Wise Woman Wisdom ...
Conversations with
Ourselves
by Lady Barbara
When I start talking to myself, it invariably
turns into a conference call.
Between my higher wisdom, my deeper selves,
my inner children, a few guides (spirit, animal or otherwise)
an angel or two, a faerie or six and the assorted wildlife
that zips in through my windows to visit, it’s one busy
subway station in here.
Of course, all these voices are ‘me’
or reflections of ‘me’ (except for that offstage
voice we give so many names to, God/dess, Creator etc.)
I consider myself something of a communication
junkie, I’m always writing or talking and WANTING responses…but
only lately have I come to realize the value of communicating
with myself in the ways that most of us spend our time wishing
OTHERS would. When was the last time you ADMONISHED yourself
for something. Called yourself ‘stupid’, or muttered
to yourself “oh that was dumb”…..probably
it was TODAY, but we all do it so often we don’t even
NOTICE anymore. Now. When was the last time you TOLD yourself
how cool you really are – looked in a mirror and automatically
noted ‘Don’t you have the NEATEST face!”
instead of “Ugh my hair looks like crap”. Start
making note, you may well be shocked at the ‘conversations’
that go on all day long, and just how many of them are unconsciously
negative.
Having studied hypnotherapy, I am deeply aware
of the astonishing power of the Mind/Body connection, and
in no way am I talking about fooling my body into thinking
something is true if it’s not, I mean the responsiveness
of our bodies and selves if we’ll only ‘talk’
to them in a language they understand. They HEARD all those
little “you IDIOT!” ‘S you tossed at them
and what you may NOT be aware of is that there was an answer.
Something to the tune of “Yes, I guess you’re
right” or “OK, if you say so”……It
may not feel like it now, but we’ve been INVESTING a
tremendous amount of time into putting ourselves down. In
which case it becomes a little hard for anyone to convince
you that YOU know what YOU need.
So how about an about-face here. Now trust me,
I can pick a major fight with a post-it note affirmation on
the bathroom mirror, so I’m not talking about that,
I’m talking about changing the conversation a bit. Think
you can do it? Start simple. “You have the most wonderful
eyes”. That wasn’t hard. “Ooooh look how
long your hair is getting!” Comon, if you were your
own grandmother, how would you PRAISE yourself right now?
And not just how you LOOK, but what you’re DOING…..”You
handled that really WELL.”…….. “Good
Choice.”…..it’s really endless and we REALLY
haven’t been doing it.
Allow me to introduce…….*Granny
Unconditional*……forget any blood relations, this
is pure Granny-ness. All she wants in the whole world is your
highest, highest good and she takes EVERY opportunity to say
so. It’s the funniest thing, even when folks think I’ve
purely lost my mind in presenting *Granny Unconditional* they
are delighted to find out just how effortless it is. After
awhile she pops up whenever you need her, assuring you that
“it’s QUITE alright to nap a little, dear, you’ll
feel SO much better if you do”. Or suggesting ‘Let’s
fix something really NOURISHING to eat”……That
beats the old Denial Diet ANY day.
What does this have to do with the Wise Woman
Tradition? Everything. If the Scientific Tradition says “Trust
my machine” and the Heroic tradition says “Trust
ME,” the Wise Woman Tradition says “Trust YOURSELF”,
and that’s what Granny Unconditional can open the way
for, because, as mentioned at the beginning, all the ‘voices’
are YOU, and SHE’s one of the BEST. You might want to
consider her to be ‘Intuition Training Wheels’….just
a really sweet bridge to your own knowledge of YOU. And she’s
really wise. She’ll let you know “You really don’t
NEED this right now.”…..”Let it go.”…….or
“Let it OUT”……and what’s wonderful
is that after awhile, she no longer needs to stand and whisper
behind your ear, she takes her place right behind your own
eyes
and you
KNOW….
that you KNEW…
all along
…………………..LadyB
Wise Woman Center -- Workshops
for Women
Join us this year for spirit healing and herbal
medicine workshops, intensives,
and apprenticeships
with Susun Weed and other Wise
Woman teachers. The Wise Woman Center in Woodstock NY
exists to re-weave the healing cloak of the Ancients. This
land, this sacred sanctuary for women is a place for the teachings
of the Wise Woman way. The Goddess lives here, as do goats,
fairies, green witches, and elders. Located between Woodstock
and Saugerties, 5 miles from the NYS Thruway, the Wise Woman
Center is easily accessible while private enough for nude
swimming. You'll receive a map and directions when you register.
Nourishing wild-food vegetarian meals are included with all
workshops.
See the Calendar
of Events & Workshop schedule (and to register) for this
year, click here.