Women never cease to amaze me when they rally at impromptu gatherings to reignite the bonds of their ancient female past. Recently, I was invited to join a group of women on a trip to the American southwest. I knew only the trip planner. Some arrived as friendship partners or business partners; others were taking a brief hiatus from being mother, wife, fundraiser, curator, marketing analyst, or teacher. Others came for meditative time and long walks, seizing the day to reconnect with their bodies through better eating or exercise. Our only commitment: eat together at least once during the week.

Surprisingly, in six days this group went from strangers to sisterhood, laughing like old friends, sharing conversation about marriages, children, and spiritual development. Unknowingly, we granted ourselves permission to deeply explore one another’s minds with the intention of learning, and nothing more. Unthreatened by our diversity, we developed a dialogue, and we were both shocked and entertained by everyone’s perspective. By the time we participated in a drumming circle on the final evening, we beat our instruments as if it were the last day on earth, rhythm makers connecting land and sky, our dancing selves somewhere in between.

By the time the last flame was extinguished, a sense of community existed which was nothing less than magical: a pledge of support and understanding as we re-entered our individual lives. Our sacred circle was inadvertently cast. And a grounded, unstructured, woman-affirming spirituality arose from emptiness, as a consequence of creating space for wisdom to emerge. 

Women Need to Gather to Share Wisdom

What is it about a woman-gathering that empowers women? It’s molding collective ideas into something that makes sense; the telling of stories; inhaling a woman’s worldly viewpoint and not a man’s. It’s about enhancing our judgment on what to let go and what to pack in the suitcase for the journey home. A woman-gathering is an opportunity to place sticky notes on those areas of our lives where we’ve lacked true self-awareness, alerting us to why we have been taking too much direction from external circumstances and not enough from a sense of our own creative power. Our individual and collective strength is greatly diminished when our minds race with what needs to be done and whose needs need to be met next, with little or no time to revisit the meaning of what we’re doing. As a result, we wander, letting life move us instead of choosing where we want to move life.

Revisit the Tribal Sisterhood

Reviving our past extends far beyond analyzing the happenstance of the immediate. It goes back to a time when tribal sisterhood existed, when women helped one another find wisdom within everyday experiences, when making spiritual room for self-discovery and renewal was as necessary as breathing. I believe we are born with a need to gather ancient women’s wisdom from all walks of life and apply it to our private expeditions. Women long to share stories of tragedy and success, to weep, giggle, and feel better about adversity, while comparing notes about how to improve our own thinking and change our individual worlds through relationships and work.

Affirm your connection regularly

Today, celebrate your ancient tribal sisterhood and the wisdom you have earned since the beginning of time.  Be empowered by your women’s wisdom!  Remember to love being female.  Have lunch with a friend, visit your mother, or talk to the woman who works at the corner supermarket.  Honor this shared connection that deepens in power and confidence daily.  Affirm the wonder of you! Say:

“I am all seasons, all cycles, and all elements. I am empowered by the wisdom of women’s collective experiences since the beginning of time. I feel competent knowing my worldly perspective matters. I am a powerful, beloved female!”

© The Goddess Network, Inc. and Charlene M. Proctor, Ph.D.  2007.  All Rights Reserved.  See http://www.thegoddessnetwork.com/connect.php?page=eshow for more empowering thoughts! Register for The E-Show, a series of enlightening lectures!

Do you feel captured by old thoughts and emotions that no longer serve you well?  Do you spend more time in the past than in the present moment?  And do you often find yourself feeling physically ill, depressed, or even angry just by spending time with your memories? 

Having a “positive today” requires making plenty of space for personal growth. That means opening up energy and time to let go of the past and forgive.  Having difficult parents, an abusive relationship, or a dysfunctional family situation presents greater challenges for us to move into the present.  Present moment awareness is where our greatest power resides.  When we choose to live in the agony of the past and do not expect a positive future, it is nearly impossible to find creativity, joy, and peace in life.

Moving into a peaceful state of mind requires us to have a high level of forgiveness.  Unforgiveness nurtures a negative state and attracts undesirable circumstances.  We can become prisoners of our negative emotions. The Law of Attraction states “like energy attracts like energy.”  Since thoughts are energy, we want to resonate with clear, loving, and present-day ideas that focus on what we want – productive lives, satisfying jobs, or wonderful relationships.  We don’t want to spend time attracting more of what we don’t want.

Regurgitating old messages and unsavory experiences from the past doesn’t allow us to move forward and step into a vision of what we can become. Let’s work on ways to move our thoughts away from self-doubt and resentment, using forgiveness as a vehicle for change.

Release negative experiences

Once we release a negative experience from our mental and emotional state, we can make peace with it.  You cannot change the past, only your feelings and attitude toward it.  True forgiveness is about rising to the challenge of viewing the past as an opportunity for transformation and refinement.  The past has provided you with strength and dignity to become an inspiration to others.  Your most powerful moments are spent in the present.  Today is what matters, not yesterday or tomorrow. Eliminate negative self-talk and all negative verbiage from your vocabulary.  Be done with old hurts and let them go.

Visualize Positive Outcomes

No matter what you’ve been through, take charge of your own thoughts.  Cultivate a positive and enriching state of mind.  Each day is an opportunity to grow.  You can’t change your parents or old events from long ago, but you can change your outlook.  Take responsibility for what you think and how you approach life on the inside first! Have peace knowing there is a lesson in all you have encountered and stop punishing yourself through self-abusive behavior or quitting. Get up in the morning and consciously create your day in your mind.  Go for as much wonder and abundance as you can imagine! 

Affirm regularly with passion

An affirmation is a positive, present-day statement that declares your current reality.  Affirmations provide power and clarity to your daily thinking.  Spoken out loud, and held with a strong belief and passion for the idea, affirmations are an invitation to what you want. Here are three forgiveness affirmations that attract good energy and help you move forward.  One is for parents and the other is about regrets.  Another reminds you about the power of forgiveness:

“I selected these parents long before I arrived on this planet in order to evolve my soul.  My chart includes many people challenges.  I accept my learning situation.  I need to strengthen my resolve by working through difficult family situations.  Today, I rely upon Spirit to assist me in taking the high road.  I am a willow branch that bends in the wind but never breaks.  I am a fantastic and beautiful soul!”

“Life is a curvaceous and fluid journey. Because I am always moving through learning stages, I cannot look back or measure.  I learn through my relationships because that is how I begin to define who I am.  Nothing is unforgivable in life.  I know nursing this hurt is holding me back from fully being with others; therefore, I choose to thank the universe for giving me another opportunity to develop my soul by knowing yet another person.  I move easily through this experience.”

“I forgive because I am capable of expressing compassion.  By forgiving, I release this situation from my energy field and feel clear-headed and full-hearted.  I forgive because I am able to rise to my higher self and feel lighter.  My light knows no boundaries when I forgive.  Life feels lighter when I forgive.”

© The Goddess Network, Inc. and Charlene M. Proctor, Ph.D.  2007.  All Rights Reserved.  See http://www.thegoddessnetwork.com/connect.php?page=eshow for more empowering thoughts on forgiveness! Register for The E-Show, a series of enlightening lectures!

Using affirmations as contemplative reminders of who we are helps keep us balanced.  It is a first step in claiming your self-worth which is the foundation behind embracing the true self.
 
Your true self is not defined by any external circumstances – it is the power within you to create the life you choose.  It is the part of you that is one with the Divine.  It’s non-negotiable and the one, great equalizer between all men and women.  We’re all made from the same soul substance, equally valued and divine.  It makes sense to think of our entire universal operating system as the All. 

Know yourself as an Image of Divine Power

Identifying with imagery of our source makes us feel more connected within a world filled with disappointments, distractions, and strife and many who choose to negate their true self.  We need to see ourselves reflected in images of the Divine we can relate to.  It reminds us of who we are, which is infinite, unlimited substance. Remember, you came here to learn, evolve your soul, and grow your ability to demonstrate your nature through a physical experience.

Lack of Self-Esteem and Self-Worth is Faulty Thinking

We are in charge of manifesting a world which is a product of our collective thought processes.  If we don’t value ourselves, we’re going to demonstrate a devalued world.  We will create a world that is less than worthy of what we can be, our creations won’t serve the greater good. Lacking self-worth is faulty thinking and is reflected in our relationships, workplaces, and even communities.  Consequently, we might not realize our power, and feel powerless.  We will create and live within experiences that diminish our power because that is where we chose to mentally reside.

We are Intellect and Emotion
    
Life is a soul journey filled with both intellect (what is in our minds) and our emotion (our expression and physical presence).  Our job is to use the power that is in our minds and our bodies as a vehicle of expression for what we think! It is the very reason we are here.  So, be sure to value your “self” and joyously appreciate this lifetime.  It is a wonderful opportunity to express your nature, here and now.  You are evolving your soul, and the intellect of the Divine, through your human experience – the joys as well as pain. It’s our greatest challenge. It’s our soul work, our very reason for signing on for this ride.

So, how can understanding the feminine principle help?

Feminine Principle Defined

Ernest Holmes, in The Science of Mind said that the feminine principle is the “universal soul.”  In humankind, it is the subjective or subconscious intelligence.  The feminine principle is sometimes referred to as the Womb of Nature and The Holy Mother because it is receptive to Spirit or divine idea.  “She” gives birth to the ideas of Spirit and is represented in many world religions as various aspects of Divine Mother, or of the Goddess.  

Among her many facets, she symbolizes our experience in the physical world as a cyclical, sacred, and transformative journey.  It’s a way we complete our self-development.  When we integrate both masculine and feminine aspects of our existence, we are not just valuing our transcendent aspect.  We are deeply valuing our immanent aspect, our time spent on earth to demonstrate the Divine through what we do.  She is represented as Emotion, or Mother God, as the counterpart to the intellect, or Father God principle.

The true self has both elements - yin and yang, or the masculine and feminine.  You are also a composite of the physical, and the mental as a total experience of who you are. You are matter and you matter. You are worthy when you believe you have self-worth. And, you have an opportunity to harness your already wonderful capabilities, which is the God and Goddess force within you.  It is searching to demonstrate itself through you. 
We all have our own individual channel the Divine operates on.  It’s just a matter of how we choose to think.

Regularly Affirm Who You Are!

Let’s affirm this image of co-creation of the life force we all share: 

“I am conscious of who I am.  I am my true self. I am both Mother and Father. I am loved and beloved, and I am in love with my true self.  My self-worth is a reflection of my true power, which reaches everywhere at once.  I am a marvelous spark of the Divine and celebrate my remarkable learning journey.  I am timeless, living without boundary, and full of my beautiful, unique, and divine self.”

© The Goddess Network, Inc. and Charlene M. Proctor, Ph.D.  2007.  All Rights Reserved.  See http://www.thegoddessnetwork.com/connect.php?page=eshow for more empowering thoughts! Register for The E-Show, a series of enlightening lectures!

Having courage, speaking the truth, and expanding our self-image….all are essential to personal and spiritual growth.  Do women have uniquely female concerns and interests that put them on a different path to growth?  And what are women doing to continually evolve and make meaning from life?

When speaking about the portals to women’s wisdom, Joan Borysenko, Ph.D. once said that the path to feminine wisdom is less about the hereafter and more about the NOW.  It’s about how we relate to our experiences, celebrating our bodies, and the shared meaning of our stories.  I have found this to be true.  At The Goddess Network, we hear from many women who feel sharing their personal truth about life helps them develop a sense of their own grounded spirituality and stay in balance. It’s absolutely a necessary female thing.

Last Saturday, I had dinner with a high level executive in a large cosmetics company.  How does she reconnect with her woman-spirit and share her stories about life’s meaning?  She knits with a circle of friends.  Like a quilting circle, I asked?  Yes, she said, like a sewing circle where they weave their hopes, dreams and intentions into the pieces they are creating while practicing a prayerful connection to each other.  They are able to open their right brains to their intuitive side while knitting, and provide each other insight about everyday issues.  According to her, it’s her favorite night of the month - a time to learn how to grow both the business and her magnanimous spirit.

Such old, wise woman’s ways of connecting are creeping back into our culture.  As I rummage around for my old knitting needles, I’d like to get you thinking about ways to grow and share your feminine spirit: sacred circles, deep conversation, creating art, or even attending events that cultivate your intuitive, shamanistic side.  Network with your friends and get out the drums on the night of a full moon and celebrate being female.  Like our foremothers, we may finally give ourselves permission to honor our own experiences as well as validating others, in ways that keep us returning to our essence. Let’s revisit these ideas! May you bloom, grow, and share your goodness with each other each month and always.

© The Goddess Network, Inc. and Charlene M. Proctor, Ph.D.  2007.  All Rights Reserved.  See http://www.thegoddessnetwork.com/connect.php?page=eshow for more empowering thoughts on the Divine Feminine! Register for The E-Show, a series of enlightening lectures!

I teach people to visualize positive outcomes and consciously create the life they desire.  However, I believe we need to give the universe a creative license in how our goodness arrives. Many robust surprises that provide us with greater rewards than we thought possible are often unexpected.  We must build trust in the universe, even when we don’t see our gifts readily, and know spirit pervades every molecule of our being, leading us to people or circumstances that enrich our learning.

Over 25 years ago, I remember sitting on a city bus heading toward an insurance conference in East Lansing, Michigan, a consequence of a year-long job search.   In the early 1980’s the prospects were dismal for post-college liberal arts majors.  Discouraged after pounding the pavement for so long, I took a position at a Chicago insurance company in a rating and coding department.  My first job consisted of entering codes by hand onto policies.  My effort was judged by hourly productivity.  It was a tedious and uninspiring assembly line.  After several months, my supervisor asked me to attend a conference to get a property and casualty license.  I must have hit the record on the quantity of policies I processed!

Sitting on the bus heading toward the first group session, I reflected.  Where was the dream job I trusted the universe to provide?  I was in an industry that held no excitement for me.  I gradually compromised my academic vision only to choose career out of necessity, not choice.  I felt creatively stifled and angry.  I’d been visualizing change for so long, wanting to be appreciated, and recognized in the world. Sighing, at last I resigned.  I placed my trust in spirit. I decided to quit fighting it and just go with the flow with a positive attitude. So, I thanked God for what I had, asked for improvement soon, and just surrendered to the process.

Suddenly, I noticed a man quickly vacating his seat for an elderly woman who was struggling up the steps with her cane. Who does that anymore, I wondered?  As she sat down, I looked closely at this beautiful soul.  By managing on her own, she seemed proud to be able to do things for herself.  Her independent spirit was uncompromised, as she took the last seat closest to the door.   Courage had arrived to keep her moving forward, in an unexpected but timely way.

Then I understood the entire reason I had been pried from my original plan and placed on a path to an insurance license in a strange city.  If it weren’t for my unemployment, and readiness to take a job leading me to this very place, I would not have witnessed this anonymous gesture of everyday love we often take for granted. It softened my heart.  And I would not have introduced myself to this man who wound up being my husband for 24 years.  He inspired me to open my heart and cultivate my voice.  My dream job turned out to be a self-development path, leading me to empower others.  I would not have built an organization, wrote books, met with people all over America and taught them to think positive.  I’ve built a great life and continue to enjoy going to work.

All this came from taking a dead-end job, taking a bus ride, and just paying attention.

When searching for our desires, there’s always learning and love to be found in our struggle as long as we are consciously aware.  Noticing the signs in life leads us to higher ground. It’s not about expecting someone to provide our opportunity and happiness. It’s about developing trust and knowing good things are in store for us in every corner of our lives as long as we believe in ourselves and what we can do. 

When times are challenging, remember to trust the universe.  God is in you, around you, and works through you.  In The Science of Mind, Ernest Holmes said that trusting the invisible will make us happy.  There is a power in the universe, and it is a conclusion of the deepest thinkers of every age.  This spiritual universe must be one of pure intelligence and perfect life, dominated by love, reason, and the power to create.  This power also honors us by tuning into our own consciousness and shows us higher possibilities.

Remember, you will always be presented with a creative way to stay on the path of wonderment. Make sure you notice people… they are vehicles for inspiration when you least expect it!  Good (God) travels though people, and not necessarily a winning lottery ticket or a new career.  When we learn to trust the universe, we will be happy, prosperous, and well.  There’s never been a cosmic failure.  No matter our emotional storm, there is always something hidden that will eventually sing.

© The Goddess Network, Inc. and Charlene M. Proctor, Ph.D.  2007.  All Rights Reserved.  See http://www.thegoddessnetwork.com/connect.php?page=eshow for more empowering thoughts! Register for The E-Show, a series of enlightening lectures!

Five Ways to Build Confidence and Happiness

Our culture seems to be ridden with negativity from the media, old parental messages, or even advertising that tells us we are not smart, happy, or fast enough. Many outdated ideas or dramas we own from the past can derail us from the positive thought track and send us into fits of negativity, attracting more unwanted circumstances.  How can we quickly change our energy around to build more confidence and happiness?

Recognize non-empowering thoughts

Mainstream thought is often negative and focuses on problems.  If we believe everything put in front of us, we are not exercising the creative power of our own mind.  Shift away from negative, self-defeating thoughts by being aware.  Here are a few classic non-empowering thoughts you may recognize:  “I’m not beautiful.  I’m poor but good.  I can’t be happy.  Life is hard.  The world is a terrible place. I will probably fail. Things will never get any better. I’ll never make any money.”  Awareness of what we are thinking is the first step, so learn to listen to your words, whether mental or spoken. 

Set a new mental equivalent

What we think, and how we set our mental equivalent on any given day, sets the tone for what the universe will provide for us.  If we want success, prosperity, better relationships, more self-confidence or love, then that’s where our mind needs to be – not once in awhile but all the time. Substitute the disasters on the morning news with a sense of positive expectation.  Rise out of negativity by thinking great thoughts about everyone.  See yourself as a success and that you’ve come to the planet with a gift.  Practice verbal harmlessness (no swearing!) and auspicious speech. Release your fears about being a worthy individual.  It is impossible for you to be a “nobody!”  Switch on the positive thought channel the minute you arise each day and consciously invite abundance and opportunity into your daily experience.

Know that thoughts create reality

In today’s merge of mysticism, psychology, religion, and science, western thinking is moving away from proof.  Thoughts do create reality, whether hard data exists or not. Logical positivism had its field day and our culture is beginning to embrace the power of the mind at the intuitive and spiritual level.

A positive mental attitude is the belief that one can increase achievement through optimistic thought processes. It comes from observational learning in the environment and is partially achieved when a vision of good natured change in the mind is applied toward people, circumstances, events, or behaviors (Wikipedia).  Since it is difficult to quantify the effects of a positive mental attitude, it can be considered a philosophy and a way to approach life. Positive thinking is a discipline that trains the human mind to change a perceived reality by repeatedly making positive mental statements.

To turn negative self-talk around, notice where you automatically shift to negative expectation.  This was discussed in the movie “What The Bleep Do We Know.”  Our neuro networks become ingrained in patterns that make us search for a chemical “hit” in our interpretation of reality.  In a nutshell, when we continue to stay in negative thought process that dos not serve our higher purpose we are destined to keep repeating the same life experiences over and over again because we will never view reality differently.  Our lives never improve and living with joy will seem unattainable because we are generating more of what we don’t want.

Negative thoughts have a physical effect on our bodies

Our thoughts, memories, and emotions are not only part of our mental programming, but have a physiological effect on our bodies.  Scientists have determined we hard-wire our own brains by our associative memory: our associations with people, events, times, places, and things.  We assign emotions to the memories recorded in complex strings of nerve cells wired together.  The strings become networks of information we can access automatically at any time.

Connections between our nerve cells are strengthened when repeatedly stimulated in a process called “long term potentiation.”  Through associative learning, our brains are not only programmed by ordinary experiences but by extreme circumstances.  Trauma actually changes the structure and function of the brain and may create an automatic response to a stimulus in the form of anxiety or fear.

The good news is that we do rely upon many automatic programs to function.  Neural networks give us a wonderful opportunity to shift into “cruise control.”  We don’t have to think about brushing our teeth or making every keystroke when typing, we just do.  We’ve established the network by repetition so we don’t have to think about every moment in life with excessive detail.

Thoughts affect our bodies, especially any thoughts that have become patterns that don’t serve us well.  For example, putting yourself down is based upon old information and not the powerful, present moment.  Old experiences like despair, low self-esteem, and self-pity are emotions that give us a chemical boost of neuropeptides, which guide our perception of our current day choices.

Cancel old thoughts and substitute powerful ideas

Want to feel better and stop negative self-talk?  Prune your old negative programming and take charge of your current circumstances.  Positive thought strings create new systems in the brain, producing new chemistry associated with new emotional changes.  Translation: break your “put down” habit neuron-by-neuron and learn to react differently to life! The next time you catch yourself in a put-down, say out loud, “I cancel that” and instantly substitute a new and powerful thought about you.

It’s vital to remember your thoughts, emotions, beliefs, and physicality are intertwined.  Negative self-talk down can make you feel unmotivated and physically ill.  Move your mind to a new way of being!  It’s a healthy habit you can cultivate.  Here are 5 quick ways to shift to the positive self-talk channel:

1.  Check your state of mind.  Choose your own attitude and emotions, not another person’s outlook on life.  Focus your intentions in the present moment.  Because we have a choice, life originates in the mind first.  As within, so without.  Be consciously aware of what you want to create and claim it as your unique mantra.

2. Focus on today.  Step away from old memories, past relationships, and hurts.  Attend to the present.  Find joy in what you bring to the world.  Take a deep breath, stay centered, and remind yourself your presence is a gift!

3. See the big picture.  In the universal equation, today is but a blink in time.  Move through difficult moments with ease and grace because you are not stuck there permanently… you are going “through it!”  You can do this without depleting your energy reserves by making a commitment to doing so.  Remember, life goes all too quickly.  Make each day count and quit wasting your energy on negative thoughts, unproductive thinking, and who said what to whom 10 years ago.

4. Release negative expectation.  Focus on what YOU can do to contribute to a better world and not what others expect you to do. Pace yourself.  As you practice positive expectation, you’ll find that better circumstances will be attracted to you naturally.  Have faith in the process!

5. Be thankful.  There is no better way to change your energy then to turn up the volume on thankfulness.  If you are thankful for what makes you happy, by the Law of Attraction, the universe will provide you with MORE to be thankful for.  Be generous with gratitude to those in your life who care, to your Higher Power, and to yourself for being an individual spark of Divine Power.  Your natural state is unlimited abundance, so be thankful for all you are and your journey.

Experiencing success through a positive mental attitude begins when we retire certain negative perceptions and break the addiction of old emotional states.  It’s a choice and requires persistent effort!  So let go of self-criticism and move forward when a challenge arises. Change your thought process to include more thoughts of gratitude, unconditional love, self-appreciation, freedom, and joy.  It’s the foundation of a new and better reality.

© The Goddess Network, Inc. and Charlene M. Proctor, Ph.D.  2008.  All Rights Reserved.  See http://www.thegoddessnetwork.com/connect.php?page=eshow for more empowering thoughts! Register for The E-Show, a series of enlightening lectures!

Girlphyte Magazine recently interviewed Charlene on the principles women can help women build the best life possible.  Read on for female insight on confidence and empowerment!

Q:  Confidence and self-worth are elusive goals for so many women.  You’ve achieved so much.  Where did you find your courage?

A:  When we choose to act with courage we open the floodgates to our authenticity.  Megan Raphael and Jennifer Byron said this when they wrote the book “The Courage Code” – a collection of stories on women who have rediscovered their self-worth and confidence. We build upon these ideas as a result of our soul journey and life experience – they are not necessarily skills we are born with. When we stop choosing our course of action out of a sense of obligation or desire to keep everyone else in balance, we no longer need to compromise ourselves by diminishing our own value.  Out this simple act of self-love, we are healed and empowered. Embracing our own authenticity is about self-celebration, whether in the form of choosing a new career, writing poetry, or learning to dance when we are in our 60’s.  Authenticity builds upon the awareness of our own unique gifts. One of my own life lessons was to learn to love myself, develop my voice, and teach others to do the same, so I gave up my left-brain corporate and research world in favor of teaching women to rediscover who they are at a fundamental level. So, my own brand of courage comes from demonstrating that which I need to claim and solidify.

Q:  How does the Goddess principle inform a woman’s work ethic?

A:  The Goddess is a powerful metaphor of a woman’s self-image.  Sometimes identifying with female deity makes women radiate with awareness that they are part of a huge, cosmic equation, but mostly, it’s about opening our hearts as fully as possible.  To stop denying our human experiences as a way to evolve our collective consciousness.  Culture and society has devalued that for so long, it’s time for a Goddess revival. When we begin to know the feminine principle, we begin to understand the path to human evolution. Part of this is about practicing the power of intuition, patience, a reverence for nature, and the knowledge of the holy unity of all things – all fabulous and natural capabilities of women. 

Q:  As you share these principles with women, what is the most startling transformative moment for women?

A:  They realize that they want to marry traditional masculine ideas of rule, reason, passion for order, structure, science, control and left brain with a feminine perspective on matters.  They understand that a balanced life, and self-actualization, comes from a balanced point of view, meaning that we must be aware of both sides of who we are.  They realize that validation from having a strictly male value set on success and careers is no longer necessary.

Q:  Women are such effective communicators, contributors and connectors yet continue to be undervalued in the workplace.  What is the key to changing the environment?  Or can we only change ourselves?

A:  Because women learned the corporate work tradition from men, they thought loosing their emotional depth, intuition, and seeing the gestalt improved performance. This is the first assumption to unseat when we desire change. A woman’s brain works differently than a man’s.  Generally, we have 33% more neuronal fibers in the corpus callosum, the dense fibers that link the two hemispheres of the brain.  Women have more connecting neurons between the left and right brain, so we tend to use both sides more than men when problem solving.  In the workplace, women have been conditioned to think like men – believing that compartmentalizing problems and lineal thinking is the only way to manage people and complexity.  To change the environment, first learn about your eyes, ears, brains, and all the amazing gender-based facts of who you are.  Be empowered by how you are wired. Harness that, celebrate it, and know you are not a mini-man.  Congratulate yourself on your inherent capabilities and bask in your own wonder.  When you do that, circumstances and people will change around you.

Q:  Your work with the homeless reflects the depth of your belief in the ability of your approach to reinvent women’s lives no matter how desperate their circumstances.  What is the most important thing you say or do when connecting with these women the first time?  Have they surprised you?

A:  I teach them their reality changes when they believe in the power of the mind. Defining their expectations of life, relationships or job success is first about moving forward into the present moment and shedding guilt, fear and self-doubt.  We can’t succeed at anything if we have no room for personal growth because it’s often taken up with a victim mentality and unforgiveness.  Emmet Fox, a 1940’s Unity Minister said that without clarity of knowing what you want and feeling the passion for it in the mind first, the universe can’t get a clear message on manifesting your reality. So, I teach the homeless about mental equivalents and affirmations because these are concepts easy to grasp and it helps begin to develop new automatic programs in the mind.  Overall, they are incredibly motivated to change.  That’s been a real myth buster.

Q:  What is your legacy to women?  How do you wish to be remembered?

A:  My vision is to get as many women as possible to understand that they are individual sparks of Divine power.  A woman is a whole image of creation, not a sub-set.  There is nothing blemished, sinful, or unworthy about being a woman. When women finally claim they are part of the universal I AM, which means they are timeless and unlimited, they will know they can’t be anything else. If am a teacher that walks this planet and can successfully communicate those ideas to both men and women, I will cross over to the other side with a kick in my step.

© The Goddess Network, Inc. and Charlene M. Proctor, Ph.D.  2007.  All Rights Reserved.  See http://www.thegoddessnetwork.com/connect.php?page=eshow for more empowering thoughts! Register for The E-Show, a series of enlightening lectures!

Whether negotiating a huge vendor contract, writing books, organizing volunteers, or making dinner for our families, women have always expressed their higher self in the form of service to the people they love.  In a nutshell, that is what “soul work” really means - to create something of value from the deep space within and flavor it with a unique talent. It’s about exploring your limits and maybe bringing the bottom line along for the ride.

However, achieving personal growth through work means being consciously aware of serving a cause without losing yourself in the process. How do you continue to remain positive in the workplace? Here are four important reminders that will help you feel good about what you do:

Work with a Loving and Generous Heart.  It’s good for the soul

Spiritual teachers spanning across many mystical traditions already noted our biggest work challenge.  It is to demonstrate our authentic self in our work - no matter if we’re at home with five kids or running a Fortune 500 corporation. In terms of specific tasks, have good intentions for your organization and the people involved.  If you cook with love, the person who eats that meal energetically receives the benefit of your positive attitude and thoughts.  I think that applies to any form of work!

As a form of self-expression, work allows us to re-create ourselves as a form of living art because we are the channel for the Divine.  Although that concept might be difficult to digest when we are pulling a sales call after being up all night with a crying baby, know this:  when we achieve conscious awareness of what we do well, we are instruments of a higher power.  We can change the world into exactly what we see fit – a vision crafted from the best of our emotions such as love, healing, forgiveness, compassion, and faith.  We can educate someone, lend a hand, or teach self-sufficiency in any number of venues.  Or simply create a beautiful object.   No matter our job, as long as we are aware of our power to do it with loving-kindness, we are contributing to the formation of the world and the values of those who will follow after us. Never underestimate the benefit of any form of work that is done with a generous spirit.

Remember your Source.  Know your true C.E.O.

No matter our wisdom tradition, when we take a moment to remember our spirit and pull light into ourselves, we experience a connection with divinity. Often, it is our individual awakening to service and the human condition.  God or Goddess… there are a thousand names and flavors by which we summon our inherent power. Power is a choice.  We don’t fall into it by accident, nor is it given by a secret society where only a few key members are invited.  We are born empowered, as we all are individual sparks of divinity.  The only difference is everyone is in different stages of awakening.

When we consciously co-create our reality with this spiritual partnership, we inevitably inspire others to open their hearts as wide as possible to the energetic fusion called “embodied spirit.”  Yep, hopefully you got the memo - we are not the body.  We are eternal, energetic, infinite, empowered beings, with all the tools from the get-go.  Our career objective? We are here to remember it all over again in a physical setting.  It’s soul development school from the minute we arrive until our last day.  We’re supposed to spread the light! So, when the going gets tough at the office, look at the bigger picture.  Know who really does your employment reviews and what you are really here to do.

Appreciate your unique specialty

Be thankful for what you bring to the world - whether it is creating jobs for others, sharing visual beauty, enhancing communication, or helping others move from crisis and poverty to self-sufficiency.  Whatever your work, know that the world needs your voice.  You matter, because you are an expression of a higher power. Your soul work is needed in the world, no matter the pay scale.  Celebrate your calling and march proudly, wherever you spend your day.

Have a Cause
 
Career success has paved the way for women to champion today’s most exciting causes.   Women now constitute 46.6% of the U.S. labor force and hold 50% of managerial and professional specialty positions.  Consequently, they are beginning to hold a great deal of purchasing power, especially in business ($1.5 trillion). Women purchase 83% of all products and services - a huge market force.  Success and control over the checkbook has translated into a new form of independence called strategic philanthropy.  

Whether at the office or at home, this collective spending power has an interesting effect on creating new pathways to peace and healing.  Women have developed a strong voice and a big resource base to address causes that matter specifically to the female gender, such as sponsoring a sister overseas, helping homeless mothers, or creating specialty rooms for sick children.  They’re translating their soul work in diverse ways and shaping the world with hands using feminine values that make sense.

Remember, doing our soul work moves us beyond our careers.  We can participate in a collective spiritual partnership spanning the globe.  At that empowering moment, we are taking a turn being Divine, by celebrating our path in exactly the way we see fit. Think from the heart and make certain your work is evolving into a personal truth. May you bloom and grow today, no matter where you work, and always be filled with the brightest light imaginable!

© The Goddess Network, Inc. and Charlene M. Proctor, Ph.D.  2007.  All Rights Reserved.  See http://www.thegoddessnetwork.com/connect.php?page=eshow for more empowering thoughts on corporate soul! Register for The E-Show, a series of enlightening lectures!

Make no mistake about it, change is challenging whether it is conscious or unexpected.  Viewing adversity as change, not loss or failure, is part of empowered and positive thinking.  Humans develop resiliency through change, both physiologically, and emotionally.  It’s necessary for all life forms to evolve.

Change Your Outlook on Change

Change comes though many vehicles – some hit us hard, others are rather sneaky.  But despite the challenges change brings, we know it is our natural state.  It’s inevitable – the world grows and we grow with it fueled by our emotions.  We are already designed to cry, express sorrow, frustration, anger, resentment, even give up for awhile – and most of us choose to explore these feelings. But we are also designed to have hope, recover, be stronger, and inspire others as a result of change.  You are never, never alone because emotions give us plenty in common - as a society, we are not yet Vulcans.
 
What makes one person triumphantly survive loss and turn it into positive energy, while another in similar circumstances resign?  And how do we change our outlook on change?  It has to do with our underlying assumptions on change.  I have two very dear friends; each had a double mastectomy from breast cancer.  Losing body parts is devastating, not to mention living with the daily uncertainty of not knowing whether you continue to remain in remission.  Yet one woman has forged ahead as a life-force warrior, focusing on triumphs and wins of today.  She doesn’t look back.  The other has difficulty moving forward – not engaging in work outside her home, quitting her job, waiting for “something” to happen while in a state of self-imposed limbo.   They’ve processed their information in completely different ways.  Why?

Change Your Assumptions on Predictability

It’s because people want certainty before they decide to accept change.  It’s a natural reaction.  Certainly our culture has become more comfortable with making choices that have predictable outcomes.  A current cultural disease we suffer from is predictability, reflected in our inability to accept change at a deeply personal level.  It applies across the board to choices we make with our finances, careers, or our relationships. 

Science, especially when applied to health issues, has given us a false security blanket when it comes to certainty. After all, it seems we’ve been able to control nature. We like to think we’ve cornered the market on predictability and good planning, when the truth is we live in a time where prediction is more intuition and common sense than science.  To embrace change, we need to release the umbilical cord we think we have to outcomes of certainty.  In other words, stepping off of the plateau requires a huge amount of trust.  Your fall will be broken somewhere at the right time. Believing that is what allows us to cope.  It is the first step, unsupported by any scientific doctrine.  And it’s a big one.
 
No matter what science pronounces, whether it is in the form of a diagnosis, prognosis, or the state of the environment, there is no sure thing.   Science has already given us permission to accept truth with a margin of error in just about anything.  There is always the possibility something may exist, or not exist, despite what patterns indicate.  Truly, it is a useless endeavor to let science, or proof for that matter, hold you back from moving forward.

Whether it is health, or other issues surrounding job loss, divorce, or death, you will successfully navigate through change and elevate the quality of your life by knowing anyone can beat the odds.  There is evidence everywhere, not just from Christopher Reeves, Mattie Stepanak, or those whose stories you find in People magazine, but from the dry cleaner, your third cousin, your own child.  Almost everyone you know has a story of beating the odds.  Let’s pay attention to the real evidence instead of looking for ways to prove that we can’t make it or the odds are just too great.

Adopt Big Picture Thinking

Adopting a new attitude on adversity requires big picture thinking on the subject of change.  View life, and spiritual development for that matter, as an upward spiral where you experience some of the same lessons over and over again.  Is it because we just aren’t getting what the lesson is telling us?  Perhaps, but that’s not the only reason.  We’ve deliberately put those circumstances in our chart in frequent doses to allow ourselves an opportunity to see how we’ve been progressing on the upward part of that growth spiral. 

Adversity is an inescapable performance indicator – a frequent reminder of our upcoming 360-degree review in how we handle the bumps.  We are meant to be a stronger, more insightful person each time we get walloped.  With each business obstacle, make a stronger commitment toward your goal of service to humanity; each time you grieve, become better at comforting others and showing compassion; after each funeral, return home knowing life is a precious gift.

Affirm Your Ability to be Versatile

With all setbacks, it drives the point home on the one true certainty in life and that is we must use our time wisely to make conscious change in the world. Change is designed to get outside of ourselves and become conscious of our place within a community of souls.  Without change, there is no transformation. Change is good, making us stir the self-development pot a little faster! Let’s affirm together:

“Today I commit to a new path.  I am filled with excitement and anticipation of a new adventure.  Those in my immediate future are already welcoming me as a positive addition to their team.  Divine guidance has found the best situation for me so that my light can shine brightly. I am versatile, refreshing, and my very presence transforms the world.”

© The Goddess Network, Inc. and Charlene M. Proctor, Ph.D.  2007.  All Rights Reserved.  See http://www.thegoddessnetwork.com/connect.php?page=eshow for more empowering thoughts on Resiliency and Change! Register for The E-Show, a series of enlightening lectures!

As my new book arrived hot off the press, and our brigade of employees and volunteers hoisted cartons from the freight truck and up the stairs of The Goddess Network offices, my throat tightened.  Watching the cartons pile to the ceiling, I realized when we get ready to speak our truth, whether its politics or passing wisdom on to our children, often our first response is to hold back.  After all, words are powerful.  Once you’ve released that energy to the greater community there’s no turning back. 

If your cause is primarily about love, then you have become a channel for Spirit and are engaged in the process of demonstrating your own evolution… in front of the world.  Your voice becomes your mirror.  And suddenly, through the act of working, your growth commences. The student becomes the teacher, which is you.  And there’s no hiding.

Be Confident!  Your Voice is Needed in the World

When you believe it’s time to share the wisdom of your own life experience, shed hesitation, then open your mind and heart to release the truth that is within.  Let the nervous butterflies fly free into the wind.  It’s time to share what you’ve learned!

Many women tell me that by the time they are 40, they are busting out of their skins.  They want to quit their jobs and start something new.  They’ve outgrown old roles and past expectations and search for work that resonates more with who they are.  They are ready to explore life from a fresh perspective. Isn’t that often when we get a calling to higher ground?

Just like the women who write to me, I’ve experienced this urge.  Five years ago I was sitting in my parked car, and realized I was consulting on projects and writing material that did not allow me to deeply express my soul. The university environment, and my current corporate industry, was still very male-dominated.  I could not find and develop my voice. I decided I had enough of that, having grown up in a strict, patriarchal family environment.  I needed to be heard, feel my female roots. I was finished with feeling lost.

We All Have a Calling

I recalled all the books I read over the years on the Goddess and thought about why I felt empowered and positive whenever I communed with Her.  She was the balance I needed. At that moment, I also realized the need to integrate a fully spiritual perspective in my work.  Not just good values and behaviors, and all the other elements that make an organization click, but the very essence of the Divine Mother.  To allow the Goddess to come through me to help other women feel powerful and good and to know they can create anything they want in life. To understand the feminine principle as part of a collective image of creation.

Just then, I knew I could live a life with purpose when I identified with both a Mother and Father God, not just follow the rules culture, language, and religions based upon “He.” When we balance these two concepts, we are fully recognizing God within ourselves in the form of our intellect and emotion. We can then move forward into a new sense of appreciation of female, and the part of ourselves that is the spark of the Divine. After all, if we are a part of the Divine, and made in the image of our creators, then why can’t we include feminine images of God?

You are Your God-Self

The day I unpacked my newly published books, I took a deep breath and thought, “Who am I?”  I AM my own wonderful person, embracing the Divine Feminine wholeheartedly with self-love, in my own unique way.  I’m a worthy woman and an ambassador for Mother God.  I gave birth to The Goddess Network these past several years, had some wonderful ideas, raised two great kids, and engaged in a host of other creative projects. Life is good.  I’m over 40 and enjoy, at last, speaking my mind.  I AM a wondrous aspect of creation and an individual spark of Divine power.  And that feels good!

No matter what truth you speak, as long as it comes from the heart, it is valuable in our collective consciousness and communities.  Get out there, be courageous, and bring the world your theories, stories, what you believe, and what you know for sure.  I’ll be doing the same in all the books I write.  I think we will both find that our passion is what puts the fuel under our seats, bringing us a sense of completion as well as opportunities for new beginnings!

© The Goddess Network, Inc. and Charlene M. Proctor, Ph.D.  2007.  All Rights Reserved.  See http://www.thegoddessnetwork.com/connect.php?page=eshow for more empowering thoughts! Register for The E-Show, a series of enlightening lectures!