Blossoming Feminine Wisdom: Essence

I have been feeling strongly that some gifts come with red ‘warning flags’ attached that read, “The attached gift will enhance your life in a way that you cannot imagine yet it also carries things that will ‘stir up’ some deep, emotional bullshit. It’s all good! Trust in the process and receive the gift.”

I acknowledge and accept the challenge and I choose to receive and fully accept the gift.

Today I feel vulnerable yet incredible. I participated in the BraveHeart Women “Core Call” last night with Ellie Drake and my BraveHeart Sisters. It was a difficult thing for me to do. I often feel things so deeply and although I do not seem to have a challenge expressing those feelings in writing, when it comes to speaking about them I feel vulnerable and unsure of myself.

I feel an overwhelming sense of gratitude. I am thankful for the BraveHeart Sisters that were on the call with me. I am grateful that they too have heard the true voice of their heart and are dedicated to taking the steps necessary to follow that voice. I am honored to be both participating in and witness to this blossoming. We all, collectively, as sisters bonded together by a choice to be inspiration in action, share in the experiences and the gifts of the blossoming of each individual flower.

As we unfold ourselves … petal by petal … not only are we all each becoming a beautiful flower in an incredible garden, but the essence of that flower, the fragrance, the beauty, is shared among the garden and becomes something much greater than each of us alone.

I love you, my Sisters! Thank you for your love, support and inspiration.

Lisa

In the words of Yoda, “Do or do not … there is no try.” there is great wisdom. To TRY, although it sounds a noble cause, is really something else in disguise. To TRY is to have an attachment to an outcome. Consider the statement “I am TRYing my best to get there.” with ‘there’ being an idea or an ideal that we hold in our minds as the goal, the nirvana, the place where we will truly find happiness. Or ‘I am TRYing to BE who I am’. Can we really TRY to be who we ARE? “Do or do not … there is no try.” Clearly there is no TRYing to be who you are, you just are who you are!

To let go of TRY is to allow yourself to BE. BEing is allowing your inner truth to be revealed and then taking inspired action in response to that truth. It is letting go of attachment to a specific outcome or destination and allowing yourself to be led by your own inner voice, to keep taking steps forward into that truth, even if they are uncomfortable.

Allowing this leading requires Trust … Trust in the process and Trust in your own Inner Voice. The questions often become “How do I know that what I FEEL called to BE is my Truth? How do I know I am on the right path?” I believe there is more than one answer to these questions and that the answers change and grow as we change and grow. No one answer is appropriate for everyone and every situation, yet there is a common theme that runs throughout them.

In my own growth process I have found clues to the answers to some of these questions in reviewing my journals, notes and drawings. In going through the contents of what I chose to document over the past several years I began to see patterns emerging. There are certain messages or thought patterns that are repeated in many different ways. Some of these have become a ‘great idea’ that has been put into action. Some of these patterns are things that I have outgrown or challenges I have overcome. Some are challenges I am currently experiencing and growing through. Some are emerging as new thoughts and ideas with no real discernible pattern, yet there is a common theme.

My journals, notes and writings are physical evidence of WHO I AM when I let go of TRY and allow myself to BE. One page by itself may not reveal much in the way of answering the questions of Trust and Truth yet the sum of all of the pages tells an incredible story of growth, of overcoming challenges, of building a solid foundation, of creating a space for ideas and passions to be born and then nurturing those passions, to blossom.

My own story reminds me to let go of TRY and to simply BE … be who I am … here … now … in this moment and every moment. The story affirms that when I allow myself to BE … when I treat myself with LOVE and ACCEPTANCE and allow myself the gifts of putting my thoughts to paper I grow … whether I realize or not in the moment … I grow …

The common theme of our own individual answers to these questions is that GROWing is evidence of BEing and is not evidence of TRYing. Look back in your own journals, see the patterns that create the 'evidence' that you have grown. Accept the gift of CONGRATULATIONS!!! on allowing yourself to BE WHO YOU ARE and know that with Trust in the process and Trust in your own inner voice you allow yourself to GROW into your full potential!

Today is the Perfect Day! As I trust the wisdom of my Inner Voice to guide me and as I love and accept myself exactly as I am in this moment I give myself the gift of my Self and awaken more and more each day into true Essence of who I was born to BE.

With love and gratitude,
Lisa

I experienced an interesting article this morning. Hotel First Nation, written by Robert Animikii Horton, was inspired by the movie Hotel Rwanda and describes the many divisions within our human existence and how those divisions distract us from knowing the truth of UNITY and Community.

While I've been circling around an understanding of division, duality and the many undertones carried by them that affect us on a personal level, whether we are conscious of it or not, I hadn't thought of it this way. In experiencing this article I have a new understanding of many things including Gandhi's quote "you must be the change you wish to see in the world". I am inspired to contribute to the movement of ‘change’ beginning with me.

If the change I wish to see in the world is PEACE then I must Be or Allow peace within myself. Throughout the article and to illustrate the point, the author replaced the words Hotel Rwanda with Hotel First Nations. I continued following this path and allowed it to take me on a tour of division and duality in my own personal world. In each of these hotels were examples of the separateness in my own life.

I was led to Hotel New Jersey and saw division on a large scale, to Hotel Buckalew where although there is a greater sense of unity, division and duality still exist, to Hotel Lisa where I caught a glimpse of the duality within me and my ‘rejection’ of certain aspects of my own Self. I thought that this is where the path would end and that it was here that I would stop and hold the space for Unity to manifest in my self and my life. That it was here where I would practice unconditional love and create peace within myself by accepting and embracing ALL aspects of me. That it was here that I would practice nurturing and healing the wounds that create division in my own BEing … and then, to my surprise, I was led to yet another Hotel.

The paintings on the walls in the lobby of Hotel Woman are many in number and represent women and the many labels we have been given throughout time. Some of these labels are quite beautiful and honor the female Essence in a positive and uplifting way while others are quite the opposite and paint a picture of the parts of ourselves that we, and perhaps others as well, might prefer we keep hidden.

I then saw myself standing naked in the center of the lobby of Hotel Woman. My assignment was to clothe myself by using the paintings on the walls. Which will I choose? I found myself drawn to the more beautiful aspects of the Essence of Woman and I chose the paintings that would cover me in the most positive and uplifting light. I placed these over me in a fashion that would hide what I consider to be the ‘uglier’ aspects of me. With the most beautiful aspects of Woman covering me in a gown fit for a queen or a Goddess I danced around the room.

At some point I became conscious of what was still left hanging on the walls … the things that I had not chosen to adorn myself with and saw that now the lobby of Hotel Woman no longer contained an accurate representation of the true Essence of Woman. I had created division and duality by choosing only the most beautiful aspects and leaving the rest, the uglier parts, still on the walls, dismissed and labeled as ‘not me’.

I had been conscious of this duality as it relates to loving accepting and encouraging myself as ‘Lisa’ yet although I have been awakening to it I had not been fully aware that there is a deeper part of me that requires that same acceptance on a much deeper level as a Woman AND that this understanding and acceptance is an essential building block to the true unconditional love and peace that I aspire to create in my life.

The lesson learned today or, more truly, the gift received today in standing in the lobby of Hotel Woman is the understanding that the true Essence of Woman is experienced through ALL aspects of woman and not just the beautiful ones. Embracing ALL aspects of ‘Woman’ as my own and choosing to clothe myself with a balanced selection will assist me to understand how the true Essence of ‘Lisa’ is experienced the same way. That by accepting ALL aspects of myself – the good, the bad and the ugly – with unconditional love, I unlock the doors to true Peace within myself which is an essential and foundational building block to BEing the change I wish to see in the world.

With love and gratitude,
Lisa

My purpose is to heal.

In gratitude and with love for ALL in my life that assists me to heal. I am grateful for the faces that the energies of healing choose to manifest in my life. I am humbled before the many forms that the energy of healing chooses to take. I am in the moment with the essence of healing.

Ahhhhhhhhh!!!

Being Inspiration in Action,
Lisa

My Dear Sisters,

Please accept my apologies. I am reposting one of my blog entries below and and making sure comments are enabled. I must have somehow ticked the box to not allow comments on this post and I can't find a way to un-tick it, so I am reposting it.

I have received several emails and messages on this subject through which I realized that some of you have a lot of your own personal wisdom to share about your own awakening to the power of your feminine energy.

Please feel free to share here as you shared with me privately. Again, I apologize for inadvertently disallowing comments.

"See" you on the Core Inner Circle call tonight!

Ahhhhhhhh!!!

with love and gratitude for my incredible BraveHeart Sisters!
Lisa


Funny how life works ...

I am a woman. I am a woman yet I have been surrounded by SO much masculine energy in my life. I am beginning to understand that there are many ways this has affected me. There are many layers of belief that are interconnected over many interconnecting layers of my life and how I live it AND more importantly that this masculine way of doing things, this masculine energy, has been the foundation of the tools I use and the methods I automatically implement when making choices in my every day life. This would be great if I were a man - men's tools seem to work well for men. Yet I am a woman.

I attended the Core Inner Circle call last night where Ellie shared more wonderful tools for tapping into our feminine wisdom. It's always amazing to me how the information on these calls affirms where I am, gives me a deeper understanding of how I have been operating on auto-pilot and then assists me to stretch and to grow to know mySelf better. With these new tools ... tools that honor my feminine energy, I am slowly, consistently and lovingly learning more and more about mySelf each day. I am learning how to be Me.

I love, admire and respect the men in my life and I appreciate masculine energy in many, many ways ... yet I do not wish to embody it mySelf. I am a woman and my life's purpose is to be as God created me, to heal and nurture my own feminine energy, embodying the full essence of what it means to be Me - to blossom into my own divine feminine wisdom - and through this awakening be in service to women who choose to heal and blossom into their own divine feminine wisdom.

Today, in assessing my To-Do List and what I am giving my attention to I feel a deep sense of peace ... "It is what it is" and "I am what I am." as Ellie says it and as my son Jeff used to say, "It's all good! Enjoy the ride!"

with love and gratitude,
Lisa

Life has been busy and broken into a fast paced flow of intersecting situations that have been coming at her from everywhere at once. So many places to heal ...

Lined up outside the door is the line of many faces representing the areas in which she is required to heal. Each of these faces carries a message with it that she is required to receive with grace so that it may be accepted as part of allowing the full essence of who she is to emerge and to blossom.

She receives the messengers one by one and with the guidance of the Healing Council she assists with the integration of healing into each of these areas.

Occasionally, one of the messengers carries something they feel is so urgent that they storm the door, ignoring their place in line, breathlessly expressing a need that must be dealt with immediately.

The messengers voice and the message delivered raise alarm inside of her. A big one. There is a depth to this message that permeates all of her being. She knows this because she feels the little girl in her, her humanness, wanting to run and hide in the safety of the woods.

Wisdom, in her place at the center of the Council knows ... like she knows, like she knows, like she knows ... that all is well.

It is what it is.

It's all good.

Relax and be in the flow.

Strengthen your muscles.

Enjoy the ride.

Curious as to why the little girl is running she follows her for a bit assessing the best way to support her with love and divine guidance. She observes the layers of physical, emotional, mental and spiritual pain that the little girl travels though while she runs to the safety of her cocoon. Recognizing the essence of healing in each of them she returns to the present moment in the council chamber knowing what to do.

She thanks the messenger with a warm smile that carries the essence of a loving embrace. "Thank you for trusting your voice and delivering this message. I understand the urgency you brought with it. I will take care of this for you. Run now and be in Joy. Relax and be who you are. I will take care of this for you."

Satisfied, the messenger relaxes into the healing energy of council. She feels the shift. Preparing to release. Preparing to fly ...

She adds, "Please deliver a message to the faces outside the door that thanks them for their patience. I am honored to be a vessel through which the wisdom of healing can be integrated and I wish to honor each of their messages to the fullest with the same attention I am giving to the urgent message you just delivered. Tell them that I stand in gratitude for their patience."

Wisdom closes her eyes and with her breath receives the gifts of the message.

Tight at first ... Relax your shoulders and breathe ...

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh ... That's better ... In the feminine flow ...

What am I required to do?

...

I am afraid.

All is good. All is well. Enjoy the ride.

...

I am afraid.

...

She knows what she must do ... like she knows, like she knows, like she knows ... she has done this many times before.

The first step always requires the most courage ...

I’ve shared a little bit about my ah-ha moment(s) in experiencing Oriah Mountain Dreamer’s book The Call which, among many other things invites women to stop doing and rest. I have also shared my resistance to rest and observations that when the “is” (it is what it is) is accepted, embraced and thereby removed from the word “resist” the word is then transformed into “rest”.

This call to rest has been challenging. My husband and I recently spent an incredible week camping in the woods. In preparation for this week I packed a lot of things that I thought I might like to do while camping. In my backpack were several books that I am reading or re-reading, art supplies, my cameras and lenses and various other tools. I packed these things thinking that I might feel called to ‘do’ some of them.

Halfway through the week I realized that I had been so enjoying being in the moment experiencing camping in the woods that I had ‘forgotten’ about the things I brought to do. This observation brought a scolding with it and I observed myself ‘beating myself up’ in admonishment for resting and not being productive. I again remembered Oriah Mountain Dreamer’s call to stop ‘doing’ and rest and gave myself permission to do just that – to let go of the ‘busy-ness’ of doing, to rest and be still with myself, to be quiet enough to hear the truth of my own quiet voice from deep within, to connect with the Divine Essence of who I was born to be.

This morning as I was on my way out to the front porch to sip my coffee in the comfort of my wicker rocking chair I noticed a praying mantis clinging to the house near the door frame. I observed it for a few minutes noticing that while its body remained still, as if frozen, its head rotated around to follow me keeping an eye on me as I moved to capture it with the camera. The moments spent with the mantis inspired me to contemplate the symbolism of its appearance at my front door this morning. What message am I to receive from this creature?



The Praying Mantis is a messenger that carries the essence of the Power of Stillness. An appearance from the mantis is a message to be still, go within, meditate, and experience quiet and calmness. It can also indicate the need to be more mindful the choices you are making and confirm that these choices are congruent with your purpose.

The origin of the word Mantis comes from a Greek word that means “Prophet”. Perhaps if we can be still with ourselves we can open to our own prophecy. This stillness can be practiced as simple contemplation in the moment, in meditation or the restorative stillness of sleep and dreams.

Being still with the essence of mantis can teach us how to let go of the outer layers of thought and connect with our own inner power so that when we do take action we do so with confidence, precision and with great power.

There are many stories of the mantis across many cultures, one of the most widely known being from African lore. The Kalihari Bushmen of Africa believe that Mantis was a Bushman who carries plentiful tales of his many adventures. When he found that he got himself into trouble he would go off alone, go to sleep and dream a solution to his problem. This tale embodies the essence of this curious insect and brings with it the gift of the power of stillness. When we learn to still the outer mind and go within we can draw upon a greater power in the physical, mental emotional or spiritual realms to create peace that comes from being truly connected to our own Divine selves.

Chinese martial arts evolved around the activities of the praying mantis. In the practice of kung fu there is a meditation called “chi kung” which uses the breath to go within and direct the life force of the body along the seven major energy meridians or chakras of the body. This healing meditative practice can strengthen and empower the many organs and systems of the body and through it we can learn to use the gifts of this stillness in varying degrees from creating to healing.

The mantis hunts by remaining still and blending into its surroundings making it a great hunter. When the time is right it suddenly grasps its prey in its long forelegs folding them over its victim like a jackknife. This stillness before acting can be applied to ourselves as we contemplate the message of the praying mantis. Mantis asks us to observe our own actions in life. Are you sharing your plans and ideas prematurely? Are you impatient or acting in a haphazard or chaotic manner? Are you missing opportunities to receive life’s many gifts due to acting or speaking to quickly? Being still with the Essence of Praying Mantis can assist with these questions.

I am humbled and grateful for this Universal affirmation appearing at my front door this morning. Within its stillness mantis carries the essence of Awareness, Creativity, Patience, Mindfulness, Calm, Balance and Intuition. It brings peace and acceptance of "It is what it is." and "I am what I am." I allow myself to experience the healing stillness of going within and connecting to the truth of my deepest self.

There are so many shifts happening in my life and so many ways that I am opening to and blossoming into my own, inherent, feminine wisdom. There has been transformation in many aspects of my life. Some I’ve accepted joyfully and some were and still are a bit more challenging to get through. Collectively though, they’ve ALL collaborated to bring me to right here … where I am right now ... experiencing a joy-full, peace-full and beauty-full moment in my own evolution.

To me, transforming means that I fully realize that I am not bound by the "rules" of yesterday. This realization allows me to sever the connection and “pull the plug” on yesterday with the understanding that the severing of the connection does not have to come from a place of rejection, but rather it can come from a place of acceptance. Acceptance brings peacefulness.

I can now remind my Self that “it was what it was” in “that moment” but that moment is over now; that this is a NEW moment with no attachment to prior moments; that it is what it is … right now; to be in this moment not with the attachment to all of the moments that have come before but to really BE in THIS moment with the WISDOM of all of the moments before.

I am beginning to see how this acceptance can assist me to celebrate every moment, in the moment, whether it feels joyful or is challenging. The acceptance of all of them leads to inner peace.

I wonder ... is transformation is a deeper level of blossoming or is it perhaps an entirely new bud on the same flower? Or perhaps both?

What does transformation mean to you?

with love and BraveHeart hugs,
Lisa