Month: March 2013

From Russia, With Love

~ womeninlivingness

 by Elena Light, London, UK

I was contracted for so long… And I cannot be any more.

That’s what I felt for very long while reading sensible and beautiful posts of other women. I can relate to everything everyone wrote, some more than others, even though sometimes I need to keep my dictionary nearby.

I grow up in the Soviet Union with centuries old believes about women, men and relationships. In that society was absolutely normal to live with a drinking man if he doesn’t beat his wife. If he does drink and abuses but brings money and ‘loves’ her and children it still would be better than being alone. There was, and still is, saying “not the best but my own”. And being married is absolute MUST.

From my early years I saw my grandmother being very patient with her husband drinking; my mother had two husbands, both alcoholics and violent. So from this age my idea of love was patience and sacrifice. Continue reading “From Russia, With Love” →

My Hot Date

~ womeninlivingness

About a year ago it became very clear that I needed to upgrade my bed mattress and my couch. There wasn’t anything structurally or practically wrong with them, but over the last few years I had let go of a lot of hardness in my body, so both my mattress and couch now felt too hard and it was clear that it was time to step up to the next level of love that my body was calling out for.

Now, I was raised in a family that didn’t have much money and so we had very little to spend on ourselves. Watching my father was how I learnt to unashamedly bargain, so in later years when I wanted to be frugal with my money, that was easy for me. So growing up and spending money on things for me was quite new.

In my 20’s I was mad on game shows and did quite well, winning lots of great prizes. The $5,000 worth of Stanley Rogers cutlery sets was one of them that sat in my cupboard for over 10 years, because in my eyes they were just too good and expensive for my house rental. But then one day I began to question… was I not equally as precious? And finally about 2 years ago, out they came to grace my cutlery draw. Continue reading “My Hot Date” →

My Period, Pain, Depression & Endometriosis: Supported by Esoteric Breast Massage

~ womeninlivingness

by Rowena Stewart, Somerset, UK

The initial elation at beginning my menstruation at 13 soon evaporated as month after month brought increasing pain. To begin with I could just about tolerate it. As I grew older I started to take paracetamol to control the pain, but as this was only a management strategy things got steadily worse. Eventually I would prepare for each period with paranoid dread, always making sure I had a huge stock of painkillers to see me through, often taking time off school and in later years, days off work, in order to cope with the pain. Looking back on it now, it seems odd that no-one in my family considered this to be abnormal or sought any professional advice. It was just considered to be bad luck and to me, an unavoidable curse that was destined to continue month in, month out, year after year for the rest of my fertile life. Continue reading “My Period, Pain, Depression & Endometriosis: Supported by Esoteric Breast Massage” →

Lessons on Healing and Truth from Pinocchio

~ womeninlivingness

by Deborah Savran, United States

When I was a very young child my father owned a bookstore. Being in a literature-focussed family I was used to having and reading many picture books on my shelves. Of all the stories, none compared to that of Pinocchio. I wanted to read this book every day and night, and over years I drew and painted a plethora of Pinocchio-themed art, and even named my two favorite dolls Pinocchio and Jiminy Cricket! I never lost my connection to this story. One of the lessons in it – that our body’s messages are never in truth ‘curse’, but instead can be blessings that help us return to truth – is something that I have finally come to understand.

Earlier this year I heard Serge Benhayon, founder of Universal Medicine, mention the story of Pinocchio and I started to feel that for me it was a story full of whole truths, and this brought me to tears. Of course! How much sense it made that as a young child I had so strongly aligned to this story – a story that talked about returning and choosing to be who we truly are; a story about taking responsibility and about how our choices transform our lives and those around us; about a person whose body would give him a big message via his nose growing when he was not being honest…   Continue reading “Lessons on Healing and Truth from Pinocchio” →

Our Cycles – Period and Full Moon Diary

~ womeninlivingness

by Sara Harris BHSc, Cert. NFE, Melbourne, Australia

To meet with women is a very beautiful thing – there is something very ancient about gathering and being together to support one another.

Recently, this February, we had a gathering such as this in Melbourne. It was a presentation for women titled: “Nurturing the Woman Within: Reclaiming Your Natural Rhythm within our Modern Times” presented to us by Natalie Benhayon.

This presentation was also the launch of a new ‘tool’ that is now available as an App from iTunes called ‘Our Cycles – Period and Full Moon Diary’. The creation of this app and what we can use it for is nothing less than revolutionary. We now have the opportunity to record our period, menopause and full moon cycles in great depth, all at the convenience of our finger-tips! Continue reading “Our Cycles – Period and Full Moon Diary” →

Becoming a Mother – Feeling your Way and not Losing the Woman

~ womeninlivingness ~ 1 Comment

by Kylie Kennedy, BA Psyc Sci and Dip Counselling, Australia

Feeling your way

Becoming a mother was something I chose two years ago when I became pregnant. But what does it mean to become a mum?

During my pregnancy I was confronted with so much literature, opinions, beliefs, morals and judgements about parenthood from books, professionals, friends, family: basically, everyone and everything had an opinion on what being a mum is all about. The amount of information that came my way was overwhelming. What I found was that there was such a force bombarding me with the ‘should’ and the ‘how to’ be a mum, at times it felt like I was drowning and gasping for air. I had to keep reminding myself to feel into what being a mum is all about. The truth is, we can give our power away to the information and the opinions of others. Continue reading “Becoming a Mother – Feeling your Way and not Losing the Woman” →

Buying MY First Bra

~ womeninlivingness

by Dr Rachel Hall, Dentist, Kenmore, Brisbane

There are many milestones in a woman’s life, one of which is buying your first bra, as getting a bra for the first time signifies the shift from being a girl to a young woman.

As a girl I seldom gave bras much thought, it was just something your mum wears and they were fun to play dress up in, or use as a makeshift catapult – but that was about it. Breasts and bras were quite an alien concept and during my developing years I often prayed, wished and hoped that my breasts, when the time came, would not be too big. Evidently breasts came in different shapes and sizes, as some women had flat chests and others seemed to have more than their fair share. I didn’t see what was so sexy or great about them… or why the girls at school were so desperate to get their boobs. Continue reading “Buying MY First Bra” →

Breasts, Bras and One Amazing Hug

~ womeninlivingness ~ 1 Comment

by Heidi, 23, Goonellabah, New South Wales

I developed breasts at a young age and did my best to ignore their arrival. Into my mid-teens I usually wore loose fitted tops and compressing sports bras. My friends would often comment about the size of my breasts when they happened to see me in a singlet or fitted top. I could feel the comparison they went into and I was so bemused by their attention, and shocked at talk of wanting breast implants and finding bras with maximum padding.

Wearing sports bras most days continued into my early twenties. At the time, I enjoyed the feeling of a flatter chest as I thought it made me look skinnier. I disliked how my shoulders and upper body looked with a bra – I just felt top heavy and clunky. I had tried some strapless bras and found them horrible. Strangely, I wore them quite regularly. They cut in, jabbed me and made my whole chest feel hard. Continue reading “Breasts, Bras and One Amazing Hug” →

Going With The Flow

~ womeninlivingness

by Sarah C, London UK

While I was showering this morning, I was gently washing myself and started to feel myself from the inside out – a concept I find extremely challenging because for so long I have always felt myself from the outside, in.

I remembered that in March 2012, after hearing and reading the concept that pads (sanitary napkins) allowed the natural flow of a woman’s period, and my being a tampon user since teenage years, I found this concept weird, to say the least. But I thought, hey, why not try napkins and see what happens?

Reflecting on this today, the change has been profound and I really only fully appreciated that in my bathroom this morning. I have had eleven periods since that time and can honestly say that I have truly felt my flow and the joy of that cleanse. I love having my period now and actually look forward to it each month. What a turnaround! Well, there’s a first time for everything, even as a 44-year-old woman. Continue reading “Going With The Flow” →

My To-Do List

~ womeninlivingness

by Rebekah Muntelwit, Sales Consultant / Interior Designer, Mackay, Australia

I have always been a woman of many to-do lists, checklists and tracking events etc. I have a goals list on my wall, a white board with things to be done, email notifications from myself, endless sticky note reminders and last but not least, two to-do lists on my phone – that I have with me constantly. As well as this I have things continually going through my head of what to do next (shopping list, count downs ‘till events and certain dates etc.).

And well, up until yesterday at the first Esoteric Women’s Group talk in Mackay, I didn’t really think that this could be contributing to the exhaustion and tiredness I frequently, if not always, feel! Continue reading “My To-Do List” →