the
art of being female
may,
2005
To fear our own creativity is to fear our own magnificence.
Greetings!
It's hard to believe it is already May. Named after Maia, the Greek Goddess of Spring, this month is the gateway to summer with its promise of longer days and lots of sun and light.
As you may have noticed, Wildly Creative Women's newsletter has a name: "the art of being female". Here you will discover much about this art and how its practice can open you to the compelling experience of being female in today's world.
There is a strong, irresistible, compelling force calling us forth to be the fiercely vibrant, creative, loving, fabulous beings we naturally are. Whether it is in business, the home, the community, politics, or wherever else you hear the call, our world needs your full expression of this art.
Wildly Creative Women's vision is to support the experience of being female, in both word and deed, by developing and offering coaching, courses, and other projects. The art of being female is a practice that provides a framework for self-discovery and authentic empowerment.
We are a powerful gender with a full menu of expressions from which to choose, but our diet has been pretty unbalanced. We must be free to express all that we are, to feast on the infinite supply of possibility. That is wild creativity ...allowing all of ourselves to come forth as we are called forth.
With gratitude,
Julie.
In May's Issue:
What
is inside you,
yet to be expressed?
the
art of being female:
like the tea ceremony
"Let any woman imagine for a moment a biography of herself based upon those records she has left, those memories fresh in the minds of surviving friends, those letters that chanced to be kept, those impressions made, perhaps, on the biographer who was casually met in the subject's later years. What secrets, what virtues, what passions, what discipline, what quarrels would, on the subject's death, be lost forever? How much would have vanished or been distorted or changed, even in our memories?"
If a biographer were to write your life story, would the story reflect the true you?
- What juicy tidbits does no one know about you?
- What is not being expressed out loud to the world?
- What emotions, dreams desires, and passions are you keeping inside?
- Who do you yearn to be at work? at home? in relationship?
- Who are you really?
- How do you want your biography to read?
I received a letter from one of my clients this week telling me how coaching is changing her life. As she opens to her essential self, she is noticing a shift in all areas of her life. Her own future biography is changing every day becuase she is willing to wonder, question, investigate, and share.
An exercise to try: Take some time to write about who you are. Don't worry about writing well, just write. Explore everything with curiosity. Answer the questions above. Allow a sense of who you are and what brings you joy to unfold on the page. Notice what you share and what you keep hidden.
Now play with it by sharing and expressing what you have learned about yourself. Self-discovery can feel like a daunting journey, but it is more about allowing your essential self to come out onto the page and into life.
• the art of being female™: exquisite, like the tea ceremony
L ike the Japanese tea ceremony, the art of being female is a practice designed to bring you fully to the present moment.
In learning the tea ceremony, students are encouraged to learn with the body versus the brain, movement and awareness versus only cerebral exercises. The goal is not the intellectual grasp of the subject but the attainment of presence of mind, body and Spirit. Learning and practicing the tea ceremony is designed to elevate the student’s sensual awareness – awareness of the splendor and mystery of the natural world – as well as learning about her self.
And so it is with the art of being female. It is through the playful movements of our bodies, the opening to our senses and our self expression as women, that we begin to unfurl our realization of Self and develop a unique intelligence of what it means to be richly and divinely female.
True leadership comes from deep within, from one's authentic voice. You are most empowered, creative, and innovative when you are fully and authentically you. You are most able to express your authenticity when your vision is clear and your voice is strong.
Think of how often you silence yourself, whether at work, home, or play because you don't trust your own inner voice. Or consider how often you speak the voice of someone else, because you fear what you have to say isn't valuable.
Being able to hear, trust and act from your own voice requires knowing who you are...all of you. The art of being female utilizes your creative essence, your body with its sensual awareness and female intelligence, your voice of clear thinking, and your full capacity for play and curiosity.
Restoring this lost art of being female means bringing reverence, honor, and respect to living as a female human being. What will this mean for your home and work? What will this mean for your relationships? And, what will this mean for our world?
Coaching
provides a rich, powerful relationship between client and coach.
The goal of coaching is for you, the client, to:
- deepen your learning about your authentic self, who you are under all those beliefs, admonitions, patterns and habits that keep you from having the life you dream of
- develop clear intentions from your vision and set practical goals that support this intention
- take conscious action designed to make your vision and goals a vibrant reality.
Coaching focuses on both being and doing.
One of my fabulous clients recently shared with me just some of the benefits she is receiving from our work together. It is a beautiful example of how your life shifts when you live from your authentic Self. This true you radiates out to everyone you encounter.
While the coaching certainly moves your life forward through concrete doing, as you will see in the following letter, it is truly a journey of self-discovery and a re-centering to authentic being.
Julie
-
There are so many ways that my life has changed since our coaching relationship
has begun - and most of those changes in the last 2 months or so.
When I'm out and about doing my errands, I am connecting with people now. Cashiers, waitresses, even the guys who dry off my car at the car wash - with everyone we connect and talk for a minute or two. It's really interesting to me - because I don't think I am doing anything differently - and yet everything in my daily life is different.
My kids are so much easier to manage. They still have their moments because their communication skills are not developed enough for them to get out what is going on in their head, but overall our days flow much better. There are less tears and shouting to be heard which makes for a peaceful house for sure.
My fellow consultants give me feedback that I am so successful, so laid back and such a great people person and I just have to laugh to myself. If they only knew what rolled around in my head.
Of course my customers are just thrilled - they bubble with enthusiasm at and after the party. I just had a woman who was at a party of mine in August who wants to be a consultant now. We are meeting this week and it feels so neat to have the universe reach around like that.
I had to share all those "little" successes - I've been wanting to tell you and thought now would be a good time:-)
THANK YOU for being such a great coach and encouraging me to be out there. I'm loving it!
D. Allen
Find
out more about coaching with me.
Call me at 510.644.9442 to schedule your 30-minute complimentary session.
Course Calendar
Women, Creativity & Female Power
Sunday May 22, 2005
Santa Monica, CA
10:00 - 5:00 (9:30 registration)Saturday June 11, 2005
Berkeley, CA
10:00 - 5:00 (9:30 registration)Coming soon to New York City
Returning soon to Washington DCClass sizes are limited! Contact Julie to pre-register, 510.644.9442
Course Listing
All courses, both corporate and open-enrollment, are based on Creativity in Business, a course taught at Stanford Graduate School of Business for 25 years. Please contact Julie, if you are interested in having me design and teach a course for your company. Courses for both women and men are offered through Wildly Creative Women's parent company, Creative Wellspring.
Corporate Offerings:
• Introduction to WCW in Business - 1 day
• Wildly Creative Women in Business - 10 weeks
Open Enrollment:
• Women, Creativity & Female Power - 1 day
New Courses coming soon:
• The art of being female - Open Enrollment (10 weeks)
• Opening to Self-discovery (e-course)
• The art of being female - Part I (5 week tele-course)
• The art of being female - Part II (7 week tele-course)
Each month a new play-with is offered as an addition to your practice of the art of being female.
Playing-with your experience is the basis of the "creative cycle of self-discovery" used in Wildly Creative Women's coaching and courses.
Play-with for May: Moving towards happiness
In every moment you have a choice and with that choice you are either moving towards or away from happiness. If you have clarity of vision and set clear intentions, then each choice you make becomes more aligned with your true desire.
During this month, in each moment of choice, ask yourself:
Is this choice bringing me closer to happiness or away from happiness? If it is closer to happiness, choose it; if you feel it will take you away from happiness, don't choose it. (Note: you may need to first define happiness if you haven't ever really stopped to inquire.)
Even without clarity of vision and intention, asking this simple inquiry before choosing will begin to lead you closer to authentic action because what brings you true happiness is what you truly and authentically desire. Notice that the answer may not be clear intellectually, but will always be clear on a physical, intuitive level.
Play with your experience. Every choice is a yes/no question. See what happens as a result of your choice. Notice how the outcome "feels". Does it feel good or does it feel lousy? Are you happier? This question really gets to the heart of the matter and asks your body to share in the decision.
coming in June: Say Hello to your Body Beautiful
Things are happening at Wildly Creative Women.
Check out our
blog at http://creative.typepad.com/wildlycreativewomen
Please post comments if you are moved to respond!
Wildly Creative Women is on Ryze. Check it out!
Stay tuned for informaiton regarding a three-part dating class. This class will be taught in New York in the fall, but first it will be taken for a test drive right here in the Bay Area. If you are interested in finding out more, contact Julie.
About
Julie:
Julie
Daley holds a design degree from Stanford University.
A Certified Professional Coach, she trained with Michael Ray PhD and Lorna
Catford PhD to teach Creativity in Business, the famous Stanford Business
course.
"Julie is remarkable in her ability to uncover the inner layers
of creative forces."
~Nancy Mongan
Check
us out at:wildlycreativewomen.com
Powerful
Personal Coaching and Experiential
Courses
are
available to re-awaken you to your natural power within.
