070 | The Feminine Revolution with Amy Stanton

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What would it be like to feel comfortable sharing your emotions at work? To always feel safe to speak from your heart? To honor your sensitivity as a gift?

If you find yourself listening to the Rising Women Leaders podcast, you are most certainly part of a global movement happening right now of restoring femininity to her rightful place in perfect balance and divine union with the masculine.

On today’s episode, I sat down with Amy Stanton, co-author of The Feminine Revolution to discuss this movement and what she has learned about embracing and awakening our feminine nature in a patriarchal world.

In this episode we discussed:

• Conditioning we see in society around femininity and masculinity

• Amy’s story owning a business and growing her career in a masculine dominated society

• Magnetism and feminine/masculine polarity in romantic relationships

• Amy’s new book, The Feminine Revolution and how it came to be

• The writing process of the book and the journey of working with a co-author

• Key take-aways Amy learned and embraced about femininity through her conversations and research for the book

• How women can own their feminine power

“Through embracing our feminine qualities, we can find a more authentic way of life. We will be liberated to feel more like ourselves.”

The Feminine Revolution offers 21 ways to ignite your feminine power for a brighter life and better work. Its authors, Amy Stanton and Catherine Connors, challenge outdated perceptions that feminine traits are weaknesses, redefining those characteristics as assets that should be championed. With an upbeat blend of self-help and fresh analysis, The Feminine Revolution reboots femininity for the modern woman and provides her with the tools to accept and embrace her own authentic nature.

Buy here

Stay in Touch with Amy

• Instagram

• Website

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Amy Stanton is the founder of Stanton & Company (S&Co), a PR and marketing agency based in Los Angeles with a focus on promoting and building positive female role models and messaging for women. Since opening its doors in 2006, S&Co has built a roster of philosophy-driven brands including exceptional female athletes, lifestyle experts and brands in the healthy, active living space. Before founding S&Co, Amy served as the first-ever Chief Marketing Officer for Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia and Director of Marketing & Communications for NYC2012, New York’s Olympic bid. Amy also has experience in advertising, working at BBDO, JWT and BBH.

Featured Interview on The Feminine Shift

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

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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

028 | Luna Love on the Muse, Creative Entrepreneurship & Inner Marriage

Some of you may remember Luna Love from an episode where she interviewed me for her show - The Ladies Who Lead Podcast - where I shared my 4 Keys to Feminine Leadership. 

I invited Luna on RWL to share about creative entrepreneurship, how she uses the muse to go for her dreams and about the process of inner marriage - how she came into wholeness and attracted a loving partnership in her life.

One of the things I admire about this woman is her ability to accomplish so much, WHILE  nurturing a feminine way of being and living - one of the values I hold so dear in my own business. In this episode she shares some of her secrets to "getting it all done" while creating space for what matters most.

“Our capacity to receive as women is really not about other people giving us things but about our willingness to receive our unlimited potential and through the receptivity of that greatness lies the energy to create more and be of greater service…”
~ Luna Love

In this episode Luna shares about:

• The “I can” vs. “I can’t” voice and how she came to be a women’s leadership mentor
• How to decipher and tune into intuition
• Tips on how we can find our purpose
• Creativity and the muse - what it is and how to use it to go after your dreams
• Luna’s secret to “getting it all done!”
• Inner marriage, personal responsibility and the list you need to write if you want to call in and attract a loving partnership
• The relationship tool Luna uses to use to cut through illusion and deepen connection
• Luna’s take on when it’s time to “feel the fear and do it anyway” and how to go about it

Enjoy!

Love, 
Meredith

Luna is a Women’s Leadership Mentor, assisting those called to be change-makers in the world, in achieving clear vision for their lives by providing supportive, life-promoting experiences, practical tools and spiritual wisdom to align one’s divine essence, authentic expression and life-purpose. She creates transformative experiences for her clients through the power of self-awareness and self-love.

Luna facilitates online courses, group coaching, workshops, immersion programs and retreats to support her clients in devoting themselves to themselves, and serving the world from that place. Additionally she works as a counselor at a leading holistic drug and alcohol rehabilitation center and writes for numerous online publications. Most of all Luna is devoted to walking her path in the beauty way.

When Insight Strikes in the Middle of the Night

Image source from @the_soulessence

During my travels over the last month I had a mentor pose a question to me:

“If you only had 5 years left to live, what is the one message you know you need to dedicate yourself to?”

The answer came to me in the middle of the night after waking up from a bad dream.

In the dream I was being faced with a scary situation where I felt like I was losing someone I really loved. I woke up to my heart beating fast and my solar plexus tied up in knots. 

Instinctively, I began listening to my breath and I placed my hands on my body. I welcomed all the sensations and let them wash over and through me.

I watched as the stories of my mind ran wild until eventually, my breath slowed and my heart beat became steady again.

I connected to a feeling of love I have in my heart, a love that over the years I have come to know is always with me.

I sent that love to every cell of my body.

As I lay awake in the middle of the night, I realized I had full power to love and soothe myself in a time of need, holding myself with compassion, the way a mother would hold a child. 

It was in that moment I realized the power self-love has had on my life.

I asked myself:  What if every challenge or difficult situation I am facing is actually an OPPORTUNITY to more deeply love myself? 

I believe we all have the power to love ourselves through any challenge or difficulty in our lives. 

I believe when we tap into the power of self-love, we no longer need to be afraid.  We then have the ability to share our love without fear, to take risks, and to really stand up and share our gifts in the world.

Today I invite you to think about what challenge or difficulty you are currently facing... How could you see this challenge as an opportunity and invitation to even more deeply love yourself? 

I'd be happy to hear your thoughts in the comments below.

With love, 
Meredith

How I Married *Myself*

Last month on my birthday in Costa Rica I found myself alone in the ocean performing a ritual of marriage, to myself.  

I had just received a glorious massage and was feeling strong and embodied.  I followed my intuition to submerge myself in the water, and found myself calling in the four directions as my witness, then speaking my vows out loud.  

As soon as I finished speaking, a huge wave washed over me, and it was done.

In the days leading up to this experience, I wrote a blog post for Over the Moon Mag about "How to Marry Yourself," and was happy to have it published last month.   I invite you to check out the article and learn more about my experience below:
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A few weeks ago, my boyfriend woke up from a dream where he was at his own wedding.  I excitedly listened to him recount the details, wondering if I was going to be in it.  “What did my dress look like? Were we on a beach? A church? In a field?” I wondered.

My daydreams were cut short when he said, “There was no bride. I was there, my family was there, but there was no bride.”

I looked at him, disappointed.

He continued, “Then I looked to the priest and I realized I was the priest. I was the groom AND the priest. I was literally, ‘marrying myself.’”

I’ve heard of self-marriage before but had never felt the call to do it myself. But after hearing this dream from my partner, I began to wonder about my own dreams of marriage.

I realized I had placed a lot of energy on waiting for that “perfect magical moment” when my boyfriend would propose to me and all of my problems would disappear. 

I realized I had placed a lot on the idea of marriage, subconsciously carrying the beliefs:

“When I’m married, then I’ll feel safe.”

“When I’m married, then I’ll be able to take bigger risks.”

“When I’m married, then I’ll feel more complete, knowing I’ve lived out this childhood dream.”

But here I found myself writing this article on the beaches of Costa Rica, a few days before my birthday, where I took myself on a self-love adventure.

I thought to myself, “If I can leave the country and treat myself to this kind of trip, why not marry myself too?”

I realized that even if I do get married one day, wouldn’t it be a good idea if my partner and I had already established a firm commitment first to ourselves?

So I sat down and wrote out my vows. 

I found a ring and created a simple ritual to perform on my birthday. 

The whole process came quite intuitively to me, so I thought I’d share the steps I used in case you feel the call to marry yourself as well…

1.  Write your Vows

Take some time to free write about what commitments you want to make to yourself.  They can be broad or specific.  I chose to keep mine very simple as I wanted to remember them easily and reference them often.  They looked a little something like this:

I vow to honor, love and value you.

I vow to help you feel safe, secure and provided for.

I vow to take care of your body with delicious, home cooked meals.

I vow to give you space to rest and play.

I vow to hold you by the hand to face your fears and encourage you every step of the way.

I vow to be present with you and to listen deeply to your needs.

I vow to live in gratitude for all you are and all you bring to my life.

I vow to love you unconditionally and hold space for your emotions.

I vow to experience the beauty and magic of life by your side.

2.  Adorn Yourself

In some cultures, adornment is seen as a spiritual practice.  I know when I take the time to beautify myself, to put on a new outfit, a little tinted lipgloss and a piece of jewelry I save for special occasions, I feel a deep sense of beauty on the inside as well as the outside. The key here is to FEEL beautiful.  Ask yourself what would that entail…

You can also think about if you want to have a special ring or piece of jewelry to symbolize your vows to yourself.  Maybe you bring new meaning to a piece you already have, or find something new to adorn yourself with.  Then whenever you look at it, you can remember the vows you promised to uphold. 

3.  Create a Ritual

Think about what kind of setting you want to be in when you share your vows.  Do you want to be alone?  Or with people who love and support you?   Do you want to be in nature?  Or in another location with special meaning? 

When you find just the right setting, take a few moments to center in.  Close your eyes and feel your breath.  Take a few moments to call in the directions, or any teachers, guides or angels you feel connected to.  If this is all new to you, you may like to call upon the support of a priestess to officiate the ceremony. 

Then, when it’s time, read your vows out loud.  You may feel more comfortable doing this alone, or in a circle of other women to be seen.  Listen to your intuition.

When you’re done, celebrate, and remember you don’t need anyone or anything outside of yourself to be whole.  It’s all already there.  Sometimes all it takes is a little intention and ritual to remember the love you already have inside.

I’d love to hear if you decide to create your own ceremony, so feel free to let me know how it goes in the comments.  <3