Woo Woo 101: You Have Seven Chakras

This is the first post in a series called "Woo Woo 101."

A chakra is an emotional energy center in the body that governs the organs in a certain area. There are seven and they each have a different color. They go unseen in the relative world, though many have the gift of seeing them and Reiki healers can feel them with their hands.

Many people think chakras are some spiritual new age “woo woo,” but they are actually quite obvious, especially when you are stressed or sick.

You know how some life issues make your stomach turn, while others make your legs feel weak and then others make your chest tight. Those are your chakras. Where you feel your disturbance is not a coincidence. The world of energy medicine asserts that all physical ailments and injuries have an emotional/chakra component. Pay attention to where and why your body lights up/experiences stress and you will find a dynamic and vast world of energy.

I love chakras for many reasons, but here are the top three: First, what they stand for is totally beautiful (I get all choked up just thinking about them). I will be covering this in upcoming posts. Second, they provide incredible feedback for what is really going on for us. Our minds create all sorts of crazy stories about what is happening, but our chakras are straight up. Always in the moment and radically honest, chakras are an amazing map to a wonderful life. And third, although all beings have chakras, as I see them, they are an unambiguous portal into the divine-feminine.

So there you have it. If you think I might be onto something, do the simple and profound task of noticing the sensations in your body. See if you notice themes with certain people and situations. Simply notice.

Did any of your chakras light up while reading this? If so, why not light up other people’s chakras by passing this along. My heart chakra thanks you!

And if you don’t want to miss future “Woo Woo 101″ posts (and they are going to be packed with mind-opening info) sign up for “The Pleasure Report” and get the goods delivered to your inbox.

The Divine Law of Distraction

How many times have you said this to yourself?

“I just need to focus.”

“What’s the matter with me that I can’t focus?”

“Focus, focus, FOCUS.”

“OK, now what was I focusing on?”

You’ve probably said or thought these things A LOT, right? Well, what if women were hardwired to be distracted?

I just listened to Allison Armstrong’s “Understanding Women“, a fun and interesting CD, where you can listen to her teach the guys about us. One of her foundational points is that men are single focused creatures (thus they step over the laundry pile on their way up the stairs, can track a ball flying through the air and catch it, and LIVE to solve problems) and women have “diffuse awareness,” meaning our awareness is “poured into everything.” She punctuates:

Guys, I’m not saying that you focus on one thing and we focus on three or four. I’m telling you that WE. DON’T. FOCUS.

When I first heard this I chuckled out loud. Funny, I thought, we don’t focus. But then it quickly hit me: Whoa, we really don’t focus. She then goes on to explain that we CAN focus, but it’s not home base.

Sisters, home base for us is a profoundly radiant place with a sophisticated capacity to sense and enrich our immediate worlds. Think of the sweet little egg that waits for the sperm, 360 degrees of energy undulating OUT. That’s why if something in our environment is off, we are quick to feel it. This sixth sense ensures loving spaces, content children and strong relationships.

What would life be like if we allow for this beautiful design? I know we are all involved in accomplishing so much that requires major focus (and since women are pretty much taking over the workforce, we’ve more than demonstrated that we can do it very well,) but if our natural urge is to flutter from one thing to the next, compelling ourselves to focus requires a loving hand.

Alison asserts that it feels totally divine for women to have a few hours of timeless puttering each week (though I think “fluttering” sounds way more fun,) where we can just float through our homes or wherever, pleasantly buzzing from one “distraction” to the next with no eye on the clock. Sounds like a delicious slice of pleasure to me.

So next time you start to run the script that something is wrong with you because you “just can’t focus,” reMEMBER that you are a woman and you have a different way. Celebrate your urge to flutter about and be assured that by doing so, your creativity will blaze.

Pura Nelida

This is a guest post by Sarita Role Schaeffer, creator of Viva Farms. Sarita was inspired to share Nelida's journey with me after reading in my last newsletter that my new favorite word is "pure." Nelida's story is of a mother's powerful love, the sacred earth, and transforming a near tragedy into right livelihood.

Nelida Martinez is a woman participating in the Viva Farms Program who re-inspires me every time I see her.

Nelida was born in a subsistence farming community in Oaxaca, Mexico. She escaped an abusive alcoholic household at 14 by going to live with her (soon to be) husband’s family, who reluctantly took her in. After marrying at 16, the young couple migrated north to the US in search of a better life.  They found farm work. They toiled 12 years on the vast pesticide/herbicide/fungicide laden farms of California, then headed further north, seeking less scorching farm work in the lush Skagit Valley.  They added children to their household until they were nine in all…plus a steady stream of cousins, brothers, nieces, nephews, uncles, and others who’d joined them in their search for the good life. With family, Nelida’s work multiplied: farm worker by day, traditional Oaxacan mother/wife by night. Life in Washington wasn’t exactly the American dream, but Nelida knew it was better than the nightmare relatives faced back in Oaxaca.

Then, one day, things took a turn for the worse.

Nelida’s youngest child feel violently ill. When the traditional herbal remedies she learned from her grandmother failed, Nelida pleaded with her husband to take the boy to the hospital for tests.  Her husband refused, petrified of hospital bills (he had no health insurance) and of being fired for missing work. But a man’s greatest fear is no match for a mother’s love. She didn’t have a driver’s license at the time so she carried him to the closest hospital.

The doctors diagnosed the boy with late-stage leukemia and ordered treatment immediately. They told Nelida that if she’d waited even a few more days it may have been too late. Nelida quit farming and dedicated herself to her son’s recovery. She accompanied him back and forth from Mount Vernon to the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center in Seattle for weekly chemo treatments. Between treatments she made and sold tamales, empanadas, pan de burro, fresh tortillas, anything friends and local Mexican stores would buy. She needed every penny she could earn for the cancer treatment, which she was determined to pay for herself.

When her son achieved remission, Nelida did not return to being a farm worker.  She was absolutely convinced that her 20+ years of exposure to agricultural chemicals had caused her son’s leukemia. She vowed to never again expose herself, her family, or anyone’s family to agricultural venenos. (poisons)  Nor did she quit farming; she stepped up the organic production she’d always done at home. She crammed pots and trays of vegetables and herbs into her kitchen window-sills, into her tiny balcony, her front doorstep, anywhere she could put them. When a community garden was created in her Catholic-subsidized farmworker housing complex, Nelida was the first to sign up for a plot. She taught the Americorps volunteer how to jerry-rig irrigation using a old hoses, a machete and duct tape. She was delighted with her garden plot but wanted more ground. Couldn’t she just use the whole 1/2 acre, she would ask Leah VanderStoep, the Residential Director. That would be enough space to feed her family and even sell a bit of surplus.

That’s when I met Nelida. When she told me how she had transported special plants and seed with her from Oaxaca to California, tended them in the migrant camps and then moved them up to Washington with her, I knew she was an ideal candidate for the new Latino farming program I was helping WSU Skagit Extension launch in the valley.

Out of 24 class-nights and 5 farm field trips, Nelida missed maybe three – a feat for any mother, wife and sole proprietor of two start-up businesses – a herculean feat for someone whose formal/classroom education was cut short at 2nd grade and replaced by farm labor. She now leases 1 acre at Viva Farms (Washington’s first bilingual farm business incubator) and two acres at a second site. Her goal is to purchase 10 acres with a house, where she can live and expand her organic produce sales that now complement her already established food business.

When we met to develop a name and logo for Nelida’s one-woman organic farm and food business, I could think of only one name to encapsulate her brand personality: PURA NELIDA, like the saying pura vida but with Nelida as the life force (also a reference to the purity of organic farming).  I asked Nelida what symbolized pura vida* and purity for her. She thought for a moment then smiled and replied, “una cebolla blanca“(a white onion). So that’s what she is seen cradling in the logo we designed for her farm. (above)

So to those who still think organic food is a passing yuppie fad, and to those who know it’s not but feel discouraged by how long it has taken for us to farm as if we love and cherish life…I offer one of Nelida’s organic white onions: let its crisp, sweet, spice and purity cure you of your ills. Soon you’ll understand why, when I stand and behold Viva Farms, I am apt to repeat “Pura Vida…puuuura vida…” over and over again, like a mantra.

*Pura Vida literally means "pure life", but the meaning is closer to "full of life", "purified life", "this is living!", "going great", or "cool!"[1] It can be used both as a greeting and a farewell, to express satisfaction, or to politely express indifference when describing something.[1] The phrase has become widely known; this highly flexible statement has been used by many, especially Costa Ricans (and expatriates) since 1956.[2] Some foreigners view the phrase as an expression of a leisurely lifestyle, of disregard for time, and of wanton friendliness. However, many Latinos use the phrase to express a philosophy of strong community, perseverance, resilience in overcoming difficulties with good spirits, enjoying life slowly, and celebrating good fortune of magnitudes small and large alike.

How To Keep Your Woman

This one is really for the guys – feel free to pass it on.

I am fascinated by what makes or breaks relationships. There are many variables: values, personality, physical attractiveness, and chemistry, to name a few. While I ultimately believe everyone is on their divine path, I can’t help but notice this pattern: super cool, dynamic, high priestess, mega-goddess marries a wonderful guy. This great man is funny, charismatic, loves to play, is hardworking, and a good provider. They have one to three kids and somewhere between seven to thirteen years into the relationship she begins to feel unhappy. She begins mentioning therapy – maybe they go, maybe not. Maybe they have long discussions, argue, and fight. Then one day she wakes up and feels completely done. When she connects with her soul, she sees no alternative, they must separate. She asks for a divorce. Dude is devastated, blind-sided, completely confused. He cannot understand what went wrong and how she could leave.

I know about ten couples this happened to, including my parents. I am not saying I know for sure why these relationships ended as these situations are very complex. Though from my current viewpoint, I do see something that every one of these woman would attest to. This great guy and father of her children simply did not see her. I believe she became so deficient in Vitamin See that breaking up her family structure was less painful than staying in the relationship. This is how powerful and important Vitamin See is for women. Without it, we feel malnourished, empty and alone.

Vitamin See is so simple but our culture is void of any direct teachings on the phenomena. This void leaves women with a nagging feeling that something is missing and leaves men lost at sea with what to do about it.

Seeing and loving someone can be achieved through appreciation, recognition, and adoration. All of these behaviors rock and anyone would get major Vitamin See points if they upped them. BUT if you really want to be the King of Vitamin See, like slam dunk, out of the park, touchdown, here is the not-so-secret recipe: Every (EVERY) woman has a unique combination of gifts that create incredible amounts of love for the planet. Find out what they are (just ask her) and write them down. At least once a week, tell her how cool one of them is and what an honor it is to be married to such a powerful woman.

That’s it. So simple and such a straight shot for filling a potentially destructive hole.

“How To Keep Your Man” coming very soon …

Did I make even just one cell in your body smile? If so, please share this with your world (and let me know – I love to beam with appreciation )

Sacred Pussy

Crazy. If anyone would have ever told me that one day “pussy” was going to be one of my favorite words and I would write a blog post about it, I would have certainly asked them what drugs they were on. I’m not one of those chicks that cringed when I occasionally heard the word, but I did think it was vulgar and not a word respectable women used. Now it’s my favorite word. I love it, love it, love it! And I love mine. I love everything she feels and creates. If I ever wonder where the Goddess is, I don’t have far to look. This was one of many phenomenal angles of my womanly re-education by Regena Thomashauer. If this post inspires you to know more, I highly recommend her book Mama Gena’s School of Womanly Arts, specifically Chapter 5, “The Womanly Art of Sensual Pleasure.”

I see a lot of powerful women walking the front lines in breaking the silence of “down there.” There’s Oprah (vajayjay), Eve Ensler (vagina), Chelsea Handler (peek-a-choo), and Alison Armstrong (the place) to name a few. Lot’s of different names eh? Cheers to all the straight-up mothers who taught their daughters the anatomical word “vagina.” However, the issue that Mama Gena raises is that a vagina is where a penis enters a woman and where a baby comes out. It connects the uterus to the outside world and can’t truly be seen without a speculum. As Wiki so perfectly states: “The word vagina is quite often incorrectly used to refer to the vulva or female genitals generally; strictly speaking, the vagina is a specific internal structure.” The correct word for the external genitalia is vulva and within the vulva there is a clitoris. Yes, the urethra is also part of the package and there are many other parts that have parts, but their functionality is not the reason for this name confusion.

Now that we’ve identified the three biggies of “down there” – what is the word for the whole package? With men, there is a shaft and glans (and many other parts that have parts) but the whole package is called “penis.” One word. Penis. Crystal clear.

Women don’t have one word for the whole enchilada. Soooooo, let’s make one up right now. We have vulva, clitoris, and vagina…. how about vulclivag? Nah, too Dr. Spock. OK, how about clivagulva? Hmmm, clivagulva. Ouch, sounds like something sharp. Ok, how about ginavultoris? Nah, that sounds like a dinosaur or some sort of infection. OK, how about pussy?

How did I go from “ginavultoris” to “pussy”? You see, when Regena recognized this problem she really thought long and hard for a word that could represent the utter magnificence and sublime multi-functionality of “down there.” When it was all said and done, “pussy” was the only one that could even come close. How’s that? Well first off, when people hear this word – they listen. It instantly commands complete attention. Second, the women I know who use it are reclaiming the sacred. They are well aware of the power this bold word possesses and appreciate how it brings even their own egos to a dramatic halt. One word. Pussy. Crystal clear.

But here’s the part that really turns me on: maybe a unified reclamation of “pussy” is just the radical choice that the feminist movement needs if we are ever truly going to sit in the thrones of our sensual power.

I end by answering a few burning Q’s some of you may have:

Am I suggesting that we teach children to use the word “pussy”? No. My daughter is 4 and I taught her the word “yoni” which is Sanskrit for female genitalia and the source of all life. Just recently, I have broached the specific parts of her yoni. I imagine when she is mature enough, I will teach her about “pussy.” Or even better, I will send her to the School of Womanly Arts.

Did I choose the name “Volver” as a wink to “vulva”? You bet.

Did I make even just one cell in your body smile? If so, please share this with your world (and let me know – I love to beam with appreciation )

I Love Men

I just ended years of frustration with the opposite sex. I have put down my sword, studied the male mind, came home and told my man to plan his next surfing vacation. I feel so peaceful, free, complete.

Yesterday, I completed Allison Armstrong’s Celebrating Men course. Since awakening to the expansive power of my feminine essence, I have been searching for a course with this very name.

I am going to be very transparent. My minds ability to see the brilliance of women is uncanny; however with men I was finding myself too often frustrated, baffled … and pissed. Fortunately, I knew deep down that my frustration had to be my problem. If the feminine essence was drenched in divinity so was the male. I just wasn’t seeing it and I needed a course correct on men … bad. I got exactly that and then some.

I heard about “Celebrating Men, Satisfying Women” from one of my Nia students, the exquisite Cherie Martin-Irwin. Cherie told me how both she and her girlfriend met their future husbands three months after taking the course. These kind of results get my attention.  I looked it up as soon as I got home.

Sisters, if you are struggling with men or lack of men and suspect that you may have been poorly educated, this course delivers the goods. My being is now overflowing with all of the beautiful things I learned about men.  Allison Armstrong is the real deal. Her vision for the world is stunning and she is making it happen. She is elegant, professional and hilariously funny. By the end, women were weeping and in complete awe of men.

Since I am town crier for anything that will effectively end unnecessary suffering, I am a LOUD and PROUD affiliate for this program which means if you use this link (or simply tell them your heard about it from me) I get a share for sharing. Please know I am very appreciative.

I know so many of you on this list are national, so go check out the site and find the next course nearest you. For those of you in Seattle, they are having a free intro-course this Wednesday night 5/19, at 6:30pm.

Here’s to men and all of their golden generosity.

In Funk I Trust

For a woman to clearly experience her intuition she must free herself of negative emotional charge.

Ten days ago I went into a swamp, funk, whatever you want to call it. I couldn’t stop crying and I didn’t want to leave my bed. I am still there, perpetuated by a mean cold and a burning sore throat; tears continue to stream down my face. It is not common for me to get this funky or for it to last this long, but I take refuge in the fact that feeling sad is key to “energetic integrity” and is 1000% divinely feminine. Seeing that these are the allurements of Volver, it is only fitting that I go down this road first.

One of the main things that has me down are all the decisions I made where I bypassed my intuition. Ugh. In our modern world, one of the greatest roots of unnecessary suffering are that women are disconnected from their inner voice. Why would we trust it? We are inundated with messages and values that completely ignore it and encourage us to doubt it. Our households and left-brain academic systems are void of intuitive and emotional teachings. Our vulnerability is the muscle of intuition, and by flexing it we create the space to connect with our multi-sensory abilities. We are not “too sensitive” or “too emotional.”

Wouldn’t it be cool if researching emotions and intuition was an open conversation amongst family members? Where parents supported the decisions of their children and taught them to trust themselves simply by affirming “good choice.” These simple words could help create confident children who trust their clearest feeling of “yes” or “no.”

My swamp is long overdue. In comparison to my twenties which were defined by lots of partying, boys with dreads and motorcycles, and half-assed attempts to figure out my professional pursuits, my thirties were much heavier. Kicked-off by the passing of my father and followed by one too many choices made with my pretend penis, I have a lot to grieve. And this is the true path to my deepest desires: to heal emotionally, for intuition to be my co-pilot, and to spin seven beautiful chakras.

So, here I go. Grief, you can have me as long as you want me. It’s you, me, a box of tissues (and the “New Moon” DVD of course). See you and my blazing intuition on the other side. In funk, I completely trust.

Did I make even just one cell in your body smile? If so, please share this with your world (and let me know – I love to beam with appreciation )

Burning to Return

Whenever the pressure to achieve feels like too much, I write down every single thing I want to do and think I should do. Then I burn it.

This move instantly returns me to the truth of my energy body.  Reminding me that my emotional integrity is more important and efficient than chasing after my list.

By burning it all up, I am giving it all up.  This creates lots of room for goodies, adventure and blazing intuition.  So much so, I am beginning to see the bubbling of overwhelm as a sign of sweet surrender to come.

What are your favorite rituals?

Getting Right on Wrong

“People are more important than their opinions” – Jorge Luis Borges

After about a year into my fabulous hiatus from saying “sorry,” that silly word snuck back into my everyday vernacular. With my wacky days running after little ones, old habits die hard and it just seemed easier to say it than not.  However, I celebrate that my year-long sorry cleanse has had a gorgeous effect on my mind - the ghastly gavel is gone. What a relief.  Now, sorry comes out of my mouth for one reason only – because I care about the person I am saying it to.  This feels so good, so clean and so … well … right.

I realize for some of you what I am saying is a no-brainer.  Though for most of us, worrying that we did it wrong or that we might do something wrong is a frequent and time-consuming process in our minds.  If you can relate, this blog post is for you.

Now, here is an idea that I am crazy passionate about and I would love for you to consider: it is impossible to do something wrong.  I know, crazy.  But think about it for a minute.

If the above is true, it would mean that all this right and wrong stuff is truly just in our heads.  It would mean that we are complex and interdependent individuals interfacing with an even more complex and interdependent planet.  It would mean every moment is a new and wild set of variables that we have never experienced before.  It would mean none of us really knows what we are doing and we are all doing our best.  It would mean making yourself wrong is illogical.

This is the mind of compassion.

For most, the intent behind “sorry” is to convey that you care about someone and how you affect them.  But wouldn’t it be just as effective and more uplifting to skip all the right and wrong nonsense and simply say, “I see that I hurt you,” or my favorite, “I see you.”

Yes, yes, yes – we do need a certain level of right and wrong thinking to organize and navigate life.  Law and order is extremely useful and I am very appreciative of it.  However, turn right and wrong thinking on our emotional world and you are in for an arduous path.

Getting right on wrong is a passion of mine for personal reasons and because I believe that the current state of our world is a reflection of our right/wrong psychology gone awry. More about this exciting topic in future posts …

How do you get right on wrong?

Did I make even just one cell in your body smile? If so, please share this with your world (and let me know – I love to beam with appreciation )

Returning with Danielle LaPorte

It really is a perfect world.  Just as I am launching my “Returning Interviews” with energy and divine feminine superstars, I score an interview with Danielle LaPorte. How much more perfect can it get?!?!

Danielle is the creatrix extraordinaire of WhiteHotTruth.com, which is a blog I love. Through radical transparency, grace and a keen eye for what is “hot” in the world of self-realization, Danielle ceaselessly inspires us to be 1000% true to our calling. She is the greatest inspiration for my blog.  Without further ado, it is my ridiculous pleasure to introduce Volver’s very first Returning Interview with Deep Sea Diva Danielle LaPorte:

In this moment what is your top brag (things you are celebrating), top gratitude and top desire?

That’s easy! The Fire Starter Sessions, baby.
Desire: I’d like it to be one of the best selling, most inspiring digital works of it’s genre, like, ever.
Gratitude: Friendship. So many kindnesses have been shown to me as of late. Buddhist gems of wisdom when I needed it most, apologies accepted, overflowing creative input, technology rescues, and a general and life-affirming holding down of the fort while I hid away like a mad scientist. If I ever doubt the power of love and simple affections…well, I never will again. Simple as that.

If you had everyone in the world’s ear for one minute – what would you want them to know?

Everything is progress. Everything. Scientifically speaking, the universe is always expanding, so I think even Albert Einstein would back me up on this one.

When the pressures of our modern culture soar too high – what practices do you engage in to return to yourself?

Tonglen meditation. Kundalini yoga. Lavendar oil baths – the hotter the better. People Magazine and documentaries. A nip of chocolate everyday.

If you could spend 24 hours with anyone in the world, it doesn’t matter if they are alive or dead, who would it be and why?

Can’t pick just one.
Rumi. I want to lie at his feet and hear him recite his love poems to the cosmos. While eating grapes.
Oprah. Stength. Inspiration. Doing good. I’d ask her about power, and loneliness.
Johnny Cash. One down to earth, gnarly talented son-of-a-bitch. I ask him about art, redemption, devotion.

What are your top three greatest pleasures?

Snuggling with my kid = pure euphoria.
Laughing ’til I snort with my best girls.
Writing late at night when the world is quiet and I feel like I’m getting away with something sacred.

What is your greatest inspiration for the work you do?

One word: innovate.

What aspects of your feminine essence are your greatest allies?

Ooo. I love this question. One of my most desired feelings is divine femininity. When I’m being whole, rocking my Priestess capacities, I feel so…loving. Loving in that way that a mother truly loves. Embracing, smiling, and ruthlessly compassionate. That Very Big Love loves you and tells you the truth without attack, with a twinkle of your full potential in her eye.

Now you see why I love this woman.