Lynn Twist | WildlyFreeWoman

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Assumptions About Women – Taking A Stand

A few days ago I was kept awake off and on all night after reading the memoir – Unbowed – of Wangari Maathai, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate and mother creator of The Green Belt Movement in Kenya, Africa. Every time I awoke her persistence, commitment and passion for what she stood for was infiltrating into my being.

About six years ago now I missed seeing Wangari at a Global Healing Conference in Bali, Indonesia. I remember clearly that I had been so excited that she was going to be with us as well as Desmond Tutu, Lynn Twist and other Nobel laureates. Unfortunately, at the last minute she could not travel to Bali. I felt a great loss.

I knew that she had passed on in 2011 but did not know why, so the day after this wakefulness happened I found out the cause of her death and the date. She died on 9/25/2011 – the same day/evening that she visited me so intensely!!

She has re-entered my life through a global organization called TreeSisters – birthed into this world by Clare Dakin. Clare follows in Wangari’s footsteps as she passionately upholds the importance of reforesting our planet – and by women!! Part of membership in being a part of this planet Earth is to take a stand as Wangari, Clare, Lynn Twist (Pachamama Alliance), Jane Goodall , Barbara Marx Hubbard and so many other women are doing now as we experience environmental, social justice, economic and deep spiritual crises.

These imbalances have been co-created by splitting off from our true nature – the Earth. We have forgotten our roles as stewards of the Earth and have become dis-eased in the process. The rampant incidence of depression, anxiety, panic and other disease processes mirrors the very split from that which has given us life. Natures cycles are women’s cycles!

We all know the assumptions that have been held in regards to women for so many centuries and now seems the time to upset the apple cart in regards to these very assumptions. The one that has hurt us the most – and one which we have bought into – is “As a woman I am powerless”. There were good reasons to think so down through the ages, but not now, not ever again.

Why do I say that? Because not only are women waking up and coming out in our full embodied expressions, but we are standing with each other to facilitate the changes that so many of us are committed to on behalf of the well being of all life here. We don’t have to step forward without fear, we simply need to be persistent and form alliances with others that are willing to bring their expression to the creative solutions and innovations.

As Wangari says in Unbowed: “What people see as fearlessness is really persistence. Because I am focused on the solution, I don’t see danger. Because I don’t see danger, I don’t allow the mind to imagine what might happen to me, which is my definition of fear. If you don’t foresee the danger and see only the solution, then you can defy anyone and appear strong and fearless.”

I love this quote as in her life she faced injury, life threats, imprisonment, gender discrimination, and great opposition from the political powers that were present as she was growing The Green Belt Movement. Today this very movement has been responsible for 51 million trees being planted in Kenya and thousands of women finding their own power and purpose in life thus affecting the quality of life in her country.

She says about those that have walked by her side: “Throughout my life, I have never stopped to strategize about my next steps. I often just keep walking along, through whichever door opens. I have been on a journey and this journey has never stopped. When the journey is acknowledged and sustained by those I work with, they are a source of inspiration, energy, and encouragement. They are the reasons I kept walking, and will keep walking, as long as my knees hold out.”

Now take some time to think about women that inspire you, whether they are present day or from the past. I have chosen those that are working on behalf of our environment and sustainable living and thriving, however yours may be from any walk of life or focus. What qualities did/do they possess? They may have been or are called “heretics” and if they are, take a very careful look at who is naming them. Assumptions are dangerous and at the core are what got us to the place we are today tipping over into imbalances that will and are seriously affecting us all.

I say to each of you – take a stand! At our core we all have the “stuff” that is needed to “take a stand” even if that is simply being absolutely true to our own unique expression and unfailingly trusting it. We are all healers and creators. Let us trust our soul, honor our spirit, open our heart, transform our mind and heal our bodies. ( Heart of the Healer by Don Oscar Miro-Quesada, Peruvian curandero).

Come into ritual space with each other and co-create Earth centered living from the heart ignited by soul and spirit….We can have a gentle birth to the next stage of evolution by accepting, trusting, and stepping into the innate power that we have been given by simply being born a woman. You are both the midwives and the ones that are giving birth!!

I Am

We Are

Here Now

One Within

The story of the hummingbird by Wangari Maathai:

Taking Root trailer – The story of Wangari Maathai and The Green Belt Movement

http://www.takingrootfilm.com/trailer.htme

…AND ONE MORE TASTY GIFT! GET UP AND DANCE!! DON’T FORGET THE PASSION!!

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**NOTE: If you live in Austin, Texas or near by please join us for a showing of the film Taking Root on 10/27/13 co-sponsored by the local Sierra Club, global TreeSisters, and me – Natural Passages Consulting. A representative from Pachamama Alliance will also be with us!! Go to htt://www.GayeAbbott.com and click on the EVENTS tab.

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WEBSITE: http://www.GayeAbbott.com

OTHER BLOGS BY GAYE ABBOTT:

www.BreathingSpaces.net
www.NaturalWealthJournal.com

Give Us This Day Our Daily Breath Preview, Reviews and purchase links can be found here:

www.GayeAbbott.com/books/

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Category:

Be The Change, Empowerment, Finding Your Voice

Tagged with:

Relationships and Money

I have never done this before, but because I feel it is vitally important that women are empowered in all aspects of their being I am posting here on WildlyFreeWoman the same blog post that I just published on Natural Wealth Journal.

It is women in partnership with conscious men that are at the heart of the evolutionary global shift we are currently in the midst of. Let’s clear the way for our clarity of purpose and whole hearted expression to shine forth!

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Nogie King in The Currency of Connection states beautifully:

“I believe that we sit at the edge of an evolutionary impulse that can move human kind into a radical and collective realignment with wholeness, purpose and grace. Life has always been an extraordinary process for creative potential. What is different now is our growing ability to perceive and then actualize engagement that is our natural birthright.”

With curiosity I invite you to enter the world of money as a vibrant, loving relationship just waiting to connect us to not only our own potential, but also to the creative genius of just about everything on this planet of ours. If you are like me, you most probably have had, or are still having, a rocky relationship with money. Not your idea of the ideal loving, respectful, and trusting relationship that we all yearn for I bet!

What has helped me tremendously over the past few weeks after quitting a job that I allowed to rob me of creative juice and flow, is to remember that money in and of itself first came into being with the purpose of fostering and celebrating human relationships. It has now become something else for many people – something that adds stress to daily life – perhaps unnecessary stress at that.

Looking at money through the lens of relationship can be a fascinating journey and can provide insights that just may surprise you! Relationship with yourself, with others, with our planet, and with money itself most probably deeply embedded in scarcity and lack in some form or another.

I am reminded of the days growing up that we used to play Monopoly. Loved handling all that play money and buying the prime properties while hoping that one of the other players would land on my high density housing prime space and have to hand over more money for rent!

We needed to be in relationship in that game. Face to face, throwing the dice to see what would happen next in our relationship with each other and our money. Out of necessity it would often go on for hours as money changed hands back and forth.

Life lessons were tucked in there as well like landing in jail and hoping for a “Get Out of Jail Free” card to release you back into the game and back into relationship with the other players.

Well have you ever thought that we put ourselves in jail and restrict the easy flow of money and vibrant alive relationship in our lives because of deeply engrained patterns that were put down early in our tender lives for what we thought was survival?

Here is a part of my story to make this more personal and to highlight the fact that how we use money is an opportunity for our own spiritual awakening and an expression of our fundamental interconnectedness.

I was either in a state of worry and fear around where the next dollar was coming from, or when I did have money it rather slipped away from me. I was always trying to find ways to get more back into my bank account. This went on for many years even through times when I had plenty of money to support myself and my growing children.

At the same time I was creating relationships with men in much the same way. Two marriages, another long term partner, and quite a number of other relationships later I finally found myself taking a look at both my relationship with money and with men. Bet you won’t be surprised that there were some underlying beliefs that were interwoven in both relationships.

When my mother died suddenly at the early age of 39 when I was only 14 years old I of course felt abandoned by someone that I really needed at that time in my life. The connection had been broken and I took it on as something that I must have done. My underlying belief at this time was that I must not be worthy which was unconsciously supported by my father who went into a deep depression leaving me to take on the responsibility of my younger brother and the household. In a way he had abandoned me by not honoring that I had needs too.

What did I do? I created a belief system and pattern that lasted until just recently. Work hard (read struggle here) to take care of others to make certain you are appreciated and loved, i.e worthy; push down your own needs, desires and passion (stay hidden); create relationships with people and money where “rescue” is needed (so that I could prove I was loved); and not only attract unavailable men, but leave relationships first before they can leave you.

Can you draw a parallel between these patterns and my relationship with money? Essentially not feeling worthy in my own essential self (money slipping through my hands and creating “rescue” scenarios), taking on others desires and passions as my own (struggling to bring money in through others businesses/visions that were not in alignment with my whole hearted creative expression ), and setting up the abandonment before I can be abandoned (I am not worthy).

I think you get the picture here. We are in a very powerful time on our planet right now where each one of us has the opportunity to repattern into “wholeness, purpose and grace” in a way that honors our own highest potential as well as that of every other life form on this planet. If we don’t do this our species has the potential to disappear!

This time is about creatively connecting and collaborating within the deep interconnection that sustains all of us – every single life form on this planet. It is called Unity – the yoga of life. In order to open to this way of being each one of us must take the inner journey of clearing anything in the way of truly being ourselves in the world.

Since money is a large part of our life, and always will be present in some way, why not create a trusting, flowing, sufficient, honest and loving relationship with it. It really does want to love you back and is the currency of connection!!

SOME SUGGESTED BOOKS:

The Currency of Connection: How to Create An Exquisitely Kick Ass Relationship With Money by Nogie King

The Trance of Scarcity: Hey! Stop Holding Your Breath and Start Living Your Life! by Victoria Castle