In Honor of Mary Magdalene

 

Have you ever felt judged by someone? Can you remember that pain of feeling misunderstood? Cast out? And separate?

Usually the people in judgement don’t know the whole story. They don’t know the truth of who we are or what we’ve been through. And usually the people who judge, are themselves in some kind of pain.

I imagine you can relate to that truly awful feeling, especially if you identify as highly sensitive. It’s enough to make one want to attack back, or worse, go into hiding or shame.

I’ve been thinking of Mary Magdalene this week, as her Feast day approaches this Saturday, July 22. (Also the day Venus goes retrograde! But I’ll share more about Venus in my newsletter next week).

Seven years ago Pope Francis declared July 22 as a Feast Day for Mary Magdalene, honoring her role in Jesus’ life as “The Apostle of the Apostles.”

Many of you may know of her as she was named by the Catholic Church long ago - as a prostitute or whore. She was judged, and as what happened to many powerful women, her name was dragged through the mud.

But the truth is she was an absolute equal to Jesus in his ministry.

There came a time, in the first few centuries that the Bible was changed, and stories of powerful women were taken out of it.

And the Church didn’t want people to think that Jesus was human - that he had a beloved, instead they wanted to portray him as this divine being that could only be accessed through the Church.

That way they could keep the power. So any stories depicting Jesus as a partner, a beloved, a lover and husband to Mary, were removed.

Powerful women were seen as a threat in her time. Women were mysterious - they carried the gifts of new life inside their bodies, it was something men were not capable of, or even fully understood.

When women joined together the men felt even more threatened (what is more powerful than a coven of women woven together by the same beliefs?)

So whether it was conscious/intentional or not, the women were systematically shamed.

First they shut down their power center - their womb - by shaming their sexuality.

Then their menstrual cycle was seen as dirty, a burden or a curse.

Bearing children, and giving birth was seen as a punishment.

The women were deemed inferior. A woman was confined to the home.

And sadly, when a woman shuts down in her womb center, she often shuts down her voice.

I believe Mary knew one day though that her name would be restored, that one day thousands of women would awaken and carry on her legacy, of being powerful and embracing that power, as teachers, guides, healers and claiming their place as part of a larger movement.

I believe she knew one day these women would reclaim the power of their menstrual cycle…

The holiness of conception, pregnancy and birth…

And through healing, would find their voice.

But not only that, I believe that she also holds the codes of forgiveness.

She reminds us to feel all the pain of the past, and to release judgement of others, even when we feel judged.

To remember that those who are causing pain are also in deep pain themselves.

I believe she had compassion for those who shamed her, dragged her name through the mud, even for those who wanted to persecute and kill her.

There’s so much we can learn from Mary, and her embodiment.

I wanted to share one of the audio lessons in my program, The Way of the Priestess about her. This weekend, let’s honor Mary, her sacred teachings and all she embodied.

Listen to this recording to learn more about the practice of feeling our pain, a forgiveness process, seeing sexuality as sacred, our bodies as temples and how to embody a consciousness of abundance.

Find it here:

 

Learn more about these practices in Mercedes Kirkel's channeled book, Mary Magdalene Beckons.

Below I’m including some of the podcasts we devoted to spreading her truth and message as well as information regarding the 2023-2024 Way of the Priestess Initiation Program.

With love, 
Meredith

016 | Mysteries of Mary Magdalene with Faye Wylder

Listen here

046 | Channeling Mary Magdalene with Mercedes Kirkel

Listen here

059 | In Honor of Mary Magdalene with Meredith Rom

Listen here

056 | Angel Guides, Motherhood and the Modern Magdalene with Lisa Devine

Listen here

---

You’re invited to…

The Rising Women Leaders 2023-2024 Way of the Priestess Initiation Program

Begins September 21, 2023 (September 2023 - June 2024)

10 MONTH MYSTERY SCHOOL + WOMEN’S CIRCLE FACILITATION TRAINING

Online Program for Women Rising on the Priestess Path

Calling all Healers, Wisdom-Keepers, Teachers, Earth Protectors, and Highly Sensitive Women Ready to Live and Serve at their Highest Potential 

JOIN US ON A PATH OF Devotion, Beauty, and Service

...The Lineage of the Rose...

Join us as we explore Core Values of: Femininity, Devotion, Wildness, Compassion, Boundaries, Prosperity, Service, Love, Leadership & Vision

Each month in the program includes:

+ an initiation gateway
+ priestess practices
+ facilitation skills
+ goddess guides recording
+ new and full moon rituals

Plus throughout the program you will also receive:
+ 7 guest mentor videos
+ 17 live sisterhood video calls
+ a virtual closing retreat + vows ceremony
+ access to our priestess curriculum
+ private whatsapp group
+ accountability sister (optional)
+ private 1:1 healing sessions (optional)

To Learn More about the Program Curriculum, Call Dates, and Payment Options View the Program Guide

Step into your Embodiment as Priestess

We will join together to reveal a deeper meaning of existence, and anchor into our living as an embodiment of love to serve our planet and future generations.

If you feel a resonance in your heart I invite you to book a free 30 minute call with me...

This is an opportunity to gain clarity on your intentions for the next year, identify where you feel held back on your path of service, and I'll be able to share resources + support for your next steps. We'll also have the chance to explore if this program could be a good fit for you to join us this year.

Claim your Power and Voice

“Speaking to strangers has been one of my greatest fears that would often shut off my ability to be fully present and prevent me from making new connections with people. I dedicated a good portion of my life trying to overcome this fear by intentionally seeking out experiences that triggered this fear and this process was extremely difficult and the progress felt extremely slow.

After a few sessions with Meredith on healing my voice and the fears associated with that, I now find myself effortlessly interacting with strangers, making new connections and to my greatest surprise I am starting to enjoy mingling in large corporate settings, which would previously terrify me.”

~Alina Daunyte

Book a 1:1 Call with Meredith

Blessed Be!

 

The Power of Circle (plus More Reflections on New Motherhood)

 

This has been my first month with a few days a week of childcare since my baby was born, and I’ve now had the breathing room to really recognize the huge life transformation I just went through.

I think what I’m learning is that I couldn’t really prepare for or know what I would need until I was in it.

One of the things I learned was that I actually needed a lot more support than I was giving to myself.

There were really hard days, especially in that 3-6 month age where I experienced exhaustion.

The meal train had ended, the postpartum doula visits I had scheduled and paid for while still pregnant were now complete.

But the physical exhaustion, both from carrying this new being all day, and from sleep deprivation, now cumulative, was still very present.

I had days with anxiety, days with new tests and challenges on my relationship, and days where I struggled to cook and feed this new and ravenous appetite from nursing, all the while still figuring out everything for the first time in how to care for this amazing new being.

On most days, I struggled knowing how to ask for help.

Other days, I wasn’t really sure what I needed (a shower probably), and a lot of the time I didn’t even know I was struggling (until I’ve had this time to look back in hindsight).

I knew I longed for a circle of women, a witnessing circle, to simply be and share about this huge transformation, what I was discovering through this time in my life…

But I struggled finding the time or mental clarity to text people to call a circle together and make it happen, let alone stay awake past my daughter’s bed time to participate in it.

Then grief arose about how many women go through big life transitions like this with no marker, no rite of passage, no ritual space or witnessing circle to be seen, no opportunity to really be met and recognized as changed in their community.

It breaks my heart when I think about it.

But some time between the diaper changes and feedings, and around the time I started sleeping more and my daughter turned six months old, I decided the next six months were going to look completely different. They needed to.

I started praying.

I faced old money monsters.

I decided to start receiving A LOT more support.

I asked my husband for some time to myself on the weekends.

We interviewed nannies and found a great fit for someone to care for our daughter three days a week.

I joined a postpartum group and am meeting seasoned moms who have been through all of this before.

And I finally got the circle I was wanting, to be witnessed in sharing about this transformation, especially the hard moments, to be able to let go and begin anew.

In that space my tears were able to flow, what had been lost, how I had been changed, what I was letting go of and what my intentions were moving forward.

It was just 15-20 min of sharing, and I left that circle completely changed, and newly nourished.

I was able to release the grief, to be seen as this new person I am becoming, and feel excited about how I was going to do things differently moving forward.

And I knew in my heart it was exactly perfect to face every single one of those challenges, because it is already informing how I show up in my community, and how I dedicate my life to creating these kinds of nourishing communities for others.

Here are just a few reasons I love being in and creating these kinds of circles…

We are able to show up and be seen and accepted just as we are

We open to deep healing

We become more adept at sharing our truth and using our voice

We witness each other's celebrations and big wins

We witness and love each other through our challenges and setbacks

We feel safe and comfortable - there is space to bring all of ourselves

We are able to step into the feminine aspects of ALLOWING, BEING, and DEEP TRUST

We enter into a universe together where anything is possible

We see the beauty in each other and let it be known

We have the opportunity to better know and step into life as our highest selves

We give space to our deep dreams and visions

There is honestly something so magical about entering into a container with a group of women, especially when that circle continues over an extended period of time.

I’m excited to be bringing together a new constellation of women this winter in circle, after passing through one of the most incredible rites of passage myself, I am stepping up to hold an initiation container for an intimate group of women this year in the 2022-2023 Way of the Priestess program.

I feel deeply dedicated to this work, and to the incredible power of safe space to be witnessed, loved, supported and encouraged just as you are. And it is an honor to know so many of the women I have held space for have now gone on to hold this space for others in circle in their communities.

To join together in beauty, devotion, and service. To say yes to the power of the feminine, to slow down, receive support and be seen and celebrated for all we are….

Priestess: a space-holder, leader, one of highest service to collective awakening, a vessel for the divine, a living embodiment of love

Initiation: a series of ceremonies or rituals marking entrance into a new way of being

If you feel called to an intimate sisterhood like this, I invite you to join us right here.

With love,


Meredith

 

My Mantra Lately (How to Move Beyond Good and Bad)

 

My family and I recently went on a trip to the Hawaiian islands. There were amazing moments, like meditating in a sacred Banyan tree at a Hindu temple and dipping in the ocean with my daughter for the first time…

But there were also the harder moments, like needing to start our day at 3 or 4 am with a baby who never got used to the time difference… or changing a very poopy diaper with a squawking baby right at the most sacred moment of sunset when the sun dips beneath the ocean horizon…


It got me thinking about good and bad, and how so often there is challenge within life’s beautiful moments, and silver linings wrapped up in our challenges.

We’ve been conditioned to see the world this way. To avoid and run away from the “bad” and chase and work towards the “good,”

But what really is good and bad? 

I’m reminded of a dharma story of a farmer and his horse.

"One day the farmer’s horse runs away. And his neighbor comes over and says, to commiserate, “I’m so sorry about your horse.” And the farmer says “Who Knows What’s Good or Bad?” The neighbor is confused because this is clearly terrible. The horse is the most valuable thing he owns.

But the horse comes back the next day and he brings with him 12 feral horses. The neighbor comes back over to celebrate, “Congratulations on your great fortune!” And the farmer replies again: “Who Knows What’s Good or Bad?”

And the next day the farmer’s son is taming one of the wild horses and he’s thrown and breaks his leg. The neighbor comes back over, “I’m so sorry about your son.” The farmer repeats: “Who Knows What’s Good or Bad?”

Sure enough, the next day the army comes through their village and is conscripting able-bodied young men to go and fight in war, but the son is spared because of his broken leg.

And this story can go on and on like that. Good. Bad. Who knows?"  ~ Old Zen story as told by David Allan

After living in three different places in the last two years, I can say that there is good and bad in each of them. 

After accomplishing so many of my big life dreams, like writing and publishing a book, leading an international retreat, planning a wedding, becoming a mother… there was a lot of good and bad wrapped up in each of them! 

I’ve been reflecting that with any decision or life circumstance we meet, there is pretty much guaranteed good and bad. 

It is undeniable that life is both positive and negative.

So I’m choosing to have a new goal - rather than creating the perfect external circumstances, I’ve been asking, "What would it be like to be OK with both the good and the bad?”

To find a state of equanimity, of peace within amidst it all.

I’ve learned by now that the root of suffering is the desire for pleasure and the fear of pain.

We suffer when we are in a constant state of craving for the good and feeling aversion to the bad. 

I was recently reading my friend’s book and really stopped to take in these words:

“Life in a human body is messy. We live in a land of dichotomy. So we will always feel and experience the opposites. We are supposed to. And we need to if we want to have the fullest, richest experience here on Earth. In order to experience the highs, we have to know the lows. In order to understand pleasure, we have to live through pain… I have discovered that true joy is feeling gratitude for being alive even while stuck in a darker state of mind. In this way, happiness may be fleeting, but joy stays.“ ~ Renee Linnell's new book, "Still on Fire"

A mantra arose for me in that moment of reading, that I’ve now been saying every day:

Life is Full with Good and Bad, I’m Choosing to be Grateful for What I Have.

It especially helps in the harder moments. The middle of the night wake ups. Jaw tension and headaches. Physical tiredness, anxiety or overwhelm...

It brings me back to the present. It reminds me I don’t need to be riding the up and down roller coaster of life, but that I can take the seat of a witness. The seat of non attachment, of compassion, and of remembering it is all good, bad, fleeting and impermanent. 

When I say it now, I feel myself soften. I remember the good in my life. I don’t need to run away from it all.

So I wanted to pass it along, in case it may bring some solace to you as well.

With love, 


Meredith

 

Coming out of the Labyrinth: More Reflections on New Motherhood

 
new-motherhood

A Labyrinth: a complicated irregular network of passages or paths in which it is difficult to find one's way; a maze.

My baby turned 5 months old this week. I’ve mostly been quiet during this time, only sharing a few photos and moments with the rest of the world. I haven’t felt called to share much until now because of lack of time, and the inability to think clearly because of such an irregular sleep schedule, but also because it has felt like I’ve been in a metamorphosis, and I’ve still been in the cocoon being transformed, not yet ready to spread my wings.

I had a moment around three months postpartum where I started to go back to work. I thought I would only need three months of postpartum time and then I could go back to the regular schedule I had before becoming a mom.

People said 3 months was the end of the 4th trimester, and was about double the amount of time many new moms get off from their jobs.

The only thing was, just as I started to find a rhythm with our night times, Ella began a 3-4 month sleep regression, and my night time wake ups went back to 1-2 hours in the night.

Then the insomnia began.

I would just be drifting off back to sleep when I would be woken up again to care and soothe her. Ella would then fall back asleep, and as I tried to, my mind would begin racing, and I couldn’t.

There were several nights in a row where I laid in bed awake for 4 or more hours at a time, while my baby slept. Sleep deprivation began to compound with anxiety as I wondered how I would manage to get through the next day, especially now that I had calls on the calendar where I was expecting myself to be clear, awake, and ready to hold space for others.

It was too much too soon.

That week I had a call with a friend and mentor. A mother herself, she shared, “You just can’t compare your pre-motherhood self to who you are now. Just as Ella is discovering the world and who she is for the first time, so are you. You’re a different person, and you just can’t compare how things are now to what they were before.”

I had no choice but to surrender.

I blocked off my calendar. I delayed the start date of my next program. I let go of welcoming new clients beyond the ones I was already working with.

And I felt really defeated, and sad.

I am someone who deeply loves my work, and my autonomy as a business owner. There was a part of me that was really ready to go back to it. I wanted to recover that sense of self and identity, beyond being a new mother.

But everything around me was saying, it’s just not yet time.

Months ago I was in a birth class, and our teacher used the metaphor of birth as a labyrinth.

Image source

I pictured myself walking through the maze and meeting my baby at the center, joyfully walking back out and meeting the world.

But it’s been more meandering than that. More confusing. More slow, with unexpected corners and opportunities to turn around and start again.

From the first moment of holding my baby until a few weeks ago, I feel like I was still lost in the center of the labyrinth.

I am just starting to find my way back out, and I am walking out in many ways, a different person.

When I began this journey, I didn’t quite know what I would be leaving behind, or what I would gain.

I remember at the end of our birth class our teacher shared about the Sumerian goddess Inanna, the goddess of love, beauty, fertility, war, and wisdom.

She was considered a Queen of Heaven, but at some point felt a calling to go to the underworld to meet her sister, the Queen of the Underworld.

There were seven gates she had to pass as she journeyed deeper down, and at each gate she needed to leave something behind. Little by little she needed to offer up her crown, her scepter, her breast plate, and on and on until she found herself naked, completely stripped down.

It was then that she was ordered to be killed by Ereshkigal, her sister. She journeyed into the underworld and had to face death… eventually, to be rebirthed.

One of her mystical servants from above went down after she was killed, and was able to bring her back to life. Slowly she regained what she had lost and was rebirthed as the Queen of Heaven, with a completely different perspective.

I didn’t quite know that stepping into that labyrinth I would slowly let go of the things I loved. I didn’t quite know what it would be like to offer up my crown and my scepter - to let go of personal space, alone time, and sleep. To offer up sharing a bed with my partner, my libido, all the money I had saved for maternity leave, my work, and the identity I had formed along with it. To have no energy to see friends, or really to do anything besides sleep, eat, bathe or care for my baby.

It was hard. My ego resisted it.

Until there was nothing I could do but cry for what was lost. Many times I found myself in a state of tiredness, grieving it all.

In one of those hard moments, after texting a few close girlfriends asking for their prayers, I chose to accept what was. I was beginning to see how quickly my daughter was changing, how much she was growing from week to week, and I found it within myself to really let go of what was to embrace the present moment.

It was then that I began to see all that I had gained…

Sharing life with another being, the opportunity to witness her discover the world. The preciousness of how little she is, the sweetness of nighttime cuddles and the joy and love of just being together.

My love for her grew stronger the more present I became.

I began to relish the simple moments of experiencing and discovering the world together, both as new beings…

After a few months of this embrace, I’ve found myself taking my first steps out of the labyrinth.

For a week now we’ve been (mostly) sleeping through the night. I find myself next to my partner in bed again. I’m rediscovering alone time as her naps begin to lengthen.

I’m recommitting to my yoga practice. I’m taking cold plunges and nature walks as much as I have energy for. I’m hiring a nanny to return to this work I love. I’m writing again. We're moving back to familiar lands on the coast of California. We even booked a trip to Hawaii to share with Ella later this Fall.

All the things I know and love are slowly returning. Everything I thought I was giving up forever is coming back, as I walk back out of the labyrinth, out of the underworld of new motherhood.

But it looks and feels different.

Everything is a little shinier as I’m experiencing deeper appreciation, and humility. I see the preciousness of an hour of alone time. I savor the moments of being able to witness someone else’s transformation as I hold space. I feel deep gratitude to have time to reflect on my learnings and write them down. I cherish how I feel after a long nap, or a long stretch of sleep through the night. I hold my beloved close as we lay down to sleep, being fully present to the preciousness of this time together.

There’s not a moment now where I take these things for granted.

I recognize my privilege in even being able to regain some of these lost parts of myself through this journey, and how for so many, so much is lost and not regained. I see the sacrifice so many go through to bring in these little beings. I honor each and every woman and family for it.

And I rest in gratitude for this new chapter. For the year ahead, and all the new discoveries that will be made. For all the unknown corners and opportunities to get lost, to lose and find myself again…

Until my next stretch of alone time…

With love,


Meredith

Way of the Priestess ~ Begins this December 

Our 10-month online immersion in the Priestess Arts + Women's Circle Facilitation begins December 1, 2022 | View the Updated Dates + Call Times

 

Reflections on New Motherhood

 

It’s now been almost two weeks since my husband and I welcomed our daughter Ella Sariah Rose to this world. 

Birth was a powerful and empowering experience - something I will most likely reflect on in a later letter. 

But for now I wanted to send you an insight in a quick moment I have between nursing, changing diapers and resting…

The night my milk came in I was feeling tender, emotional, had sore nipples (as I learned the ins and outs of breastfeeding) and pain in my pelvic floor (as I heal from a vaginal birth). 

It was the middle of the night, and I was being faced with my first really difficult moment, where Ella was crying, and all the things I tried were not consoling her, and it was feeling impossible to get her to latch to nurse. 

I noticed my energy in it all - tired, my desire to escape, to not be there, to want someone else to do it for me, the desire for it all to be easier. A “How did I get myself into this…” kind of moment. 

I was alone with her in that moment and I was feeling at a loss of what to do next.

As I sat, trying different positions, trying to put my sore nipple in her mouth, I remembered a quote I had read earlier that day in one of my books about Indian philosophy:

“The root cause of suffering is a desire for pleasure and a fear of pain.”

I reflected on all the times in my life I ran away from things that were hard. Like quitting the tennis team in high school when I didn’t make varsity. Or complained and wanted “someone else to do it for me,” when I didn't know how to start a retirement account.

I thought of all the moments I quit or gave up, or simply desired my life to just be easier, all the moments I found ways to avoid pain and difficulty altogether flashed before my eyes. 

Then I thought about the times I went all in - to a hard conversation I was intimidated to have, or to set a boundary with someone I was scared to stand up to, or when I recommitted again and again to publish my book, or put myself out there to promote something I really cared about, or the times I called upon my inner strength to break through a physical limitation, like being on a long run.

I don’t think our souls come to Earth for things to be easy. 

I think our souls really come here, to this planet for the challenge. 

Deep down we want to grow. We want to find the edges of our limits. 

We want to move beyond them. 

And while there has been so much beauty, there have been challenges along the way of bringing Ella into the world. Almost as if she has been inviting me to commit to her again and again, “Do you really want this?” Do you really want me here?” 

I remember the moments of almost throwing up walking by the seafood in the grocery store, or the end of our labor when I screamed and pushed her out, or that moment waiting for her to take her first breath… 

As if she was silently asking each step of the way, “Do you really want this?….” 

Yes.

I found that inner commitment, once again, looking into her eyes in the dark room holding my breast. My energy shifted and I anchored back into my inner strength. 

Yes. 

I’m here. 

I want this. 

I am showing up.

Again.

100%. 

I commit.

And as soon as I shifted my energy and those words crossed my mind, she latched. 

The rest of the night continued gently.  We found a flow between sleep, diaper changes and nursing, and the next morning I awoke feeling rested. 

I’ve been reflecting on that moment, and how in motherhood (and in so many parts of life) we are brought to our edge, and asked to recommit. 

To go deeper.  

I’ve been reflecting on how much easier it all is, when we go all in, and eradicate the victim from our consciousness, the voices that tell us it’s too much and we need to complain or escape from it all.

Again, we are brought to an opportunity to see where we are at as a sacred choice, an opportunity to commit again, to say yes, to let go of all the small voices and find out how strong we are.

So whatever challenge you may be facing in your life right now, I invite you to remember yourself as a soul. 

Remember we didn’t just come here for everything to be easy, but instead we wanted the challenge, to find our inner strength and to rise above the smallness…

And fortunately life, and motherhood is not all challenge.

I write this as I look down at Ella’s peaceful face sleeping next to me. I am filled with deep love, tenderness, and a deeper level of purpose than I’ve ever felt before. 

With love,

Meredith 

 

Were You A Witch in A Past Life? How to Heal the Witch Wound

 
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Do you ever feel afraid of visibility, public speaking, or being seen in your gifts as a spiritual healer?

Have you ever hid your practices of communing with the moon and the land, or avoided sharing your true self, interests and desires from friends and community?

Have you ever felt worried of putting yourself or someone you love in danger by simply letting people become too close to you?

These are some of the most common signs of having the “witch wound.”

These fears can be irrational and all-encompassing, especially when it comes to sharing our unique gifts. It might come up when it’s time to share about a new business, or make a post on social media (especially if you identify as a seer, a visionary, a healer, or a priestess).

A big part of my path of becoming a healer was through healing my own fears of visibility and sharing my voice.

This played out in my younger years as a fear of public speaking. I struggled introducing myself in a classroom or circle, let alone giving presentations in class. My heart would beat so fast, my voice would shake, and I would always feel like something terrible was about to happen, without understanding why I was feeling this way. There was always a feeling that somehow deep in my subconscious I was terrified of being attacked.

That’s because for those of us who have experienced this wound, somewhere in our soul history we learned, it’s safer to stay silent. 

It all started to make more sense to me when I learned that women in ancient times that were considered “witches” were burned at the stake.

They called them “witches” but really they were the medicine women, the priestesses, the midwives, the oracles, the herbalists, the powerful, connected ones, the women who worked with the elements of the Earth and the cycles of the moon.

They were the ones who understood the power of ritual and felt in tune with the land and the animals. Their practices were seen as threatening, especially when they would come together with other women.

As I uncovered more history of what happened to these women, especially in the rise of the Catholic Church, I had a feeling that I may have been one of them.

Why were these women persecuted? 

Much of the persecution in ancient times was done by the Catholic Church, and the men in control. They were hungry for power and were threatened by these women’s direct connection to God/Source. The Church wanted to maintain their power, as the sole source of connection to God, so created a movement to persecute and kill as many of these women they could find.

However, most of us don’t remember what happened in these lifetimes, so how do we go about healing this ancient wound? 

Heal in Sisterhood 

When women come together to see and support one another without judgment, a sacred healing space is created. I can remember a few of my first women’s circles where when it was my turn to speak, I could feel my usual heart beating fast and desire to escape, but I was able to sit with it, and explore it. I felt safe enough to close my eyes and breathe through the sensations. I was able to be honest about what I was feeling. I would see the loving eyes of the other women around me, those who understood. Soon, the sensations would dissipate and I would be able to find my voice again. 

Tap into the Subconscious 

There are many ways to tap into the subconscious, a deeper inner knowing that may reveal more information to you on why you’ve been experiencing fear on such a visceral level. Past life regression, breath work, guided meditations, drum journeys, and the past life healing work I guide clients in are all ways to tap into the subconscious to reveal more information that may guide you to what you need to heal. 

Identify Core Beliefs 

Once we are able to access the underlying subconscious reasons for our fears, we can identify what core beliefs we formed about ourselves or the world in our moments of difficulty or trauma. Often women with the “witch wound” made an unconscious agreement never to share their voices again, to put themselves or others in danger. They simply learned the world is not safe, or it’s not safe to share or be visible. When we identify and uncover these beliefs, we can bring in more support and healing to change the subconscious imprints and soul agreements we weren’t aware that we had.

Heal the Memories  that Surface

Once the subconscious has been accessed and the core beliefs have been revealed, we can begin to heal the memory. I personally use EFT Tapping to somatically release the pain and trauma, validate the feelings we felt in our past lives, and free ourselves of limiting core beliefs.

We may tell ourselves, “You’re right, it wasn’t safe then, and this was horrible, but it doesn’t mean it will never be safe in the future.” You can begin to show your past self how much the world has changed, how safe they are, what opportunities will be available to them, etc. We can also begin to bring in people or resources to these memories to create a new story and picture. We can also welcome in the higher support of guides and angels to aide in the healing process of these wounds. 

Practice Sharing in Safe Spaces 

When you’ve begun to uncover and heal these memories, core beliefs and stories from the past, it’s time to start sharing in the world to affirm your new beliefs. It may still feel a little scary and unfamiliar at first, but if you feel a little bit of excitement with your nervousness, you’ll know it’s time.

Perhaps you attend more women’s circles to practice sharing in a group, attend a retreat, or maybe you would even consider joining a public speaking group like toastmasters. Whatever it is, see if you can find a space where you feel safe (maybe it’s just with one or two people in the beginning) to share your gifts and your voice. Once you begin to feel some positive feedback and encouragement around sharing your voice, it will be so much easier to be seen and share in front of more and more people.

It’s been amazing to see how far I’ve been able to come - from hiding in the back of the classroom, to leading international retreats, hosting a successful podcast, writing a book and giving talks and workshops to help others.

Remember, We Are Here to Serve

It’s so important to ask ourselves, what’s actually bigger than my fear? Very often women who identify with the witch wound also have a deep desire to give back and be of service to others. We have healing abilities and gifts for a reason, and people need them. It is safe now to find our voices, and to become a beacon of light so others can find us.

I can only imagine what may happen in our world as more women uncover and heal these wounds and begin sharing their voice and gifts. We will create a deeply healing ripple effect across all of humanity, raising and elevating consciousness across the planet. 

Are you interested in healing the Witch Wound? 

Book a series of healing sessions below

Or Book a free call to learn more. 

With love,

Meredith 

 

High Priestess Energy ~ Am I A Priestess?

 
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Here are frequently asked questions about the Role of the Priestess in Modern times as well as valuable information on how to cultivate High Priestess Energy when answering the call of the Priestess Path.

How to Become a Priestess

If you are feeling the call of the priestess, chances are you have walked this path in many lifetimes. Becoming a priestess is about remembering you are a priestess and showing up as a vessel for the divine, to be of service to Creator, Great Spirit, God, Goddess energy and one’s community.

Priestess Defined

In modern times the noun “Priestess” is the title of a woman who has studied and trained, and has gained experience as a spiritual leader, spreading the knowledge of the spiritual teachings she has learned and embodied.

She teaches from her direct experience and the journey itself of becoming a Priestess has shaped her and prepared her for this role. 

It helps to have community and guidance on the priestess path of remembrance, to have a container of initiation with other sisters to claim your role and share your vows on the priestess path, but one can also self-initiate on the path of the priestess. There is no one way for one to become a priestess, however reading books, and joining a program with a guide you resonate with can be very helpful on the path.

What’s the Difference Between a Priestess and a High Priestess?

The difference between a Priestess and a High Priestess is one who has walked the path long enough to have gained deep experience and knowledge in service, ritual facilitation and leadership skills.

In ancient times the High Priestesses were often born into royal families in places such as Crete, Egypt and Anatolia. The rituals they performed ensured fertility and prosperity for the villages. They were prepared for their role since childhood and were educated for religious roles and duties. 

In modern times the noun “Priestess” is the title of a woman who has studied and trained within a lineage, and has gained experience as a spiritual leader, teacher or facilitator to create ritual and spread the knowledge of the spiritual teachings she has embodied through direct experience.

How to Cultivate High Priestess Energy

In order to cultivate High Priestess Energy, one must first find a state of empty presence. Emptying the busy-ness of the mind by listening to the breath allows one to develop the sensitivity needed to listen to the quiet whispers of the heart and soul. Underneath the surface of our thoughts, there is a deeper knowing, an intuition that exists. 

The Priestess is the vessel, the chalice, to receive higher wisdom and to bring that wisdom to those around her. For some people this will look like emanating a spiritual frequency, while for others it may look like having a spiritual business, being a healer and a guide for others. 

The Priestess often brings women together to facilitate women’s circles and rituals, especially for the High Holy Days of the Year: The Winter Solstice, Imbolc, Spring Equinox, Beltane, Summer Solstice, Lammas, Autumn Equinox and Samhain. 

The Priestess is highly intuitive, deeply connected to nature and tuned into the cycles of the moon. One can cultivate High Priestess energy by spending more time in nature, emptying her thoughts, and participating in ritual alone or with others.

Priestess Definition: Signs You Are a Priestess

A Priestess is here first and foremost to serve. She brings the formless into form through deep listening and communion with the divine.

She is here to raise the collective consciousness and to contribute in her own unique way, becoming a frequency of divine love.

She is here to anchor the frequency of the divine feminine, to restore balance on our planet and support ascension with an energetic shift.

There are so many ways the Priestess can serve during this time of great evolution and awakening, read this article to learn six pillars of the Priestess path.

But it also can be very lonely to walk this path alone. Do you ever struggle with the fear of being seen? The fear of being judged? Of being isolated and alone? Or being too highly sensitive? If so, read this article to learn how to heal these wounds.

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Where to Find a Priestess in Modern Day Life

You may be surprised to discover Priestesses exist even in your community. More and more women are awakening to the truth that they are a Priestess and long to come together as we did in ancient times. 

While you can travel to a place like Bali to meet a Priestess in an ancient lineage like Ida Resi Alit, you can also look in your community for women’s moon circles and gatherings honoring the High Holy Days to find other women feeling called to the Priestess Path. (Sometimes even just a facebook events search or google search can lead you to connect with more women on the path). Women who are walking the path of the Priestess are often offering these types of circles publicly or online. 

You can also join a virtual community like the Rising Women Leaders Priestess Initiation program and book a free call to see if our community could be a good fit for your next steps on the priestess path.

What is the Priestess Path?

The Priestess path includes the initiations one walks through in their everyday life to be shaped into a Priestess. In ancient times the Priestesses were brought to mystery schools to learn the sacred priestess arts, including skills such as temple dance, ritual facilitation, energy healing, tarot, developing psychic abilities, dream interpretation, sacred touch, medicine making, herbalism, nature communication, astrology, meditation, astral travel, moon wisdom, leadership skills, yoga and spiritual study, immaculate conception, essential oil making, the art of anointing, midwifery, etc.

However today, we don’t have these ancient mystery schools set up in the same way. When we feel the call of the Priestess, we have to look for the signs in our life to lead us on the Priestess path, because often there is not someone telling us where to go or how to hone our skills. Although one can feel lonely or lost at times, we can also see everything in life as our mystery school to learn, grow and ascend. One can also join a priestess program, or apprentice with a teacher to learn the sacred priestess arts.

How to Answer Priestess Call if you Feel It

The path to becoming a Priestess begins with a calling. You begin to hear a quiet inner voice speaking to your spirit, awakening you to the knowledge that your life has a purpose. Chances are you have walked the path of a Priestess for a very long time, and your soul begins to remember. 

When you hear the word, “Priestess,” there is a familiarity, a curiosity that is awakened. Becoming a Priestess is a deep and devotional process of learning how to serve in connection with Source, the Divine, the Goddess, all that is.  Sometimes this includes becoming familiar with the Dark Goddess energy, which is another facet of the divine feminine.

Spiritual service is about opening our heart, mind and hands and letting the energy of the divine work through us. 

For some people, the Priestess path is about becoming a frequency, and allowing it to emanate in all that we do. For others, becoming a Priestess will look more like a counselor, a guide and a facilitator of ritual and women’s circles. 

In any case, walking this path can feel very lonely, and it helps to have guidance, community and mentorship when you feel the call of the Priestess on the path. To answer the call, it is so helpful to look for others who are walking this path, whether you find them online or in person in your community.

What is Priestess Ritual?

Rituals infuse magic, intention and sacredness into our daily lives.  A ritual can turn a mundane act done without awareness into a sacred act with clarity and purpose. Slowing down to say a blessing before a meal changes the experience. Meditation, singing, or lighting a candle imbues a moment of peace and serenity into a busy day.

Priestess ritual could be simple such as a womb clearing with a yoni steam, or a blessing way for a mother to be. Ritual could be a time to honor a new phase of the year, or a way to release the old and welcome the new on the path of the priestess.

Are High Priestess Rituals Safe? What Goes on During Ceremony?

While the safety of a priestess ritual depends on the safety of a container and the skill of the facilitator, Priestess rituals are generally not only safe but inspiring and transformational. 

Ritual often marks what is formally beginning or ending and the purpose of a ritual or ceremony is transformation. People may come together to honor a specific purpose. These rituals may honor transitions, letting go, grieving, the lunar cycle or the change of seasons. 

Ritual can be a healing and powerful way to mark a big transition in life. Priestess rituals and ceremonies provide a space for one to be fully seen, acknowledged and supported. It can initiate a life change or attitude, facilitate a change already in process or name and claim a change or transformation that has already occurred. 

Sisterhood Ritual calls upon our intuition, and our ability to improvise and be present in the moment. Symbols are often used to represent the transition - they are a vehicle for human awareness, for us to access this shift or change in the psyche. 

Witnessing or being witnessed is also a powerful part of a group ritual. It is the opportunity to create a supportive space for each other to mark the transition. 

Ritual may also be done on one's own, calling in the witness of spirit and the unseen realms. To become more familiar with the art of ritual, consider joining us in our Way of the Priestess program. 

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Who is a High Priestess? Am I a High Priestess?

In ancient times the high priestesses were often born into royal families and trained in religious duties to be of service in the temples and churches. In modern terms, a high priestess is one who has walked the path long enough to have gained deep experience and knowledge in service, ritual facilitation and leadership skills.

What are the Signs of High Priestess Awakening?

The first sign of a Priestess awakening within you is the feeling of a calling of a higher purpose. Certain activities in life may not have the same level of fulfillment, for example working at a job that does not have a deeper meaning. This is a sign your soul is being called to a higher purpose, to serve, to love and to devote one’s life to the divine. The next sign may be that when you hear the word, “priestess,” there is a familiarity, a recognition and inner knowing, born with love. You may feel drawn to the High Priestess in the tarot deck, be deeply connected to nature and the moon, or you may be highly intuitive, sensitive, and/or have vivid dreams. 

Priestess. What Does That Even Mean?

A Priestess is here first and foremost to serve. She brings the formless into form through deep listening and communion with the divine.  She is here to raise the collective consciousness and to contribute in her own unique way, becoming a frequency of divine love.  She is here to anchor the frequency of the divine feminine, to restore balance on our planet and support ascension through with an energetic shift.  For some people this may look like facilitating ritual and circles in her community, offering healing sessions, or simply embodying a divine frequency of love.

What Religion has a Role for the High Priestess?

The role of the High Priestess is in Wiccan traditions as well as ancient forms of Christianity, Egyptian and Hebrew traditions. Modern roles of the priestess include the ancient lineage of the rose, dating back to Mother Mary, Mary Magdalene, and Egyptian Priestesses like Isis and Hathor. These Priestesses of the ancient past all came with stories of a new earth.

Priestess in Ancient Egypt

When the royal families ruled ancient Egypt, the Priests and Priestesses had high roles in the temples. The Pharaoh would seek counsel with the High Priests and the Priestesses would connect to the divine realms and perform ritual on behalf of the villages and royal family. These roles were honored and revered, especially in times of war or famine. Some believe Egyptian High Priestess names include Isis, Hathor, Sekhmet. Honored High Priests and Priestesses were depicted on the walls of the temples, and some temples were made in their honor.

Are you a Priestess? How to Know if you are a High Priestess.

If you feel you were a Priestess in a past life, and have a priestess awakening in you now, you may be naturally drawn to the healing arts, ritual and holding space for others. You may be considered “highly sensitive” and may have heightened intuitive or psychic skills. You may have a gift working with essential oils or herbs, have a healing touch in your hands, and/or carry a healing quality that others are drawn to.

What is Priestess Training?

Priestess training is when one begins a program or apprenticeship with an opportunity to develop one’s skills and gifts. Priestess training may include meditation practices, education about ascended masters and goddess guides, participating and leading ritual, learning about the high holy days, creating ritual, holding space, developing intuition, understanding astrology, healing past life imprints and/or sharing one’s vows as a priestess. Training as a priestess is an opportunity to learn from someone who has walked the path and can offer guidance along the way. 

What Religions have Priestesses? 

The term Priest is used more often than Priestess in modern Christianity and religions that carry on a ministry. Many modern day priestesses consider themselves “spiritual” rather than “religious” and practice their skills outside of dogma. Before the official establishment of the Christian religion, some of the holy women in ancient times were priestesses, like Anna, the grandmother of Jesus, Mother Mary, and Mary Magdalene. They provided an important service to the overall awakening of the mission of Christ.

Can a Priestess Tell the Future?  

Many people who consider themselves a Priestess have heightened intuitive or psychic gifts, but this is not a necessary skill to be called to the Priestess path. In the times of Avalon and ancient Egypt, the rulers would often seek counsel from the Priestesses on what to do during times of possible war or famine. Priestesses were deeply connected to the dream world and unseen realms and would be able to offer a higher perspective to the events to come.

Can a Priestess Get Married?

The question of marriage depends on the lineage and/or religion one enters into as a Priestess. While there were priestesses who lived a life of celibacy devoted to God, there were also temple priestesses who used sensual energy as a form of healing for men coming back from war. The feminine essence was so soothing to the nervous system it was revered as a healing act in some ancient temples.  Today, many modern day Priestesses choose to marry and have a family while others choose to walk a path married to the divine.

Is Priestess Masculine or Feminine?

While we all have feminine and masculine energy within, the archetype of the Priestess is inherently feminine. Some believe the role of the modern day Priestess is to restore the balance of sacred feminine on our planet; for humanity to channel and live in devotion to Mother Earth, to live connected to Source, to slow down, practice forgiveness, listen, feel and heal our pain rather than be in a constant state of achievement, action and doing. Many believe the essence of the feminine is what the world needs most now to enter into the Golden Age.

What it Means to be a Priestess in your Everyday Life

To be a Priestess in everyday life is to live a life connected to the divine in each moment. It is to do our daily actions (caring for the body, cooking, cleaning, walking, writing, praying, meditating, talking) in devotion to God/Goddess/all that is. It is to live in a state connected to breath and intuition, honoring the essence of the sacred feminine within. It is to allow what is, to forgive ourselves and others, and to see everyone around us as a soul, a higher consciousness living in a body. 

Living as the Priestess is to see life as happening for us not to us. It is becoming the vessel, emptying out in order to receive. It is communing with nature and the divine as one. It is becoming quiet enough inside to listen to the voice of intuition. It is to listen to others with compassion and hold space for letting go and new beginnings. It is to gaze at the stars, to write down our dreams, and honor the cycles of our body and the seasons of the year. It is to leave this world more beautiful than we found it. It is to midwife a shift in consciousness, to welcome a new Golden Age, and emanate a frequency of love to all those around us on our path.

What it Means to Be a High Priestess Out in the World

To live as a high priestess in the world is to facilitate ritual, embody the spiritual lessons we have learned, and share knowledge through leadership and teaching. One may lead circles and ritual in devotion to the new and full moon and high holy days, lead circle for rites of passage such as a woman’s first menstrual cycle, menopause, birth, death, welcoming a baby into a family, going through a divorce, getting married, leaving home for the first time, and the list goes on.  Any big life transition can be honored with ritual, as a way of releasing what was and welcoming what is to come. 

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High Priestess Tarot

The High Priestess is roman numeral II in the major arcana of the tarot deck. (A two or eleven in numerology). It is the card of mystery and psychic wisdom. In Kim Krans, The Wild Unknown Tarot she describes, “The High Priestess sits in stillness. From there she’s able to access realms others pass by without noticing, the vast world of intuition, dreams and mystery. She uses silence and non-action to harness this power. Sometimes this card appears to remind you to listen more closely to the voice within. Other times it’s a sign to look past the obvious, to find what’s being kept secret or hidden within a given situation. Acknowledge the shadows.” 

When one often pulls the High Priestess card in the tarot deck, it could be a sign that the path of the Priestess is calling to you.  It could also be a sign that a great teacher and leader lives inside of you and is ready to be honored. 

The High Priestess card in Doreen Virtue’s Goddess Guidance Oracle cards reads, “Your wisdom extends back into the far reaches of ancient times. You’ve brought this knowledge forward into your present incarnation, to be a way-shower so that others may benefit from your experiences. Don’t delay in expressing this wisdom. I will assist you in manifesting platforms for your spiritual teaching, whether it’s through teaching by example, or through writing or speaking. All forms of teaching are equally valuable, no matter how many lives you touch.” 

Pulling the high priestess card may be beckoning you to share your voice, write books or articles, lead workshops, be a role model, look for opportunities to teach, honor your divinity and know that you are a leader. 

Use of Divinity Tools and Crystals 

The priestess often has a set of tools and crystals she goes to for energetic clearing of a space and amplifying a ritual. Lighting sage, palo santo, or diffusing essential oils can help clear a space before a ritual. Holding quartz crystals can also be very cleansing and purifying. A priestess practice is to wash your crystals under the light of the full moon to cleanse and charge them up. One may use feather wands to clear energy, or have sacred stones or talking sticks to use in a ceremony. Divinity tools can be made or found in nature and are also not necessary to facilitate a powerful ritual.

If I am Called, Can I become a High Priestess in the Near Future?

One becomes a priestess through the remembrance and recognition of the essence she holds within. Some people may want more guidance and support on the priestess path, where it can help to join a program like the Rising Women Leaders Way of the Priestess program, or find a mentor to apprentice with. To become a high priestess is a lifelong path of devotion and dedication to the divine and the skill of spiritual leadership, ritual and facilitation. If you are just starting on your path, continue reading articles, books, and look for communities where you can learn and practice your inherent gifts. I send all my love on your path of remembrance, and invite you to meet mentors and listen to over 100 episodes about Women’s leadership on the Rising Women Leaders podcast.

 

Will This Be the Year You Say ‘Yes’ to Your Calling?

 
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I’ve been on the phone the last few weeks with amazing women joining us this year in the 10 month program, Way of the Priestess. 

On one call this beautiful woman was sharing about her self-doubt. How she knows there’s more to life than being a hairstylist (especially after COVID restrictions put that on hold), that she really longs to help people in a deep and meaningful way, but every time she tries to make a change, to prioritize something different, she doubts herself.

Self-critical voices come in, telling her she’s not enough, she doesn’t know enough, she’s not worthy of it, and on top of that, she just doesn’t know how to take the first step forward. 

She knows deep down her highest self is strong, powerful, embodied, independent. 

Her deepest desire is to have a platform to help women evolve. She longs to raise her vibration, the vibration of the planet and to create a ripple effect with every woman she comes into contact with.  She wishes to bring the consciousness of the divine feminine to more and more people.

But every time she looks in the mirror she can’t help but judge herself. 

She starts a project and then she stops in her tracks. Her fear and doubt stop her.

Then her kids need her, the emails need her, the laundry needs her. She lets life get in the way.

Do you ever put your callings on the back burner? 

What about your spiritual practice? 

But this year she’s decided it’s going to be different. this is the year she is deciding to make it a priority. This is the year she’s investing in community, in guidance, and support.

When we get stuck in fear, self-doubt and self-critical voices, it really helps to have guidance. To have community. 

To understand where these limiting beliefs and thoughts are coming from. 

Here are a few ways I’ll be supporting women to fulfill their callings this year:

Inner healing 

When we identify a pattern (for example, getting stuck in self-doubt or unworthiness) it really helps to identify the original wound. What memories from childhood are ready for healing? What subconscious core beliefs want to be healed? What past lives are we carrying where our power was taken away? When did we decide it’s not ok to shine? To be our most powerful and magical selves?

In Way of the Priestess, every woman receives private healing sessions throughout the program. In this space we can go deeper into healing these core wounds, unwinding the limiting beliefs, so each woman can feel confident taking her next steps forward. 

Community 

Sometimes we need our greatness reflected back to us. The kinds of communities I create are some of the most nurturing and encouraging I have ever been in. We listen to each other, we celebrate each other, we create a safe space to be seen. To share the fears and doubts, and to let them dissolve. 

Being in an age where so many of us are confined to our homes, having depth, intimacy and consistency in community, is invaluable. 

We’ll be meeting on zoom twice a month for 90 minutes… during this time I’ll be offering teachings, we’ll have time to connect and share our hearts with each other, we’ll sometimes have guest teachers. and sometimes we’ll be in ceremony together to honor the wheel of the year and high holy days. 

Accountability 

The laundry, the emails and the to do lists will continue to pile up. One of the most powerful ways I’ve had in my life to follow through on a spiritual practice, or taking a step forward towards my dreams is accountability.  When I tell someone I am going to do something, I follow through. Especially when there’s someone who will be checking in and asking about how it went! 

Having a guide, someone consistent in your life prioritizing your dreams and callings, brings them to the forefront of your life. Suddenly there are no more excuses. And if you do get stuck, we can explore why, and uncover and heal the beliefs that may be holding you back.

Education 

When it comes the the path of the Priestess, sometimes it’s just about wanting to learn and know more.

Every month in the program includes a priestess practice, an ascended master guide, a ritual, new and full moon wisdom, a new facilitation skill and an initiation gateway, or theme to be exploring that month. 

By the end of the program you’ll have what you need to host your own women’s circles, to facilitate a rite of passage for those you love, and you’ll write your vows as a priestess. You’ll get to practice your facilitation, and be witnessed in crossing a threshold, stepping into life as your highest self in our closing ceremony.

This program is an invitation to bring your spiritual growth and your desire to serve, to create something more with your life, to the forefront. 

No more putting your dreams on the back burner. It’s time to say yes to that deeper calling. The essence of what your soul came here for. 

If you feel like you would benefit from community, guidance and support this year, I invite you to join us. 

Book a call to learn more.

With love, 

Meredith 

P.S. To learn more about the Priestess Path, read my article, “Seven Signs You’re a Modern Day Priestess”

 

Want to Be Featured on Rising Women Leaders? Join our New Directory

 
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We are excited to announce the launch of our online 'Rising Women Leaders' Directory! This Directory features conscious women's work across many categories as an additional resource for our audience. We are reaching out to you because we value you as part of our community and would like to extend the invitation for YOU (and/or those you love) to be featured.

The intention behind this platform is to elevate women's voices and create a place for more women-identifying leaders to be highlighted for their work. It is our hope to create connection amongst this beautiful community of empowered and loving beings.

Additionally, because of the large volume of guest pitches we receive for potential guests on the podcast, this directory will be a place we look to first when looking for new guests to interview.

Please submit your information via the link below to be placed on the Women's Leaderboard inside the category of your work. You can also submit free resources, trainings, and scholarship opportunities.

https://risingwomenleaders.org/contribute/

Note: We appreciate submissions with a professional photo, and a bio written in the third person. Feel free to include links to your website and offerings.

We will be reviewing submissions in the coming weeks and you will receive an email from us if your submission is accepted.

We look forward to seeing you up on the directory for other people who may be interested to find you and your work!

Warmly,
Meredith

 

Understanding Cultural Appropriation

 
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Cultural appropriation has become so widely engrained in modern spiritual culture, it’s often blind to white people. To a white person, teaching yoga, singing mantras, calling upon goddesses and deities of other cultures is often seen as the norm.

Layla Saad defines cultural appropriation as a modern type of colonization that involves taking cultural practices, spiritual traditions and other cultural elements for one’s own use, sometimes for commercial purposes. It happens when there is an imbalance of power and privilege - a dominant or privileged culture appropriates from a non dominant or marginalized culture.

In my last post, Understanding White Privilege I shared about white people’s unconscious tendency to “Take” without asking. This has played out widely in cultural appropriation.

Last year a friend of mine (a person of color) brought up the topic of cultural appropriation, specifically about ways I had been participating in it.

I began to look at my life and see how much of my work involved cultural appropriation:

  • Teaching yoga 

  • Profiting from teaching yoga 

  • Singing Sanskrit mantras 

  • Calling upon goddesses and deities from an ancestral lineage other than my own

  • Teaching about goddesses and deities from outside my ancestral lineage 

  • Leading cacao ceremonies

  • Profiting from leading cacao ceremonies 

  • Profiting at all from sharing rituals and traditions from cultures other than my own 

When a POC (Person of Color) sees a white person doing these things, it can cause harm.

It can be hard to understand at first from a white person’s perspective because these acts are so deeply pervasive in our spiritual communities.

Why have these practices from other cultures become so prevalent in white communities? I understand that many people from European descent have lost touch with their own ancestral rituals and spiritual practices. So much of the magic and traditions of Northern European cultures were lost when ancient libraries were burned and the patriarchy repressed women from practicing rituals that were passed down through their lineage.

Over the last few decades, as more white people have been “waking up” spiritually and looking for deeper meaning in life, they have found deep solace in practices like yoga, cacao, and reclaiming a personal connection to the Goddess.

Which, for some traditions, have been encouraged by spiritual teachers from the Indian lineage. (I think of teachers like Paramhansa Yogananda or Amma selflessly bringing the teachings of yoga, meditation, and Indian philosophy to the West).

But, it is interesting to look at how yoga has become so commodified in the West, with many white teachers earning hundreds of thousands of dollars from sharing these teachings.

When I began to look at my relationship and participation in cultural appropriation, I thought about how:

Not one of the white teachers I had learned from had ever brought up the topic of cultural appropriation, or how to have a conversation about cultural appropriation when a POC approached me about these practices.

I had to do some deep digging in books to even find any mention of cultural appropriation when it came to Priestess traditions and working with Goddesses of other cultures.  I finally did in this book by Ruth Barrett.

Ruth speaks of white people’s expectation to call upon multicultural Goddesses in ritual:

Many women of European descent don’t think twice about invoking goddesses outside their own culture. They don’t stop to consider issues around cultural appropriation. This lack of perspective comes from a position of privilege, however unconscious it may be. Some women seem to have the attitude that they have an inherent right to invoke any goddess from any tradition, lift Her entirely out of Her cultural, ethnic or religious context and ask Her to serve their purposes.

So how can we do better?

Barrett goes on to share:

…Women can learn to be respectful guests around goddesses of cultures other than their own. Just as it is critical for all people to cultivate an awareness of multiculturalism, it is equally important to understand the diversity of female deities of other cultures. There is, however, a line between being a respectful guest who acknowledges other goddess forms and attempting to take over your hostess’s home and asking her to serve you.

Barrett invites us to respectfully form relationships with these Goddesses, to first work with and explore goddesses within our own culture and ethnic heritage, and when we are drawn to Goddesses from other cultures, to be willing to travel to study with teachers of that lineage if it is a living tradition, and if not, to study and learn as much as we can to relate to that Goddess appropriately.

This is an invitation for deep inquiry for people within white spiritual communities.

I can’t say I have all the answers, and I am finding my way within all of this, knowing how deeply the practices of yoga have touched my life, and also feeling called to speak up about the oppression of POC for hundreds of years in our country.

When I brought this topic to one of my mentors a few months ago, I appreciated her response: Cultural appropriation is real and it's happening. Cultural appreciation with deep, true study and genuine growth must lead the way. 

What We Can Do:

  • Approach spiritual practices from cultures other than our own with awareness and deep appreciation 

  • Educate ourselves about racial inequality and cultural appropriation to have meaningful conversations without getting defensive or thrown off guard

  • Pay Black, Indigenous People of Color to learn directly from them

  • Actively donate to causes of cultures you are most drawn to or teach about

  • Make a point to travel to the origin of these practices and where you can, study with BIPOC and directly with lineage holders 

  • Teach your students about cultural appropriation if you train people in spiritual traditions or yoga

  • Connect more deeply with your own ancestry and see if you can discover rituals from your lineage

  • Engage your teachers in conversation about this topic

  • Be in your own inquiry about how to best move forward with sharing or profiting from teachings of cultures other than your own

I know this is a sensitive topic and I honor you for being here, reading this, and being willing to learn and better serve our communities.

We are being called to deepen in study, reverence, and humility to dismantle the systems that have caused oppression for far too long.

With love,
Meredith

Note: I want to emphasize how important it is at this time to learn directly from People of Color (and pay them) as they are the ones who have been living at the effects of systemic racism and oppression their whole lives. This article shares my perspective as a white person, and I encourage my readers to study, pay and learn directly from BIPOC on these topics. I’ve included resources and links below.

Resources For Further Study:

Holistic Resistance - Anti-racism workshops, trainings, coaching, and singing circles

Layla F. Saad - Me and White Supremacy book and workshops

Michelle Johnson - Intersection of Yoga and Social Justice Trainings

Rachel Ricketts - Spiritual Activism Webinars

Lyla June Johnston - Indigenous Rights, Climate Change & Activism

Jedaya Barboza - Divine Feminine Spiritual Guidance & Awakening

 

Understanding White Privilege

 
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The first time I was called out on my white privilege I was a freshman in college arriving at my dorm with three roommates, two were non-black POC (People of Color), and one was white.

I had grown up in the suburbs of a predominantly white privileged town outside New York City. Everything was going great together until I bought cleaning products to put in our shared bathroom, assuming we would take turns cleaning the bathroom throughout the year. When deciding where to place the products, I noticed an empty plastic container, put the products in there and went about my day. 

When I got home, one of my non-white roommates was furious that I would assume I could take her item (this plastic shower carrier I put the cleaning products in) without asking. I apologized but, really I didn’t understand why her reaction was so strong. 

This was the beginning of a split in our friendship. Over the following weeks I heard through my other roommates names she was calling me like “white toast.” I felt hurt. We weren’t able to see eye-to-eye, I didn’t know how to approach her, and didn’t fully understand what was really going on. 

Never having been educated about the true horrors of colonization, present-day racism or oppression, I fell into common white fragility reactions: “This is reverse racism, she’s doing to me exactly what she doesn’t want others to do to her. She’s so angry. I don’t know how to take it in. I don’t know what I did so wrong. I feel like she hates me for being me.” 

White fragility is a phrase coined by Robin DiAngelo, “a state in which even a minimum amount of racial stress becomes intolerable, triggering a range of defensive moves.”

I made myself into the victim and sadly, that relationship was never repaired. 

It wasn’t until years later I really understood the dynamics of what was happening. 

White folks think they can take. 

It’s mostly unconscious, but dates back to the colonization of our ancestors. White people came to America and took, and took and took. Whatever concepts of white superiority gave them the idea that this was okay… led to the systems we have today. 

This idea of “Taking” happens all the time unconsciously. Because of our privilege and our blindness, it has continued. White people take the best for themselves and leave whatever’s left for everybody else.  

Look what has happened in towns and neighborhoods. In real estate. In capitalism. Look what happened with the hoarding when COVID-19 began in the US.

If I could go back in time and relive this situation with my college roommate, knowing what i know now, I would say something like:

Your anger is justified. Thank you for pointing out what was blind to me. I have a lot of privilege and was not aware of the damage of my actions. I see that my assumption to take was rooted in very damaging actions of white colonialism.  I’m sorry. I can do better. I’m going to do the inner work. And learn. And change my actions.

I would let her be angry. I would let go of the need for her to like me to feel safe. I would recognize and acknowledge the hurt she has from living in an oppressed society for her entire life. 

I would look at the unfairness of my upbringing compared to hers, what was available to me, my parents, my grandparents and my great-grandparents in this country that were not available to hers, simply because she was not born white.

I would also go to white friends to receive support as I began to unpack my internalized racism and white supremacy, rather than expect any space holding from my roommate, a person of color. It’s too much of an emotional burden to expect the people of color around us to educate us. 

I am where I am today for being called out for my privilege.

And for having white friends that took it upon themselves to educate themselves and have conversations with me about racism.

And for showing up to do the work of reading books, attending anti-racism workshops and having uncomfortable conversations.

I know there’s a lot of fear of attack for speaking up. A lot of fear in making mistakes. But we can no longer stay silent and uphold these systems that cause millions to live in fear for their lives everyday.

Today I invite you to reflect on your privilege. What have you had access to in your life for simply the color of your skin? What about your ancestors? 

In what ways have you acted from white fragility and made yourself the victim when you’re the one being called out? 

And in what ways have you unconsciously or consciously taken from Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC)? 

An amazing resource to dive into these questions further is the book, “Me And White Supremacy” by Layla Saad.

 

Your Attitude is Not the Dream-Killer, Isolation is

 
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I recently came across this TED talk and completely agreed: ISOLATION is the dream-killer, not your attitude. 

There's only so much we can do or so far we can go when we're doing it all by ourselves…

In this talk, Barbara Sher explains how humans are wired to be problem-solvers, and soon as we get together with a group of people (especially a group we don't know beforehand) to share our dreams and obstacles, everyone else in the room will start brainstorming and offering resources on how to make it happen. 

I just arrived  back from co-leading an incredible group of kind and brilliant women in San Francisco for our Sacred Business Immersion this weekend...

In one of our workshops we created one of these "success" groups that Barbara talks about.  I had never led something like this before, so didn't know what would happen - but immediately the miracles started occuring... women walked away with connections for where to lead retreats, collaborations for events they wished to lead, leads on homes in new states to live, a full itinerary for their next trip, a cafe to offer tarot sessions, and the list goes on...

Collaborations were made, resources were shared... it was magic to see what happened.

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A few more insights that are alive in my heart after this weekend:

✨Creating beauty is a valid contribution in the world

✨Your desires are sacred, and non-attachment is equally important

✨Self-healing // filling your own cup prepares you for your greatest contribution

✨Rest is radical in our fast-paced world

✨Getting ALL of you on board to move ahead with a creative project is not only wise but necessary

✨The ways we self-destruct or treat our own bodies poorly - is a direct reflection of what’s happening to Mother Earth. When we shift that relationship, our greater collective relationship with Her can also heal.

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We laughed, shed tears, opened to receive messages to the heart of our work.

We used tools for emotional healing, vision-mapped the year ahead, and shared resources to mastermind each other’s dreams.

I'm arriving home feeling incredibly full and grateful <3 

At the moment I don't have more of these special events on the calendar, however we have a brand new podcast episode for you and I'm back to teaching my regular weekly yoga classes:

Monday nights ~ Yin Restorative with Live Sound Healing in Petaluma at The Luma Center - 7:15 pm

and 

Sunday mornings ~ Sadhana Flow in Sebastopol at The dhyana Center - 9:15 am

Learn more about all in-person offerings here.

Hope to connect more with you soon.

With love,

Meredith

 

Honoring Mary Magdalene's Feast Day

 
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You may or may not know but three years ago today Pope Francis declared this day as a Feast day for Mary Magdalene, honoring her role in Jesus’ life as “The Apostle of the Apostles.”

Many of you may only know of her as she was named by the Catholic Church long ago - as a prostitute or whore.

But the truth is she was Jesus’ beloved. She was his wife.

Mary was an absolute equal to Jesus in his ministry.

There came a time, in the first few centuries that the Bible was changed, and stories of powerful women were taken out of it.

And the Church didn’t want people to think that Jesus was human - that he had a beloved, instead they wanted to portray him as this divine being that could only be accessed through the Church.

That way they could keep the power. So any stories depicting Jesus as a partner, a beloved, a lover and husband to Mary, were removed.

They didn’t want you to think you could access the divine directly through your body.

Or that sexuality and love was not separate from the divine.

They wanted to be in control.

And a sure way to take away someone’s power, is to repress and shame them as a sexual being.

Sexuality is power. And it is not separate from the divine.

Mary is coming back to many now, midwifing a new paradigm where the divine feminine co-exists in unity with the divine masculine. She is reminding us to take back our own power - to access the divine from within ourselves, to lead and help others remember.

Do you feel a connection to her?

If so, you are probably here as one the many being called forth to restore balance in society.To restore balance of the sacred feminine.

Over the last few years as I’ve formed a relationship with her, and I’ve received messages such as:

  • Now is the time to share our voices. It is safe. It is our responsibility to speak up, teach and lead, and carry forth the teachings we feel called to share. We have incredible privilege to do this, especially because so many were repressed and not able to carry forth their message in the centuries before us

  • As we show up to lead, we heal the suppression and fear from a whole lineage of women who were attacked or stoned for being powerful. When we show up to lead, we not only heal our own fears, but we heal this whole lineage who came before us

  • Our bodies are temples. Our sexuality is sacred. It is a way to access the divine through our body

  • Sisterhood (a safe, encouraging community) is absolutely essential in the healing of our fears of leading and being seen

  • Fully feeling our feelings (especially our pain) is a direct pathway to God/Source/Love and our deepest truth

  • To forgive is one of the most powerful things we can do. But we cannot forgive without first fully feeling our pain, grief and hurt. Then forgiveness becomes a natural emanation from the heart

Today at 12 pm PST I’ll be going Live in the Rising Women Leaders FB Group to share more about her and answer questions.

Click here to join us.

I'm also including some of the podcasts we devoted to spreading her truth and message, find them below.

With love, 
Meredith

016 | Mysteries of Mary Magdalene with Faye Wylder

Listen here

046 | Channeling Mary Magdalene with Mercedes Kirkel

Listen here

059 | In Honor of Mary Magdalene with Meredith Rom

Listen here

056 | Angel Guides, Motherhood and the Modern Magdalene with Lisa Devine

Listen here

 

Reclaim Your Voice

 
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My deepest wound has become my greatest empowerment. 

When I was 13 years old I shut down my voice. In a moment of deep self-consciousness presenting in front of my class, I couldn’t find my breath, my chest began to constrict and I struggled my way through the rest of my presentation. I made a decision in that moment to stop speaking up, being seen or sharing my voice in a public way. It was just too dangerous. And for 10 years, that is exactly what I did. Being seen, heard or sharing my voice in public became my deepest fear, one that I would go to great lengths to avoid. Even just introducing myself in a small group or class would have my heart pounding and my chest constricting at the thought of it.

Luckily when I was 22, my deep love for yoga and how it transformed my relationship to my body was enough for me to want to overcome this fear. Through pranayama, voice exercises, and allowing my body to become a vessel for the teachings I knew I was here to share, I overcame my fear one step at a time.

I believe the obstacles we are presented with are here to lead us into our greatest empowerment. It’s like our soul chose to know what it is like to feel disempowered because we have a great soul mission to know and reclaim the opposite.

Tantra embraces life as a paradox. There is no shaming the dark. In tantra, “life is not a problem to be fixed, but rather a gift to be embraced.” ~ (Sianna Sherman) All of it.

I now see the difficulties and obstacles we face in our life as a divine opportunity to grow. To transform. To expand. To know what it feels like to be healed, loved and empowered.

If there is anywhere in your life where you are feeling disempowered right now - in your finances… in your relationship… with your voice… Know that your soul came here to experience the exact opposite, and you are on the right path.

The obstacle is here for you to grow. Your soul is creating the grounds for you to deeply know in every cell of your being what it is to be empowered in this.

Last night after teaching yoga and singing with the harmonium, I had a student come up to me to let me know she had always dreamed of finding a class like mine. That something in my teaching, in my presence, and in my voice deeply touched her.

I now know today what it is like to feel this empowerment, and using my voice as a teacher and leader is of the greatest service to the people I am here to serve and has also been the journey of my soul’s highest growth.

In April I will be gathering with a group of women over 5 weeks to reclaim their voice, to know this deep empowerment, and to use their story and message to uplift and awaken others. I will be sharing all the teachings and practices that helped me stand in the role as the teacher and leader I am today. We will create a safe and nurturing environment for each woman to explore her fears and turn them into her own greatest empowerment.

So where are you feeling disempowered? And what soul growth could your soul be leading you to?

If you feel called to learn more about my series, join me for a voice activation women’s circle on April 5th. We’ll uncover unresolved memories, open the voice through song, and create a ritual (with the help of Mary Magdalene) for you to more fully step into your voice as a healer, teacher and leader. 

 

3 Questions to Ask Yourself When You’re Feeling Depressed

 
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It was this week three years ago I treated myself to my first week-long yoga retreat in Costa Rica.

The retreat was lovely - I ate delicious food, practiced yoga with my teacher, and had wonderful conversations with great people.

But there was one night, near the end of the trip where I started feeling depressed. I felt really off, like something was missing. When I tuned in to feel the feeling it felt like this deep unknown hole of sadness inside of me and I had no idea what it was about.

Everything on the surface was great. I was in a beautiful tropical location. I was surrounded by loving people. I just didn’t know what it was.

Then, the next day in my yoga practice, I had a realization, “I haven’t been sharing my gifts!” A week had passed without writing a blog post, or leading a group coaching call, connecting with a client, giving a speech, singing or teaching a yoga class.

I realized the sadness that was setting in was simply a sign showing me it was time to be of service, and share my gifts.

Depression and sadness have been a real teacher for me - as a watery Pisces (my birthday is this Thursday!) - I feel a lot, and I’m sure many of you can relate.

And now I know when I start to feel this way, I can at least first ask myself, “How can I connect more deeply to my community and be of service?”

Over time I’ve discovered it’s that place of authentic sharing, space-holding and teaching, that I feel most ALIVE, JOYFUL and present in the moment.

I believe that for those of us that have a deep soul calling to be teachers, healers and space-holders in this life, we are going to start to feel pretty miserable if we are not fulfilling that mission.

Do you feel like you have a soul contract to help and uplift others? If so, jumping in and saying YES to that mission is going to deeply impact your sense of well-being.

So the next time you are feeling sad, try asking yourself these simple questions:

1. How can I share my gifts?

Find small ways to give back, right now.

  • Is there a friend in need?

  • A way you can start that healing practice?

  • Someone you can be a coach or a guide to right now?

Sometimes we feel like we need to have it “all together” before we can start helping people.

And it’s not the case! You don’t need the perfect website. Or social media brand. Or the big email list. You can start helping people right now!

The world needs you! And the truth is:

You only need to be one small step ahead of the person you are helping.

So how can you put yourself out there? Teach that class or workshop? or reach out to someone in need? It may not look the way you thought it would at first, but the simple act of giving will bring so much joy and meaning to your life.

2. Am I balancing “input” with “output”?

While going to retreats and trainings are great (and taking time off is pretty essential to reconnect with your creative flow) if you are only signing up for trainings, courses and retreats without sharing or putting anything out into the world, it can start to feel pretty imbalanced.

I call this balancing your “input” with “output.”

How much information are you consuming on a daily basis? How many online trainings or retreats did you sign up for in the last year? And how often were you releasing content, and digesting that information into something that could be of service in the world?

I’m careful now to not take on too much “input” so I can always be in balance with how much I am releasing “output,” or creatively sharing with others.

3. What fears am I ready to face?

It’s through doing the work, that you are going to gain confidence, and it’s the work that is going to fill the void you may be feeling from not fully sharing your gifts.

And often we need to take a step before we feel ready. To take authentic action. To pick up the phone. To have the conversation. To put the workshop on the calendar. To practice the free consultation. To teach the yoga class. To have the art show. To give the speech. To write the post. To share your story….

So today I encourage you to face the fears. To put yourself out there. To help someone in need. Because the truth is, everyone benefits when we ask the simple question, “How can I be of service today?”

Want to join the conversation? In the comments I’d love to hear: How will you share your gifts this coming month?

Warmly,
Meredith

 

Why I Do This Work

 
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Almost four years ago I set out in the world as a newly certified coach with a dream to bring women together in an online group program. I called it Let Go, Vision, Transform and imagined these women joining together over many months to support each other in manifesting their dreams. 

I created a curriculum, where I shared a wisdom teaching each month as well as space to hold live calls for the women to connect with each other. 

I didn't fully know what I was getting myself into, and spent three months promoting with no one signing up. Even though I was disappointed, I kept showing up. I knew in my heart I was fully committed to this program.

Then, three days before the program was about to begin something magical happened. One woman I had had a call with - signed up. Then the next day - three friends I had invited signed up. Then the day the program was about to begin, another woman I admired and invited on a total whim - said yes.  

And just like that, on the first day of the program we had five women, committed and ready to begin. 

Four years ago, I fully stepped into my role as a leader.

I've been reflecting back on the sweetness of that program, and how my commitment brought forth so much beauty, grace, and friendship between those women over six months. Each and every one of those women are still so dear and close to me and each other.

With four more years of skills and expertise under my wings, I have brought life to a new program: The Sovereign Circle

I continue to show up to this work of bringing women together because I know when we enter a sacred container of support like this over several months - pure alchemy happens.

But why did I create this specific program? As I have been having phone calls with women joining the program, these answers have organically risen to the surface to be shared:

1. Sisterhood

When I have had space to open up in vulnerability and openness in a group of other women - to allow myself to rest into that softness and support, I have cultivated so much inner strength and courage. It's because of having supportive groups of women, I have felt myself gain momentum in being able to step up and lead. 

I created this program with the intention of having a sisterhood call every month near the full or new moon for each woman to share herself - her intentions, her challenges, her dreams, and her wisdom. This is going to be a safe and sacred space for the women in the group to show up to support each other.

2. The Sovereign Queen

I've been thinking a lot about the archetype of the Queen lately - and that's also why I used the word "Sovereign" in the name of the program. The Queen is regal, autonomous, boundless, and free. She says YES to her power. But really, she says yes to her power because she knows with that power she can give back so much to her people. 

She stands in her power because she stands for something - and she wishes to give back and uplift others. All the women joining this program have a similar dream - to make a contribution. They all yearn for their lives to have meaning and impact.

3. The Chakras

I am constantly learning, and I have so much new wisdom to share with the women of this group. I decided to design the program with a monthly wisdom teaching recording. Each month the focus of the teachings would be related to a different chakra. 

The teachings I'll be sharing have deeply impacted my life, and we will have the opportunity to discuss these teachings each month on our live sisterhood call.

Month 1: Root: Body wellness & Home - Decluttering & Laying a Sovereign Foundation of Self-Love

Month 2: Sacral: Womb Healing, Creativity & Sensuality

Month 3: Solar Plexus: Worthiness, Relationship to Money, Structures & Systems

Month 4: Heart: Love, Divine Love, Self-Love, Love in Partnership, Love in Sisterhood and the Teachings of Mary Magdalene

Month 5: Throat: Voice, Leadership, Speaking Authentic Truths

Month 6: Third Eye: Intuition, Inner Knowing, Dreams, Visions

Month 7: Crown: Connection to the Divine, Closing Ceremony, Rite of Passage

4. The Higher Self

In the beginning of the program I'll be leading a meditation to support each woman to connect to this idea of the higher self. Connecting to my higher self - my inner wise woman has been such a powerful way for me to come into deeper alignment in my life and work. 

This program is an invitation for each woman to step more and more into the role of her higher self each day. On our last ceremonial call, each woman will be invited to show up adorned as her higher self and we will be sharing our vows - how we wish to show up for ourselves, and for our great contribution in this life. 

I will be guiding every step of the way, and cannot wait for this final ceremony in April.

To recap: The program is 7 months long and includes:

+ a monthly wisdom teaching recording based around the chakras (45 - 60 min)
+ a monthly live guest mentor teacher call (60 min)
+ a monthly private coaching session with me (75 min)
+ a monthly live sisterhood call near a new or full moon (75 min)

he program begins in just two weeks - October 4th. If you've been feeling curious to learn more, I invite you to sign up for a free call with me. 

I have a feeling this program is going to fill up soon. The energy is building, and just the right group of women are forming. There are now only a few spaces left...Could this be for you? Or perhaps someone you know?

When you sign up for a call, I'll send you the program guide with more details about the program and we can have the chance to connect one on one about your challenges, your dreams and all you are ready to step into this year.

With love,
Meredith

P.S. This program is filled with amazing guest teachers - check out some of my latest instagram posts to see who will be featured!

 

Featured Interview on The Feminine Shift

 
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I am honored to share my recent interview featured on The Feminine Shift website. Check out the whole interview right here.


How has 2017 looked for you so far?

Lately it’s been feeling quite expansive with a lot of opportunities arising but the start to 2017 was challenging in many ways. This winter I was faced with my own darkness as California was having long cold days with so much rain. I felt called to be much more internal than I usually am.

I began the new year stepping out of a 10 day silent Vipassana meditation retreat where I was able to be fully present with my inner critic, limiting beliefs and fears that were still lingering underneath the surface. I held all those places that arose in my mind with loving, gentle awareness.

A little background: For the past six years I have been writing a book, Just Be: A Search for Self-Love in India, which releases August 22, 2017. Over the winter I was taking the final steps of publishing – choosing the title, cover design, editing, inside page design and I was reading the manuscript over and over again, polishing it into the finished product it is today. There were a lot of big decisions to make and it often felt overwhelming.

But as spring and summer entered the picture, something shifted within myself and that darkness I was feeling began to lift. I launched a new program to support women in sharing their voices and gifts through online courses and I had a huge response to that. I began to more deeply trust my own voice and gifts and began really allowing myself to be SEEN.

Through it all I’ve discovered that those times of darkness (that we all go through) clear the space for our times of light. Life isn’t really about everything continuing to get better and better all the time, it’s actually much more cyclical, and sometimes we have to face the darkness to create that space for the light. At least, that’s what I’ve been discovering as I’ve opened more and more to honoring the sacred feminine in my life.

What exactly is it that you do?

I’m a women’s leadership coach, mentor and guide. I spend my days teaching yoga, writing, and coaching women over the phone, in person and over video sessions. I also host a podcast called Rising Women Leaders where I share other women’s voices and stories.

I often compare what I do to The Heroine’s Journey. So many mythological stories have followed a similar blueprint – where the character feels a calling, a deep feeling that there must be something more to life. But when it came time to set foot on their adventure, they often hesitated, until that moment they met a mentor or guide, someone who had gone through it before who could offer encouragement and support along the way. I see myself as that guide.

I support women to take the next step forward on their Heroine’s journey, and to return with the elixir of all they have learned. I help my clients to see themselves as the sovereign queens that they are, to claim their gifts + share their message with the world while honoring a feminine way of being and living.

What’s your big, bold mission in the world?

My mission is to support women to connect to love within and for themselves, to move beyond their fears and truly share their greatest gifts with the world.

I believe we all have a soul calling and a divine gift to give in this life.

I see self-love really as the place to start (seeking that love within rather than outside of ourselves) because when we allow ourselves to be as we are, and hold ourselves with loving awareness through our challenges, we begin to discover our inner callings.

It was through feeling my own pain that I opened to a bigger vision for my life and began taking courageous steps to get there.

How did you start doing what you do?

It’s a long story, and can be read about in my book, Just Be, But I’ll give you a little window into it.

In 2010 I moved to San Francisco, following a vision I had while lying in savasana in a packed New York City yoga studio. I had lived in New York my whole life and was following a masculine model of achieving and doing. I often found myself with stress, exhaustion with chronic pain and headaches.

Then I found yoga. Yoga provided the first experience for me to “Just be.” For the first time I learned to sit with the uncomfortable sensations in my body and breathe into them. I allowed myself to feel the difficult emotions of a break up, the self-consciousness I held around my skin breaking out, how inadequate I felt not being able to find stable work, and how difficult it was to be trying to fit into the mold of a society that I knew in my heart was not for me. It was in yoga class where I first discovered to ‘just be’ and without realizing it had my first encounter of the sacred feminine – what it means to be rather than do. In that space I reconnected to my intuition, and began seeing visions.

Through listening to one of these visions, I moved to SF and started a new life. Ten days after being in San Francisco a man walked up to me in a park and told me, “I don’t know why I feel the need to tell you this, but I’m going to see a saint this weekend, and I think you’re supposed to go…”

That saint happened to be Amma, an Indian guru who travels around the world giving people hugs.

Within a few months I cut off all my hair and found myself on a plane to India, on a quest to seek love within rather than outside of myself. I lived there for six months visiting spiritual teachers and gurus. Amma’s ashram was the first place I started.

My time in India is what I share about in the book. Afterwards, I came back to the States and began teaching yoga to help others breathe through their difficulties + challenges, and soon after finished a coaching certification to go deeper to support others in developing their business, honoring a feminine lifestyle and discovering their unique purpose.

What are the 3 biggest lessons you have learned?

Be fully present with myself in moments of challenge or difficulty
I remind myself to feel my pain – whether it be physical or emotional and experience it as pure sensation rather than attaching a story to it right away. When I allow myself to really feel what I’m feeling and hold myself with love, I soon after find my center and can move forward and make decisions from a grounded place.

If I feel fear + even just a little bit of excitement I should go for it.. Keep reading here

 

3 Characteristics of Charismatic People

 

When I first joined a Toastmasters group I was a little taken aback at how nice everybody was to me.  The other members went out of their way to get to know me, ask about my interest in improving as a speaker and make me feel at home in an environment where I felt uneasy meeting so many new people.  

I felt so good leaving that first meeting that I went back again and again until I eventually joined.  Sometimes I wondered what made this group so inviting to be around...

Then last week, I learned their secret: charisma.

After our meeting one of the members started telling me about the 3 most important characteristics of charismatic people.  As he spoke them, it made total sense to me, "This is how these people are approaching their life, everyday," I thought.

I've been applying these principles for the last few days and it has made a huge difference in my interactions. 

I feel more confident meeting new people, have less social anxiety, and am making more genuine connections.  I am walking away from conversations feeling really good.

Since these have made such a difference in my life, I wanted to share them with you today so you can start having more uplifting conversations and interactions right away...

3 Characteristics of Charismatic People

1. Unrelenting Positivity

When people have the ability to see the bright side in any situation, it benefits everybody around them.

I love being around positive people because they are holding a higher vibration - a vibration that will attract more good into their lives.  

Through meditation and awareness of my thoughts, I've been able to catch myself when I start going down a negative spiral.  I now easily bring myself back to the moment and remember what's going right in my life and what I'm grateful for.  

2. Child-like Awe and Wonder

It is a gift to see the world through a child's eyes.  There is so much appreciation for the little things:  the butterfly that lands on the flower, the birds singing in the morning, the warmth of the sun shining on your face.  

I've been bringing more child-like awe and wonder into my life by spending time with my cat, Quan Yin.  In the early evenings we've been walking into the back field together to watch the sunset.  I love watching her excitement as I give her my full attention and let her lead the way.  Then, when she rolls on her back, waiting for me to pet her belly, I can't help but smile in appreciation.

3. A Genuine Care For Others

I used to unconsciously worry about how I was being perceived, wondering if others were going to like me.  I realize that way of thinking just took me out of the present moment and left me feeling empty after an interaction.  

Now I am focusing on, "How can I make this person feel like the most important person in the room?"  

It completely changes the energy.

A huge part of charisma is genuinely caring and wanting the best for other people.  This shifts the energy off of me and to the person I am talking to.  Since I've brought this awareness to my conversations, we both leave feeling better than before.

These principles have also affected my speaking and yoga teaching.  

If I got up in front of a group and worried about what the audience was thinking of me the whole time, I would miss out on making an authentic connection, and probably leave feeling like I could have done better.

However, if I can focus on what I want to GIVE and how I want to make the people in the room FEEL, then it is always a win - win situation.

Do you ever find yourself uncomfortable in social situations or getting stuck in your head when meeting someone new?  

I invite you to try out this technique this week.  AND - I'd love to hear how it goes for you in the comments below.

With love, 
Meredith

 

How to Lead "The Feminine Way"

 
Image by Elisha Yarrington

Image by Elisha Yarrington

I see an awakening in women, especially in sweet, kind, soft, and nurturing women who are ready to stand up, express themselves, and share their voice. However, I know from personal experience that a lot can get in the way when stepping up to lead. 

I struggled with being a shy and sensitive person and wondered, "How I can I really stand out in a world with so many loud voices?"  I didn't quite know how to authentically express myself and take action.

Then I imagined the kind of world we would live in if there were loving, kind, and sensitive women in leadership roles. I imagined the kind of role models we would have for our children and the kind of healing that would take place on the global consciousness.

I knew I needed to make a shift.

When I imagined myself stepping up to lead in the way I really wanted to—teaching international retreats, empowering other women to find their voice, speaking in front of large crowds, and leading group programs—at first, I was terrified.

But then I realized this fear was telling me something about my future and my purpose: my fear was guiding me to the exact next step I needed to take in my life.

I believe our fears bring us closer to our purpose. 

I began taking action despite my fears and saw that tapping into my soft and sensitive side did not hold me back at all; instead, I found my feminine nature to be an asset in order to lead. 

As feminine beings, we do not need to change who we are to fit into the world around us. I have found we just need to be supported in facing our fears and listening to our intuition in order to make a bigger impact.

Here are the qualities I have found to be the most useful in tapping into my inner,  feminine leader:

Honor Intuition

Having access to my intuition has been one of my greatest assets to running my own business and stepping up as a leaderin my profession. When I take the time to go on a run or a dance class or sit down on my meditation seat first thing in the morning, I feel like I am continually gifted with amazing ideas. When I tap into my body's wisdom—my intuition—I know how and when to make decisions, and I can trust those decisions won't lead me astray.

Know When to Act and When to Be Patient

What I have found to be essential in facing my fears and taking action towards my dreams is the balance between the feminine and masculine within myself. Often, leaders step into their more "masculine" side when taking center stage and forget to honor the feminine qualities of intuition, patience, and self-love. 

It was important for me to take action, but it was also important to step back and acknowledge what I had done. I learned to find a balance by making time and space to vision and manifest while taking grounded action towards my dreams. When I created the space for my creative, feminine nature, I suddenly found myself more ready to take big stepsin my career.

Develop a Consistent Self-Care Routine

After I faced a fear, I discovered it was so important to rest into self-love and self-care. That was when I accepted and nurtured myself for exactly where I was. I gave myself permission not to have to change too fast. This has been key in avoiding potential "burnout." 

Now when I take a big step, I remember to honor myself by taking a bath, spending a weekend with my girlfriends, or knowing when to do nothing at all. It is this time off that recharges me and gets me ready for my next big step.

Find Support Through Sisterhood

For years, I have been going on runs down the road outside my house amidst rolling hills and vineyards. There is an uphill incline for the last stretch and still, every time, I am out of breath and unsure if I can make it.

One day, I had a friend over and invited her to join me on my weekly run. On that final stretch, I felt my breath get heavier and I felt like I needed to stop. As I slowed down, my friend passed me to cross the finish. In that moment, everything inside me wanted to give up. I lost hope and lost my stamina. I started walking.

Then something magical happened.

Before she crossed the finish line, she stopped, turned around and started cheering for me. “Woohoo! You can do it!” she yelled. I looked up and smiled to see her cheering me on. Suddenly, I had the energy to keep going. She continued to clap and cheer me on as I crossed the finish line. With a little encouragement, I stopped thinking about my exhaustion, my aches, and my pain. My energy was completely restored.

I realized it was so much easier to cross the finish line when there was a sister there cheering me on. When I actively brought more women into my life, and was willing to share my challenges and struggles, I found the support through other women kept me moving forward. It was in those vulnerable spaces with other women that I gained more strength and courage to step out as a leader.

Have you been avoiding any of your innate feminine qualities?  If so, I invite you to try listening to your intuition, being patient, resting into self-care, and joining with other women to see just what kind of magic will happen in your life.

 

My #1 Cure For When I'm Feeling Depressed

 
flower petals-leadership-opportunitiesforwomen-self love

A couple weeks ago I was sitting on the beach in Costa Rica and everything on the outside was perfect: the sun was shining, the sky was blue, I was surrounded by palm trees and I knew I had worked hard to take myself on a vacation.  

Then out of no where I started feeling sad.  

"What's wrong?" I wondered.

I turned to my meditation practice, where I was able to watch my sensations and breath without judgement or need to change anything.  I felt much better, afterwards but I could tell, something was still off.

The next day I arrived at the yoga retreat I had traveled all the way to Costa Rica to attend.  As soon as I arrived, my spirits began to lift as I met a beautiful new group of people.  But that evening, I could feel a little bit of sadness still with me.  I decided to let it be.

Then a few days into the retreat I had this super magical moment.  Our retreat leader, Sianna, invited me to play a song on the harmonium.  I walked up to the front of the room and calmly accepted the invitation.  I sang a chant I had been working on at home, and everyone sang with me.  

I walked back to my seat feeling a rush of joy and peace.

I realized that even more than being surrounded by community, eating delicious food and taking care of my body, my soul was yearning to share my gifts.  


It was when I had an opportunity to give back, to do something I loved and also something that was a little scary, that everything changed.  I spent the rest of the week on cloud nine because I had a moment where my soul had been seen.

"Women have a soul need to express themselves."  
~Dr. Clarissa Pinkola Estes

I've always found retreats to be a safe and healing space to practice being in my voice and sharing my gifts, and that's why I created opportunities just like this in the Rising Women Leaders Bali Retreat.

I knew it was important to create a space for community and friendships to form, to have delicious food, and daily yoga, but I also wanted to create opportunities for women to inquire about and discover their innate gifts.

The theme of the week in our Bali Retreat is self-expression:  Expression through song, dance, writing, yoga and ritual.  

Workshops include: a cacao ceremony, how to reframe limiting beliefs, a new moon manifestation ritual, designing your dream life, opening the voice and self-expression through dance (to name a few!).

Applications are only open for 5 more days...until this Friday, April 1st.

If you've been considering joining us, I encourage you to take the leap and apply!

Now if you've been feeling stuck or sad, I'm wondering how can YOU start sharing YOUR gifts?  

Maybe it's time to take out the art supplies, teach a class, read your writing out loud, or cook a meal for someone you love.

Ask yourself:   What do I love?  How can I be seen?  Where can I share and give more of myself?  

It may feel a little scary, unfamiliar or vulnerable, but know that I am right here cheering you on.  I would love nothing more than for you to wake up everyday feeling empowered and alive knowing your soul is being seen and expressed.

With love, 
Meredith