I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve settled in to write here and have moved away. It’s not that I don’t have profoundly moving experiences to share – it’s that I have no idea how to even attempt to capture them in words when they are still racing through my body and transforming who I AM, from one nano-second to the next.
A whirlwind of women gathering in small groups, talking…. from the Group of 10 in early April; to the Manifesting a Meaningful Life conversation in March; to the Power, Passion and Purpose Emerging Futures retreat at the Fairmont Manoir Richelieu… my life is expanding in ways and at a speed that I have no idea how to represent in this space.
I could try to tell the story of it and, in my sense of it, doing so would only serve to make it smaller. Perhaps we would all be best served by sharing with you what has appeared and manifested and come into being as a result of it. Yes! That’s it! That is my way to open to all here, what I opened to become, during those times together.
A new book project on redefining the paradigm of Parenting, already in flow.
An internet radio show and podcasting.
New CODE Model Coaching CD series… with Part 3 to come.
Multi-CD series of guided reflections that awaken the expression of the godforce in the Quantum Biological BeingTM
A WEL-Systems World! ‘conference’ in the fall of this year to celebrate the expression of Intention 2009!
A new self-paced, modular Self-Discovery CD package for an acceleration of awakening and living authentically.
Recording for production on CD of the WEL-Systems body of knowledge, in French, for the global French community.
And much, much more to come!
Vibrant! Alive! Dynamic! Powerful! Women awakening to their individual, personal expressions not of what they are passionate about, but their passion in flow as a living expression of ‘meaning’ in their lives.
Women willing to embark on a journey of discovery, moving boldly into what they don’t know, daring to be filled with the much larger, more dangerous and sometimes frightening questions that become the fuel for their curiosity to ignite passionately into action… and engage!
Women able to fill the room… fill their lives… fill their world… with the sounds of bold and unfettered laughter and tears, strength and vulnerability, recognizing that the power or powerlessness is not in either of those but in their willingness or unwillingness to own whatever is present – moment to moment – as it fills their body with the force of its potential… and just allow it to be.
Women willing to stay present… stay connected… stay focused… and engage, from one breath to the next, without the need of a master plan or performance guidelines; trusting that the force in the moment coursing through their bodies IS the only thing required. LIFE need not be explained, defined or dissected into small, manageable bite-size pieces. It needs only to be LIVED!
These past months have been, for me, what has nourished me and propelled me into bigger and more potent realizations of my own. These have been the conversations and exchanges that have made it possible for me to continue to grow and evolve and become the ongoing and boundless expression of my own potential – trusting that in being willing to be mySelf without apology is all that is ever required.
In the face of all that appears to unfold on my holodeck, I remind myself that the holodeck is of my own creation. I pause… take a breath… and remember that I AM the canvas on which my life appears from the brushstrokes of my choices. I am not a victim to any of its expression – I am the creator of it all. When I can find the genius in what is unfolding, I can stand and create differently, knowing that in that genius, I have already become more.
In this moment, I know that as I stand alone, I am in the very best of company. The women in my life – the women of my WOI gatherings; the women who are drawn to the WGGG; the women of the growing and evolving G10; the women who are drawn to accelerate their own evolution through Decloaking, Engaging and Manifesting a Meaningful Life; the women who have come and gone and returned in that perfect moment of ‘it’s time’; the women who blog, record, post, read, listen, watch; the women who create events, facilitate programs, engage relentlessly in the pursuit of their own unfolding; the women who in their willingness to transform their world are unwilling to go quietly into the night; the women who stand tall, raise their voices and fill the conversation.. the room.. the world with their presence; the women who RIG effortlessly, who draw the line in the sand by becoming the line in the sand!; the women who are unwilling to draw one more breath without the head of the Lioness firmly connected to the body of the woman; the women whose voices carry the future in their loud and clear declaration to all around : “You cannot have my childdren!” – to all these women in my life through whatever it is that connects us – I AM with you, as I know the I AM that you are is with me. In that, I find both great power and great comfort.
The future is in the hands of women – and the time is NOW!
April 26th, 2009
Posted by
Louise |
Events, Groups, Insights, leadership |
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As I was browsing the news, I came across an essay by Christiane Amanpour. Whatever my thoughts or opinions on CNN, my admiration of this amazing woman stands on its own.
Thursday, December 4th, Christiane’s most recent documentary – ‘Scream Bloody Murder’- will air on CNN at 9:00 pm. As I read her essay, I felt a compelling need to engage in some way.
I do not do what Christiane does. I am drawn to engage my world in a very different way, and one that I believe makes a huge difference. And, having said that, I feel the need to stand with this courageous and powerful woman in some way, as she often stands alone in the face of very real, very present and very grave danger.
It will be difficult to know. It will be difficult to watch the images that will, no doubt, cause great upheaval in the body to know that we – as a species – are capable of such horrific and vile acts. It will be even more so to know that we are capable of harboring such intentions. From those intentions flow our manifested reality.
I encourage you to consider standing with her as she stands alone. Look around you and notice: where else in your life are women choosing to raise their voice and take a stand… often standing alone? Whatever the issue, whatever the personal interest, consider what life may bring as you choose to stand with those who choose to stand alone.
As you take a breath and wonder about it all, consider also: where in your life is it up to you to stand alone? And then, look around and notice all those who are willing to stand with you.
No doubt, this conversation will surface and be further explored on the Women Gathering Google Group. I hope to see you there.
December 3rd, 2008
Posted by
Louise |
Articles, Events, Insights |
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After Decloaking with Louise on her last pass in July I wasn’t ready to come home. I wanted to stay surrounded by the people who had opened up to their world as I had mine.
During the 5 days last week in Engaging and Awakening Others there has been a shift in my world that words cannot even begin to describe.
At the beginning of the week I felt as though the steady footing I had aquired from living the same routine day after day became unstable. I realised that what I was now walking on was new terrain. Even though the terrain was unfamiliar I knew it was the path I wanted to go on and the one I had finally chosen for mySelf and nobody chose it for me.
I also awakened to the truth of my own experience rather then the story of my life. Allowing my body to process this information has left me feeling empty of the past, full of the moment and hopeful for my future.
My breath continues to be comforting as my unstable footing becomes a little more sure. Breath by breath, moment by moment, my life is unfolding and presenting Me to me. It has truly been a transformational week and it leaves me inspired that other people can have there life back in such a short amount of time. But the one thing I know for sure by bearing witness to last week is that it truly is a choice we have to make and no one can make it for us.
I now realise the jet fuel Louise is referring to took us on the ride of our lives. I stand in a much different place then I did a week ago, looking at my life from a much different lens. I arrived at work this morning unwilling to engage in meaningless conversation. Unwilling to engage in the dance of the intellect as I so often have done in the past to please others. I felt naked but looked at it more as an invitation for others to Decloak.
I am also beginning to realise I know very little about people except the things that no longer hold meaning to me. Instead of closing friendships I feel drawn to ask those in my life if they are willing to talk about creating a more meaningful life.
This time I was excited to come home… excited to Engage!
November 24th, 2008
Posted by
Naomi Irons |
Events, Insights |
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There are times when my life leaves me breathless. This is one of those times.
Since July and my last Decloaking experience, my life has been shot out of a cannon! I think of those street racers who use nitrous oxide (or something like that!) for a burst of power that has them bridge the great divide between being just fueled and being jet propelled! Since July, I am jet propelled!
A blur of life – Decloaking; Alaska Cruise; creating the 20-cd set from Decloaking; Entrepreneurial Women; Day of Discovery, Engaging and Awakening Others… each of these inviting conversations far beyond any boundaries previously established. Each conversation ending by overlapping with what would (normally) be the next conversation at a higher order of thinking. But they’re not staying neatly packaged and are seeping through, one to the next.
I am very mindful of the metaphor that this is becoming in my life. No boundaries. Or the boundaries that appear are, in truth, artificial.
No required sequential, linear process. It is taking less and less for us to move more and more.
And it is all about women. Women gathering in small groups, talking…. but not about the frequently repetitive, often mind-numbing drivel that far too many of us have committed our lives to; but conversations that, like nitrous oxide, shoot us out of one reality and into another. As simple as that.
I declared some time ago that I was looking for those 10 women who would live large and live fully, standing unapologetically in the truth of the immensity of who they are. Not 10 women to be like me or do what I do; but 10 women unwilling to NOT be them… unwilling to NOT be fully present, fully awake and fully engaged in living their lives meaningfully – no matter what it takes.
They are slowly appearing. Women who are discovering the power of their own, simple truth. Women who are willing to be seen and heard for the truth of who they are. Women who are unashamed of non-compliance; unapologetic for being ‘out of alignment’ with expectations from family, employer, colleagues and friends; women who are choosing to trust the truth of their own experience rather than defer to the truth of another.
In these moments we discover that the truth…. OUR truth… shall indeed, set us free.
Free of our history. We are not the sum total of our experience, to date. We are much more!
Free of our habits. Our habits are designed to be in service to our intentions, not have us be in service to the habits that run our lives.
Free of our fear. Our fear of discovering that we are more than we have imagined carries with it the response-ability to redefine and redesign our lives.
No one can live our lives for us, although to be sure great efforts have been made for this to be so. Following mindlessly some doctrine of another era will doubtless leave us wondering why we bother getting out of bed in the morning!
Today, I had the great gift of being invited into the quiet thoughts of a smart, curious, courageous and powerful young woman who is just now discovering more of who and what she is. In her words, she wrote of marveling at the weather and noticing that on the holodeck of her experience, she is creating it all. Can that be? Are we truly that potent in the living of our own lives? Does what goes on outside of me mirror what is moving inside of me? In that realization comes the insight that we are the force that shapes it all – whether we like it or not; and we are the only force that can change the truth of our experience – whether we like it or not.
As a philosophy, that can make for an interesting conversation. As an experience of our ‘reality’, that can be both exhilarating and terrifying! How can I come to own the tumor in my belly and know that I have created, that, too? How can we step into those conversations and not be silenced by the uproar of ‘blaming the victim’? In order to ‘blame the victim’, we have to have a world view that says we are that victim. That is not my world.
And so it continues. Two weeks in Ottawa and then back to Oceanstone for the annual Whispers from Within Women’s Writing Retreat; and one more (my last) Day of Discovery in Halifax. And then, quietly closing loops that have long been present, in preparation of opening new ones that will guide me home.
I am drawing to me amazing women. Women of great force; women of strength of body, mind and spirit; women whose depth of love and caring is tempered with the Fire of their own passion to LIVE FULLY and LIVE LARGE! What greater gift can we be to another than to be the living expression of claiming ourSelves and the invitation to them to do so the same. Imagine! A world designed in abundance and endless potential. Does it get any better than that?
I am glad to be back. I have often thought of how so many women gather in small groups, talking… and have long known we have so much more to explore than what our lives have been. Rather than choosing to stand together in our misery – each seeking comfort in the assurance that they are not alone in that misery – we can choose to stand together in our curiosity and courage, unwilling to be less than who we know we are. Although we are the only ones who can carve out the path of our existence, we do not have to walk it alone.
There is more….
November 10th, 2008
Posted by
Louise |
Events, Groups, Insights, Outcomes |
one comment
I was in a conversation today and realized that, for a second, I had no idea where I was and what day it was! I think that comes from a whirlwind of activity in my life over the last two weeks. And all of it with women gathering in small groups, talking….
It started with yet another experience of Emerging Futures: Entrepreneurial Women at Oceanstone. A small group of women gathered, talking…. about their lives, the worlds they lived in and the worlds they wanted to create. Talk about intense! Every day moved faster and was more expansive than the one before. Not so much about women coming to face-to-face with each other but women coming face-to-face with themselves. Sometimes slowly and sometimes with breakneck speed, but always with outstanding insights and discoveries.
It was interesting to me to notice that yet again, a theme emerged. This time, what we all shared was an awareness of the degree to which it is so easy to slip into the coma of attending more to a mate than to ourselves. And in the end, noticing that if we don’t have ourselves, we have nothing. Painful to discover yet deadly to ignore.
Women present to and for each other, not in a care-taking way but in a way that had strength and courage as its underpinnings. Women present to each other in recognition of their (each and every one of us) power… their acuity in knowing their own truth… their willingness to be present to and with themselves and each other. No wimps in this crowd!
Women wanting to know their truth; willing and able to stay in those really, really tough conversations that held the power to undo their world. Women standing alone… decloaked… with nothing between them and the truth of their own experience. All buffers gone. And yet there they were : magnificent in their imperfection and willing to own it all!
There were tears. Tears of grief. Lots and lots of grief. Tears of joy. Tears of frustration and anger and bitterness. Tears of dreams lost and yet others longed for. Tears of emptyness. Tears of togetherness. Tears of fatigue… the kind of bone-crushing fatigue that comes from decades of pretending and struggling to hold it all together. And tears of relief as it fell apart and we found ourselves still standing.
Explorations of where we had been and, more importantly, where we wanted to be. Journeys of personal evolution, no matter what the cost. NOT to take that journey would – and already had – cost far too much. What is the cost of a life unlived? And how can we ever get that back????
Tsunamis fed by letting go of years of waves kept in check. Tremors of truth that shattered illusions and also shattered the pretense of our reasons to stay small. Flashes of genius that lit up the pathways to discovering more of who we might become.
Every moment counted. Every breath opened a gateway to the next. Every whisper spoken and every voice heard. We left – no one untouched. And as the last day came to a close, I found myself wondering: ’Can my life be this magical???” And it is.
A day to rest and then on to the Day of Discovery in Halifax. Yet another experience of women gathering in a small group, talking…
Some familiar faces, with stories of perpetual growth and evolution. Some new faces, eyes more awake not only to the potential but to a new truth: it does not have to take a long time!
Acceleration. Going further, faster and with a greater sense of joy and ease. Aiming high – because we can. Moving fast – because we can. Flying has replaced walking – because we can.
As I lived this Day of Discovery, I was mindful of so many metaphors unfolding in the room. One moment would remind me that it’s time to let go. Another would be my invitation to notice what was meaningful to ME… and trust that each other woman there would find that for herself.
Noticing that each person in the room was an expression in a physical universe of some aspect of my own consciousness; embracing them all. One woman in particular, who as she listened to others tell the story of the transformation of their lives, could not hear their lives but heard only ‘rah rah WEL-Systems’. I felt a certain sadness in that I realized that I have to let go. Who am I to say who should and should not? I found myself encouraging her to trust herself…. to stay with what presented… and to know that it would take her home. I believe that – for me and for you – wherever it leads.
It was a good week.
Life is good!
October 31st, 2008
Posted by
Louise |
Events, Insights, Outcomes |
one comment
I’ve long known the power of the simple, unassuming process of women gathering in small groups, talking…..
I’ve long known of the unbelievable force for shaping culture that is the process of women gathering in small groups, talking…
I recently received the information below in an email from a friend. I have no idea who sent it to her – and I share it with you as an example of the impact that we… that women… can have when we choose to talk about what we want rather than what life has handed us; what we care about that is deeply meaningful to us and engage what’s required for it to present; and what we are choosing to manifest rather than exploring what we have been burdened with. My apologies to the author of the thoughts below… and thanks for sharing them.
[The] Alaska Women Reject Palin rally was to be held outside on the lawn in front of the Loussac Library in midtown Anchorage . Home made signs were encouraged, and the idea was to make a statement that Sarah Palin does not speak for all Alaska women, or men. I had no idea what to expect.
The rally was organized by a small group of women, talking over coffee. It made me wonder what other things have started with small groups of women talking over coffee. It’s probably an impressive list. These women hatched the plan, printed up flyers, posted them around town, and sent notices to local media outlets. One of those media outlets was KBYR radio, home of Eddie Burke, a long-time uber-conservative Anchorage talk show host. Turns out that Eddie Burke not only announced the rally, but called the people who planned to attend the rally “a bunch of socialist baby-killing maggots,” and read the home phone numbers of the organizers aloud over the air, urging listeners to call and tell them what they thought. The women, of course, received some nasty, harassing and threatening messages.
I felt a bit apprehensive. I’d been disappointed before by the turnout at other rallies. Basically, in Anchorage , if you can get 25 people to show up at an event, it’s a success. So, I thought to myself, if we can actually get 100 pe ople there that aren’t sent by Eddie Burke, we’ll be doing good. A real statement will have been made. I confess, I still had a mental image of 15 demonstrators surrounded by hundreds of menacing “socialist baby-killing maggot” haters.
It’s a good thing I wasn’t tailgating when I saw the crowd in front of the library or I would have ended up in somebody’s trunk. When I got there, about 20 minutes early, the line of sign wavers stretched the full length of the library grounds, along the edge of the road, 6 or 7 people deep! I could hardly find a place to park. I nabbed one of the last spots in the library lot, and as I got out of the car and started walking, people seemed to join in from every direction, carrying signs.
Never, have I seen anything like it in my 17 and a half years living in Anchorage. The organizers had someone walk the rally with a counter, and they clicked off well over 1400 people (not including the 90 counter-demonstrators). This was the biggest political rally ever, in the history of the state. I was absolutely stunned. The second most amazing thing is how many people honked and gave the thumbs up as they drove by. And even those that didn’t honk looked wide-eyed and awe-struck at the huge crowd that was growing by the minute. This just doesn’t happen here.
It looks harmless enough: a small group of women gathering, talking… clustered around the kitchen table… sipping tea or coffee… and awakening to their unwillingness to do nothing about their lives. And in an instant, something happens!
We are witnessing the power of contagion of an awakened collective. We are also witnessing one of the most powerful forces that shapes culture – and women are the key.
September 22nd, 2008
Posted by
Louise |
Events, Insights, leadership |
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I’m happy to say that I will be joined on the Women Gathering blog by Sheila Winter Wallace (Ottawa) and Amy McNaughton (Halifax). Hold on to your hats – I know that both Amy and Sheila are powerful women with much to share with us all!
Amy and Sheila are now creating and Facilitating the 5-day Decloaking… and living authentically WEL-Systems® intensive for women. Their greatest gift to us all is their commitment to their own evolution. Passionate about becoming more of their unique authentic presence, they are playful, courageous and solid as a rock when it comes to staying present to their own truth and that of the women with whom they engage.
Working with other women whose hunger to discover is greater than their fear is a sacred experience. In my experience of women gathering in small groups, talking… I am clear that there is great power (and magic!) in women coming together in a willingness to be open, clear, honest and direct – with themselves and with each other. I know that every time I am blessed in this way, my life accelerates and expands in ways that I could not possibly have planned for!
Both Sheila and Amy are committed to being the attractor for other women to gather. In the coming days/weeks/months, they will share with you the impact of this process on their own evolution as well as what they witness in the women with whom they engage. We are living proof that transformation does not have to be hard and take a long time. Our own evolution and way of moving through the world is evidence of that!
Stay tuned as we continue to call to women to gather in small groups, talking… about themselves and with each other… in a way that transforms us all.
Louise
September 1st, 2008
Posted by
Louise |
Events, leadership |
no comments
A small group of women recently gathered for an Emerging Futures conversation about what it is to be an Entrepreneurial Woman.
Trusting ourselves and each other; without agenda or defined outcomes or targeted results, we took the exploration far beyond the suffocating confines of a business interpretation and moved it much closer to home… to the core of who we choose to be in the world… and significantly altered how we see the profound connection between ourselves and the world in which we live.
There is no world ‘out there’. What we call ‘reality’ is indeed nothing more than a feedback loop to let us know how we’re doing at this game of living. Do we really like what we’ve created?
During our time together, we explored what it means when I say that “My very life is a metaphor for how I’m choosing to live it.” Our lives are not real – they are a sensory cornucopia that makes it impossible for each of us to NOT notice that the choices we’re making are manifesting a deep and highly personal truth that each of us carries. When we stop to explore what that truth is; when we become more willing and able to claim it and own it as our own, our world expands and the essential Space required for us to transform our lives (and our collective ‘reality’) opens up. We can breathe again!
With this realization, it becomes possible to pause… and notice that we are indeed, already the creator of it all. Owning and claiming the immensity of that Force that we already are, we then are faced with the decision: do we invest ourselves in ‘trying’ to change the world we’ve already created, or do we invest ourselves in creating the world we want? Do we look back or do we move forward? We seem to be mesmerized by the unending and thankless process of ‘trying’ to change the world we’re in; of attempting to deconstruct matter from the bottom up rather than recognizing that we create matter from the top down; that thought flows through a manifestation spiral and ultimately becomes matter… becomes the ‘reality’ that we call ‘truth’ or ‘fact’ and are so doggedly committed to and yet held hostage by when indeed, it is nothing more than the manifestation of an intention long forgotten. It becomes helpful to notice what intentions we choose mindfully and which ones we simply repeat because someone told us to, at a time so long ago and forgotten that we cannot even make sense of it in our own minds. In our confusion and chaos, we just keep plodding along…
It was truly an honor for me to be part of this small group of women gathering, talking… about what is most profoundly meaningful to them, in their lives. In this moment, I know that I am not the same. I also know that every other woman in that room is profoundly changed, each having become more willing and able to be shamelessly present to the truth of who she is; and to allow that truth to be seen by any and all who choose to notice. What may have begun with hesitation and uncertainty has become a personal declaration of unwillingness to be anything other than awake, fully present and mindful of those moments when what we choose determines the direction of our lives.
What became clearly evident to all who were present is that indeed, women are the key. Despite the acquired capacity that women have to be beasts of burden to their own secrets; to continue to press down and press back the truth that they carry about themselves, the quality of their lives and their impact on others, they also carry the capacity to allow that truth to flood their bodies, transform their lives and propel them into expression of the force of creation that they already are. Once freed from the body into voice, the vibration that they become pierces through the veneers of ‘acceptable’ and ‘normal’, fracturing the illusions that are shrouded in what should/must be and creating the space within which potential can unfold. In that moment, a new way of being awakens to itself and life changes.
Far beyond the simple miracle of birth that is impossible without women, there are other miracles of birth that simply cannot be without women. The birth of a new way of engaging with each other. The birth of a more powerful way to connect to Self and our physical world. The birth of a transformative way of expression sourced not by ‘doing’ but by ‘being’. All of these – and so much more! – are the gifts that women bring to a physical universe. And yet, for any of it to be so, women must first awaken to themselves. It cannot be otherwise. What we manifest when we are awake is very different from what we manifest from our coma of cultural bondage. But we will nonetheless, manifest.
Only women who are awake can awaken other women. The vibration of who we are must precede the sound we become in a physical world. And with that sound, the walls that trap us in a collective untruth will crumble.
June 17th, 2008
Posted by
Louise |
Events, Insights, leadership |
one comment
Thank you, Lucy, for you recent post in response to my observation that there is a storm brewing… I think you captured it all! And as I read your words, what is most present for me is that notion of ‘intensity’.
There is great power in our willingness and ability to make friends with our own intensity… to reclaim the territory of being FULLY ourselves, COMPLETELY engaged and UNAPOLOGETICALLY committed to the truth of our own experience. Without a doubt, in that choice we also become IRREVERSIBLY unmanageable! And in that same moment, a space opens up in which something genuinely new can take shape. Space…. Movement…. Flow. It all begins with Space. And without the willingness and ability to know what it is to relax into our own intensity, that which is often essential to dislodge the status quo sits bound and gagged in some dark corner of our being… waiting to escape. Space closes in and we remain bound to who we have always been.
So thanks, Lucy, for being willing to be so open, clear, honest and direct. I know that I am in good company!
May 25th, 2008
Posted by
Louise |
Events, Insights, leadership |
no comments
Marie just checked in on her blog about her experience at the Emerging Futures: Entrepreneurial Women experience. Wow! She’s down 20 pounds… and so much more! I, for one, am looking forward to the months to come as she blogs of her discoveries from this small group of women gathering, talking… and changing their worlds!
You don’t have to do it alone.
March 3rd, 2008
Posted by
Louise |
Events, Groups, Insights, Outcomes |
no comments
