the
art of being female
june,
2005
To fear your own creativity is to fear your own magnificence.
Greetings!
Happy June. The more I learn about people and creativity, the more convinced I am that the body lies at the heart of a full, creative, happy and successful life. It is through the body that we interact with everything and everyone around us, by way of our senses and our intuition. Knowing this, it becomes very clear that the relationship we have with our body affects how we experience our world and everything in it.
I spent a wonderful week at Esalen Institute in Big Sur last week attending a 5Rhythms workshop called, The Heart of the Matter. If you are not familiar with 5Rhythms, it is an incredible dance practice and moving meditation. As Gabrielle Roth (the mother of 5Rhythms) says:
Energy
moves in waves
Waves move in patterns
Patterns move in rhythms
A human being is all of those
Energy, waves, patterns, rhythms
We are the dance
-Gabrielle Roth
As you listen to your body and allow it to move in its own waves and rhythms, you begin to feel an entirely different relationship with the world around you and those in it.
This issue of the art of being female speaks to the importance of the body in how we enjoy our lives as human beings. So much of the time, we attempt to be creative by way of our intellects, but it is through embodied creativity that we find our full self-expression as women (and men).
So this month, send your
body some loving kindness. Treat it with love and respect. Acknowledge all
it does for you. Allow it to share its wisdom with you. Begin to see your
body in a different light and shift your relationship with it...you will be
surprised at how it enlivens you.
With gratitude,
Julie
ps - Many of you have requested a print version of the art of being female because you want to be able to "curl up in a warm and cozy place and read it at your own pace". So, here you go...
In June's Issue:
Our
wisdom and joy grows as we connect with others of like mind and purpose. Please
pass this newsletter on to any women or men you think might enjoy or benefit
from receiving it by clicking on the link at the bottom
of the page.
Thank you!
Everywhere you look these days there is mention of the new mid-life crisis...for women.
Time magazine's May 16th, 2005 issue is all over the topic, including a tongue-in-cheek essay titled, Crisis? I'll take mine to go. I'd Love an Inner Journey, but who's got the time? (Claudia Wallis, http://www.time.com/time/covers/1101050516/sowallis.html).
Wallis speaks of how women begin to change in mid-life, with a deeper desire to begin to know oneself, but she jokingly states that she doesn't have time to get to the ashram because life gets in the way.
Well Wallis should take note: Wild Creativity is all about this. Wild Creativity is about taking this inner journey right in the middle of life, by realizing and stepping into one's internal creativity as the source of self-knowledge. You already have the ashram within...it’s just a matter of learning the tools to help you find your way. read more
E mbodied creativity and sensual awareness are key aspects of the art of being female.
Unfortunately, the body can be a source of discomfort and self-distrust. When we look outside of ourselves for our identity and approval, the very thing that can bring us home, our body, becomes the target of disapproval and even self-hate. By disassociating from the body and hating, berating, and deflating it, we are trying to disassociate from what we believe is undesirable. Our culture is full of messages and images of what is beautiful, especially as it applies to the female form. With this small definition of what our society sees as beauty, we quickly learn to disconnect from the one body we have when we feel we can’t possibly live up to what we believe is the “acceptable norm”.
But we are sensuous beings. We have beautiful bodies meant to experience pleasure in all forms. Our creative spirit flows into and through our bodies. It is here we feel a deep connection to the earth, a connection that speaks a language suppressed for thousands of years, the language of the Feminine. Without this connection, we can’t develop the trust necessary to act from our own inner truth.
The body is the seat of our essence, the physical manifestation of our connection to that which is greater than us. When we deny our love for our bodies, we deny our own essence, and we deny the connection with the very thing that breathes life into our being.
Being in touch with your body brings a grounded sense of awareness that allows you to choose from an instinctive authority and intuition. One of the best things about body awareness is the delight it provides for your day-to-day experience. From this place, the world looks and feels different. When you are in your body and in touch with your desires, there is substance and genuineness to life. There is an ability to enjoy the sensuousness of the world around you. When you are connected to your body, you can hear your own truth.
Check out the play-with practice for June: Say Hello to your Body Beautiful
I have grown wiser through my coaching practice. I have been humbled by my clients.
I am continually amazed at what is possible when we come together in service of the client's learning and empowerment. A powerful relationship is created that allows for deep dialogue, illuminated understanding, and conscious action. As most of my clients will tell you, it isn't always easy, but it is always in search of and in service to what is true for them. This is what they are after...their truth - not mine, not society's, not their partner's, but their truth.
It can be hard to know and own our own truth. From the time we are young, we are well trained to rely more on what others tell us is true, than what we know deep in our hearts is so. At some point in each life, there is a moment when we know we can no longer follow the truth of another. This is the point when our own authentic voice becomes loud enough to be heard over the din of our Voice of Judgment, that voice that keeps us dancing to the rhythm we hear "out-there", instead of the rhythm in our own being.
I see this reliance on the rhythm "out-there" as being like an addiction. As human beings, we are addicted to feeling approval from others, to believing we can somehow live up to all the images and messages "out-there" about what it means to be happy, beautiful, successful, alive, powerful, and on and on. This need is understandable because we learned these beliefs and habits of behavior from the time we were very young. But it doesn't have to be this way!
Withdrawing from the rhythm "out-there" can be painful and overwhelming as we slowly find our way to the rhythm inside. It takes liberal amounts of self-compassion and self-love. It can also take help from someone who is there for you completely. There are many ways to your truth. In my experience as a coach, I am finding that coaching is one of the most powerful ways because of the ability a coach has to shine a light for you on what you can't see yourself, repeat back to you what you can't hear yourself say, and hold you completely whole and resourceful when you don't yet know how to hold yourself that way.
As a coach, I am always looking for ways to improve my skills and add to what I have to offer my clients. To this end, I am now training in "Great Life Recovery Coaching", or how to coach someone in recovery from addiction. Addiction comes in many forms. I believe we are all addicted to something whether it be drugs or alcohol, food issues, exercise, sex, the need to be what our society says is the "norm", or even the act of rebellion. When we attempt to fill the hole inside ourselves with something from the outside, we fall prey to addiction.
When we begin the journey home to our own truth, we begin to wean ourselves off of what has been filling this hole and feast on our own grand buffet within.
To find out more about coaching with me or to schedule a 30-minute complimentary
session, write to me at julie@wildlycreativewomen.com
or phone 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
• Welcome to Your Dating World - 5 weeks
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 June: Say Hello to your Body Beautiful
This practice play-with is about beginning a new relationship with your body. Be curious as you do this play-with. Notice what thoughts go through your head as you do this practice. Are they kind or are they critical?
Notice how you feel about your body. Are you comfortable in your own skin? Or does it make you uncomfortable to even think about your own body? How you feel about your body may have nothing to do with how you believe you look to others.
Every day, at least once a day, find some way to bring yourself present to your body. You might try putting your attention squarely in your body, perhaps in your heart, maybe in your gut, or even in your toes. Another way to say this is to focus on different parts of your body. As you do so, notice how it feels to slow down and focus. Notice if it feels good to be there, or uncomfortable, or perhaps you feel something else. Just allow yourself to focus on different parts of your body, one part at a time.
When you feel ready, another exercise is to stand in front of the mirror with your clothes off. Say hello to your beautiful body. Speak kindly to it. Notice if you feel uncomfortable or are critical of your body. If so, note how criticizing your body makes you feel inside. Or, maybe you are very comfortable in front of the mirror. Just begin to notice what kind of relationship you have with it.
Doing this practice may bring up some uncomfortable beliefs. Buy a journal and begin to write about what you are noticing about this all important relationship. Have compassion for yourself as you practice.
Stay with this practice throughout the month, continuing to write each day if possible.
coming in July: develop your sensual awareness
Things are happening at Wildly Creative Women.
Coming this August: Wildly Creative Women is offering a new dating course for women. Contact Julie if you are interested in finding out more!
An new course schedule is being prepared for the late summer and fall months. Please stay tuned for more information.
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!
About
Julie:
Julie
Daley holds a design degree from Stanford University.
A Certified Professional Coach, Julie teaches Creativity in Business, the
famous Stanford Business course in many varieties.
"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.
