by Anonymous
CHILDHOOD SEXUAL ABUSE
When I was 7 years old my mum’s then boyfriend sexually abused me. I told mum at the time and her response was… “He was only trying to make you feel good”. I never spoke of the event again until I was 18. Continue reading “Childhood Sexual Abuse and Abusive Sexual Relationships”
by JK, UK
I was recently reminded, at a women’s group I regularly attend, how much we can either disempower ourselves or empower ourselves while being out in the world. Reflecting on this I realised that the choice to disempower has in the past come too readily. Let me explain further.
When I say disempower, what I mean here is that I’ve left my house feeling fairly content with the way I look, the way I feel and with the day ahead of me, then something happens to change that. That something has for me been triggered by: Continue reading “To Disempower or to Empower – That is the Question…”
by Adrienne Hutchins, newly married, Qld, Australia
I hadn’t realized how many choices in my life were made as a girl in ‘waiting’: waiting to find a partner, fall in love, say ‘I do’, become a woman, start a family and grow old with someone. I bided my time as I waited for my marriage to happen, for life to begin.
Actually, I was a polygamist because in between I married my job, my studies, my trips away, my books, my family: these kept me occupied while waiting for the ‘real’ marriage to come. In all of this I totally missed that truly my first marriage is to myself. I always wanted to marry my best friend and shouldn’t that be me? Continue reading “‘I do’: What if My First Marriage is to Myself?”
by Cherise Holt, Nurse, Australia
When you look in the mirror what do you see?
Do you scour the blemishes and subtle creases of your face, the way your hair has been groomed to best cover your regrowth and portray your best appearance and the multitude of imperfections from your head to your toes?
Or, do you see and feel the beauty of a woman gazing tenderly back at you? Continue reading “Beautiful Woman Looking Back at Me”
by Julie Ferguson, Mackay
Why would sitting in a room full of women feel so difficult?
To sit in a room full of women and feel that I belong has not been an everyday experience for me. In fact, I’ve become increasingly aware of the discomfort and competitiveness that I’ve felt when I’ve been in the company of any woman. The constant comparison has created obstacles in the way I’ve conversed with them – as I distracted myself with feelings of envy or pity, depending on where I judged others to be in relation to me. Thankfully, this was not in force during Mackay’s Esoteric Developers Women’s Group (EDWG) and has since lessened enormously in my day-to-day living. Continue reading “Discovering Love Beyond Depression”
by Michelle Sheldrake, 43 years old, Brisbane, Australia
Over the weekend I attended our regular Esoteric Women’s group in Brisbane. During the course of our discussions on beauty and the ideals we are surrounded by, Natalie Benhayon* shared that women – instead of being married to their roles or to ideals and beliefs, their families and so on – might actually consider first getting married to themselves!….. their own marriage vows. Continue reading “Marriage vows: a commitment to myself and to humanity”
by Heather Pope, Sydney, Australia
This morning I was woken at 1:20am with a call from a work colleague who needed some help for one of our customers.
I work for a large multi-national company managing a team of people, and we have customers all over the world. The call only took a few moments but as I lay there afterwards (wishing I could fall back to sleep, but with work issues now running through my head) I began to ponder this work life I am living, and wonder if others in the world are living similarly.
Then I received a text from one of my (several) bosses about another issue which I replied to (at 1:30am). This boss lives in Singapore where it was 11:30pm, and he replied.
And so my work day had begun, and indeed I wondered, did it ever end… Continue reading “Corporate Work Demands – Changing the Way I Think and Feel”
By Leonne, Brisbane
Today I have been feeling incredibly distracted. I have been beginning task after task and feeling as though I am not getting anywhere at all. I have been able to feel that what I really want to do is write this blog but until this moment I have found a way to distract myself by doing everything but blog writing!
Distraction has been a theme throughout my life.
When I was in primary school (aged about 7 or 8) I received a report card that stated ‘Leonne is easily distracted and distracts others’. I remember feeling quite pleased about this; I did not like this particular teacher very much and I was glad she could tell that I did not find her particularly engaging. I was doubly happy that my ability to influence the behaviour of others had been confirmed by a grownup. I equated being a distraction with being entertaining, fun, influential and popular. Up until this point I had been a model student and I watched my parents closely for any reaction to this news about my behaviour, but there was no negative reaction and they seemed to think the comment was rather amusing. It is not surprising that the words ‘easily distracted’ and ‘distracts others’ appeared on many of my report cards over the next eight years!
Continue reading “‘To Do’ Lists: Drive and Distraction”
by Adele Leung, Fashion Stylist/Art Director, Hong Kong
From 15 years of age onwards, there has been almost no break in the intimate relationships in my life. Every man that I have been with I thought I would marry.
Until three years ago: I got divorced from my marriage of two years because of an affair. My divorce was in fact a period of grace for me. It was my meeting with Grace.
Continue reading “True Relationships: from Abuse to Love with Grace”
by Fumiyo Egashira, Japan
For a long time, being a foreigner was a great excuse for me not to be fully present and accountable in life.
When I first moved to the UK I didn’t speak the language. It seemed like people quickly judged that there’s not much point trying to engage with me. Whenever I didn’t understand something, instead of asking questions I just grinned – trying to appear harmless and friendly.
Soon I realized that many people were treating me as half a person who wouldn’t speak up for myself. This was very annoying – however when I was not fully showing up in life, taking responsibility, what could I expect? Continue reading “Hanging up my Invisibility Cloak – Being Foreign no longer an Excuse”
