Women Who Thrive, Change The World!

The Return of Wild Wisdom

March 17, 2013

mother-earth

Domesticated.  Is that a word that describes you or the life you are leading?  Are you “settling” for less than your heart desires?  Taking a look at the rote ways in which we live the moments of our lives  can be painful to that wild creature that lives, breathes and moves inside of us.  You know the one!

“We are here to fall in love with a lot more than just our mate… trees, stones, rivers, animals, birds, planets, galaxies, poems, music….”
~ Rev Matthew Fox

The creature inside that yearns to paint on the walls way outside the lines, dance outside at midnight (maybe in the nude!) to celebrate the universe inside and out, dig in the earth and come away with bits of dirt and leaves all over our clothes, speak out loudly and with conviction when a tree is cut down that doesn’t need to be cut except for some other humans profit,  go out of our way not to “follow the rules” and instead find a path and a way that creates more life for ourself and others, and…..you speak more here!

Our planet and all life on it, as well as our individual aliveness, depends not only on engaging that Wild Wisdom, but embodying it with fearless grace and passion.  What is it that you desire?  Desire is not bad…it is a passionate means to access the gifts that we have to bring and the full life we have to live this time around.  It is the fuel which feeds the Wild Wisdom that is within all of us.

I invite you to listen to my dear friend Lea Bayles speak to Wild Wisdom that sought her out to remind us to commit to and honor this clarissa-defiant-woman-quotableintelligence whose time has come to return once again into our global consciousness and actions…NOW.

This piece is eloquent, intelligent, grounded, irreverent, deliciously sensual, and a call to all women and men to not ever dare again to shut away Wild Wisdom in a closet somewhere whimpering low sounds of mournful abandonment.

We were born with Wild Wisdom.  It is all around us in nature and the interconnection of life that never ceases to evolve opportunity and change.  It lives and breathes innately within us.  Are we ready to listen??

“Within you, and in nature, is the potent, instinctual, untamable
and nourishing force of Wild Wisdom.
You need it. I need it.
Our world needs us to bring forth our Wild Wisdom.”  Lea Bayles

Wild Wisdom

….and some Wild Wisdom words from Allan Watts..

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A Lesson On Aging

February 20, 2013

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This beautiful woman named Rose has a lesson to teach all of us who find that we are slightly, or greatly, discouraged by the aging process.  Although Rose is no longer with us her story is below and I think will give you some inspiration as to the preciousness of each moment of this incredible life we have been given.

As I come to the turning of 65 this coming July I keep thinking (and feeling!) that I am so much younger.  What it seems to be to me is the timelessness of our indomitable spirit which is ageless and craves living full tilt, though the body at times fails to cooperate much to our dismay!  There is always another opportunity to live our passions!!  For Rose it was going to college and getting her degree…for me it is returning to doing energy bodywork, teaching, and starting a new book just for women!

These days I find all around me examples of “older women” stepping right into their passions and staunchly refusing to crumple 394078_422487367817367_1125191106_nunder the youth crazed culture.  They are real, aware, wise, healthy, courageous, creative, beautiful….and very, very sexy!  I will include myself in there,  as well as many women that I know!

As Rose so wisely said, “REMEMBER, GROWING OLDER IS MANDATORY. GROWING UP IS OPTIONAL.”  What will you fill the “optional” with??  …in this one wild and precious life?!  Oh, so many things to choose from! Yummm!!

Roses Story:

An 87 Year Old College Student Named Rose
The first day of school our professor introduced himself and challenged us to get to know someone we didn’t already know.
I stood up to look around when a gentle hand touched my shoulder. I turned round to find a wrinkled, little old lady beaming up at me with a smile that lit up her entire being.

She said, “Hi handsome. My name is Rose. I’m eighty-seven years old. Can I give you a hug?”
I laughed and enthusiastically responded, “Of course you may!” and she gave me a giant squeeze.
“Why are you in college at such a young, innocent age?” I asked.
She jokingly replied, “I’m here to meet a rich husband, get married, and have a couple of kids…”
“No seriously,” I asked. I was curious what may have motivated her to be taking on this challenge at her age.
“I always dreamed of having a college education and now I’m getting one!” she told me.

After class we walked to the student union building and shared a chocolate milkshake. We became instant friends. Every day for the next three months, we would leave class together and talk nonstop. I was always mesmerized listening to this “time machine”
as she shared her wisdom and experience with me.

Over the course of the year, Rose became a campus icon and she easily made friends wherever she went. She loved to dress up and she reveled in the attention bestowed upon her from the other students. She was living it up.

534833_395426110514228_703915838_nAt the end of the semester we invited Rose to speak at our football banquet. I’ll never forget what she taught us. She was
introduced and stepped up to the podium.  As she began to deliver her prepared speech, she dropped her three by five cards on the floor. Frustrated and a little embarrassed she leaned into the microphone and simply said, “I’m sorry I’m so jittery. I gave up beer for Lent and this whiskey is killing me! I’ll never get my speech back in order so let me just tell
you what I know.”

As we laughed she cleared her throat and began, “We do not stop playing because we are old; we grow old because we stop
playing. There are only four secrets to staying young, being happy, and achieving success. You have to laugh and find humor every day.  You’ve got to have a dream. When you lose your dreams, you die.  We have so many people walking around who are dead and don’t even know it!

There is a huge difference between growing older and growing up.  If you are nineteen years old and lie in bed for one full year and don’t do one productive thing, you will turn twenty years old.  If I am eighty-seven years old and stay in bed for a year and never do anything I will turn eighty-eight.  Anybody can grow older. That doesn’t take any talent or ability. The idea is to grow up by always finding opportunity in change.  Have no regrets.  The elderly usually don’t have regrets for what we did, but rather for things we did not do. The only people who fear death are those
with regrets.”

She concluded her speech by courageously singing “The Rose.”  She challenged each of us to study the lyrics and live them out inbernice-bates-91-year-old-yogi our daily lives.  At the year’s end Rose finished the college degree she had begun all those years ago. One week after graduation Rose died  peacefully in her sleep.  Over two thousand college students attended her funeral in tribute to the wonderful woman who taught by example that it’s  never too late to be all you can possibly be .When you finish reading this, please send this peaceful word of advice to your friends and family, they’ll really enjoy it!”

TIP:  Watch the wonderful film: My Afternoons With Margueritte (Available on Netflix)

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Women As A Pathway To The Sacred

February 5, 2013

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This picture along with the words caught my attention.  There has been so much written about the Divine Feminine, Goddess traditions and women’s empowerment.  It is not my purpose here to delve into  these important and very extensive areas as this post would be very, very long!

However, I was taken by the simplicity and power of this picture as well as the words.  Masculine acknowledging feminine awareness which is different from his.  His understanding that women do have “another system of knowledge” that a man may not possess in the same way.  An honoring if you will, and an invitation to bring this understanding and intuitive wisdom to the “counsel table” for all to benefit from.

It is time that this honoring and acknowledgement take place once again.  Our global, national, community and family well being depends on it!  We as women also need to accept the gifts that we posses, and be willing to use them in powerful, insightful,  and compassionate ways

Below you will find a video done by the BBC that takes us on a journey into ancient times.  This video explores a little-known ‘golden age’ for women, when historical characters such as the Empress Theodora in Byzantium, Wu Zetien in China (the Empress who called herself Emperor), the early women of Islam (2 of Mohammed’s wives) and Anglo-Saxon Hilda of Whitby, used the power of ancient traditions and new ideas about religion and philosophy to wield influence in what appeared to be a man’s world.

Women wielding their *power* in deepest human connection with/in the Divine.

We can gain understanding and inspiration from these women who were not willing to back down on using their innate sense of the much larger picture to create positive changes in a mostly male dominated world.   It was a pleasure to be introduced to these women who paved the way to the sacred of their times!

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Realize Your Own Magnificence

January 13, 2013

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Many, many years ago now when I was a Neurosurgical Assistant and Neuroaugmentation Technician in Southern California I was privileged to go to a Conference on Laughter and Play on the Queen Mary docked in Long Beach.  We actually spent two entire days learning about all the ways that one can bring laughter and play into daily life moments.

I attended such events as learning to juggle with marshmellows, how to tell jokes, watching comedy in action on the stage and discovering how improv is created from within…..to the other end of the spectrum – a class on laughter in the death and dying process.  At one point I remember asking a man sitting next to me at the end of a simply hilarious comedy routine what he was writing about so seriously in his notebook.  He proceeded to tell me that he was a comedian and was taking notes on timing, jokes, etc.  Wow!  A seriously committed comedian.

I remember clearly how shifted I felt after bathing in laughter and play for two solid days.  Once I returned to my job at Scripps Clinic in San Diego, back in “real life” so to speak,  I was broadsided by the observation of the seriousness of everyone around me!   I placed joke books in my exam rooms for patients to bring some lightness into their visit, and found that they disappeared pretty quickly.  To this day I hope that it was patients taking off with them to lend some laughter medicine in dealing with a diagnosis of a brain tumor.

My point here is that we do take life way too seriously and our culture seems addicted to drama fed veraciously by our FEARS!  The fact that we are amazing and magnificent human beings housed in these beautiful (but very small compared to who we are) bodies seems often to take a back seat to our current fears or feelings of being less than.

Below you will find a video which I encourage you to watch in its entirety.  It is an interview with Anita Moorjani  who has written the book “Dying To Be Me”.  This is not only a story of a woman who discovers she has cancer and comes to death and back again….but a “resurrection” story of sorts as she recommits to a life lived fearlessly,  making choices from what brings her joy – and supported from a vast awareness of the magnificent, amazing and loving beings we truly are.

Remember who you are….live that…and watch your life and that of others around you shift and change.

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From A Place of Value

January 1, 2013

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Here we are at the turning of another year once again.  If we are not mindful of the importance of living this next year within the precious moments given to us, then we may feel as many do today.  A sense that “time” is moving too fast and that our own life is winding down much too quickly for all that we would like to experience and create.

Do we look back at what we did not accomplish?  Berate ourselves for not losing that 10 pounds, not asking for a raise, or even not loving enough?  Or, do we applaud the moments that had meaning and purpose during the year.

Each New Year’s Eve for me is spent in the ritual of silence with all electronic devices turned off and candles lit.  Reflection over this past year and what I am grateful for is a large part of this year end meditation. In fact I have started what Dewitt Jones and Lynette Sheppard call the “Ta Da” list.  This is a list, a remembrance if you will, of accomplishments, travels, completed goals, insights, new knowledge and self realizations from the year that is just passing.

From this place comes the cracking open to allow a focus for the New Year to seep into consciousness….one word that represents the place from which inner and outer actions will be taken that will expand awareness and support every action and goal.  From this focus will come intentions for the New Year.

Many women, myself included, have taken a stand for empowerment for women.  This past year I have found that I have often felt empowered, but the deep place from which this feeling is birthed from is not always present.  The statement in the picture above is filled with the promise and inspiration of stepping forward into our dreams and making them happen in 2013 and beyond.  Yet, for me there is somewhere else that these actions, and yes even the dreams, must be birthed from.

This was very evident as I wrote a proposal last evening for a salary in the job that I am presently doing.  Although having done the research on what others were making in my area for this particular position and writing up a job description, I found myself thinking of what this start up business may be able to afford….instead of aligning with my inherent value and worth in all that I am doing and the impact that my very presence has on this growing business.

Thankfully a dear friend assisted me to “see the light” and stay in line with the original salary number I had come up with.  I have to admit that I felt the uncomfortableness of staying present to who I am and the value I have to bring as I am so used to putting the emphasis on “other” than myself.

This place of self value rests within the deep purpose of our life here this time around.  It is in every word, action, relationship, job we undertake, environment that we surround our self with, food we put in our mouth, our deepest self care.  As women I believe we are still learning about this, for our lives are often taken up with the deep self care of others and their needs.  Can we give to ourselves that which we give to others?

480820_397075940357324_1246155590_nIt is not selfish to have a deep sense of value about ourselves.  It is instead the only place from which to live  life.  I am not talking here about what we have done to bring value, but more of the intrinsic beauty and sacredness of our very being.  The openness, curiosity, honesty, beauty, creativity, integrity and loving presence from which we live our lives.  And yes, even the fears, the mistakes, the challenges, the darkness and the pain which weave through each life.  Even there….. finding value within and resting there.

Take this new fresh year and begin it with Ta Da…here I am world! …..and live this wild, sacred and passionate life from the value that is your innate being…

P.S.  It is not too late to make your “Ta Da” list whenever you read this post!

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Feminine Values and Leadership

November 28, 2012

Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed, citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.”
― Margaret Mead

The planet needs women now!  We are needed to step up and into our feminine values that are grounded and relational.  We are needed to let go of our fears and step into the power that being a woman innately gives us.  We bring life into this world and know how powerful it is to nurture that life and see it grow and change.

What greater undertaking than to give life back to this planet in the ways that align with our unique passions and interests.  There are many paths and projects to give our energy to.  Here is just one that I have joined out of a deep love for the trees that give us so much life and pleasure.  TreeSisters is a global network of women working together through feminine values and leadership to reforest the tropics.

Did you know that every 5th breath you take comes from the trees in the Amazon?  How much more life energy can be generated by helping to reforest this vital area rebuilding natures template for a healthy environment.  I invite you to watch this short film from TreeSisters and see if this is something that you want to become a part of.  If not this, then direct that passionate energy to where your heart tells you!

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The Love Ethic – Politics As A Spiritual Journey

November 12, 2012

“What we don’t engage we cannot transform.”  Marianne Williamson

Less than a week ago we had a national election in the United States.  As I saw it, as women and on behalf of the environment, we  potentially had a lot to lose.  This is why I was so stunned by some women I talked to that had decided not to even vote because it appeared they lacked the passion and motivation to really get involved in making an informed choice.

Some said that their vote wouldn’t count anyway because of our antiquated electoral college system, or even that they lived on the West Coast and it would already be decided before they could even vote.  There wasn’t even a thought about their own community issues and elected officials.  Has “politics” disillusioned us so much that we have become apathetic?

I have to admit that I have been one of those disillusioned ones and have left the arena of politics for others with a stronger stomach.  At the same time I  realize that this is avoidance which results in a lack of change or transformation to the very systems and beliefs that are making us unhappy and imbalanced.  As individuals, as communities, as countries, as a global society.

Many individuals feel that if you are following a spiritual path then politics is something to be avoided.  If Gandhi, Martin Luther King, and many others throughout our time here on Earth had thought that quite a lot of transformation and change would have been completely left undone.  The quote above by Marianne Williamson invites us to ENGAGE with what she calls the “love ethic” in all that we do on behalf of what is important to us.

If we really want a change to happen in our political systems,  a shift in how we steward this planet that shares it’s riches with us, a change to a peace ethic instead of war, or whatever else is vitally important to you, then we really DO need to become engaged and make it a part of our spiritual journey.

In other words “take a stand for another possibility”.  If we do not engage, transformation is truly not possible.  Women in particular have a lot of power to create change in this realm – change that is desperately needed.   This beautiful older woman in the picture above has taken a stand. Her bare feet upon the bark of a tree engaging with her own and nature’s life force on behalf of another possibility.   What is it that you want to take a stand for?  You are never too old…..your actions in whatever unique form DO make a difference!

 

WEBSITE:  www.ResonanceWithLife.com

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Friendship Is Seizing The Moment Together!

September 18, 2012

This picture has now been placed up there on my list of favorites right along with the monks on the roller coaster!  Just having arrived back from a multifaceted trip to the San Francisco Bay area to see two of my 3 sons and celebrate the aliveness and beauty of my two grandchildren I am taken once again with the possibilities that are nested in each moment.

There are many moments that stand out for me on this trip and one of them reflects the C.S. Lewis quote above, as well as the nuns in total abandon saying YES to what they most certainly individually thought of, but may have been afraid to take action on alone.  Have you ever had a moment when you have a thought to do something “out of the box’, look at someone and just know that they are thinking the same thing? What could have been a pretty BIG leap for you alone just turned into an adventure shared by another.

The fact is that you also get double the pleasure, fun, and joy in seizing the moment together…… creating a bond that may be momentary….or may last a lifetime.

Before immersing myself in family during this trip, the ocean called me loud and strong!  Thus the day after I arrived was a day for breathing in salt air, walking at the waters edge, laying in the warm sand, simply being present to the sounds of the waves, and delighting in the spectacular day.  I can still feel the smile on my face as I walked down the so familiar beach at Salmon Creek feeling the exhilarating cold water on my legs. Visual memories flooded in.  There were so many times a Sunday group of women I had gathered together, called Babes In Wetsuits, would ride the top of waves screaming with joy while careening into shore.

Now you must understand that I was born and raised in San Diego and the beach to me was home.  The salt water my bathtub.  Keeping this in mind you will understand this little tale I will now tell you.  While reluctantly walking back along the shore to my car parked high up on the cliff side parking lot I lingered just a little longer in the surf as my feet sunk into the wet sand. Just before me was a woman that caught my attention because of the huge smile she had on her face.  This grown woman…it turns out Teresa from Salt Lake City, Utah…was gazing at the water running over her feet and the waves coming into shore with complete and utter joy.

I knew this feeling and was drawn to talk to her for a bit.  Starting the conversation with, “isn’t this all so beautiful?”, I learned very quickly that she was entranced by this watery and sunlit world.  Teresa spoke easily of her love for the ocean and the mountains and wished that she could have both, upon which I said that there are indeed places in the world where there are both in the same location.

Our love for this moment bonded us – complete strangers – into a connection that was wrought of falling totally into the moment together.  I told her of my Babes in Wetsuits group and she laughed.  In fact I said, ‘if I had my bathing suit on I would most likely go right into this water and dive in even though I would freeze my butt off!”  She looked over at me with a brilliant smile on her face and said – “I probably would too!”

We mutually agreed that life is way too short to hold back from stepping through the open door when opportunities are presented.  Although our legs were wet what both of us really wanted to do was dive right in.   In a way we did by communicating that with each other.  With a touch on a shoulder we went our separate ways enriched by the connection made in the salt water of the Pacific ocean.

If Teresa from Salt Lake City, Utah ever reads this post – please know that there is a playmate ready to dive right in.  You are not alone!

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This One Wild And Precious Life – What To Do With It?

August 26, 2012

“Nature gives her secrets. There is no need to grab, there is no need to kill, there is no need to break the lock. Love nature, and nature gives you her secret. Love is the key.” ~ OSHO

BREATHING as an early morning playmate to help you step into the day!

We always have a part in whatever is happening in our lives.  What an empowering principle to follow…

There is not one moment that is less or more important than another.  They ALL contribute to the fullness of who we are…

Where do you want to live from???

My deep gratitude to all those that distribute pictures and words of wisdom such as these.  So many came my way today that I couldn’t decide on just one to put up for a post.  Do reflect and act from the teachings of each moment.  Be surprised!

“Every day, think as you wake up, today I am fortunate to be alive, I have a precious human life, I am not going to waste it……” Dalai Lama XIV

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Arbitrary Moments of Nearly Painful Happiness

July 2, 2012

“…..This is my true religion; arbitrary moments of nearly painful happiness for a life I feel privileged to lead.  Think of the way you sometimes see a tiny shaft of sunlight burst through a gap between rocks, the way it then expands to illuminate a much larger space – it’s like that.  And it’s like quilting, a thread surfacing and then disappearing into the fabric of ordinary days.  It’s not always visible but it’s what holds everything together.”  From The Art of Mending,by Elizabeth Berg, page 148

I was taken by these few sentences in the novel I just finished reading.  As the summer stretches out before us it gives us time to consider those “arbitrary moments of nearly painful happiness” where we are touched deeply and often irrevocably changed.  These moments are within everything that we do, even those seemingly endless tasks that we set before us.

Isn’t it these experiences that wake us up……. pausing to take a  breath and simply becoming quiet enough to appreciate the moments of pure art, magic and beauty that pour themselves in and through our lives every single day.

What would you miss if you weren’t here?   Transformational coach Cheryl Richardson lists a few of her things below.

…..”I thought about the little things that bring me joy that I’d miss – the things that often go unnamed as important.  Things like a bird’s nest under construction that captures my attention each morning while I enjoy a cup of tea.  The way my cat Poupon covers his eyes with his paw when he naps, making me smile every time, regardless of how many times I see him do it.  Or, trees billowing in my backyard like soft sheets on a clothesline when a strong breeze blows.  And, of course, the beautiful, nuanced moments that occur when I connect with others. ” Cheryl Richardson

Now is the time to pay attention….sometimes they sneak up on you when you are least expecting it!  Embrace….they are woven into the fabric of your life…

WEBSITE:  www.ResonanceWithLife.com

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