You are enough

I woke up yesterday with yet another flu. It's not fair - I'd only just recovered from another flu a week earlier. To make matters more stressful, our landlady called to say she'd sold our house and we have two weeks to find somewhere else to live.

"Dear Goddess," I said in frustration, "I'm unable to work because I'm ill. I am forfeiting thousands of dollars on my investment in the Mind Body Spirit Festival in Melbourne this weekend. I've spent a whole day on the phone trying to find somewhere to live that is clean, affordable, and will take a dog. I'm near the end of my tether here. I'm ready for a change of fortune."

I closed my eyes and let my prayer drift into the cosmos. Emptying my mind of worries, for the time being at least, I allowed myself some space for peace. In that quiet moment of "be-ing", of simply sitting in a space of zero expectation, a beautiful answer drifted back to me.

I shared that answer in this week's newsletter, and invited the InnerGoddess gals to share their thoughts here: what would you most like to hear right now?

A Time to Remember

11 November is Remembrance Day in Australia, a time to remember those who have died or suffered in wars and conflicts and all those who have served during the past 100 years.

For the purpose of "remembering", we look to Greek goddess Mnemosyne (nem-oh-zeen), whose name means "memory." She bore nine daughters with Zeus, who became the nine Muses of the creative arts.

In this week's Inner Goddess newsletter, when prompting, "What Would Goddess Do?", I noted that if she were in your situation, she would write her memoir. She would begin by recollecting her journey, recalling both the wonderful and the icky moments in her life, recognising the beautiful being she was born to be, and relearning how to apply her life lessons for a more rewarding existence. In doing so, she would easily recognise her full potential as wonderful, sacred, self-fulfilled being.

I also promised a list of prompts for beginning your memoir. Here they are (from the journal "What Would Goddess Do?")...

• It all started when …
• Imagine her surprise when …
• If only she knew …
• Her major turning point was …
• I was named after …
• My finest moment was …
• I felt giddy with happiness …
• In all my life, I never …
• If it’s one thing I regret ….
• If I could change things …
• My epitaph would read …
• I’m so proud of …
• When I think of …
• It was so perfect …
• Happy is the girl who ...

Love is Like Jello (a lesson in finding your soul mate)

In this week's newsletter to InnerGoddess members, I told a story about how I found my soul mate. The motto of my story is that...

Love is like jello - the more you try and hold onto it, the more it squeezes out of your grasp.

I also invited members to offer their little gems... When / How did you meet your soul mate? What life lesson did you learn in the process?

Be the kind of woman that...

... when your feet hit the floor each morning the devil says,
"Oh crap, she's up!"

This well-known expression made me laugh out loud this morning... so much so I began a list of other things that would make me "that kind of woman." In the spirit of Bast, some of it's playful, but underlying each point is a serious sentiment.

I've started my list here, and would love you to add to it.

Be the kind of woman that...

• ... takes 'No' as the start of a negotiation, not the end
• ... isn't afraid to do a U-turn when she's on the wrong road
• ... knows that today's escapades are tomorrow's morning tea
• ... is adept at riding the winds of fortune
• ... chooses her battles wisely; big enough to matter, small enough to win
• ... kisses slowly, forgives quickly and dances a hell of a tango
• ... does what she can with what she has in what time she has to do it
• ... is as strong as the coffee she drinks and the friends she has
• ... grabs second chances without second glances
• ... demands tequila and salt when life gives her lemons
• ... fights for what she loves and against what she hates
• ... lets the day happen whether she gets out of bed or not
• ... doesn't believe in bathroom scales or bad-news-papers
• ... predicts her future by creating it
• ... brings her own sunshine no matter what the weather
• ... takes the greatest delight in the smallest of miracles
  
• ... loves her body, loves her Self and loves her goddess within

~ Anita Revel :: AnitaRevel.com

What's Your Personal Vibration Level?

I had another birthday recently, and like every birthday, I reflected on the past year to celebrate the many moments of magic. Inevitably I also find moments I could have improved on through my choices and actions. This is OK too - all in sacred balance, after all!

I do this "annual revision" by taking a "Personal Vibration Quiz" (sent to the InnerGoddess members moments ago). It only takes a couple of minutes to get your result - aka your "Personal Vibration Level" – a number out of 100 that tells you how much potential you are using. It is a measure of the energy you emit as you walk through life. And, it helps you identify areas for improvement.

I invite you to subscribe to the InnerGoddess newsletter to take the quiz also. If members are so guided, you may commit to improving your Personal Vibration Level by posting your result / promise / plan of action by commenting on this post.

Goddess as an acronym

Every day I receive gorgeous emails from InnerGoddess members sharing a piece of their lives with me. This letter came from Janne after she found my story in That's Life magazine...

Over the past few years I have become very spiritually aware and have known that there is the goddess within us which is the one we need to cherish and love to help us grow and become the beautiful caring beings we are. In fact I was meditating some time ago when I came up with a meaning for GODDESS which I feel fits very well and would like to share with you.

GODDESS: Guiding Our Divine Deity Entire Sacred Self

This meaning that came to me just seamed to fit so perfectly so I am so glad I have found your goddess site

Thanks from within Anita, Janne

How lovely is that? Janne effectively came up with an acronym that personalises "Goddess" to her. Can you think of an acronym that describes your connection with the goddess within? Share it here!

Prayer for Beauty (as inspired by Venus)

The following paragraphs are taken from The Goddess DIET, See a Goddess in the Mirror in 21 Days by Anita Revel. Keep this perspective in mind as you say Anita's Prayer For Beauty to help you reconnect with the gorgeous goddess that you were born to be. You can read the prayer in this week's InnerGoddess newsletter, or in the book, The Goddess DIET, See a Goddess in the Mirror in 21 Days.

Getting Real About Loving Your Body

Dove commissioned a study in 2005 and found that out of 3300 girls and women between the ages of 15 and 64 in 10 countries, 68 percent agreed that media and advertising set an unrealistic standard of beauty that they could not hope to achieve. It’s important to remember that yes, models are beautiful, but again, they are only one kind of beautiful. Thankfully the air-brush was unheard of when Rubens, Botticelli and Bouguereau were creating their fabulous works. They have inspired countless modern day works such as Venice Reconstituted at Venice Beach (by California artist Rip Cronk, 1989, pictured left), or Baron Von Lind’s stunning pin-ups, or the alluring burlesque performers that captivate audiences world-wide.

It appears the artists also inspired Anita's Prayer For Beauty that you can read in this week's InnerGoddess newsletter. You can subscribe to the newsletter here.

Disgraceful Challenge

In this week's InnerGoddess newsletter, I included a Prayer for Growing Old Gracefully. It's a really sweet prayer, full of sage advice and common sense. But sometimes the inner cheeky goddess simply must be heard... who wants to be practical all the time, right?

So, I've invited InnerGoddess members to co-create a "Prayer for Growing Old Disgracefully"... for example, your contribution could include requests along the lines of, "may I never forget to pack paper towel in case I spill my cocktail in public."

Comment to add your suggestion to our co-created prayer.

Extraordinary things in ordinary moments

This is a true story. The Washington Post organised a violinist to play incognito in the metro station as part of a social experiment about perception, taste and people's priorities.

The questions raised: in a commonplace environment at an inappropriate hour, do we perceive beauty? Do we stop to appreciate it? Do we recognise talent in an unexpected context? The answer it seems, is no we do not.


You can read the story in this week's InnerGoddess newsletter... Please return to this post to answer the question: what have you seen today that is an extraordinary thing in an ordinary moment?