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Today is my birthday!

Nov 30, 2020 | My sort-of Sermons, Sacred Stories, Women's Wisdom

I am 60 years old today. How is that even possible?

The days leading up to this one have been filled with reflection, to be sure. I suppose that is always the case, but this year – given that 2020 has been, well, 2020 and that I left my corporate position and that both of my daughters have moved far away from the city we’ve called home for 25+ years now and that I’m turning 60 (!!) – it feels like a lot.

Still, there is a lot to be grateful for: health, family, friends, airplanes (made far more accessible, hopefully, in the months to come). And this year, in even more significant ways than ever before, I am grateful for the ancient stories of women that have endlessly companioned me along the way.

I drew a card for myself this morning. Though I’ve done this literally thousands of times – for others and myself – I never cease to be amazed by who appears and what She has to say. As I shuffled the deck, I asked “What is uniquely mine to know on this, my 60th birthday?”

Ready for this?

Mary Magdalene:

  • Honor and distinction are yours.
  • You belong in the inner circle.
  • Oh, the wisdom you have to impart.

I could tell you of her story – how it’s been told, how it’s been misunderstood, how she’s been silenced and shamed, and still, how she rises up anyway, always, and speaks. I could tell you of the many ways in which her story mirrors my own. And I could certainly tell you much of how powerfully these three themes speak to my heart. Maybe I will do all of this and then some in a later post…

But right now?

Oh, how this touches me. (Had I done this on video, you would have seen my tears.) Oh, how I needed these words – her words. And oh, how relevant and timely and compelling and challenging and honoring! Especially since this is exactly why I’m writing this post in the first place today…

Honestly. I started this post because it is my birthday. Because on my birthday I offer New Year Readings to you at a wildly discounted rate. Because I haven’t done this the past 2 years. Because 2020 has been, well, 2020. Because I am offering them again this year (at a wildly discounted rate).

Honestly. I hadn’t intended to draw a card today, right in the middle of this writing. I certainly couldn’t have anticipated who showed up on my behalf. And I shouldn’t be remotely surprised.

Honestly. This is always what happens!

And this is perfect, actually! You can see who has shown up for me and I can invite you to find out who longs to show up for you. Truly. There are 51 more stories I work with besides Mary Magdalene’s – each of them powerful in their own right, each of them offering exactly what you need to hear and trust in 2021. Because, let’s be honest:

You deserve a year that does not disappoint.

Your 2021 Reading and the woman within will provide you every bit of the advocacy, wisdom, and grace you desire and deserve.

How can I be so certain? Well, the list of reasons is endless. But for now, let’s go with what just happened – for me (which is exactly what will happen for you)!

Today, my birthday, right now – I am clear and certain that honor and distinction are mine because I have the privilege of doing this work in the first place, being blessed by the presence and power of these women, and offering every bit of that to you. I am standing in an “inner circle,” embraced by 52 amazing women and their stories. And I am imparting wisdom – learned over 60 years to be sure; but endlessly supported by that of the ancient, sacred women who long to support you. Perfect!

Oh, how I’d love for you to receive all of this for yourself – as gift from me; the gift of your 2021 Reading. 

And the “wildly discounted” part?

Starting today, in honor of my 60th birthday, I am offering the first 60 Readings sold at 50% off.

  *****

I still find it impossible to believe that I am 60 today. But it’s not impossible for me to believe that I get to be here, right now, writing this post on this day and miraculously, graciously, still offering my deepest heart to you: these women, their stories, their knowing – and all on your behalf.

I hope you’ll take advantage of the 50% off. More, I hope you’ll receive the 2021 Reading that is yours – already waiting for you and filled with the perfect-perfect-perfect words your heart longs to hear, your year longs to make manifest, and your deepest, truest self longs to live into. 

Learn more.

Extravagant

Dec 21, 2018 | Sacred Stories, Women's Wisdom

There’s an ancient sacred story told of a woman who was beautifully, lavishly, even shockingly extravagant.

Desiring love, she risked. Potential misunderstanding. Certain ridicule and scorn. Whispers, shouts, and most certainly shame. None of it mattered. Only the experience and expression of love.

Compelled by love, she held nothing back. Unrestrained and passionate, her deepest heart revealed and exposed.

A recipient of love, she gave. Generously, without thought to prudence, scarcity, boundary, or anyone else’s ideas of what was appropriate (or not).

And because of all this, she knew extravagant response:

Worthy of love, she was honored. All shame erased. All spoken and unspoken bonds broken. All penalties paid. Freedom hers. “Truly, I say to you, wherever good news is spoken in the world, what she has done will be told in memory of her.”

****************

There’s so much I love about this story, so much I love about her. But most of all this: Her love was pre-determined, her actions hers alone, and NONE of this dependent on the response she might (or might not) receive. That is extravagance, right there.

And that, right there, calls forth the truest, most honest expression of self we could possibly hope to attain.

Want to be more authentic? Want to live in a brave and connected-to-the-Sacred-Feminine way?

Here’s the template:

Risk.
Hold nothing back.
Give.
Be extravagant.

And all as expression of the love that is yours to offer; the Love that is you!

Extravagant, indeed.

This woman calls us to be exactly who we are: risky, honest, generous, and completely compelled by (not for) the love that already dwells within us; the love that de nes us; the Love that is us! When we are truly ourselves, we can be nothing other. And this is extravagant, indeed.

The Scent of a Woman

Apr 4, 2016 | Sacred Stories, Women's Voice & Power

I’m not sure how he knew to gift me with perfume, this particular perfume – this man I’d been dating only 6 months. I sprayed it onto my wrists, at the base of my throat, and breathed deep. Perfect.

Though our on-again-off-again relationship ended after 6 years, my relationship with the perfume has lingered far longer. It’s an extravagant purchase, to be sure, but impossible to ignore that it remains “mine.” Yes, perfect.

You’ve experienced this, haven’t you? Someone walks past and you feel heady, nearly intoxicated by the scent they exude. Or you are that person: people notice you are near, the particular and perfect fragrance that is yours. It’s been determined that smell summons memory with more acuity than any of our other senses; when we catch a whi of Play-Doh® or crayons or baking bread we are quickly, easily transported back to that childhood scene. Scent is powerful.

So are you.

There is a “fragrance” that is you, something distinctly present in your very soul; an extravagant you that when poured out, permeates and lingers. It’s impossible to ignore. You are. Perfect.

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There is an old story told of a woman who took a bottle of very expensive perfume and poured it out in a place and way that raised eyebrows and summoned responses that were less than receptive and kind. She did it anyway. How she acted, what she did, all that she risked was extravagant. Perfectly her. And whether or not people liked her actions, whether or not they agreed with her legitimacy in their midst, whether or not they were moved by her raw and vulnerable generosity, they couldn’t not be impacted by the fragrance itself, by her very self. It and she permeated the space until none were left untouched. She was impossible to ignore – then and now; her fragrance still lingers. And in such, through such, she still speaks – to your very soul. So breathe deep. Here’s what I imagine she wants you to hear:

Do you hear the voice within that longs to be heard, seen, acknowledged? It whispers truth: You are worthy. You are valued. You are extravagant.

Do you hear the voice within that desires relationship overflowing with truth, mutuality, and passion? It speaks truth: You deserve respect. You are lovely and loved. You are extravagant.

Do you hear the voice within that calls you to generosity, to wild and unconventional behavior, to risk? It shouts truth: You are amazing and wise. You are enough. You are extravagant.

Yes, perfect: my daughter, my lineage, my kin.

And here’s what I want you to hear:

See yourself as whole, complete, and of value – no matter what and all the time.

Because you are.

Stand, eye-to-eye and toe-to-toe, to any and all (within and without) that try to convince you that you are less than beautiful, less than amazing, less than courageous, less than brilliant and wise and exponentially fantastic. Because you are.

Walk into places where angels fear to tread, head held high. Because you can. Express what is most true, most real, even most vulnerable and raw. This is your signature fragrance. You are impossible to ignore. Because you’re you!

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Some days I wonder if I should choose a different perfume – now that the two of us aren’t together. But then I open the bottle yet again and spray it onto my wrists, at the base of my throat, and breathe deep. No. It’s mine. Impossible to ignore. Perfect.

Just like you.

Believe me, we’ll follow you anywhere – breathing deep and nearly intoxicated. Impossible to ignore. Perfect.