Wildly Creative Women

Creating

So I've been having this conversation with myself about women and men and how our creativity is the same and how it might be different. I find myself conversing with myself about many esoteric things, but this one feels important...at least to me.

Are men and women different in how we create?
And if we are different how so?
And if so, why is this important?

When I ponder this, I think of women and how we bring life into the world. While the creation of babies takes both men and women, once started women sustain life in the womb through a completely amazing, mysterious process. We have a capacity that is beyond amazing. While we know this happens and see the results born into the world everyday, what does this capacity say about the underlying power we hold to bring forth many different forms of creation into manifestation?

If we can give birth to babies, what else can we give birth to that we aren't yet fully capitalizing on?

How might the inherent properties of a woman's creative capacity be more fully utilized?

How might completely owning this capacity and using it in service of our deeper visions and goals help to achieve these visions and goals?

For example, many women these days are choosing not to have children, or are finding themselves nearing the age where they are no longer able to have children and haven't yet met the person they would want to have children with. How can this ability still provide them with the experience of being fully creative women in some other fashion?

I believe there is so much more we as women can give birth to than babies. We already do, yet I don't know if we fully get it or allow ourselves to use this powerful capacity to bring forth our deepest dreams and visions.

What do you think?

Coming Inward

I am currently training in Conscious Embodiment work with Wendy Palmer. The work at first hand seems so simple, almost too simple, but the more I work with Wendy, the clearer I see this work as quite profound.

Conscious Embodiment is just as it sounds...to be conscious of the feelings/sensations of an experience instead of cognitively understanding our experience.  This is my own definition.

Life is just a series of very simple moments. And everything we need is right here, right now inside us. We don't need to acquire something from someone else...we already are what we think we need to become. And, no one can do it for us. But we can do it together, with friends, with other women, in community.

Through community we get to see our true nature more clearly, mirrored through our friends and loved ones. This true nature is sensing ourselves as conscious experience, not understanding ourselves intellectually. This is especially important as we re-discover our true nature as women. We aren't going to become acquainted with ourselves again without reacquainting with that which makes us female...our bodies.

Being conscious in the body means dropping down into our center, the core of our being. It's a process that requires coming inward to experience what is here in these beautiful female bodies we have been blessed to be born into.

In class last night with Wendy, we touched on what happens when we invoke a sense of internal respect for ourselves. We proceeded with an exercise using this idea. What transpired was pretty remarkable. When I generated a conscious experience of internal respect, my entire system became aligned and as a result of this alignment, much stronger physically.

What does this possibility hold for women? What if we were to find the place within ourselves where this internal respect already resides? And if we did that, what would happen if we could call on this internal respect as a place of strength?

International Women's Day: the afterglow

International Women's Day was March 8th, last Thursday. Wildly Creative Women celebrated by bringing women together into teleCircles. During the circles we: shared how we had celebrated women during the day; felt gratitude for all that we have and acknowledged that it is a key part to knowing we have all we need to be of service to those women who need to be empowered; and talked about female power, and how we can step into our own natural power to be fully fulfilled.

Feeling the afterglow of such an important day is a real pleasure...and is key to using the momentum of the day to open even more to what is possible for women and how each of us is uniquely and perfectly suited to fill an important place for the future of our world.

I came away from the day feeling truly blessed to be a woman and to be able to offer the services I do to help each woman find her own natural rhythm to move in the world most powerfully and joyfully.

We have the choice to remain domesticated or to unleash our wild side. Personally, I think a world full of undomesticated, wildly creative women sounds like a lot more fun, and maybe even more peace-filled!

It's been a while since I posted. I've been back at home, integrating back into this crazy culture I live in. The contrast between India and the US is quite amazing. Now I am enjoying bringing together the amazing experiences of India and my fortunate life here in the States.

As promised, I will include pictures of my trip here for you. Not yet sure how to insert them in past posts, if that is even possible, but I am reading up on my blogging tools as we speak.

Here is a picture of a sweet boy from Varanasi. He sold me a puja candle and we lit it together before I placed it in the river.  He was quite lively and kept trying to convince me I needed multiple candles...at 10 rupees apiece. I settled on one.

I so enjoyed these children we met along the Ghats. When we were able to get past the selling or begging that they do for their jobs, we really quite enjoyed each other...at least I know I did.

Cruising the Backwaters of Kerala

Hello all!

I am here in Varkala...a great beach town in the very south of India. I arrived here last night after taking a boat cruise through the heart of Kerala's backwaters. The boat stops at the ashram so I hopped on there at about 4:00 pm. Our first stop was 2 minutes later when we stopped for Chai...the whole country seems to stop for Chai at 4:00 pm...good thing I love the stuff so much.

After tea, we headed out into the waters and took a slow cruise to Kollum. The cruise was breathtakingly beautiful. All along the way the banks of the rivers are lined with coconut trees, colorful homes, and children running along the banks waving and asking us for pens. The standard line out of each boy's mouth was, "Give me my one pen". Not sure where they picked up this line, but it was the same all along the way.

On the cruise I made fast friends with three people from Ireland...Pauline, Adrian and Sean . They were so much fun. Adrian decided to launch into traditional Irish songs along the way. Thank goodness his voice was pretty good. I knew how much my Dad would have enjoyed sitting there singing with him, and talking about all things Irish. I took a short video on the camera to snag a moment for Dad (we'll have a chuckle over it soon, Dad!).

Once into Kollum, I found a cab pretty easily. My friends helped me get squared away and off to Varkala. The trip was about 45 minutes, even though it was quite close in distance...the roads are quite full of potholes, so the going is slow. It took a while to find the hotel. THere are many twisty narrow roads in this town. When I made the hotel reservation, I asked for directions but I couldn't get a response from the man I was speaking with as his English wasn't nearly good enough. So, as we approached the town, I had no way to tell the taxi driver how to get there. The Indian way, at least for the taxi drivers I have encountered throughout the trip, is to wait until we are close to the destination and then begin to ask people how to get there. The only problem is, the response always seems to get us only a short way, where we again have to stop to ask someone new. This happened over and over, with us asking more than half a dozen people for guidance. All in all, we drove for at least 20 minutes trying to find the hotel...quite a laugh when you see how small this little village is. But we did arrive and I found my hotel. The sea view turned out to be this tiny slit in the view, through the restaurant directly in front of the hotel. And that was a joke because everything sits on this cliff, way above the beach. I had to laugh at myself...I know better than to have such expectations.

I found my way to the restaurant and had a delicious meal of chicken tikka from the tandoori oven. I have grown to love the food here. An errant decision to have a small pot of Chai at 10:30 (my thought was to stay awake long enough to make a few calls home) turned into at least two hours of staring at the ceiling fan as it whirred away trying to keep the mosquitos at bay and cool the room down to an acceptable 85 degrees. Oh well. I am here in Varkala and am enjoying the completely laid back feeling of this part of India.

Tomorrow I will share with you some of the more funny moments of the last two weeks...and some of the last moments with Amma.

How do you hug a stadium full of people?

Our first stop on the tour was in Calicut (Kozhikode is the other name for the city). It is north of the ashram, but still in the state of Kerala. The trip there took 9 hours by bus, with a stop for dinner. Calicut seems to be a fairly large city. We had to travel up into the hills. The land is beautiful with coconut trees everywhere. I keep wondering what it would be like to have one drop on your head...then I met a woman who was hit by one....she said it hurt...not much more than that! ;-)

Amma's program was in the stadium in Calicut. WHen we arrived at around 4:00 pm, the stadium was almost completely full. Amma came out at 6:15 and by then it was full. I would estimate there were as many as 60,000 people. After speeches, satsang, and bajahns, Amma began Darshan at 10:30. Sitting up on the stage with her was incredible. I took a turn timing the prasad passers (will explain later) where I sat directly behind Amma from 10:30 to 11:00. THe speed she hugged people at was absolutely amazing. Being a witness to so many devotional Indian people being touched by Amma was breathtaking. Seeing so many people come and wait up to 18 hours for their moment with Amma was humbling. People here are devotional in a way most of us in the West are unfamiliar with. Amma was able to hug 10s of thousands of people in 18 hours. It is an experience that can't be written with words. There are no words. Amma is love...that is all I can say. There are photos, though, of the event. Enjoy!

The travel is difficult and the conditions challenging, but all is nothing compared to what Amma gives from her heart. She never got up once during the entire time. She only drank. She ate no food. She kept going and going and going.

Today we are in Kodungalur where Amma begins another event tonight that will last until Wednesday night or THursday morning when she finishes Darshan. This is a very different event and I will share the details with you over subsequent posts, just as I will with the event in Calicut. My time on the internet is so limited, but I will continue to share with you when I return. There is so much to share with you.

I am off to the evening opening of this next event and will share with you as soon as I can.

In the meantime, Be Well!

Ashram community life

I have been at Amma's ashram now for almost one full week. The ashram is like a little world unto itself. There are various places to get food, one big auditorium, a large temple and a small temple, multi-story buildings with residential flats, a swimming pool, multiple bakeries, a tailor, three stores, an internet room and lots of other ancillary things you can do while here. It has been fascinating to watch how it all works and revolves around Amma...when she is here vs. away, when she is giving Darshan, etc.

One of the things I have enjoyed the most here are the Bhajans...an evening hour or two of singing devotional songs, led by Amma. She has a wonderful voice and fills the auditorium with so much spirit. I leave these evenings feelings as if I am walking on air. The other evening we were treated to a Kathakali performance as well. What an amazing dance form!

Late this afternoon a group of us leave to travel on her tour to two different cities here in South India. She will be giving Darshan to an estimated 100,000 people in Calicut, a city north of here. I have been told it may take her upwards of 24 hours to do so. It is amazing to see her do this...to give Darshan to so many people without having to take breaks. The energy she gives out is truly amazing. She has to be connected straight to the source to have that kind of lasting power.

I am not yet totally clear why I decided to go on the tour. The idea of spending more time with Amma is, of course, very exciting. Just to be in her vicinity is healing. It's more than that though. I am very intrigued with the idea of over 100,000 Indians waiting all day in the sun to have a few seconds of hug from Amma. Their devotion to her is incredible. I want to witness this devotion, this kind of faith in Amma's power to heal and to open the heart. I want to soak up the experience, yet stay open to everything that is happening.

I will be returning here to the Ashram on the 11th of January and after a day of catching up on sleep and doing some wash, I plan to travel on to Varkala for some beach time before heading home. The tour is quite grueling for us yogis who are joining her. The sleeping conditions are harsh and the hours long. I feel like I am leaving for a kind of boot camp...at least it is only for 5 days!

A quick quote

Hello everyone!
I have a quick quote for today from Amma.
"A real master makes you eralize that everybody, even your enemy, is helping you to attain perfection.'
It seems as though, when in the company of a true master, everything in your path is truly there for self-realization. I am noticing how this has increased for me as I spend time here in the Ashram.
The other thing to share is how many beautiful sunsets I am enjoying here on the Arabian Sea. It is breathtaking view alongside the ashram.
Hope all are well.
Blessings,
Julie

Hugs from Amritapuri

Happy New Year! It is now 2007 here in India and just about to turn at home in California. Here at Amma's ashram, we had an evening of darshan and celebration. Darshan is the opportunity to receive a hug from Amma. I had darshan both Saturday and Sunday. The experience is beyond anything I can describe in words and is something I keep very close to my heart. I can only say that Amma's hugs opened my heart with an explosive force that is truly divine.

Last night there was a special puja (ritual) for New Years. It was a Kali Puja and was beautiful and intense. Everything here feeds all the senses at once. Candles, incense, flowers, music, singing, chanting, clapping, prayer, kneeling...it all has a place in this incredible ritual to Kali, the Hindu Goddess. I appreciated this puja as much as anything I have done here in India, because it was a rare opportunity to see something old and completely different than anything I have yet experienced in my life. The energy present was powerful and uplifting. Although many associate Kali with the dark, she is truly the goddes of time and cutting through confusion to get straight to the truth. I know having participated in this puja will bring many blessings to 2007 for me and my work in the world.

I must sign off now but will return when I have more internet time. I will share with you some of what Amma spoke of in her New Year's address last night.

Hugs from Amritapuri, from me to you.

Musing from Trivandrum

A quick hello before heading to Amritapuri, Amma's ahsram.

We spent the night last night at Muthoot Plaza in Trivandrum. It is a very nice place, with wonderful staff and a fantastic buffet restaurant. We were so hungry when we arrive yesterday afternoon, we headed straight to the buffet and dove right in.

The food here in the south is much spicier. It is really delicious. Plus, they had wonderful desserts...even ice cream!!! With the hot weather here, the ice cream was refreshing. We ate so much we didn't have to have dinner. It was so nice to have a place where we could get really comfy and take a bath, etc. I do love luxury, I have to admit. Traveling takes its toll on you, especially the driving we were doing the past few days. To settle in for one night was heaven. We wanted another night, but there are no rooms available, anywhere we tried. This is high tourist season, especailly over the holidays. So, today we leave for Amritapurit and Amma's ahsram. We will see how it stacks up to the 5 star hotel we just left!

I had to do some quick errand running here, like get my new pair of sandals repaired...don't ask...and I found the people so helpful and kind. Everyone seems to want to help me when I am needing a question answered or need to find something. I love the Indian people and their curiosity about me and where I am from. When I tell them America, they smile and say, "America...it's a nice country...I like" or something akin to that. ONe little girl at the Taj Mahal, seemd to get this far away look when I answered her qustion about where I was from. I then asked her where she was from, and she was delighted to tell me in detail where in India she lives and how to get there.

There are a ton of Internet Cafes here in India, so we can always find a way to log on. As for one in the next few days, I am not sure, so I will post as soon as I have access.

I hope you are enjoying the blog. If you want to know about something in particular, please leave me a comment and I will respond with whatever I know or have learned...or I might even ask someone so we all learn something new.

Happy Happy New Year to you and yours. May 2007 be filled with peace.