I’m excited to introduce you to my second guest on the “Let go of the Ground” series.
Almost as soon as we met on Twitter (about a year ago), Desiree Adaway and I started joking that we must be “sisters from another mother”. We have a lot in common, and at the time we met, we were on very similar journeys. We were both leaving leadership positions in non-profit to launch our own businesses. Desiree now serves as a consultant, working with organizations and individuals who want to be change-makers. Her work inspires me and reminds me that there are good people in the world working for positive change.
Once again, I’m only sharing a portion of our conversation. In this piece, Desiree shares a personal story of when she – at the tender age of 16 – learned her first big lesson in letting go of the ground.
If you want to see the rest of the interview and the wisdom lessons Desiree has learned on her journey (and you’ll just have to trust me on this – it’s AMAZING – at one point, when she was wiping tears from her eyes, she accused me of being Barbara Walters), you’ll have to wait for my final offering on this. I’ve decided I’m going to offer something that I’m calling an “e-course” (for brevity), but is more like an “e-basket full of goodies for your transformation journey”. Check out what I’m working on so far! (To be honest, I feel like I’m letting go of the ground with this whole venture, because it is emerging so beautifully and seemingly out of my control that I just have to trust the process.) To stay informed as this progresses, add your email to my list (in that box on the right side of the screen).
This week I’ve been working on my book, and a few other creative assignments, and so I haven’t been blogging much. In the absence of a blog post, here’s a little piece from the book I’m working on. It wasn’t originally supposed to be about feminine wisdom, but it seems to be an emerging theme nonetheless. Books have a way of making up their own minds about what they’re going to be.
It’s not that I’ve replaced my understanding of a masculine God with an entirely feminine one, it’s just that I’ve learned that there are many ways for God to be present in the world and in my life. The feminine spiritual energy that can be experienced through labyrinths or body work is different from the masculine energy of logic or ration or debate or even language.
I think that’s one of the reasons why we mostly read about God in masculine form. The feminine form is much more difficult to put into words, much more mysterious, and much harder to fit into a box. It is also harder to trust because it dances with mystery. It must be experienced in a visceral, spiral, embodied, non-linear, non-rational way, and that presents a danger that many of us would rather avoid.
In the past few years, my art journal has become an important part of my self-discovery and my way of processing the world. There are pages in it that represent some pretty significant highs and lows in my life.
Because it holds such a special place in my life, I am thrilled that my dear friend Connie Hozvicka (a contributor to my e-book) has invited me to participate in 21 Secrets: an art journal playground. I have already produced the video in which my secret is revealed, and it is one of the most tender, vulnerable pieces of work I have ever produced. I know that it will resonate for a lot of you.
If you sign up for 21 Secrets, you’ll learn art journal secrets from an impressive circle of people. Here’s a little video that will give you a small taste of what you can expect from my workshop.
My friend (and one of the contributors to my e-book) Tara Sophia Mohr is teaching an intensive leadership and development workshop for women who want to let go of fear and learn to play big. I know that it will be an awesome experience and I hope that you will consider being part of it. Tara is full of wisdom and strength and I know that she will introduce you to some amazing ideas and will help you unearth some possibilities you may not have even dared to dream about.
I’ve mentioned this before, but it’s worth mentioning again. Six months ago, I signed up for Teach Now by Jennifer Louden and Michele Lisenbury Christensen (another contributor to my e-book) and it changed my life. I was just about to start teaching my first writing course at university, and this workshop had a huge impact on the kind of teacher I became. Teach Now is about offering your authentic self in your teaching and creating a safe container for learning to happen for your students AND for yourself. It had such a significant impact on me that I still listen to the podcasts & interviews on my iPod. Their free call is on March 24th and you really should sign up if you do any kind of teaching, or ever dream of doing it. (If you can’t make it, they’re very good at recording calls and sharing them later.)
My Newsletter
I’ve just prepared my very first newsletter and it will be going out on Monday. If you haven’t signed up for it yet (and gotten your free copy of “Sophia Rises: changing the world through feminine wisdom“), be sure to add your email to the box on the right. In this newsletter, I’m talking about whether it is helpful to differentiate between feminine wisdom and masculine wisdom. To illustrate my point, I’ve shared a few stories, including one about how a black man from Africa (my friend ‘Segun) helped this white woman from Canada birth an e-book about feminine wisdom, and one about how we were rescued recently when our van got stuck trying to navigate a huge snowdrift (yes, it’s still winter around here).
I am SO excited to announce the launch of my free e-book – “Sophia Rises: Changing the world through feminine wisdom”
All you have to do to get the e-book is to go over to that box on the right hand side of your screen and add your email address to my list. (Don’t worry – I have no intention of inundating you with emails. I’ll just be sending out periodic updates about what’s going on around here.)
This is no ordinary e-book. And it’s not just a collection of my thoughts. It’s so much MORE!
It is a beautiful collaboration of 21 amazing people who are all thinking about how they can make the world a better place through writing, dance, yoga, international development, art, leadership workshops, conversations, music, circle council, and a whole lot more.
It’s a global effort – contributors hail from Zimbabwe, Nigeria, Sri Lanka, the Czech Republic, and all over Canada and the U.S.
On top of all that, it’s absolutely BEAUTIFUL! Thanks to art from some of the contributors and the amazing design work of my friend Segun Olude, its beauty will inspire you even if you never read the words (but you really should).
The painting on the front was done by me, inspired by a painting I saw at a local retreat centre, painted by Mary Southard.
Here’s a sneak peak – a piece that I contributed…
an open letter to my daughters
Sophia Leadership was never meant to be a solo journey. Right from the beginning, when I began to dream it up around a table with two other women, one man, some coloured markers and a collaborative doodle art piece, I envisioned it being a place where wisdom of every kind is welcomed and we all dream of a different world together.
With that dream in the back of my mind, I started putting out the call to people who had inspired me in recent years – people I’d met in my travels, people I’ve worked with on design projects, people I’d had delightful conversations with at various learning events, and people whose books and blogs had inspired me. Twenty of those people responded and their wisdom BLOWS ME AWAY!
You really need to read this.
You really need to let these ideas soak into your heart.
It will change you and inspire you.
It will help you dream bigger dreams about how feminine wisdom (in ALL of us – women AND men) can change the world.
Today is the 100th anniversary of International Women’s Day and I can’t think of a better day to launch this project!
Here are the contributors: (I am SO honoured to be in the company of such an amazing circle of people!)
AND here are some other people writing related posts. If this has inspired you, please add your post below so that these ideas can spread even further!
Help me come up with ONE HUNDRED ways we can make the world a better place!
Tuesday, March 8th, is the hundredth anniversary of International Women’s Day. I’m very excited to announce that on that day, I will be launching my first e-book! Yay! (The above image is a sneak preview of the cover art. Yes – in case you’re wondering – I painted it.)
In the book, twenty wise people are sharing their thoughts around how feminine wisdom can change the world. I can hardly wait to share it with you!
But first, I want you to help me out with something. I’m so jazzed about what is in my e-book that I want to create a whirlwind of energy around the power and possibilities of feminine wisdom.
Here’s what I’m asking for:
I would like 100 people (women AND men) to come up with 100 ideas (in honour of 100 years of International Women’s Day) that reflect their thoughts around the following question:
How can women change the world and how can we change the world for women?
If that sounds like too big a question, then remember this – it is the small things, all added together, that create big change. Your idea might be as simple as “change the rules at my local community centre to allow more girls into sports” or “pay for the education of one young girl in Africa who might not otherwise get to go to school” or “teach my daughter about her female lineage”.
A little added incentive for participating: I will hold a draw of all those who participate and the winner will get a print of the above image.
Here are some ways you can contribute to 100 Years :: 100 People :: 100 Changes:
1. Share your ideas in the comments.
2. Write a blog post between now and Tuesday highlighting your ideas around the question. Add your name and link to the widget below so that we can all visit and be inspired by each others ideas.
3. Share your idea on Twitter with the hashtag #100changes (with a link back to this post)
4. Add your idea to the Sophia Leadership Facebook page. (And be sure to “like” the page while you’re there so that you’ll get updates.)
6. Let me know you’re participating by commenting on this post.
7. Share this with all of your friends so that the whirlwind grows and at least 100 people are participating by Tuesday!
p.s. More than 100 is even better, so keep spreading the word!
Christina Baldwin teaches the power of circle and story
Last year, my word for the year was journey, and what a journey it was! There was significant learning and challenge and change along the journey, culminating with the end of a career and a big step into self-employment.
When I look back on the year, I recognize three major transformative moments when I was immersed in such amazing learning that it changed my life. Those three learning events are available to you in one way or another and I thought I’d tell you about them in case you’re interested.
1. ALIA Summer Institute: Wow. I hardly know what to say about ALIA. It is a transformative experience like few others. If you are interested in impacting social change and you want to immerse yourself in big ideas, surround yourself with big thinkers, and spend time imagining what big things you can do in your life, this is the place for you. It’s hard to define it exactly – it’s a combination of conference, retreat, and intensive workshop. ALIA is one of a kind in its approach. These are people who know something about holistic learning. At the summer institute, you will spend time in meditation, body movement, art & creativity, and deep learning of all kinds. You’ll meet people who are transforming the world through contemplative juggling, aikido, meditative painting, music, and a whole lot of other fun and interesting things. This year, I’m very excited about the fact that I’m doing some work for the ALIA team and so I’m getting to know them better AND I’ll be attending in June.
2. Teach Now Program – Another WOW. I don’t sign up for a lot of online courses, because I tend to prefer in person learning where I can engage in more meaningful conversations, but Teach Now is a BIG exception. I signed up and I listened to every single call and every podcast – sometimes more than once. I still have all of the interviews on my iPod and often listen to them when I’m running because they are just so full of wisdom. This is AMAZING stuff. If you are doing (or dreaming of doing) any kind of teaching, you really should check it out, because few other things have had as much impact on my teaching practice as this course. Here’s a quote from the note I sent to Jen & Michele after Teach Now: “Because of Teach Now, I have been bold enough to be a different kind of teacher than most of my students have had experience with before. I am daring to encourage them to learn FIRST to write from their hearts and THEN to learn to write technically for future PR jobs.” Click the link above to sign up for the free call – you won’t regret it. (p.s. I liked it so much, I’m planning to sign up for a second round!)
3. The Listening Well – A Circle & Story Workshop – WOW again. (How lucky I’ve been to have three wows in one year!) For years and years I’ve been dreaming of taking a workshop with Christina Baldwin. Ten years ago, I first came across her work when I was in a really difficult place in my leadership journey, and it felt like someone had lit a candle in a dark place for me. Her books on Circle and Story resonate so closely with the deep longings of my heart. Attending the workshop just after quitting my job and jumping into a brand new place in which I dream of doing work similar to what Christina is doing was perfect timing and a dream come true. I can’t recommend her work strongly enough. If you can’t make it to one of her workshops, at least check out oneofherbooks.
I’m excited to introduce you to my second guest on the “Let go of the Ground” series.
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