. This is true for anything that pleasures a woman. Giggles with girlfriends, your favorite food, a beautiful outfit, rollerblading on the boardwalk, dancing, art … you name it. When we are turned on by our true passions, our beauty shines. Happiness is the core of true beauty.
3) Beauty is sacred. Beauty is a spiritual force that inspires our connection to the divine. Women are the ambassadors of this truth and this is reflected in the body of EVERY woman. Despite all the forces that encourage us to think differently, the bottom line truth is that YOU ARE BEAUTIFUL (I know, this is difficult news for many.) Take a moment to stop comparing and judging yourself and you will see it … it’s always right there. The softness. The curves. The smile. It’s in the DNA of all women. If you choose to see and celebrate the sacred truth of your beauty, you will naturally adore/adorn yourself as a gesture to the divine. Every morning, I bathe and carefully choose beautiful earrings, maybe a flower for my hair and a little lip gloss. These offerings to the “temple of Dara” ensure that I FEEL beautiful. When I feel beautiful, everyone around me enjoys my buzz … and my beauty.
I look forward to a world that not only teaches women the power of their minds but the sacred power of feeling beautiful. Owning both is the future of feminism.
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A few months ago, I passed through Boulder, CO and had the fortune of being invited to observe an OMing demo (yes, I observed a live demonstration of the OMing technique … it was amazing.) The demo was hosted by the beautiful and wise Kelly Notaras. I am ever grateful that my first introduction to the world of OM was with someone so masterful as Kelly.
In 2010, Kelly left her Associate Publisher position with spirituality publisher Sounds True and moved to San Francisco to study slow sex, man-woman dynamics, and communication under Nicole Daedone—the founder of OneTaste and the creator of OM. During her time at OneTaste, Kelly edited Nicole’s book Slow Sex: The Art and Craft of the Female Orgasm, co-led several couples retreats with Nicole, and served as faculty for the 2011 OneTaste Certified Coach Training Program, all while living at 1080 Folsom, a vibrant community of over 50 OM practitioners. Now back in Colorado, she is sharing what she’s learned about this transformative practice through workshops and consulting with men, women and couples.
I am in LOVE with this interview. It is rich with practical gems that illustrate the radical truth of OM. Read carefully, sisters. Kelly has something very important to share.
It is my great pleasure to bring you this Returning Interview with Kelly Notaras:
Please tell us how you found OMing and your involvement with the book?
It started when I accidentally walked into the OneTaste building in San Francisco. I was in California on my way to a meditation retreat and was staying with a friend nearby. I had no idea what OneTaste was, and certainly didn’t know that it had anything to do with sexuality or orgasm. I just liked the building. I remember thinking, “These are my people,” but I had no idea why! A few weeks later I read an article in the New York Times called “The Pleasure Principle.” It featured a center in the SOMA district of San Francisco called OneTaste that was “devoted to the art of the female orgasm.” I about plotzed. I sent the link to all my friends and was like, “Can you believe I walked into this place??” But still, I didn’t have a clue it had anything to do with me. (At the time I didn’t think I was a very sexual person. I was a Buddhist, thank you very much.)
A few weeks later I got a call from a friend of mine who works for a New York literary agency. She said they had a new author who needed some help on her book proposal, and she thought I should do it. I was the VP of Sounds True at the time and the last thing I needed was more work, but when she said it was about Orgasmic Meditation I was like, “You have GOT to be kidding me. I’ll do it.”
So I helped OneTaste’s founder Nicole Daedone with her book proposal and eventually the book itself. (It’s called Slow Sex: The Art and Craft of the Female Orgasm and it just published in May.) Once I met Nicole in person I realized this wasn’t just a writing gig. I saw something in her that I wanted, and I knew she was going to be very important in my life. A few months after that I went to San Francisco to try OMing, and I got hooked. I decided to move there for a month—and stayed for a year and a half.
How has your life benefited from your OMing practice?
This is such a difficult question to answer without hyperbole. I’ll just say that I woke up one morning about 6 months after I started OMing and realized that I would not change a single thing about my life. This was huge for me, because I had been chronically dissatisfied for the first 33 years on the planet. Something about making a commitment to OM shifted things that my meditation practice never touched. I started to know what my body wanted, and then started following that desire. Where it led was—and continues to be—a rich, connected, effortlessly joyful place.
But in terms of more concrete benefits, I can say I have more energy and vitality, don’t need as much sleep, can feel other people more deeply, have increased intuition, have way less scarcity around relationships, can communicate better, and feel much safer being honest in all areas of my life.
And of course, sex is more sensational. I’m physically much more sensitive now. I’ve also come to appreciate the difference between climax—a momentary release of sexual energy—and orgasm. Orgasm, as I am using it here, is the experience of sensation in the body. It has peaks and valleys and subtle nuances I’d never noticed before. It’s here all the time, to greater or lesser degrees, and it gets drawn out through connection with other people.
How has your experience with OMing influenced how you view spirituality?
Wow, how much time do you have? I would say that when I first encountered Nicole, she pointed out that my spiritual path was all about transcending suffering. I talked about “oneness” but what I really meant was “escape from the stuff that hurts.” I meditated to escape the painful parts of human experience, to work my way into a state of expansive, blissful peace where I became translucent and untouchable. At first I was like, totally! That’s exactly what I want! But then Nicole pointed out that my version of so-called “oneness” honored only half the picture. Life contains both the bitter and the sweet. In her terminology, life is a cycle that includes both “up” and “down,” but I had a raging predisposition for “up.”
That’s one of the deeper spiritual teachings embedded in OM. When you OM, you’re learning how to feel, approve of, and receive whatever “stroke” comes your way. The ones you “like” and the ones you don’t. If you can learn to take pleasure from every stroke life has to offer, you can wake up right in the middle of the relative world. You don’t have to fear anything anymore, because you can trust yourself to be in relationship with whatever circumstances come up. Life becomes a complex, satisfying game where your ability to play is unconditional.
I realized I’d been doing a massive spiritual bypass by pushing away certain experiences I deemed inappropriate, unsavory, painful, or otherwise mundane. I began to reincorporate what you might call the “darker” side of human experience into my everyday life, and watched my overall satisfaction increase almost immediately. OM came in handy in that way. In Western culture, our sexuality is our dark side. Or I should say, our dark side is brimming with sex. Even if we fully own that we enjoy sex (which I never did, by the way) we still keep it hidden away. We do it in the dark and don’t talk about it in polite company. I took a different path with OM. I began openly practicing it at first, then I stepped out and started talking about it publicly. That was a big move—the first time I posted about OM on Facebook! It was a banner day. I still remember where I was sitting. But that, for me, was a spiritual act—because owning your sex is an act of unconditional freedom.
What is the dumbest thing you used to believe?
This one is complex but I’ll try to explain. It was my belief that men didn’t really like me and I had to work to get their attention. Not long after I started OMing I had an experience in a workshop where we had to choose a partner for an exercise. I looked up and realized every man in the room was trying to get my attention—they all wanted me to pick them! In that moment, it’s like a whole belief system fell crashing to the ground. I realized I’d been unaware of the extent of men’s interest in me—probably my whole life. I can only assume it was some sort of coping mechanism I developed in childhood to help manage sexual shame. But whatever the reason, I’d been unwilling to see the amount of interest that was coming my way because it was overwhelming on some level.
In order to maintain my belief that men didn’t like me, I had to create a corollary belief that if a man was interested in me, he was suspect and/or creepy. As a result I mostly dated people who felt safe—either whose power didn’t match my own (so they could never really hurt me) or who literally weren’t interested in me at all. But of course I didn’t see any of this at the time.
If you had the ear of all the women in the world for one minute, what would you want them to know?
That they can live their lives from a state of fullness rather than depletion, and the place to start is by cultivating orgasm in their bodies. I’m not talking about climax, I’m talking about investigating the terrain of their own sexual sensation, whatever that looks like. Sensation is the thing we crave. It’s what we’re looking for when we buy that new pair of shoes or that ice cream sundae or that glass of Prosecco. The place it can be found most readily is in right here in our very own bodies.
Also, I would tell them that men (and other women) exist who are willing to come together and have a goalless orgasmic experience. One that is not about “getting off” and comes with no strings—emotional or sexual—attached. I want every woman to know that and to have access to it, because our lives change when we learn how to receive quality attention from others. To be willing to let someone set aside the time and energy to make us feel good—that one act can change everything.
Can you pull a Tarot card for this interview? What does that card mean to you?
Love it! I pulled the Queen of Pentacles. This is actually my personal “signifier” card, meaning the card that represents me in the deck. This is both because of my astrological sign (Capricorn, an earth sign) and also my physical appearance (dark hair and eyes). The Queen of Pentacles is the essence of earth energy—the queen of the physical and material world. She represents the experience of being a spiritual being in human form. She knows the joy of embodiment. She revels in both the dark and the light aspects of our human experience, because she’s surrounded by nature and the natural world holds both without shame or preference. Of all the Queens in the deck, she’d definitely be the one most likely to OM! In the context of this interview, it says to me that I’m right where I’m supposed to be.
For those of you in Boulder and/or with Boulder peeps, Kelly’s next Intro to OM Workshop is Saturday, November 12th from 9:30-5:30. Click here for details.
It’s here! My Ultra Divine Guide To the Online World. Sisters, I so desire that this post give you you an ease-filled perspective on having and creating an online presence.
Volver took off into the online world roughly two and a half years ago. It has been quite a journey with many highs and lows. There was a lot to figure out with a lot of people giving advice on how I should do it. Then it seemed that as soon as I figured it out, things would change. After 30 months of partying online and sifting through tons of advice, ideas, strategies and virtual assistants -> THIS is what I know for sure:
A website is a great way to maintain and engage the relationships with the folks who appreciate your genius. A website is not the main meal. It is the most delicious side dish. This may not seem true for some sites, but I believe it is true for most. The main meal is your genius and the strong relationships with people who love your genius. Websites are great at facilitating this.
Since your genius and the thoughts about your genius are always evolving, changing and innovating, you need a website that can do the same. These websites are called “content driven” sites, which means they have a blog that is updated with all your current happenings and musings. Just as in real life, people love to know, “What’s new?” The online platform king for content driven sites is WordPress. Though, unless you are a techie, don’t bother going to the site. You need to know all sorts of techie stuff in order to get the site up and running. Just know that this is the best content driven platform and you want to hire a designer who can design with WordPress.
Hire a WordPress MASTER to develop your site. Do not hire your cousin, you kid, your neighbor or a “Virtual Assistant” who is “figuring out” WordPress. You may think you are saving a dime, but you will PAY and pay dearly (trust me … I know.)
Take professional pictures. This is extremely important. First, your photos will influence the design of your site. Second, people will take you seriously, because you are taking yourself seriously. Third, beauty is powerful and professional photos are beautiful.
Create a beautiful site. I was the creative force behind my site and I hired a Photoshop wiz to bring my ideas to form and then a WordPress wiz developed it into a functioning site. Unless you are a super creative control freak, I don’t recommend this road (and if you are, I do.) Instead, hire a designer and expect to pay anywhere from $750-$10,000 (but usually between $3k-$5k) for your site.
A sign-up box is a must. This is how the people who desire your genius keep up with you.
Working with a copywriter is an incredible experience. If writing about yourself/your genius is unclear/difficult to articulate, then you may want to enlist the help of a copywriter. If you write your own copy, then make sure you write in the first person. Writing in the third person is weird when you most likely wrote it and thus … last year.
Then there is Twitter. Twitter is like being in an international coffee shop with a bunch of progressive thinkers without having to leave your house. I love Twitter and have met some incredible people. Just jump right in and you will get the hang of it super fast. A picture of yourself on Twitter goes much farther than using a logo. People want to know who they are tweeting with. For the same reasons, just use your real name is you can.
And then there is Facebook. Facebook is obvious. An awesome place to connect with others. I have a personal page for myself and I have a fan page for Volver.
I have used the word “genius” quite a bit. I believe we all have something inside us that operates from pure inspiration (from spirit.) When we have found it, we do not need to stay motivated or decide to do it. Though bringing it to fruition will undoubtedly involve hard work, it’s choiceless. We simply MUST. DO. IT. As Liz Gilbert has so brilliantly described, “genius” is a merger between our self and a divine force.A web presence is a big investment on every level and is best used and sustained when in service of your genius.
For help with social media, I HIGHLY recommend: Teresa Deak of SocialButterflySolutions. She is a right-brain diva who will teach you the “ART” of social media.
Finally, I love good advice: Danielle Laporte is my main guru. Were it not for Danielle, this site would not exist. She also gives great business advice that is rich with emotional integrity. Naomi Dunford teaches online classes and offers cutting edge marketing advice (that seems geared to women.) I often feel like she is reading my mind. She’s amazing.
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I don’t think one can be a feminine essence junkie and not think of feminism … a lot.
It is brutal. Not the feminist movement, but the reasons it exists. I caught wind of this documentary the other day. I doubt I will ever watch it as I was barely breathing through the trailer. This is the world we live in, where baby girls are killed, and young girls are married off and/or sold into sex slavery. All of these human atrocities are the practical solutions of desperate people.
You can see it throughout history and you can see it within ourselves. When our survival seems/is threatened and we feel desperation, the ego blames/attacks/objectifies/commodifies the feminine. How many times has your ego tried to run for its life from an emotion you didn’t want to feel or from a desire that you didn’t want to acknowledge?
Both psychologically and socially, the big problem with these seemingly practical solutions is that they create more suffering and desperation. These aggressive strategies are killing and selling off the real solution.
And that brings us to the wonderful work of The Girl Effect. An organization whose mission is to get people to invest in a different solution. And it is hot. It’s a solution where young girls are educated instead of sold and given the opportunity to experience Goddesshood by CREATING livelihood for their families.
This week is The Girl Effect Blogging Campaign where bloggers unite to spread the word about this movement. PLEASE JOIN US. A heartfelt thanks to Tara Mohr for creating this world-changing initiative.
Finally, here is an inspiring example of the solution:
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I received an awesome Q via email the other day from Andraya Dickens, a goddess who is well beyond her years. The subject line was “What about the young ladies out there?” Essentially she observes that the pursuit of self-love and feminine reclamation is primarily happening for women over 30. In her email, she wonders about all the teenagers and young women who are suffering at the hands of degrading media messages and asks, “How do you convince girls that they are worth so much more than they suppose when they are completely reluctant to love themselves?”
Huge Q. Thank you, Andraya.
Young or old, without the desire for it, it is fairly difficult to convince anyone to love themselves (or to do anything for that matter.) And yes, for most women, 20-40 years have passed before they have even begun to contemplate the importance of self-love. From my viewpoint, creating the desire for self-love is the essential first step.
And this points to a bigger issue:
Like myself five years ago (and it was ugly), most women are oblivious to the power of desire. Compared to the abundance of feminine wisdom not being shared by women, mainstream media is an annoying mosquito. At the heart of that wisdom is desire.
Most people hear the word desire and think of sex. Though the physical aspects of sensuality are definitely part of the equation, desire’s bigger function is to define one’s deepest truth and potential human expression. It is a courageous and joy-igniting act of surrender.
All of us midlife desire junkies have discovered that when we are aware of our deepest desires, we are refreshing forces of nature. The sensual connection to our womanhood breeds confidence and unveils our unique path.
Though mainly unconscious, the current legacy between women encourages us to doubt what we desire. We teach young girls to let the outer (media, men, peers) versus the inner (truth, intuition, pleasure) guide them.
The ultimate goal of Volver, and I believe all the current efforts being made by divine-feminine guru’s, is to restore a legacy of desire between women. A legacy that is ultimately passed down between mothers and daughters for all generations to come.
This reclamation is beginning with us midlifers, and although the “how” is currently in process, this truth will one day trickle down, radiate out and infuse all women of all ages … who desire it.
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Saturday, November 5, 2011, 2-6pm, Fremont, Seattle
Facilitated by yours truly, this very special workshop is designed to give you and 19 other sisters a crystal clear view AND experience of your feminine essence. Through presentation, inquiry, celebration and topped off with the grace and power of Nia movement, this workshop will INVIGORATE you and invite you to research the profound gifts of your feminine truth.
Sisters, I believe on some level we are all hungry (if not starving) for a fresh and potent perspective of our feminine capacities. This work is about restoring a legacy within ourselves, between each other and between all mothers and daughters in the generations to come. The feminine is the creative source (and I am not just talking babies). These are exciting times to explore and align with all that this means.
Cost: In celebration of finding a WONDERFUL space and to kick things off with the best juju, I am offering this workshop at $50. All future workshops will be $150.
Where:Shift Seattle 3517 Stoneway, 98103. Lots of parking on the street. Please allow time to check-in and register.
Register: Please email amity AT volvernow DOT com (replace the AT and the DOT with the actual things) to sign-up and with any questions you may have.
Desiring to leave a comment?
I have consolidated all of my online joy to twitter and facebook. Please join me there!
“Volver is the hottest thing to hit this town … ever” Fran Buchanan, Seattle, WA
“You make me fiercely proud to be a woman. The way you weave incredibly important messages about the feminine WITH your brand of humour, wit and light is beyond magnificent.”Tanya Geisler
“It’s hard to get the ying and yang right. Nice to see it done so beautifully. It’s kinda perfect.” M.K. Seattle, WA
“The essence of Volver just oozes out of every pore of your body and it is mind blowing.” M.L. Seattle WA
“The entire experience was one of the most joyous, loving, free-spirited, luscious, deeply soul-nourishing, inspiring, bonding experiences I’ve ever had, ANYWHERE or at any time”Christine Hansen
“This experience opens my heart to feel love in a whole new way.” F.B. Seattle, WA
“Dara McKinley is pure genius and light.” K.P. Seattle, WA
“Wow, I am blown away by the experience of this workshop. It has placed me on a feminine path that is all me AND all woman. I am over the moon grateful for the opportunity to return to this truth.” D.I. Seattle, WA
“I am grateful for the wisdom that emerged, the full body insights about my feminine essence and the opportunity to set “security” on fire. Thank you for so beautifully sharing your purpose and light.”Jennifer Lucero-Earl
“VOLVER is outstanding!” Heather Smith, Seattle, WA
“I learned things about being a woman in this modern world I didn’t know, I didn’t know. Your workshop was deeply transformational and I am grateful.”Lauren Harkness
“I am thrilled to be part of this group. I left the class with a glow, a buzz. a bright inspiration … this is GOOOOOD stuff.” Nityia Przewlocki
“… this experience, it’s impossible to convey in words. I have taken lots of classes and done lots of “work” in this subject area, but none of them hit home quite the way this retreat did.” M.T., Los Angeles
“The course was life-changing … I’ve learned to harness the positive and discovered so much of it, that there just isn’t room for the negative anymore.” T.F., Seattle, WA
“It is more powerful ~ and significantly more enjoyable ~ than years of therapy. It has enabled me to find pleasure in all the nooks and crannies of my daily life.” Richelle Nielson, Seattle, WA
“I am still vibrating in the most amazing way thanks to the truly extraordinary and transformational week which I WILL NEVER forget.”Christine Hansen
“This circle of women lift me up like nothing else … The changes in my life, my body, my relationships, and my sense of myself are deep and I know they will last.” Michele Lisenbury
