Self discovery in the desert: a journey into ancient women's business

SELF DISCOVERY IN THE DESERT


http://www.northernstar.com.au/news/self-discovery-in-desert/2032019/

only in the silence...

photograph by kamahlfilm

photo by Kamahlfilm

Talking to the press about my retreats

A sweetly written article about my retreats: sisterhood, aunty-hood and the Aboriginal way of doing women's business. ENJOY

http://www.northernstar.com.au/news/self-discovery-in-desert/2032019/

Review of my novel FINDING ARTEMISIA

Woke up this morning to a review of my book on page 25 of the link below

http://issuu.com/echopublications/docs/byronecho2816/25?e=2296014/4940959

Every moment counts...

Sitting in a cafe in Alice Springs

with my future daughter

When a young woman recognises me and says to my daughter-to-be, "I love this woman." She joins us and tell this story:

"Years ago at high school we had a substitute history teacher. We were a wild lot and had proudly burnt out several teachers. Then this woman came along and she just let us rabble on for about 20 minutes and then she came up to each one of us and introduced herself and shook our hands. RESPECT. After that we loved history and we loved her. And that teacher was Denise."

Wild nights and wild women

Modern women need to nurture their wildness, re-ignite their spark, re-experince their passion as these women did on a secret dune near Uluru during my WILD WOMAN RETREAT, this September. 

Being wild does not mean 'out of control,' 'rude' or 'aggressive.'  It means to step behind your 'good girl' self and re-connect to your intuition, your knowingness, your inner wolf.  

Being wild is ancient women's business. You can get a taste of it in my book FINDING ARTEMISIA: A JOURNEY INTO ANCIENT WOMEN'S BUSINESS

Blessings, Denise

Wild nights! Wild nights!
Were I with thee,
Wild nights should be
Our luxury!  Emily Dickinson

The colours of my novel

Here I am immersed in the glorious colours of my novel FINDING ARTEMISIA.

The joy of returning to the source of its inspiration, hearing the silence, tasting the colour, feeling the freshness, while at the same time succumbing to dimensions beyond the sensory world.

Compare these colours to my book cover: they got it right.

Blessings on the women who made the journey with me, by reading the book and attending the retreats.

Why go on RETREAT?

A gorgeous woman in relaxation, at the Alice Springs Women's  Retreat May 2013

Why take a retreat...

" I think it is essential to sometimes go on retreat, to stop everything that you have been doing, to stop your beliefs and experiences completely and look at them anew, not keep on repeating like machines...

You would then let in some fresh air into your mind, wouldn't you?

You would become open to the mysteries of nature and to things that are whispering about us...

In a retreat.. you can have a complete break from the past and see what happens...vast expanses of love, understanding and freedom.

When your heart is open, then your own noises are not heard.

To take a retreat and go away and stop the routine - not only the routine of outward existence but the routine which the mind has established...."

J. Krishnamurti, Madras 1952

Return to goddess fashion?

A young fashion commentator in Milan tells me the next fashion "trend" will be "A Blast from the Past." And she wonders if women consumers have had anything to do with the return to the "full figured" woman.  

It's an  important issue:  the power of women as consumers in an industry that ‘owns’ them, so to speak. 

Women wear fashion. It’s unavoidable. Every choice they make is fashion conscious. At the same time their choices are image driven, more specifically, body image driven. 

“Does my bum look big in this?” became the catch cry for the way women make a choice within the limits of what is made available to them by the fashion gods.

 So when the gods switch from heroin chic, to granny comfortable, or fifties retro etc, it begs the question: Are the gods influenced by the consumers, who have been struggling to fit into skinny legged jeans,  g-strings, pointed boots and strapless bras etc or is the switch just another whim.

Certainly the return to the more curvaceous, goddess-like women, such as Marilyn Monroe, Esther Williams, Rita Hayworth etc will be welcomed by the majority of women because the majority of women have hips, breasts and thighs. That’s what makes them women.   But will the designers allow curvaceous women to model for them? Will cat walk models ever be less leggy and more fleshy.

As a psychologist working with girls and women with eating disorders, I can vouch for the effect fashion has. While fashion may not create eating disorders per say, it does have a negative impact on ‘recovery.’ Many girls are asked if they are models. Receiving positive praise for thinness discourages them from gaining weight. And for obese patients, their depression is exacerbated by fashion which extols thinness as a virtue.

So while I would like to think that the retro fashion has resulted from consumer pressure, I am also aware that a lot has to change in the fashion psyche before women can be celebrated for what they are: diverse. A one size fits all approach does not serve them, especially when that one size suits only the smallest fraction of the minority.

Afterglow of MOTHER's RETREAT

What joy to re-unite with the wonderful women from the May Mother's retreat. And how exquisite to be honoured by them (WE LOVE DENISE) and to enjoy their honouring of each other.

It's one thing to take time out from one's life to retreat but it's profound when the benefits of that experience spill into life.

All the women from my May retreat continue to meet, support and lovingly care each other.

You can see how proud I am of them.

Love you all, for your courage, tenacity, generosity and warm abundance. BLESSINGS!

Love and laughter with Uncle Bob Randall

Sharing love and laughter with Elder Uncle Bob Randall.

As the first rays of the morning sun light up ULURU,  the heart of Australia, Bob speaks softly about LOVE for all BEINGS.

Despite being separated from his beloved family at a tender age, "re-educated"by the White man's ways, Bob speaks of LOVE and FORGIVENESS and the value of the traditional ways.

His voice is rich with the songs of his life, his heart tender and his laughter as innocent as any child's.

What a privilege to welcome the dawn with him and his beloved.

Thank you Uncle Bob and Barbara for the the love and laughter.  

Resting in a tree.

Me, resting in a tree, in a sandy river bed outside Alice springs

Imagine if you measured your life in terms of tree stages:

Have a look at my video link to get the idea

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h8u5mDuLKcY

TIMING

I have grown to respect TIMING. Forcing things to happen may give a momentary feeling of success but when the TIMING is RIGHT the outcomes are solid, grounded and bountiful.

So imagine how sweet it was, on the last day of my women's retreat in ULURU to see that
LIVING NOW had just published this article. 

That's what I call Nice timing...  ENJOY




http://www.livingnow.com.au/advertise/articles/23-living-with-spirit/4869-the-picture-of-wholeness-and-happiness-doesnt-need-a-mirror.html

Touching THE MOTHER

Here I am in Alice Springs for my Ancient Women's Business Retreat.

Just outside the township in a sacred place I re-connect with the Mother....Earth

Join me on the link below


http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=aLgSlEIr09o

The woman I've become...

As I wait for the women to join me in Alice Springs before we travel out to ULURU on retreat, I reflect on the woman I have become:

"I am becoming the woman I've wanted,

grey at the temples,

soft body, delighted,

cracked up by life

with a laugh that's known bitter

but, past it, got better,

knows she's a survivor-

that whatever comes,

she can outlast it.

I am becoming a deep

weathered basket.

I am becoming the woman I've longed for,

the motherly lover

with arms strong and tender,

the growing daughter

who blushes surprises.

I am becoming full moons

and sunrises.

I find her becoming,

this woman I've wanted,

who knows she'll encompass,

who knows she's sufficient,

knows where she's going

and travels with passion.

Who remembers she's precious,

but knows she's not scarce-

who knows she is plenty,

plenty to share."

-Jayne Relaford Brown 

Roses and desert women

And so they met, the women who will be attending my Mother/daughter Desert Retreat at Uluru in May.

Chatting easily as women do, sharing dainty sweet treats and the joy of roses: pink blossoms for the child within, full blooms for the blossoming women.

First pic: Meringues filled with fresh cream and adorned by baby pink roses.

Second pic: French pastry filled with custard accompanied by an urn of earth coloured roses in full bloom.

Ageless beauty

Beauty is ageless.
As I embrace my dear friends I celebrate it.
The shy girl, yet to be initiated into womanhood, a young maiden beside her, two mothers and a grandmother.
All doing "women's business" : eating, laughing, sharing stories and love for one another.
(True) "...beauty is a joy forever. 

Full moon smile

What is it about full moon that enchants us?

                           makes us feel romantic?

              makes us feel connected?

  makes us stare in wonder?

Is it the magical way it paints the ordinary

       and makes it... extraordinary

                          bathing us in its light?


Or is it the comfort of having such a big round ball reflecting its glow into the darkness of our night?


I love the moon, to me it represents the Feminine, the Ruler of the tides.

I enjoy lunar celebrations, Easter and Chinese New Year.

When I look up at the shining globe, I don't see a man in the moon. I see a smile, a smile that says:

the Universe is at peace.  What do you see?

Mothers need to supported, less isolated...

In NewYork a young mother plunges to her death with her baby strapped to her.

How isolated must she have been?

Unsupported?

Undiagnosed with post natal depression perhaps.

So convinced she is a bad mother, so she writes in her  suicide note

What a tragic loss.


http://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2013/03/14/Baby-survives-8-story-plunge-from-building/UPI-36981363306920/


Women need to be specially supported in the early years of motherhood.

Please check out my upcoming Uluru mother's day retreat www.denisegreenaway.com