The Unlimited Self - Empower your inner Goddess

Open your Eyes

lisaclonan — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 15:13:00 +0000

My first leap out of the corporate world was into massage therapy. Massage worked miracles on me after a car accident, and I have an intense passion and deep appreciation for the work. In fact, massage was not only the beginning of a career change but a life change as well. I hold it in the highest esteem.
The hardest thing about going into the massage field was not the physical toll on the body, not the work it takes to start a business, but the association of massage with prostitution. In fact, any reference of one with the other sent me directly to righteous indignation and a trip onto my soap box.
However, a couple of weeks ago I watched a special report on MSNBC on human trafficking. It highlighted the very sad and horrific stories of women who were tricked and then forced into sex slavery, under threat of their own lives and the lives of their families. Many of these women were forced to work 18 hour days in “massage parlors”, not just abroad, but here in the U.S. as well.
It was heartbreaking and unimaginable that this is so prevalent. It made me feel grateful for having the opportunities afforded to me, but pessimistic overall. In the face of such cruelty and oppression, where is the goddess?
Then I realized what I felt: compassion, empathy, sadness. No longer did I feel such intense anger toward the women who erroneously held themselves out as masseuses or even worse – massage therapists. My view had changed, and another aspect of the Goddess became awakened in my heart.
I then contemplated, how many other times have I assumed without knowing the whole story? How many opportunities to open my heart had passed me by because I knew I was “right”?
By looking through the eyes of the Goddess we can be open to see the entire situation, not just our own narrow view. The Goddess asks you to look behind the book cover and actually read the story. Who knows, you may just find a map to the hidden treasure in you!

Are you “just” a stay at home Mom?

lisaclonan — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 14:17:04 +0000

When I have the opportunity to meet new women eventually I ask the obligatory “What do you do?” question. Often I will hear in reply “I am just a stay a home Mom” or “I was working, but I am just staying home for now”. What a sad state of affairs that such incredible women feel that raising children is a job that requires a “just” qualifier.
These comments illustrate how desperately we need to honor and respect the divine feminine. I am not talking about gender, after all think about how society looks at the stay at home Dad. True freedom is being able to follow your heart and spirit, and live the life that is best for you.
Being a stay at home Mom requires so much. It takes a special person to give this gift to a young child. Parents are a child’s first view of the world, and yet as a society we don’t give this job anywhere near the prestige it deserves. WHY???
Is it because we live in the “masculine” of the world, where value is placed on employment and undertakings that result in money, money, money? What would a balanced society look like? What would it feel like?
Believe me, I am a big fan of money!! But, as part of the prosperity equation – not as a standalone ideal. What good is money, if you are not prosperous? What good is money if you are not living the life of your dreams? True prosperity is having a wealth of relationships, health, finances, and a purpose that feeds your soul.
To live a life of prosperity we need to embrace and celebrate both the masculine and feminine sides of our composition. It is only through this route we can truly listen to our hearts. What is your heart telling you?

Equal Rights for the feminine

lisaclonan — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 21:25:07 +0000

If I asked my 15 year old niece about her opportunities in life, she would give me an unlimited list of her goals and dreams. Here in the U.S. we (women) have taken the world by storm and there is no bar to high for us to reach. It is an exciting time. Gender lines begin to evaporate in the younger generations, and my niece is growing up with the confidence that she can achieve whatever she desires.

Yet with all the opportunity afforded to women, why are so many of us feeling more stressed, tired, frustrated, and overwhelmed? Is it that we now have too much to do? Too many choices?

Or is the answer a little simpler?

In the book “Woman, Earth and Spirit” author Helen M. Luke writes the following “….real liberation from the weight of the inferior status imposed on women lies not in the reiterated assertion the women must now strive to live like men, but in the affirmation of the equal value of the specifically feminine”

As women as a gender moved toward equality, the qualities of the divine feminine were still regarded as inferior. We rejected our own femininity in an attempt to grasp the power and independence once allowed to only men. Our great success came at a great price. We are a world out of balance that only respects the masculine side of our nature.

To create our own personal peace and prosperity, we must first make peace with ourselves. Rather than acting out a part we have learned well, we must now learn to love ourselves as unique, inspired, creative, and incredible feminine beings.

We must find the courage to embrace who we truly are, follow our intuition, and then bravely and compassionately show that face to the world. The only person we need to be is our truest self.

Somewhere between evolution and evolving

lisaclonan — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 12:22:39 +0000

I spent this past Saturday evening with some of the most incredible holistic, green, and fair trade business people on the east coast. These are people who have dedicated their lives to healing the human spirit, healing the earth, and correcting social injustice. They have blended compassion with profit and success with responsibility. They got me thinking about our evolution as a species and our place on this earth.
What exactly happened? As we evolved into more intelligent life did we somehow lose our connection to a more divine intelligence? Innately all other species (plant and animal) live in a balance with their environment. Yet for all of our human intelligence, this is something we have failed to do. All the “save the earth” campaigns are not really about saving the earth at all. After all, the earth will survive. What we need save is our mother earth’s ability to sustain life – human life.
This is not a blog about the environment so I will get to my point. It is about what happens when the divine feminine has been lost. Within all life forms there is a balance between masculine and feminine forces:
• Creating vs. Conquering
• Community vs. Individuality
• Collaboration vs. Confrontation
• Submission vs. Opposition
• Power vs. Force

We need all of these forces to lead a fulfilling life and create a thriving society. But what happens when one side of the equation is given more value over the other? That’s easy, turn on the news. The world has become a society without a mother to keep it in check! No time is better than the present for the resurgence of feminine power on earth. But, where is she?
She exists inside you! In order to heal the world, we need to first heal our own soul. Today, just for a minute, look in the mirror and see if you can witness her divine essence glowing in your eyes. Allow her to awaken!

What does it mean to be feminine?

lisaclonan — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 13:05:34 +0000

According to Webster’s dictionary, Feminine is defined as characteristic of or appropriate or unique to women. Is that acting in a certain manner, dressing a specific way, using proper grammar? What does it really mean to be feminine? Embracing femininity means embracing all that is you. It is accepting the power that resides within you. To be feminine is to be bold, quiet, strong, sensual, vulnerable, confident, anxious, assertive, creative, passionate, peaceful, and so much more.

We come into this world with certain dreams, desires, and talents. We do not come into the world with definitions and limits on what we should and should not be.

To be feminine is to move through your fear and show the world the brilliant being that exists within. It may be the easier route to fit it and go with the flow, but that feels as good as shoving a size 8 foot into a size 6 shoe.

What have you been holding back? What would you do if you could vacation from your fear? To be truly feminine is to dig deep, find out who lives at the core, and set her free!

Where did she go?

lisaclonan — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 13:42:52 +0000

When people say the word “God” most often a divine, fatherly, male figure comes to mind. When someone says the word “Goddess” we are not so sure of the meaning. The title of Goddess has been bestowed on beautiful women, divas, and slapped across a plethora of marketing campaigns from salad dressing to razors.

Ancient religions worshiped both male and female gods representing different aspects of societies, life and environment. In these societies women were esteemed as scribes, teachers, rulers, and warriors in their own right.

As these religions disappeared or went underground, so did the value of all things feminine. Strong, intelligent, opinionated women were accused of witchcraft and burned alive. It is no wonder that women became quiet, submissive, and subservient to male authority. In parts of the world this fate still exists and here in the United States the remnants still remain.

Power for many women has become acting masculine. Or on the flip side being a good wife for many is being subservient to her husband. Women are at a crucial struggle in the balance of power, independence, and femininity.

For too long the world has respected only a masculine identity of power and success. Power was something you had to “get”. This definition serves neither men or women and has lead to the pursuit of money and status without thought of consequence or conscience. True power comes from within. It needs to be manifested rather than forced. It does not need armies to carry out its mission. True power speaks in our hearts, if only we could be quiet enough to hear it.

The greatest gift we can give to ourselves and the world is to embrace EQUALLY the aspects of both the divine masculine and feminine in our society. The goddess is here, waiting to reemerge.

Why the Goddess?

lisaclonan — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 14:36:14 +0000

For centuries her voice has been almost silent, only to be heard in a faint whisper by those straining to listen. Traditional images of God have been cast in a male light and women were taught that divinity is found through male leaders, preachers, and the concept of the male God. There has been little exploration or insight to a female aspect of God.

I am not asking you to change your beliefs, but rather to expand your heart and mind to embrace the extraordinary force that lives with you – your inner Goddess.

We all hold divinity within us. Men have been raised with a picture or image of a divine being that looked like them. This fostered a confidence and connection not available to women.

Many women stumble upon the concept of Goddess while searching for something else, and some will never hear her voice from within.

This is not a discussion or exploration of religion, but rather the reemerging of a force held quiet for too long. I seek to explore the world through the eyes of the feminine.

Traditionally all things associated as feminine have been undervalued and the concept of power and success has been cast in a masculine light. Women have achieved incredible strides in the social, financial, political, and corporate sectors. But this success has come at the price of mimicking and internalizing a male model of success, which does not work for living a full and prosperous life (for either gender).

Our sisters before us have paved the way for this very moment, the reemergence of goddess power. It is time to reconnect to the sleeping source of inspiration, creation, and light that exists within us – our inner goddess. It all starts with you…..