An excerpt from the speech “The Rise of the Conscious Woman, and Her Role in Creating a Sustainable Planet”…
Sisterhood, or what I call Sacred Sistership, is as invitation for us to rise together, where we hold each other to our highest consciousness, and we serve together from a place of love and compassion. Here are three keys for us to create it:
The first key is CONNECTION.
With a show of hands, how many of you have at some point felt alone and disconnected from the sisterhood? Keep your hands up.
How many of you have felt hurt, betrayed or backstabbed by another girl or woman during your lifetime? Keep your hands up.
How many of you have felt jealous or competitive with another girl or woman?
This has been the norm unfortunately. And most of us have been on both sides. I know I have.
I’ll never forget being in first grade locking one of my classmates (she was Asian in a primarily white school by the way) in the bathroom and not letting her out despite her cries. I can’t remember what I was thinking, all I know is that I was unconsciously doing it with two other girls. Today, I feel ashamed of my actions. For the bullying I did.
I’ll also never forget feeling bullied in fifth grade by another girl on the four square court. The humiliation. My voice unable to rise up through my throat to speak up for myself. The anger at feeling less than and powerless.
We have an opportunity tonight to forgive ourselves and one another for these past actions and draw our line in the sand to stop the next 7 generations of girls from perpetuating this cycle.
To move from disconnection to connection, we must first understand that we are ALL good women doing the best we can with what we learned.
You can begin to practice compassion for other women whose actions have sprung forth from being cut off from their life source and disconnected from their power.
You can see that we ALL share the same pain because it has been passed down unconsciously from generation to generation.
You can now open your heart and share your vulnerable story knowing that she has a similar story and that you are not, never have been and never will be, alone.
Vulnerability, forgiveness and compassion give us access to CONNECTION.
Let’s create this declaration together. Place one hand on your heart and one hand on your womb, repeat after me: “I see you sister as a mirror of me in all my pain AND all my glory. I love you. I’m sorry. Please forgive me. Thank you.”
The second key is CELEBRATION.
With a show of hands, how many of you have been afraid to share when you’ve had a big win at work, like a raise or you got a new client, in fear of making others feel bad about themselves?
For so long, we’ve been locked down in shame, self-judgment and criticism. We have carried around this belief that we need to dim our light so that others don’t feel less than. But today, we have an opportunity to practice a new paradigm where we ALL shine.
You have so much to celebrate as a woman. You are a beautiful, strong, powerful creatrix. You are enough simply because you were born a woman. You are worthy of love because you carry the energy of the Great Mother, who is the embodiment of unconditional love.
You are like an individual snowflake, exquisite in that there is only one of you in the entire universe. Whenever you find yourself feeling competitive or comparing yourself to another sister, come back to the truth that you have a unique and special gift that no one else has.
It is important that we celebrate ourselves AND celebrate one another. One woman’s win is a win for all women. Your sister’s celebration is a reflection of your own brilliance.
When you shine your light, you give other women permission to shine theirs. My speaking on this stage is an example. I’m here to pave the way for more women to speak the truth, too. There is plenty of room up here. In fact, sisters in the front, come up here and stand with me for a moment.
We create a brighter light when we all stand shoulder to shoulder in solidarity and shine together.
Together, our beauty and magnificence lights up the world.
The third and final key is COLLABORATION.
We must work together. Period. We are all working toward the same common goal and it doesn’t matter who’s project it is, we are ALL on the same team with the same harmonious mission to wake the world up.
We’ve been conditioned to think that there can only be one winner and that there is not enough to go around. Our egos keeps us separate, trying to prove ourselves capable. Meanwhile, we burn out because we’re trying to do it all alone!
There is another way. Circle. Circle is absolutely essential to this new paradigm because it is where we learn, practice and embody CONNECTION, CELEBRATION and COLLABORATION.
In circle, each woman brings her unique gifts and acts as a spoke to make the entire wheel move forward. Each woman is valued. Each woman is an equal and harmonious part of the whole.
If we want to sustain the human race and create a world that works for all life, we must shift from the separatism of comparison, competition and cattiness toward the harmony of CIRCLE.
And as we have talked about tonight, It starts with you first understanding the inherent power that you hold within you as a woman and the collective power we share as a sisterhood.
I’ll finish with a quote by Jeanette LaBlanc and then we’ll get into our circles to practice:
“A circle of women may be the most powerful force known to humanity. If you have one, embrace it, if you need one, seek it. If you find one, for the love of all that is good and holy, dive in, hold on, love it up. Get naked. Let them see you. Let them hold you. Let your reluctant tears fall. Let yourself rise fierce and love gentle. You will be changed. The very fabric of your being will be altered by this, if you allow it. Please please allow it.”