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August 12 Blog – Eve Survives the Fall

August 12, 2011 By 3 Comments
Eve Survives the Fall

Morn

She was awakened
by the clanging of words,
like broken bells~
raging, ranting;
the truth of the Lie
smacking her square in the face.

I have heard that Thirty can do that to a girl-
turn her inside out,
and into a writhing, grimacing, screaming
Woman.
This, a tricky tightrope to walk
when your name is Mommy.

But walk it she did;
teetering, tottering, frittering away
the ordinary moments.
Divinity dictating dailiness.
Poems pulsing. Eros shut away
in some yet-unopened cupboard.

Kneeling nuns and gyrating gypsies
paused for tea and conversation
and conservation of energy and expectation,
mastering delayed gratification…
very much…delayed.

While waking from death is a difficult bit,
resurrection from the roused seems a redundant disaster~
happens faster by necessity, and clocks
ticking wildly.

I have heard Forty can do that to a woman;
turn her upside down, undoing
all she worked so hard to keep
tightly bound and silent.

It’s an enthralling fall to earth;
this giving birth to oneself midlife,
half-life, one’s own midwife.
The blood on your hands is a dead giveaway
that you are not indeed dead after all~

having survived the fall,
survived the fall.
Eve survives the fall
and is renamed,
Morn.

~Cheryl Anne

Our guest blogger is Cheryl Anne. She is a Poet, Spiritual Director of Sheltering Oak, and a founding member of Shekhinah Grove Women’s Circle.  An Imagine A Woman (IAW International) trainee and passionate advocate of Authenticity; she resides in the lovely town of Franklin, Tennessee.

Filed Under: Blog, IAW Coach Stories, IAW News, Uncategorized

July 7 Blog – Quantum Impulses, Chemotherapy, and the Guest House

July 7, 2011 By 9 Comments
Quantum Flow

Quantum physics has taught me that Reality (with a capital R) is basically impulses of energy and information. My reality (with a lowercase r) is made up of my own personal stories about those impulses and my interpretations of the information. Our reality is made up of our shared stories and interpretations.

We attach labels to the components of Reality. The basic set of labels about events, persons, and relationships tends to be good, fortunate, blessed or bad, unfortunate, cursed. The impulse to “hold,” we label kind (and good) and the impulse to “hit,” we label mean (and bad); the impulse to gather with others is labeled sociable (and good) and the impulse to isolate, unsociable (and bad).

We have all kinds of fixed interpretations running through our heads, filtering Reality into nice neat undertstandings, labeled and manageable. They seem “set in stone” because they’ve become so habitual and automatic. Yet we do have a choice about the stories and interpretations we employ to make some sense of our lives, challenges, and relationships.

I like Ecclesiastes and its “seasonal” interpretation: there is a time to hate and a time to love, a time to build up and a time to break down, a time to accept and a time to flail against what is. Isn’t it true that the universe is both violent and creative, both destructive and cooperative? That dissolution is as essential in the dance of life as creation and conception? Isn’t it true that birth, death, and rebirth are partners in that same dance?

A friend and I memorized Rumi’s poem “The Guest House” to prepare for her surgery. The words supported her through a hysterectomy when surgeons “swept her empty,” and subsequent chemo-treatments. Rumi’s words remind me to neither elevate nor despise any of life’s twists and turns. Today I receive them as seasonal, not harsh, as energetic shifts, not evil or good occurrences. Today I choose to look at my life through the lens of Rumi’s poem:

 

This being human is a guest house.

Every day is a new arrival.

 

A joy, a depression, a meanness,

some momentary awareness comes

as an unexpected visitor.

 

Welcome and entertain them all!

Even if they’re a crowd of sorrows,

who violently sweep your house

empty of its furniture,

still, treat each guest honorably.

He or she may be clearing you out

for some new delight.

 

The dark thought, the shame, the malice,

meet them at the door, laughing,

and invite them it.

 

Be grateful for whoever comes

because each has been sent

as a guide from beyond.

 

What filter do you use to make sense of your life? Was it inherited or chosen by you? Is it expansive enough, gracious enough to hold both and all aspects of the micro and macro universe: dissolution and creativity, dominance and partnership, life and death? This being human is a guest house. Every day is a new arrival.

 

Patricia Lynn Reilly is the founder of Imagine a Woman International and BAB Coaching and Publication Services. If you’re ready to author your own self-understanding, read about our self-guided Retreat “Author Your Own Life” here: www.imagineawoman.com/home/programs-services/womanspirit-community. If you’d like to join our Team of Certified Coaches, visit here: www.imagineawoman.com/home/programs-services/iaw-certification

Filed Under: Blog, IAW News, Uncategorized

June 1 Blog – Learning the Vocabulary of Reverence: For the Well-Being of our Daughters

June 1, 2011 By 2 Comments
Voluptuous

Our daughters, granddaughters, and nieces remind us that in the very beginning the girl- child is shameless. She comes into the world with feelings of omnipotence, not inferiority. She says a big YES to Life as it pulsates through her body.

With excitement, she explores her body. She is unafraid of channeling strong feelings through her. She feels her joy, her sadness, her anger, and her fear. She is pregnant with her own life. She is content to be alone. She touches the depths of her uniqueness. She loves her mind. She expresses her feelings. She likes herself when she looks in the mirror.

She does not expend one ounce of her precious life energy trying to figure out what’s wrong with her body, feelings, and thoughts. She just lives. She makes a statement with every thought she shares, every feeling she expresses, and every action she takes on her own behalf. What happens to this amazing child of life on her way to adolescence?

Reversal of Value

A conformity-based childhood reverses the price tags. The natural and essential self, a priceless treasure, is criticized and set aside, and the artificial, constructed self grows in value. Image is more valuable than essence; conformity, more priceless than originality; coloring inside the lines more acceptable than spontaneity.

At a certain age we were expected to move beyond “childish” ways, and to settle into the “boredom and the disenchantments of later years, the sterile preoccupation with things that are artificial, the alienation from the sources of our strength.” (Rachel Carson, A Sense of Wonder)

The girl-child grows up asking, “What’s wrong with me?” This question shadows her life as she searches for someone to give her an answer, a magical insight, treatment, or cure. She learns a criticism-based way of perceiving herself. As a result, her automatic tendency is to feel inadequate, that she’s never quite good enough no matter what she does.

By middle school, her natural body-energy is directed away from body-activity toward body-grooming, away from spontaneity toward control. Groomed to be “ornamental,” she will spend inordinate amounts of time and resources twisting her body into the acceptable shapes of the culture. Over time she loses touch with her body and life-giving potential.

Some may counter: “We’re beyond all that—it’s 2011.” No, we’re not. The question what’s wrong with me has become even more virulent (as in “marked by a rapid, severe, and destructive course”) and dangerous (as in “able to inflict injury or harm”). The illusion we maintain is that we’ve ousted the question once and for all. After all Hilary almost became president and Title IX allows us to thrive as athletes and glass ceilings are occasionally dismantled.

On the other hand, illusion aside, infertility plagues us and there’s hardly a woman in the world who doesn’t wake up feeling the need, or the demand, to cover, starve, alter, mask, or harm her body in some way. Why? Because our bodies are never quite good enough, pretty enough, small enough, young enough, non-distracting enough, no matter what we do.

In our search for answers to the pervasive question, now focused almost exclusively on our bodies, we consent to outrageous measures to guarantee our fertility or attractability, convinced that the presence of a child or a lover on our arms will dissolve the question. We sign up for diet clubs and plans and spas, convinced that our bodies are at the core of the problem. We spend hundreds of dollars on dyes, cosmetics, and new outfits to hide the question, and on new body parts to eradicate the question. Yet no matter what we do, it’s never enough, the question persists.

Telling the Truth

Let’s tell the truth at least among ourselves, for the sake of our daughters. There’s been an intensification of body-violence within the community of women. Women of all ages are injuring their natural body-intelligence and body-shape. We’re choosing to have our breasts cut open and augmented, our noses broken and reshaped, our wrinkles injected with collagen and botox, our faces manipulated and peeled, and our bodies exercised and starved to death. We’re frantically covering all signs of aging, beginning earlier and earlier in life, as if aging were a plague, a virus, an enemy to be conquered. We are at war, that’s what it is, at war with our own bodies.

We’re outraged by the ancient customs of foot binding, “comfort” women, and genital mutilation, and the current atrocity of rampant sexual trafficking of women. These customs and atrocities are done to women. Yet we in the West, in the co-called first world, are in record numbers choosing to do violence to our own bodies.

And even more horrifying is the fact that we pass on the necessity of ornamentalism, the tyranny of the scale, the fear of food, and the dread of aging to our daughters, and we export our destructive attitudes around the world. Let’s declare a permanent truce with our bodies.

A Healing Breath

Take a deep breath and remember. Your healing task is not to become a new, improved, or changed person. Rather, it is to reclaim your original relationship with your body in all its fullness. In the very beginning, you were shameless. You loved your body. “There was a time,” Monique Wittig reminds us, “when you walked alone, full of laughter, you bathed bare bellied. You say you have lost all recollection of it, remember! You say there are not words to describe it; you say it does not exist. But remember! Make an effort to remember! Or failing that, invent.”

Retrieve your body from lifetimes of restrictive definitions and expectations. Look at your body with your own eyes. Develop your own relationship with your body. Create rituals to support and celebrate your body through each season of life. Learn the vocabulary of reverence to replace the shame-based and criticism-laced messages that have assaulted our minds, bodies, and spirits on a daily basis.

This retrieval process is supported by fasting from old thoughts, critical words, and image-based habits, and feasting on new thoughts, reverent words, and essence-based habits. Affirmations support the “re-education” of our minds. Newness cannot exist in our experience until it’s imagined within our minds and hearts. Once imagined, the new experience becomes ours and we reclaim our original body-love from the inside out.

A Daily Practice

Body-love is a choice expressed daily in reverent words and respectful action. Use the following words to create a pause, an opportunity to pivot, before choosing an old body-scrutinizing, body- criticizing habit of thought, word, or behavior:

“I return to the Breath of LIFE and I am soothed into acceptance of this moment, just as it is. I am comforted by the truth that I whole, perfect, and complete in body, mind, and spirit. I rest in acceptance, and all is well.

There is no blemish in me. I am the daughter of LIFE and my body is lovely just as it is, in its perfect shape and size. I am at peace—the war is over. There is only comfort, soothing, and acceptance.

I am at home in my body. I am at ease with my body’s sensations. I am at play with my body’s sensuality. I am at peace with my body’s natural cycles. I speak about my body with reverence. And so it is.”

Support Along the Way

May this week’s reflections and affirmations awakened within you a desire to reclaim your original body-love and to inspire your daughters, granddaughters, and nieces to love their bodies, regardless. If you want to engage these insights more substantially, consider purchasing the retreat “Love Your Body: Five Pathways to Body-Love” here: Retreat Details. The first 10 women to order the retreat will also receive the “Love Your Body, Regardless” Daily Reader.

Read through the material as you would a transformational book or follow the retreat format with its meditations, circles of women, and journaling exercises to deepen the healing within your body and life. IAW’s retreat “Love Your Body” will remind you of the body-loving instincts of the child you once were, and of how to awaken them in every season of your life.

Patricia Lynn Reilly is the founder of Imagine a Woman International and BAB Coaching and Publication Services. If you’re ready to make peace with your body, read about our Retreat “Love Your Body: Five Pathways to Body-Love” here: Retreat Details. If you’d like to join our Team of Certified Coaches, visit here: Certification Details

Filed Under: Blog, IAW News, Self-Love, Uncategorized

May 18 Blog – Turning Outrage into Action

May 18, 2011 By 2 Comments
Elegance

Since it was founded in 1961, the Peace Corps has sent 200,000 volunteers to 139 countries. There have been more than 1,000 sexual assaults and 221 rapes or attempted rapes in that time. Since sexual crimes often go unreported, experts note the numbers may be significantly higher.

About 48 women are raped in the Democratic Republic of Congo every hour. The research study, due to be published in the American Journal of Public Health in June, shows that 12% of the country’s women have been raped at least once. The study also found that sexual abuse is rampant not only in conflict areas but also in the home, with nearly one woman subjected to some form of sexual abuse every minute.

The Pentagon’s latest figures show that nearly 3,000 military women were sexually assaulted in 2008. Among women serving in Iraq and Afghanistan, the number rose 25%. Close to one-third of female veterans say they were victims of sexual assault while serving, which is twice the rate in the civilian population. Women in the US armed forces are now more likely to be sexually assaulted by a fellow soldier than killed in combat.

A United Nations report concluded that violence against women is a function of the belief, fostered in all cultures, that men are superior, and that women are their ornaments, possessions, or chattel, expected to service their sexual needs. In addition, traditional religion’s elevation of a male God condones men’s sexual access to their wives and children while society’s preference for the male carries within it the expectation that it is the duty of women to service men’s sexual needs.

These pervasive attitudes have their roots in religious and cultural stories and myths, in which the male body is exempt from responsibility: ”Boys will be boys, and they can’t help themselves,“ girls are taught and women are warned. Instead of holding men accountable, women are expected to dress and act in ways that do not provoke men. This presumes men cannot control themselves and that women are responsible for men’s actions. The truth is that veils, burqas, and habits do not protect women from sexual assault.

No More

Amnon, the son of King David, prepared to rape his sister Tamar. In response she said, “No, brother, do not violate me, we do not do such foolish things in Israel. Where could I go and hide my shame? And you would sink as low as any fool in Israel. Why not speak to the king for me? He will not keep me from you.’”

The Hebrew Scripture continues, “He did not want to hear her voice. He was stronger than she. He raped her. Then Amnon was filled with utter hatred for her, greater than the desire with which he desired her. He said to her, ‘Get up and go.’ She answered, “No, it is wicked to send me away. This is a greater evil than all you have done to me.”

Of the many women who read and experienced Tamar’s story through A God Who Looks Like Me, only one had heard this story before: ”My great aunt was a preacher,” Joanne shared, “She sat me on her lap with her great big King James Bible and said, ‘There are some things in this book that men won’t tell you; some stories that won’t be told in the church. This is one from II Samuel chapter 13.’ And then she read Tamar’s story to me.”

Perhaps if the religious institutions of our childhoods had listened to Tamar’s story and allowed her firm “NO” to challenge its ways, our stories would have been encouraged out of the silence of denial and shame much sooner. Her “No” was a courageous act on her own behalf. With great clarity of vision in a dangerous moment, she challenged her brother’s behavior and named it as a violation, as a foolish thing, as low, wicked, and evil. She is the only one in the entire Hebrew Scriptures to name Amnon’s sin!

Amnon did not want to hear Tamar’s voice, the Peace Corp ignored women’s stories and requests for support, the women of Congo have few advocates, today’s female soldiers serve their country in silence fearing retaliation by the men in their own units, female journalists are reluctant to tell the truth for fear of losing their jobs, and some mothers dangerously dependent on the men in their lives for validation and legitimization ignore their daughters stories of incest and rape at the hands of their fathers, brothers, uncles, and priests.

The world’s parents and religious, political, organizational, and corporate leaders must hear our stories. They must move out of denial for the sake of the young girls attending religious services this week, the young women volunteering for the Peace Corps, the female journalists reporting from the world’s hot spots, the women enlisting to serve our country, the Congolese women preparing food for their families, and the daughters left alone with their abusers.

As Tamar’s truth is told, our truth is told. As we swallow her story into ours, her story becomes a healing story. We receive the courage to say ’NO MORE’ and the resources to tell our own stories out of generations of silence.

Telling the Untold Stories

The Scripture tells us that Tamar’s other brother, Absolom, was the father of three sons and one daughter. He named his daughter Tamar, after her beautiful aunt. For the sake of our nieces and daughters, we must tell our stories, and listen to each other’s stories.

Imagine Tamar walking up the aisle this Sabbath. She looks into each woman’s eyes and says: “Take back your sight—see yourself as beautiful and full. Take back your voice—shout out your truth! Take back your dignity—it was not your sin. It is right and good that you are woman. Refuse to carry the sins of others within your body and life.”

In response, one after another, the world’s women rise from their seats and tell their stories—stories of menstruation, of childbirth, of menopause. Stories of violation, shame, healing, and courage. The women’s stories fill the space. Their “NO MORE” fills the universe. It erupts in blood and darkness. It circles the planets, shouting in the open spaces of the universe. Their “NO MORE” reorders the world, once and for all.

From Outrage to Action

In what ways will your “No More” circle the planet and reorder the world this week? Consider dedicating one of these courageous actions to someone in your life who experienced sexual assault.

• Tell a story you’ve kept secret to a trusting friend or relative.

• Express outrage at the jokes said in the office that denigrate a woman’s body or life.

• Challenge a friend to say “No more!” and leave an abusive relationship.

• Demand that your daughter’s father deal with his destructive attitudes toward women’s bodies.

• Challenge your minister, imam, priest, or rabbi to tell the stories of Tamar and The One Who Was Cut in Pieces. Volunteer to preach a sermon of outrage.

• Challenge your husband to grow beyond the crippling and dangerous misogyny of his sexual socialization.

• Strengthen the courage of your daughters, granddaughters, and nieces by giving them your strong example and blessing to say “No.”

• Join Amnesty International, MS Magazine, and Eve Ensler’s organization. Volunteer with them to work on behalf of the world’s women.

Written by Patricia Lynn Reilly, founder of IAW International and author of A God Who Looks Like Me (Ballantine Books, 1995). Join our community and become an IAW Certified Coach, reminding women in your community that it is right and good that they are women, coaxing their stories out of the silence, supporting them to refuse to carry the sins of others in their bodies and lives, and challenging them to transform their outrage into action on behalf of the world’s women. Our silence will not protect us!

Filed Under: Blog, IAW News, Uncategorized, Women's History Month

Flower

August 18, 2010 By Leave a Comment
Loved this image!

Loved this image!

Filed Under: Uncategorized

Say Happy Birthday To Imagine A Woman

March 27, 2010 By 17 Comments

When we announced that we were re-launching Imagine a Woman in honor of the poem’s 15th Anniversary/Birthday, we began to receive some amazing “Birthday Wishes.” After reading how the original poem touched the lives of women far and wide, we decided to create a place on the new site where women could share, read, and create birthday wishes and stories of how Imagine a Woman touched their lives.

We invite you to leave your own message, just submit a comment containing your Birthday Wish below!

From  Kathryn  Adis
Author  of  Repeat  After  Me:  7  Simple  Truths  to  Help  You  Survive  a  Crisis
www.truehopebooks.com

I  was  imagining  and  stepping  into  my  own  rebirth  when  I  first  read  “Imagine  A  Woman.”  Eagerly  I  sent  copies  to  my  women  friends  so  they  could  be  uplifted  as  was  I.  Guided  by  the  vision  and  its  author,  I  found  a  voice  to  assist  others  going  through  a  life-altering  experience  by  writing  Repeat  After  Me,  simple  truths  to  help  you  survive  a  crisis.  The  book  took  wing  and  surpassed  my  singular  dream:  to  help  just  one  other  person.  Today  Repeat  After  Me  goes  into  second  printing  as  I  gently  look  back  on  the  young  woman  so  long  huddled  and  afraid  who  has  at  last  blossomed,  sitting  with  ease  and  grace  in  a  fluid  circle  of  visionaries.

Happy  Birthday,  Imagine  A  Woman,  from  www.TrueHopeBooks.com.  Thank  you  for  your  voice.  Your  song  strikes  a  melodic  chord  in  the  hearts  of  women  everywhere.  Long  may  you  sing!

From  Mary  Kay  Aide
Author  of  Spa  for  Your  Soul:  5  Steps  to  Rejuvenate  your  Life
www.spaforyoursoulcoach.com/

Today  is  the  15th  birthday  of  the  poem,  “Imagine  a  Woman.”  In  1995  the  poem  was  first  published  in  the  book  A  God  Who  Looks  Like  Me by  the  author  Patricia  Lynn  Reilly,  founder  of  Imagine  a  Woman  International.  I  discovered  a  version  of  this  poem  a  year  or  so  ago  and  it  deeply  touched  me.  Reading  the  original  is  even  more  powerful  and  has  new  meaning  every  time  I  read  it.  I  marvel  at  how  one  poem  can  embody  the  struggles  so  many  women  deal  with  on  a  daily  basis. So  many  of  its  phrases  resonate  with  me  personally  and  with  women  I  coach.  No  matter  the  background,  age,  or  life  experience,  women  struggle  with  the  same  issues  and  can  find  support  and  solace  in  each  other.  I  love  knowing  the  poem  is  passing  from  woman  to  woman,  mom  to  daughter,  sister  to  sister,  friend  to  friend!

Happy  birthday,  Imagine  a  Woman,  from  the  Spa  For  The  Soul  community.

From  Linda  Amato
Author  of  Making  Believers:  Connect  to  the  Light  Within
www.MakingBelievers.com

I  celebrate  the  “Imagine  a  Woman”  today  because  I  have  become  the  woman  described  in  the  poem.  Before  the  poem  came  into  my  life  I  didn’t  know  such  a  woman  existed.  This  stanza  describes  me  and  is  the  message  I  share  with  my  clients:  “Imagine  a  Woman  who  acknowledges  the  past’s  influence  on  the  present.  A  woman  who  has  walked  through  her  past.  Who  has  healed  into  the  present.” I  am  blessed  to  witness  women  grow  in  love  and  respect  for  themselves…inspired  by  the  poem.  With  tears  in  their  eyes,  they  allow  the  beauty,  power,  and  insight  of  the  words  to  touch  them  deeply,  and  over  time,  they  become  that  woman!

Happy  Birthday  to  the  poem  from  me  and  my  clients.

From  Susan  Betancourt,  Clinical  Aromatherapist
www.breadandroses.info

The  “Imagine  a  Woman”  poem  is  magic!  I  recall  exactly  where  I  was,  and  how  I  felt,  when  I  first  heard  the  poem  in  a  circle  of  women  in  Berkeley.  I  was  amazed  because  I  heard  the  words  in  my  grandmother’s  voice,  and  back  to  my  ancient  grandmothers,  and  I  felt  it  was  their  special  message  being  passed  to  me,  their  beloved  granddaughter.  I  took  the  words  of  the  poem to heart.  Ever  since,  its  call  to  celebrate  and  own  my  innate  strength  and  beauty  has  grown and  matured!  The  shape  of  my  life  work  has  slowly evolved,  until  today  I  can  celebrate  myself  with  wonder  and  delight.  Recently,  I proudly  achieved  a  long-time  goal,  receiving  my  diploma  as  a  Certified  Clinical  Aromatherapist.

Happy  Birthday,  Imagine  a  Woman,  from  the  Bread  and  Roses  community!

From  Mary  Pierce  Brosmer
Author  of  Writing  For  (a)  Change
www.marypiercebrosmer.com

Imagine  a  poem  which  has  been  like  yeast,  raising  women  to  fuller,  rounder  lives  than  we  had  dared  imagine.

Imagine  birthdays  which  celebrate  the  mothers,  as  well  as  the  children,  visions,  ideas,  businesses,  and  poems  they  birth.

Happy  fifteenth  birthday  to  “Imagine  a  Woman”  and  to  the  mother  who  birthed  her,  Patricia  Lynn  Reilly.

From  Mara  Castello,  CEC
Relationship  Empowerment  Coach  for  Women
www.NavigateFromTheHeart.com

Today,  I  have  the  privilege  of  wishing  happy  15th  birthday  to  the  “Imagine  a  Woman”  poem.  The  poem  inspired  my  own  “rebirth.”  From  the  moment  I  heard  it  read,  it’s  message  resonated  within  my  heart.  To  this  day,  I  cannot  read  it  without  a  tear  in  my  eye.  It  wasn’t  until  I  heard  the  words:  “Imagine  a  woman  who  trusts  and  respects  herself.  A  woman  who  listens  to  her  needs  and  desires.  Who  meets  them  with  tenderness  and  grace”—  that  I  truly  understood  that  it  was  OK  to  be  me.  How  freeing!  I  am  not  alone  on  the  journey  to  reclaim  the  truth  about  myself.

My  most  heartfelt  desire  and  calling  is  to  share  this  message  with  my  sisters  everywhere,  so  that  they,  too,  may  know  the  depth  of  joy  that  I  now  experience  because  of  this  life-changing  poem.

From  Sheila  Collins,  Ph.D.
Author  of  Stillpoint:  Dancing  with  Selfhealing  and  Selfcaring
www.interplay.org/wiprss.asp

Happy 15th birthday to the “Imagine a Woman” poem. I discovered the poem many years ago, but the older I get, the more it resonates deeply within me.  Sitting in a circle of women is something I’ve done for  15 years, and that experience is how I’ve been able to stay connected to my true self.  It’s a big part of  how I’ve made it through extremely tough stuff in my personal life, the illness and death of two of my three  children, and my best friend. I will continue working with girls and women, passing on what was given to me, just as the poem is passed from woman to woman, mother to daughter, friend to friend.

From  Diane  Harmony
Author  of  5  GIFTS  for  an  Abundant  Life
www.5gifts.com

Happy  15th  Birthday,  Imagine  a  Woman!  How  amazing  to  have  been  inspired  and  touched  by  Patricia  Lynn  Reilly’s  empowering  words for over 15 years…and  to  have  answered  the  call  to  be  our  authentic  selves.  Patricia  has  been  my  mentor  and  teacher  for  even  longer.  Her  commitment  to  the  Divine  Feminine  contributed  to  my  own  awakening.  And  this  in  turn  has  allowed  me  to  find  my  voice  in  service  to  the  awakening  of  others.

Thank  you,  Patricia,  and  here’s  to  another  15  years  of  women  emerging  from  the  darkness  into  the  light,  as  we  witness  the  profound  shift  of  consciousness  on  the  planet  that  can  only  be  birthed  through  women  globally  embracing  our  truly  powerful  Selves.

From  Kay  Montgomery
Founder  of  A  Connecting  Thread  Retreat  Center
http://www.aConnectingThread.com

Happy  birthday  to  Patricia  and  the  poem,  from  the  “A  Connecting  Thread”  Community!  I’ve  shared  the  “Imagine  A  Woman”  poem  with  women  for  over  14  years.  It  affirms  my  belief  in  the  power  of  women  nurturing  themselves  and  each  other  by  sitting  together  in  ever-widening  circles.  The  poem  has  served  as  an  invitation  to  my  family,  friends,  and  clients  to  travel  the  authentic  path  of  “coming  home”  to  themselves.  Its  words  resonate  for  me  personally  as  I  continue  to  explore  who  I  was,  who  I  am,  and  who  I  am  becoming…and  professionally  as  I  support  others  “to  honor  their  experiences  and  tell  their  stories”  to  heal  into  the  present.

From Kagiso  Msimango
Founder  of  South  Africa’s  The  Goddess  Academy
www.TheGoddessAcademy.co.za

Today  we  at  The  Goddess  Academy  celebrate  the  magic  of  the  very  divalicious  phenomenon,  the  Imagine  a  Woman  poem,  and  the  global  community  of  women  it  has  inspired.  I  can’t  recall  where  I  first  came  across  the  poem,  but  I  do  know  when.  It  was  in  2006,  while  I  was  in  the  process  of  setting  up  The  Goddess  Academy.  Having  a  brand  consultancy  background  I’m  big  on  visions  and  missions.  Although  I  was  very  clear  about  why  I  was  establishing  The  Goddess  Academy,  I  was  struggling  to  articulate  my  vision.  That’s  when  I  came  across  this  poem.  It  had  me  at  hello,  so  to  speak.  I  was  captivated  from  the  very  first  line:  “Imagine  a  woman  who  believes  it  is  right  and  good  she  is  a  woman.”  By  the  time  I  got  to  the  end  of  the  poem,  my  spirit  was  soaring.  A  goddess  named  Patricia  Lynn  Reilly  had  birthed,  so  very  beautifully,  my  vision  years  before  I  had  conceived  the  idea.  I  took  this  as  a  divine  nod  from  God(dess)  and  received  permission  from  Patricia  to  use  the  poem  as  our  vision.  Today,  April  2,  Imagine  a  Woman  is  15  years  old  and  as  powerful  as  ever!

From  Jessica  Pierce
Writer  &  Eating  Disorder  Activist
www.live-out-loud.org

I  was  introduced  to  “Imagine  a  Woman”  poem  and  book  in  2003.  The  book  was  nestled  in  a  bookshelf  in  my  therapist’s  waiting  room,  and  the  title  caught  my  eye.  I  had  been  seeing  my  therapist  for  several  years,  for  treatment  of  an  eating  disorder.  While  the  book  was  intriguing,  it  was  also  terrifying.  Eventually  I  was  able  to  get  through  the  poem,  and  a  couple  of  pages  of  Chapter  1.  As  I  became  stronger  in  my  recovery,  identity,  and  womanhood,  I  was  able  to  embrace  the  book,  and  its  message.  In  the  end,  I  was  not  only  able  to  imagine  myself  as  that  woman,  I  had  become  that  woman.  Today,  I  share  the  poem  with  those  who  struggle  with  their  own  eating  disorders  and  abuse  injuries.  Happy  birthday,  Imagine  a  Woman,  and  thanks  for  reminding  me  of  the  truth  when  I  forget!

From:  Paula  M.  Reeves
Author  of  Women’s  Intuition:  Unlocking  the  Wisdom  of  the  Body
www.paulamreeves.com

I  am  drawn  to  the  words  and  the  ever  growing  message  of  Patricia’s  poem  “Imagine  a  Woman”  because  it  awakens  the  depth  of  possibility  inherent  in  every  life.  This  poem  never  ages,  it  only  ripens  and  sends  forth  seeds.  Thank  you,  Patricia,  for  giving  women  everywhere  a  map  and  an  invitation.  Happy  Birthday  and  may  these  words  find  their  way  around  the  world  and  into  every  hamlet  and  village.

From  Nancy  Scheibe
Author  of  Ripples  Of  Wisdom:  A  Journey  through  Mud  and  Truth
www.RipplesOfWisdom.com

Today  is  the  15th  birthday  of  the  “Imagine  a  Woman”  poem.  The  poem  was  sent  to  me  by  a  dear  friend  after  my  book  about  the  first  leg  of  my  journey  down  the  Mississippi  River  was  released.  I  connected  with  the  poem  in  a  deeply  meaningful  way.  Turning  50,  it  clarified  the  woman  I  had  become  and  it  identified  the  power  in  other  women  I  wanted  to  acknowledge  and  invigorate.  I  immediately  incorporated  the  poem  into  my  work.  As  I  travel,  women  gather  in  circles  around  Sacred  Peace  Fire  and  the  poem  is  read  to  set  the  tone.  Its  eloquence  declares  the  truth  about  WomanSpirit  living  within  each  of  us.  Inspired  by  the  poem,  women  share  their  own  wisdom  and  heartfelt  reflections,  born  of  time  and  experience.  Happy  birthday,  Imagine  a  Woman  International,  from  the  Ripples  Of  Wisdom  community.

From  Erin  Louise  Stewart
Life  Coach  and  “Dreams  Come  True”  Retreat  Facilitator
http://www.clarityenterprise.com

I  was  healed  in  Patricia’s  circle  of  women  while  discovering  a  woman-affirming  spirituality.  I  was  reminded  that  home  is  as  near  as  a  conscious  breath,  conscious  contact  with  my  woman  body,  and  a  descent  into  my  own  inner  spiritual  resources.  Within  that  WomanSpirit  circle,  I  became  the  woman  described  in  the  “Imagine  A  Woman”  poem.  The  poem  has become a  way  of  life—it  informs  my  choices  and  vision  of  myself.  My  business  “Clarity  Enterprise”  was  born  of  the  transformational  influence  of  the  poem,  and  its  impact  is  continually  felt  as  I  assist  women  and  men  to  imagine  and  realize  their  greatest  potential.  Happy  Birthday,  Imagine  A  Woman.  May  the  world  continue  to  be  blessed  with  the  power  and  presence  of  WomanSpirit!

From  Therese  Tappouni
Co-Founder  of  the  Isis  Institute
www.IsisInstitute.org

The  “Imagine  a  Woman”  poem  has  been  in  every  one  of  my  workshop  and  retreat  packets  for  the  past  10  years.  When  I  first  encountered  the  poem,  so  many  of  its  words  spoke  to  the  issues  and  concerns  of  my  clients.  For  women  entering  their  forties  and  fifties  and  becoming  their  amazing  heated  selves,  the  line:  “Imagine  a  woman  who  loves  her  body.  Who  celebrates  its  rhythms  and  cycles  as  an  exquisite  resource”  spoke  directly  to  their  hopes  and  desires.  For  women  learning  to  value  their  feminine  self,  the  line  “Imagine  a  woman  who  values  the  women  in  her  life”  echoes  the  call  of  WomanSpirit  in  the  heart  of  all  of  us.  Happy  birthday,  Imagine  a  Woman,  from  all  of  us  here  at  the  Isis  Institute.

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