Hello dear friends,

When is the last time that you felt truly, vibrantly alive? When did you last experience a sense of joy and purpose so deep and all-encompassing that it brought you to your knees? When was the last morning that you woke up with your whole being buzzing with the light and love of the Universe?

For too many women in our modern age, these questions are met with a blank stare, or a flush of embarrassment, or perhaps a few tears. The truth is, most of us are going through our day-to-day lives on autopilot, never really feeling or experiencing the reality of our inherent divinity, or taking the time to connect with the people and passions around us. We’re overworked, underappreciated, and ultimately disconnected from ourselves, and our society reinforces this by idealizing busy-ness, self-sacrifice, and the quest for productivity above all else. This rushing river of overabundant masculine energy has washed away and eroded our collective honor for the feminine. That force of quiet, of rest, of nurturing and compassion. The energy of creativity, of passion, of receptivity and bliss. And at times, it seems so far gone, that there’s no point paddling downstream after it.

The state of womanhood today is a sad one. We’ve lost touch with what it means to stand in our own power, to band together with our sacred sisters, and be a force for good in the world. We’ve lost touch with our spiritual paths, and we’ve allowed our precious quiet contemplation time to be crowded out by meetings, social events, work obligations, deadlines, and the stresses of daily life. We’ve let our feminine gifts slip through our fingers, and we’ve slipped out of the flow of Universal abundance. Every day feels like a struggle. We get up, let the dog out, make coffee, pack the kids’ lunches, go to work, slave away at a job that we hate, sit in traffic, eat fast food, bring our work home with us, have boring maintenance sex, stay up too late, and never slow down. We feel disconnected from our friends, our lovers, our partners, our kids, our environment, our purpose, and our spirits.

As life continues to unfold, we continue to find ourselves in places of lack and abandonment. Perhaps you are familiar with the strain of never feeling like you have enough money, and you struggle to make ends meet. Maybe you are feeling the stinging loss of your children leaving the home and moving on with their lives. Perhaps you know the devastation of unfaithfulness, divorce, or bankruptcy. Maybe you don’t identify with any of things, but you still wake up each day feeling lost and don’t know why. Maybe you’re looking around you and thinking to yourself, “is this really it?” Maybe you look around and wonder why on earth you sacrificed your truth and your passions for so long. But regardless of where you are at right now, in this moment, know that you are exactly where you’re supposed to be, and that you’re certainly not alone!

We women have been conditioned from a young age to sacrifice ourselves and our dreams for those around us, especially our spouses and children. Our innate feminine gift for nurturing has been abused and commodified, leaving us continually stuck in this position of the lesser, giving up our passions in order to help others pursue theirs. And while it is a wonderful thing to be of service, when you serve at the expense of yourself, this dishonors the flow of the Universe. Too often, women give and give and give until they are sucked dry, and this isn’t helpful to anybody! If you are tired of bending over backwards, and long to connect with your inner power and worth, it’s not too late.

Whether we realize it right now or not, we are all perfect, Divine beings. Our essence is that of pure love, pure power, pure bliss. It is our birthright to be in constant connection with Source, and to walk in a path of purpose, in touch with our own unique gifts and speaking our own truths. So many women today have lost sight of what it means to be truly happy and filled to the brim with bubbling, passionate energy! But it’s not a pipe dream. You can make this a reality. And thankfully, there is nothing that you have to learn, to do, or to accomplish in order to get there. It’s merely a process of remembering.

You were born with everything that you will ever need inside of you. You were born in complete harmony with the Universe, surrounded by your angels and other loving spirit guides. But you, like most people, probably wandered off through the course of your life, and forgot about your Divine essence. So, now, all you need to do is come home to yourself. She is already here, waiting for you, with a big smile on her face and her arms opened to embrace you. She’s ready to take the lead in your life.

But how can we get ourselves back into alignment?

Once we acknowledge that we are worthy of our connection to Source, and understand that our spiritual path is ours and ours alone, it’s really just a matter of establishing our daily rituals. There are many things that we can do to step into the flow of light, love, and abundance that is all around us- it just may take some practice to find the rituals that feel the best and that we can commit to making a regular habit of. These rituals, mind you, are not just fluffy, occasional suggestions- you must make a promise to yourself to engage in at least one of these ways, each and every day. Once you do that, you will be blown away by the power and transformation that arrives into your life!

Some ideas for your spiritual practice include:

Meditation or mindfulness practice
Prayer
Affirmations or mantras
Journaling or visioning
Creative flow- this can be painting, dancing, singing, sculpting, sewing, cooking, or anything else that unleashes your Divine feminine creative force
Spending time in nature
Full/new moon rituals
Honoring the passing of the seasons
Smudging or other ways to create sacred space within your home
Tithing and/or donating
Volunteering with a cause you believe in

These rituals are designed to be for you and you alone, to fill you up with Universal energy and remind you of who you really are. And these spiritual practices can take you a long way in your transformation, but the fun doesn’t stop there! The other component of spiritual healing is the presence of, and your engagement within, a community of like-minded women. This aspect cannot be overemphasized! We women are wired for tribe, and it is only within a circle of loving, supportive, creative, joyous women, that we can truly come home to ourselves. Our modern life is far too isolated, and the antidote to this is to find yourself a group of other women, other seekers of the Divine, to be a part of your circle.

There is amazing power and grace available to you, within your tribe of like-minded sisters. When we come together, we create a sacred space for each of us to heal, to feel supported, and have a place to share our stories. We can bear witness to each others' successes, as well as struggles, and that's truly something special. We all deserve relationships that allow for authenticity, inspiration, and nonjudgmental encouragement.

So, friends, I'll ask three essential questions:

Who is part of your tribe?

How do you show appreciation for your sisterhood?

How can you, in the coming year, build a better network of empowered, compassionate, creative women?

In the spirit of this season of love and gratitude, I want to give a huge shoutout to every single one of the amazing women I have met, worked with, or developed relationships with over the past few years. You inspire me to be my best self, every day!

With an abundance of sisterly love, I am...

~ Hoping you feel as well as possible ~

Rise, Sister, Rise: Embracing The Divine Feminine