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Posts tagged ‘Women’s Courage’

Phenomenal Women: The Power of One

“There came a time when the risk to remain tight in the bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom“.  ~Anais Nin, 1903-1977, Author

In a time when women are coming to the forefront in many different ways all over the world, the video below struck me as a reminder to each one of us that need encouragement and inspiration to keep taking those steps forward.

There is great power that lies sleeping within each of us, and when awakened into action is formidable and unstoppable.  Hold my hand sister and walk with me awhile….

OTHER BLOGS BY GAYE ABBOTT:

www.BreathingSpaces.net
www.NaturalWealthJournal.com

WEBSITE:

www.IgniteWealthNow.com

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Authenticity, Be The Change, Finding Your Voice

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Embrace Your Inner Girl

Always do the thing you fear the most.
Courage is an acquired taste
like caviar.

~Erica Jong

A week ago now I started questioning what it is that I am doing in my life….in the world.  This inquiry came about as I watched a snippet from a film on the Pink Saris in India and what they are doing to stand up for young girls and women in their country, villages, and homes.

I remember feeling bereft as I watched a very young beautiful girl being questioned by one of the Pink Sari women as to why she was so sad.  Her answer was – “I just want to die”.  Her wish to die was precipitated by being wedded at a very young age to an older man who was filmed asking “why does she keep running away?”.  The Pink Sari woman’s answer was “you keep raping her”.

So many women and girls are faced with atrocities every day all over the world.  They are not valued for the amazing beings that they are.  Deeper than that is the paradigm that has brought about this inequity, violence, and disregard for the wisdom, vulnerability, compassion, empathy, intuition, balance, emotion, and relational abilities of what Eve Ensler calls the “girl cell” in all of us -women and men.

A year ago now I sponsored a woman in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and was able by my small donation each month to put this woman through a year long program to empower her within herself, to give her skills to be financially independent, and to have a support system around her to help her continue on amidst a country that has been in violent war for 12 years.

Now I want to do more.

What can each of us as women/men and girls/boys do to shift this old patriarchal system that has caused our very Earth to be in severe jeopardy?  A system that male and female cannot thrive within.

I invite each of you to view the entire video below, a TED talk by Eve Ensler in 2009 given while she was in India.

I invite each of you to find a passionate way in your own life to shift the “training” that has caused us to lose ourselves.  As Eve said, “Being a girl is so powerful that we have had to train everyone not to be a girl.”

Eve Ensler – Embrace Your Inner Girl

“In this passionate talk, Eve Ensler declares that there is a girl cell in us all — a cell that we have all been taught to suppress. She tells heartfelt stories of girls around the world who have overcome shocking adversity and violence to reveal the astonishing strength of being a girl.”


OTHER BLOGS BY GAYE ABBOTT:

www.BreathingSpaces.net
www.NaturalWealthJournal.com

Category:

Be The Change, Empowerment, Finding Your Voice

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Finding My Voice

Maya Angelou has been over the years a voice to listen to.  This video speaks to the fact that we all become “silent” from time to time, and hide out when it is exactly our voice that needs to be heard!

She speaks to an innovative and creative way to release our voice, when we least want to do so.  I invite you this week to dance movements with sound, sing your favorite song, tone with sacred sound, laugh out loud, speak poetry to the sky, roar like a lion or hiss like a snake, or give each color a sound while you paint.

Find your way to finding your voice….even as the caged bird sings.

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WEBSITE:  www.IgniteWealthNow.com  (Natural Wealth)

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~ Gaye Abbott, Registered Yoga Teacher

OTHER BLOGS BY GAYE ABBOTT:
www.BreathingSpaces.net
www.NaturalWealthJournal.com

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Authenticity, Be The Change, Finding Your Voice

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The “Crazy” Ones

Martha Graham

“Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.” – Steve Jobs

On the verge of becoming one of the “crazy ones” is a very ripe place to be.  “Crazy” is being defined here as one who steps way out of any self or culturally imposed boxes and makes the decision to take action on behalf of the heart informed inner voice.  That voice of courage, passion and strength that has never know conformity.

Amelia Earhart

What makes us decide that we can no longer hide out in complacency or fear of being all that we are?  Confidence and determination are certainly a part of it.  Yet I believe that it is deeper than that.  There is a place inside of each of us that has known since the day we were born the purpose we came here to serve.

This may be a quiet purpose out of the public eye, or it could be a completely visible one where there is no hiding at all.  Whatever it is, knowing your purpose with clarity is the starting block on this journey of coming out.

As women this knowing can be delayed a bit.  Sometimes we wait in quiet expectation until

Indira Gandhi

our 50”s, 60’s or even 70’s before we take the time to listen to the heart and intuition driven inner voice that Steve Jobs speaks of above.  It is never too late to become what is your hearts desire!

Take me for example.  I turned 63 this year and I laughingly said to a friend of mine recently “I keep calling myself midlife.  Am I really deluded?  If I am at midlife now then I will be living vibrantly until age 126!!  Now that is possible I suspect, but a more likely explanation is that I find life so irresistible right now that every day is like an art piece to be explored.

Jean Houston

My friend wants to redefine midlife to include the years when we are vibrantly choosing to make a difference and passionately following that inner guidance with heart directed action.  I agree with her.  Midlife is whatever we define it no matter what age we are.

Are you playing it safe?  Or have you decided to be one of the ‘Crazy Ones”?

Those crazy ones – make a difference.  Narrated by Steve Jobs

…and then there is Alice Walker

“So in the end you can’t even really regret your misfortunes,” explains the beloved author Alice Walker, “because they led you somewhere.”

OTHER BLOGS BY GAYE ABBOTT:
www.BreathingSpaces.net
www.NaturalWealthJournal.com
WEBSITE:
www.IgniteWealthNow.com

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Authenticity, Courage, Creative Expression, Manifesting Your Dreams

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Women Who Make Things Happen

As our world undergoes immense shifts and changes we, as women, are being asked to “step up to the plate” so to speak.  Many of us know what it is that we are passionate about and are taking heart based action in that direction, and many more are simply entertaining which path (or paths) they desire to walk down.

What is it that calls to us from within?   That call we often ignore while being so busy putting out fires, “making a living”, or being Wonder Woman on all the levels that women actively engage in.  There is something called intuition which feels to me to be the soft whisper (and sometimes loud yell) of that essential nature or Divine self that guides, protects, and attempts to inform us of the next steps to take along our unique paths.

I came across an article the other day called Intuition by Danielle Boonstra in which she beautifully and vulnerably addresses the power of intuition by giving an example of when she was at a crossroads in her own life.  Within a few days of reading this I was given the opportunity to listen in to my own essential nature who has been attempting to get my full undivided attention for months now.

Attention has certainly been given in measured doses here and there, but it wasn’t until a dear friend Lea Bayles  did what is called a Discovery session with me that I realized what belief was sitting on top of the me that is so magnificent that I literally had to put sunglasses on to see her.  A blog post arose from this experience entitled “Resistance is Futile and A Doorway to Freedom”.

The point here is that sometimes there are underlying beliefs or patterns that keep us stuck in a “smaller ego self” than who we really are in our fullest expressions.  The discovery of these beliefs and patterns appears to be part of our waking up and the journey that we are here for.

The next question is, are we willing to take the next step by showing up in a way that is not only our natural “birth path”, but are we willing to reach out a hand to the woman next to us, or even across the world, to support her in doing the same thing.

Following is a video of women that have taken a step into there fullest selves and given the “smaller ego self” a vacation to a far away place.  Yes, it is a journey and one with challenges and pitfalls along the way.  However, are we willing to say YES! in any moment to that intuition that says “Go for it!” in the presence of risk and vulnerability?

I, for one, live within those types of moments every single day and it isn’t always easy to get out of your own “smaller self” way.  Are you willing to reach out a hand, step back into the circle of your life in the fullest way possible, and bring at least one other woman with you?

We are innately interconnected.  Let’s use that very web of life to support each other in lighting up the world within our own lives….. and change our personal and global futures.

3-minute film:  Wisdom From Women….Who Make Things Happen

OTHER BLOGS AND WEBSITES OF GAYE ABBOTT:

www.BreathingSpaces.net
www.NaturalWealthJournal.com

WEBSITE:  www.IgniteWealthNow.com

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Be The Change, Courage, Manifesting Your Dreams

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You Can’t Fail At An Experiment

The title of this post is something that Claire Dakin said in her talk at the Women On Fire Conference this year introducing Three Sisters – Women Seeding Change.  This concept – “you can’t fail at an experiment” is a way to look at each twist and turn of your life as an opportunity to take action, and to let go of the fear of failure.

I used to ask myself the question, if we as women took the time to step up on behalf of the planet and stopped competing with each other I wonder what would happen?  What I see occurring all over the globe right now is just that – women stepping up on behalf of the planet, our communities and families, and on behalf of each other .

As a committed global group we hold great power to create the change that we desire.

What the video below will give you are two things.  First is an opportunity to join other women towards quickening a successful outcome towards major global reforestation.

Secondly, is to inspire you to experience first hand what it feels like to open completely to the feminine inside of you, and to celebrate yourself in union with women and girls all over the world.

An experiment can never fail – for it is an experiment.  I wonder what great experiments you can create and take action on from the deepest part of your heart?  Be like Claire Dakin and invest in the courage to find out!

Women supporting women – and all of us supporting the Earth.


OTHER BLOGS BY GAYE ABBOTT:

www.BreathingSpaces.net
www.NaturalWealthJournal.com

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Be The Change, Courage, Empowerment, Feminine Presence

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Breathe Soul Into Your Life

“The breath is a love song from your Soul to you”.  Jennifer Grace King

…and I would add, the breath is a vehicle for celebrating your life!  When is it that we feel most alive?  Most probably when we are embodied in an activity where every single fiber of our being is present and accounted for.  From this state of aliveness it is clear that we are here to play, create, connect and  love in all of its myriad forms.

It is times such as this that we let go of inhibitions and enter the realm of the art of being….being present to the moment in which we are in. Just preceding this moment there may have been fear, anxiety, sadness, expectation,  or any other of the array of human emotions and physical sensations that we feel.

“The breath carries you out
of the games and drama of your mind and brings you deep
down into stillness. “                                      From:  Breathe Soul Into Your Life

Most probably it was not your mind that took you into this moment.  It was a leap of trust and a deep letting go that paved the way for an extraordinary-ordinary moment to be felt fully and embraced.  And, before that moment you most probably took a very deep breath….

RESOURCES:  There are two resources that come with this post.  One is a link to the new book Breathe Soul Into Your Life by Jennifer Grace King who lives in Australia.   Jennifer and I resonate deeply on our feelings about the importance of the breath and connected via one of my other blogs – BreathingSpaces.  This little book is just out and would be a great gift for the holidays (oh yes, they are sneaking up on us!)

LINK:
 http://www.mailermailer.com/x?function=view&c=00000f-e6d0b9bf%2a846305c-cd9c7dbe

The other resource is a video done by Sonia Choquette which I wanted to share with you.  I have unofficially titled this video Breathe Into Your Voice – Be Alive!  There is a great segment of a woman putting her heart and soul into Mary Sings A Little Lamb after the song is completed.   This happens to have been filmed in  Sidney, Australia.   Celebrating our connection with the “down under” folks today!  Enjoy!

OTHER BLOGS BY GAYE ABBOTT:

www.BreathingSpaces.net      Recent post:  Breathing Compassion In The Pitch Dark
www.NaturalWealthJournal.com   Recent post:  Handing Over to the Divine Design

REMINDER!  Today is the last day to register for Bring 3 Friends and Attend for FREE! for the Women’s Empowerment Workshop  September 15-18 in Vail Colorado.  This is a nature adventure retreat that empowers women to nourish mind, body and spirit by connecting to the natural world in a profoundly enriching, compelling, and transformational way.   Go to:  http://www.womensempowerment.us/

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Creative Expression, Vital Health & Well Being

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Love The Journey Now

OK, I am back after a rather long – for me – hiatus from writing.  There are good reasons for this little pause as I was gathering material for creating an entirely new life, as well as juicy experiences to write about….and as you can see by the picture to the left, watching out for snakes in rest stops on the vast landscape of Texas.

Having quit a “job with benefits” on 7/1/11 – hooray! – the car was packed and ready to go forth from Oregon on 7/5/11  traveling through California to visit family and friends on the way to my final destination of Austin, Texas where I am writing from now!

I most probably will be writing about this journey for many months to come as there were, and are, so many experiences that speak to what it is for a woman when she finally says a big YES to herself, leaps on the next train going directly to her particular passions, and slides right into the the wildly free life that has yet to reveal the many, varied, and often mysterious pieces that will go into forming the whole.

Soaking in hot spring pools just as naked as I came into the world – on my birthday; sliding/playing tag/pushing swings/building sand castles/running wildly/laughing until tears streamed down my face with granddaughter Sorenna; touching the belly where my grandson resides; connecting with all 3 adult sons and holding the space to find out who they are becoming; celebrating and rekindling women friendships, some that had not been in person for some 40 years; revisiting San Diego, the place of birth and vast memories; running into the warm Pacific ocean waves with arms outspread and delight coming out in little (OK BIG!) shrieks of pleasure; deeply listening and sharing with brother Ron who over the past 2 years has been living and learning with prostate cancer; eating outrageously healthy and beautiful food wherever I landed; spending an amazing 24 hours at Rancho La Puerta in Tecate, Mexico for FREE with a beloved woman friend; driving mile after mile by myself entertained by the terrain of my past, the ground of my future, and a journey from Cairo to South Africa that kept me spell bound as the book on tape unfolded itself.

Still in awe of the many blessings, love and gifts that I experienced on this journey to my new home I sit with re-inventing what my life is to become now at the tender age of 63.  So many of us seem to be doing this now.  What is it that starts taking hold of our attention and won’t let go until we finally surrender and say OK, what is it that I am to be next? …and when this is clear to us it often is quickly followed by  – but how?

Well, you see the journey has already been put in motion once you have seriously listened to this inner voice that has your best interests “at heart”.   The practice of checking out every single “lead” that comes into your life no matter what the mind says has begun.  Ready or not….her your life comes!!

…and then you are lead along a path that looks and feels like nothing that you have ever experienced before, and if it does feel familiar, then your mind has gotten the upper hand.  Coming back to the heart….that intuitive and wise presence within you that has just made itself the Director Of Life As It Is To Be Now…. breath deepens and then there is space for the listening….and the courage for the following.

Now, there will be surprises along the way, and challenges that test your resolve, but just remember that someone or some force that has no name – has your back.  This is a learning for women that I know for me is taking time to settle in.  We are so used to being on the giving end of that partnership that it may take some time to embody the receiving end….and it comes in the form of trust and faith disguised in many different and varied forms.

Traveling journey to get here is complete.  I am here now.  The journey continues.  I am sick with a bronchitis that started on day 7 of my trip, unsure about how money will flow into me, haven’t lived in a big city for 23 years, and don’t have a place of my own to call home.

Yet, I am housed by a most generous and loving friend, am learning the benefits of deep rest, filling my body with healing foods and juices, requesting understanding and supportive friends to be on-call when I fall into the doubt and frantic mind scares that old patterns of thinking produce, exploring an amazing new city,  taking restorative and gentle yoga classes, walking in awe within natural settings with brand new sights, smells and sounds; and joined the local natural food co-op, everywhere striking up conversations with the incredible friendly people in these parts….y’all.

We can practice loving the journey in the moment no matter what it brings and see where it takes us.  What makes it even richer is if we connect with other women – “wild sisters” if you will – along the way (see RESOURCE below!), enriching our passage and enlivening our journeys.

“We are not held back by the love we didn’t receive in the past, but by the love we’re not extending in the present.” ~ Marianne Williamson

So ask the questions that will stimulate the heart to answer you…and then listen my sisters.  Love the journey now……

RESOURCE: 

https://www.e-junkie.com/ecom/gb.php?cl=158090&c=ib&aff=177407

This new magazine launched last week.  The first issue is filled with color, women’s art and some very “real” writing, along with a full dose of inspiration and creativity.  Young and old will appreciate what our “wild sisters” have to say…and what they have created!!  Take a peak!

OTHER BLOGS BY GAYE ABBOTT:

www.BreathingSpaces.net
www.NaturalWealthJournal.com 

Most recent post: Someone Has Your Back

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Courage, Manifesting Your Dreams

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Looking Past Limits

I turn 63 years old in just a matter of a couple of weeks.  Two days before this day of my birth celebration I am taking flight by heading off down the road to visit family, friends, and new places all on the way to my new home in Austin, Texas.

Unhooking from a “conventional job” with all the trimmings, leaving my little cottage in the Oregon countryside, saying farewell to friends, and generally being aware of letting go of perceived limitations there is an excitement that is building inside.

There is no “job” to greet me on the other side, home to put my belongings in,  man to greet me with open arms, family to be closer to, or known territory to feel “safe” in….yet there is possibility, mystery, and new territory to open to and explore.  Is this what looking past limits is made of?

Mary Oliver said it in her poem, A Summer Day, with the line – “Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?”  I love this line!  Do you know?  Well, it is never too late to breathe wildness into that precious life and find out!  We may not know how, but believing in the innate gifts we hold inside is essential.

“Whether a woman knows it or not, she is a vessel of great magnitude born capable of reshaping humanities destiny if she only knew the true depths of her innate gifts. Be prepared now to see the fierce face of the feminine rock as her inner geographies of volcanic strength erupt from a love she has held in her belly for life all of her days. This is not a gasp of her last breath. It is her birthing cry into her wise leadership on our planet.” ~ Alisa Starkweather

Each of us as women need to hear of others that are doing this same thing as we leap off into the passionate expression of our deepest longings.  Below is a very powerful TED video with Caroline Casey which is well worth the time spent to listen to it in its entirety.

How will you spend the next days/months/years of this one wild and precious life?

OTHER BLOGS BY GAYE ABBOTT:

www.BreathingSpaces.net
www.NaturalWealthJournal.com

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Authenticity, Awareness, Courage, Creative Expression, Empowerment, Manifesting Your Dreams

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ROAR!!! Shaking The Trees

Some of you might recognize this Tarot card which was given to me as a symbol for this last year of my life.  Everyone will see something different within the image and the symbols.  In fact, everyone will see and feel exactly what they need to at this juncture of their life within the depths of the images.

This card has been on my altar as a guiding light for finding trusting, and surrendering to my  authentic “voice” – amongst the many competing ones all around –  in an emboldened, passionate, sensual and expansive way.

In that vein, I would like to share with you a piece called ROAR!!! by Cinda Stevens Lonsway.  As I read this story energy raced through my body.  It was exactly the words that I needed to read right in this moment to inspire me to courageously continue bringing my voice and connecting with the likes of YOU – the Wildly Free Woman!

To read the story please go to:

https://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=107393986006468%22

You can find Cinda on Facebook at : ROAR!-Empowering Women to Give Voice to Their Truth     https://www.facebook.com/roarwithcinda

….and now for the Shaking The Trees part!  Eight years ago now there was a song that was created by Peter Gabriel called “Shaking The Trees”.  I had forgotten about it until today when I came across it once again on a Facebook post.

I gift you this video to go along with ROARING for I do believe that the two combined will have you not only up and dancing, but making sounds that only you can make.  Don’t be shy now!!

OTHER BLOGS BY GAYE ABBOTT:

www.BreathingSpaces.net
www.NaturalWealthJournal.com

Category:

Authenticity, Courage, Creative Expression, Empowerment, Power and Leadership

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