The pervasive and relentless sexualization of women and children has created a downward spiral for us all. There is no power in judging this or railing against it. The power lies in knowing that this is not the world I want to leave as my legacy for my children… and then, act accordingly.
This exploration was seeded more than three years ago. I would reach out into the collective of women with whom I engage, picking dates and locations to make this exploration possible in the good company of each other. The enthusiasm for this conversation and the excitement that it was going to take place, was palpable! For me, this was a clear indication that the time for this exploration had come; and that we were ready to embrace it – and ourselves – differently!
Yet, time after time, no one would come.
I found this rather odd since I could feel the intensity around the topic. Perhaps, in my own enthusiasm, I mistook fear for excitement; and the agitation, as evidence of the recognition of the importance to proceed. Nonetheless, continuing to move forward in my unshakeable personal belief that this conversation must take place and that it’s time had come, I was spurred on by the frequent and persistent inquiry about : “When would the CD’s for this conversation be available?” In that simple query, I knew the desire for the discovery was there – and what was still missing was the willingness and the ability to engage and explore. The hesitation to ‘go first’ was unmistakeable.
Fast forward… and here we now stand: three years later, having experienced one of the most intense, compelling and provocative explorations that I’ve ever been a part of! For four days, a small group of 10 courageous, curious and both ‘willing and able’ women came together to face into what they knew instinctively about themselves, standing at the jagged edge of its imminent revelation.
This may be the first time in my life that my sense of my Self has fully awakened to grace and has transcended the once mindless and culturally fueled default to my body’s gender.. (Sheila Winter Wallace – Chelsea, Quebec)
For four days, we laughed and we cried. We found within ourselves the irreverent, the inappropriate and the politically incorrect. We waded through and raged against the deep, dark secrets that have kept us in bondage in our day-to-day lives.
We explored and we discovered that we are indeed, each whole, unique and essential to our respective worlds.
It has been a very intense journey for me and SSS was the rupture of the veil that I saw through, and a reclamation of me as I stand in my Innocence and own it. (Betty Carr-Braint, Tyindenaga Mohawk Territory, Ontario)
We reclaimed courage and fear; strength and vulnerability… discovering that the great and wiling compassion we so often easily and unwaveringly offer to others is best, first offered to and accepted by, ourselves.
We are changed; and in that change, are more authentically ourselves than we have ever been. We stand more assuredly, at the boundary of our own line in the sand. We own more and perhaps, need to understand less than we have ever considered possible. And in the end, we have concluded that this journey is our own – to be shaped, defined and reclaimed as we see fit.
In the MASSIVE space I was able to reclaim my body and take back the access to my own CHOICE- that it is indeed my body to experience the sensual experience of the godforce that I AM in tissue and from here express my own sexuality through the creations of my life…and to know it really has NOTHING to do with sex! (Naomi Irons-Hill, New Glasgow, NS)
Was this the end? Had we come to a conclusion about the outcome that would be our destination? Absolutely not! This is but a beginning, of a very different kind, that will take us much more quickly/much more directly, into carving out a meaningful life for ourselves. This powerful four-day conversation was a first step – yet it was a first step like no other! Should you choose to engage this conversation for yourself, know that you are in the good company of so many others who are daring to do the same, for themselves.
The SSS experience was for me one of reclaiming – reclaiming self – reclaiming and allowing to grow parts of me that indeed I didn’t fully realize were not the way I desired them to be. The presentation and discussion of sensual-sexual-spiritual as a continuum was powerful! (Leona McIsaac-Moran, Charlottetown, PEI)
In my 20 plus years of working with women, I have had the opportunity to bear witness to deep and meaningful change, in the lives of many. Having said that, I am coming to conclude that in the face of all that I have developed, created and engaged, this conversation is the singularly most meaningful, relevant and significant conversation…. a turning point… that holds the greatest potential to transform how we see ourselves and each other; and how we choose to redesign how we live!
I knew the Sensual, Sexual and Spiritual Beings conversation was going to be important for me, I just didn’t know how much. For me, it was the beginning of discovering another layer of intimacy with mySelf. I experienced the continuum of Sensual, Sexual and Spiritual inside mySelf as I integrated information that was still lingering from my past which allowed me to employ the strategies of holding back, of being afraid of my own sensuality and sexuality as a woman, defined by what our culture deems appropriate. (Lisa Weiss, Carp, Ontario)
This conversation is, in my opinion, long overdue, having been sidelined for generations by the profound distraction of a single part of the experience (sexuality) when what we have been so desperately seeking is a sense of the whole. We will never know wholeness when we are determined to focus on but one part of who we are!
The highlights of this compelling exploration have been captured and are now available to be shared with you, in a 10-CD audio format. Finally, after several years of anticipation; and several days of exploration that surpassed my highest expectations, you’re invited into this discovery process in the privacy of your own mind. As you listen, ask yourself: “Who else in my life may be ready for this exploration?” Let them know about this audio series… and dare to be The One to open up a new line of enquiry! Leadership begins with being leaders, in our own lives. Take comfort in knowing that your willingness to be uncertain and engage nonetheless, may well be your greatest resource!
At a deeply grounded place inside, I knew that I did not feel that my womanhood was compartmentalized. I knew that I was more than only MAIDEN or GODDESS or CRONE. I was angry at the limitations which were placed on me by virtue of my gender and my age. I was out of tune with mySelf – disconnected from the WHOLENESS of mySelf.
In letting go of old ways of being and thinking, I can live all aspects of my Sensual-Sexual-Spiritual self. They are all parts of the whole which is ME. I AM MAIDEN and GODDESS and CRONE fully integrated at the same time. They are ALL of ME. And in knowing this, I feel full and complete in tissue – fully integrated and no longer disjointed. (Jean Winter, Peterborough, Ontario)
Should you choose to dive into the deep end of your own potential, know that as you do – that as you have those moments of believing yourself to be standing alone – you are in the good company of many others who are taking a stand for themselves. In that, this growing and evolving community of women – awake, enlivened and willing to be authentically themselves – is already carving out a new world!
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To read feedback from participants in the recent four-day Sexual, Sensual and Spiritual Beings retreat, visit the Engage WEL-Systems area. Be sure to add your comments should you choose to experience the retreat CD’s.
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