Spring "Soulstice" - food for the soul!

As a group of amazing women and I get ready to hold our Spring Soulstice event in Forest Park on March 22, I came across an article I shared on my website some time ago and it seemed relevant to what is coming up.  We use Goddess archetypes and their attributes to help us in our everyday lives.  It is fun to learn about the many goddesses and what made them special and then decide which parts of them we would like to embody in our own lives.  Please join us by clicking here!

How to be a Goddess  

By Anita Revel

There are many faces modern women present to the world. In the space of one day, you can be the professional at work, partner and career at home, and fun-lover with friends. No matter what the situation, women need to draw on a wide range of resources to keep it all together. Tapping into goddess energy is one way to ensure you get through each day with your integrity intact.

SELF PRESERVATION. Being goddess is about being in tune with oneself, being able to recognize threatening situations and respond rationally and calmly. Trust your instinct and act with confidence. Be conscious of the influence of others’ moods and needs and stay balanced in times of duress. Manifest security and a dynamic presence by keeping your feet firmly on the ground, literally.

SELF GRATIFICATION. Creatively, emotionally and sexually, connect with others through feeling, desire, sensation and movement. Learn to accept change gracefully and don’t be afraid to let your depth of feelings show. In addition, a poverty consciousness will only serve to deny what you deserve. Abundance is good, (greed is not), whether it be material, esoteric, emotional or otherwise. Ask for what you want and deserve, and providing it’s not for selfish reasons, give yourself permission to receive it.

SELF DEFINITION. Being goddess is more than just alabaster skin and an Elle McPherson body. Apart from round abdomens and swinging breasts, common attributes of ancient goddesses include uncompromising strength, compassion and justice. Spend time working out who you are, who you want to be, and then honoring the true you in the image you present to everyone you meet. Write your own eulogy then circle the five most important elements that you would want people to remember you by. Then, live according to those attributes to make them a habit.

SELF ACCEPTANCE. If you don’t love yourself, then don’t expect others too either. If you let others treat you badly, you are telling your inner psyche that you do not deserve better. The modern goddess gal never, ever allows herself to accept second best. Rally your personal power and self-respect and learn to say words like “No” and “Enough.” Most importantly, mean what you say! On the other side of the coin, give compliments freely, for if ‘what goes around comes around’ you will soon enjoy receiving plenty in return.

SELF EXPRESSION. What you say is what you get. Expressions like, “I’ll never be able to get over this obstacle,” will manifest in exactly the way you describe. Instead of confronting and overcoming your fears, you will remain stagnant, bashing your head against the brick wall you say can’t be knocked down. Change your speech habits to dispel negatives and embrace positives. Say “I can do it,” and next thing you know, you’ll be leaping brick walls in a single bound.

SELF REFLECTION. Get over petty issues and open your vision to see the Big Picture. If you are absorbed in trivial worries, they are most likely a distraction mechanism to keep you from what it is you really need. If you had three months left to live, would you really care about your shade of lipstick, upgrading your mobile phone, or getting the best table at the hottest restaurant in town? It’s up to you to prioritize what the important things really are. Make a list of your dreams for the next week, year, and/or decade. Circle one thing on each list and commit to make it happen, one step at a time.

SELF KNOWLEDGE. See yourself as a minute organism in the ways of the world, both in the physical and non-physical planes, in the present and the future. Disconnecting with the world every now and then can be healthy if it lets you travel to a spaceless, timeless place of knowledge, wisdom, understanding and spiritual connection. To revitalize flagging energy levels, practice yoga and meditation when possible. Time poor? Take the phone off the hook and power-rest for five minutes – this time-out for self can be just as refreshing.

This Garment is Wearing Well

This Garment is Wearing Well
An automatic writing piece from a meditation

Put back together what has come undone. The seams have opened before, you sewed them again. Then with wear and tear they opened again in a different place. And you sewed it back together again. Each time the seams get stronger.

The garment is not wearing out, it is wearing well. Each stitch uses a stronger yarn. This garment is fitting you better and better over the years. It has also gotten large enough for others to join you as they find their way.

The life you are stitching together is a piecemeal coat of wonderfulness. You world is under construction – again. But you are not alone and the garment, the life garment you are constructing will fit all in need; all those who are behind you. Light the way so they will walk easier, through a well-worn path with trees that reach out to each person at each juncture, each crossroad.

It is your path; it is their path. Their path is created from yours and will all become universal as one journey of many souls.

Funny Times Ahead!

So four of us have decided to create a performance group, kind of a spoken word type of group. And word has it we will take it to the streets, so to speak, and do live performances. I really don't have an issue with this as I have performed most of my life, some in ways I would like NOT to remember!

What is interesting is there are four views on each topic. We all put ideas in a hat and have chosen (from that hat), which topics we will address. One word - four voices. And in a way, we have begun learning about one another. It seems that my life is a tragic one, full of bad mothers and abusive fathers. While I can laugh at all the "tragedies" now, it wasn't always that way. I survived, have lived to tell the next tale, and have made lemonade out of the lemons that were tossed into my cook pot.

It has also made me think about how those stories created themselves and more so, about those that affected them. Yes, we can all say we had terrible upbringings, full of dysfunction and drama. But if you look deeply at the people whom you'd like to blame for that dysfunction, you will also see the sadness and tragedy that formed their lives and souls.

Of course, there are some people who are just evil and brought to this earth to mess up those closest and dearest to them. I lived with one. But can I be so cliche to say that she helped make me the person I am now, more soulful, more compassionate of those closest to me? I think I can. So I can say a thank you now. The difficulties have passed. I can laugh at them. I can also cry at them still. And they continue to shape my ever changing being.

Compassionate and Unique Leadership Skills

"When you act from the highest, you will not only feel the delight of such a connection but others will be uplifted in your presence and get a hint of their own Divine Light." I procrastinated AGAIN and missed out on an important opportunity and I am angry at myself about it. I wanted to attend the Women's Conference 2010 at Omega Institute this fall and I put off signing up for it till today. And it is sold out. Bummer. Big bummer. BUT, there is an opportunity to win tickets to it by answering the question, "What unique qualities empower you, as a woman, to be a strong and compassionate leader?" Wow, big question. And it has to be answered in 200 words or less. I started reading some of the answers and was overwhelmed by the creativity and profundity. I've written things on that topic in more ways than one so I decided to go back and look at some of the words I have written. And if I pray and ask the universe for help, maybe, just maybe I will be the winner. A friend was just given free tickets to go back to Medjugorje in Bosnia, where she was healed. She felt a need to go back and could not afford to go, so she prayed. And she received! I DO believe that the universe is waiting to help if we just ask. "Ask and you shall receive." So I am because I feel deep down that it is important that I go this year. Here is my answer to that question in 247 words. Hopefully they aren't counting. Unique qualities for compassionate leadership are really quite simple. Believe in your dreams. Ask for help and receive. Face your biggest fears. Take risks that you know will lead to greater things. Trust and empower the people around you; trust in yourself and your abilities; trust your gut; trust that moving forward includes hurts, failure, darkness, as well as growth and achievement; trust that NOTHING is static, NOTHING ever goes as initially planned; trust that not knowing everything at all times is OK; life is unfolding as it is meant to. Let go of all preconceived notions - they will hold you back; let go of limiting behaviors; to "let go" is to fear less and love more. Accept yours and others flaws, intricacies, gifts, beauty; accept that you have no control over the universe and it will guide you. Become to others the same role model that moved you to greater things. Impart the wisdom you've learned to others moving along those same paths you once travelled, helping them to reach the level of inner comfort and outer freedom you yourself have found. If we envision a world where women support each other and help each other find their place in an ever-changing world, then we can become the change we want to see.