I know what it’s like to have your Feminine totally Turned Off.
Mine started shutting down somewhere in the middle of getting a degree with Honors in Economics (who knew that wouldn’t Turn On the Feminine, huh?). A corporate career and years of self-employment turned my Feminine down in ways that no amount of spiritual practice, yoga, or living with the love of my life could relieve.
You’d have thought I’d have been more in touch with my soft side, my capacity to relax and receive and feel great. But no. I was always performing. Pushing. Bristling up and armoring up. But then in 2005, Sara Harvey Yao and I looked at each other and said, “we’ve got to find a better way!”
And we did.
The Elements of Power were born. They helped us, and other people, understand our power better, see how it gets distorted and lopsided, and find a way back into balance. We learned to Turn On the Feminine and did that at our Elements of Feminine Power retreats. We’ve led them twice a year for the past five years. But the retreat doesn’t come around often enough. And it’s a big investment of time and money. And in the heartbreak of losing my second baby when I was 13 weeks pregnant, I saw that I needed to receive a new level of Feminine Power.
I reached out to my circle of women friends and found amazing teachers who lifted me up and carried me through that painful time. My teachers of the feminine in 2010 have included:
Dara McKinley, founder of Volver, right here in Seattle
Regena Thomashauer, author of “Mama Gena’s School of Womanly Arts”
Alison Armstrong, creator of PAX trainings
I’d already been drawing on wise and powerful teachers including
Jennifer Louden, author of “The Woman’s Comfort Book”
Debbie Ford, author of “The Secret of the Shadow”
Riane Eisler, author of “Sacred Pleasure”
Louann Brizidine, author of “The Female Brain”
Sonia Choquette, author of “Your Heart’s Desire”
Laurel Mellin, author of “Wired for Joy”
Ronna Detrick, host of Renegade Conversations
Natalie Angier, author of Woman: An Intimate Biography
I’m a very serious student of a very fun subject, here.
It’s been transformational for my life, helping me create a fulfilling marriage from a very difficult beginning, a beautiful family after a trying bout of infertility, a beautiful home I once only dreamed of, and a business that feels like play. It’s also given me a sweet, profound new connection to my emotions, my body, and my spirituality.
But I’m mostly interested in what the Feminine can do for you. And for the world.
Turning On the Feminine is crucial right now for our individual happiness. As women, our individual happiness is the bedrock on which our families’ happiness is built. Without a happy woman at its center, no home is warm and healthy. And until the Feminine is Turned On in women across society, we won’t have the compassion, energy, caring, and juice to take effective action to address the pressing problems we face as a global community.
This shit matters.
I used to think it was fluff, trivia. But that was a product of my Feminine being Turned Off and my inner patriarch devaluing my feminine side. No more! I get it, and I want it for all of us. I’m devoted to helping every woman I can to get Turned On.