Island Women

I have just enjoyed a magical sojourn on North Stradbroke Island in Queensland. It's a fascinating island, made of sand and teeming with wild life. Fresh water lakes, sand dunes, bluffs, wild beaches and gorges excite the senses and re-ignite the ancient need to connect with Nature.

The spiritual home to its original people, it's easy to imagine what a paradise they enjoyed before being "visited" by white men. Abundant in food from the sea and land and with endless supplies of fresh water, this huge sand island was enjoyed by a number of tribes.

Today the presence of the indigenous peoples is still strong.  With some success to land claims, there is a sense of pride and the promise of a continuing future. I had the pleasure to meet some women actively involved in Indigenous art, culture and education programs: Island women.

I can't wait to go back next year and take some mainland women with me, on retreat. Together we will experience the magic of this island and the women who live there. Until then...

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/

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/

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

Good girls need to speak up

It's time for good girls to speak up. Too many women don't say 'no' often enough and far too many say 'yes' when they mean 'no.' 

That's the good girl syndrome. But it's time for good girls to GROW UP, to be REAL women, to say what they mean and do what they love. 

Laurie Penny's article is insightful and timely.





"Most of us grew up learning that being a good girl was all about putting other people’s feelings ahead of our own. We aren’t supposed to say what we think if there’s a chance it might upset somebody else or, worse, make them angry. So we stifle our speech with apologies, caveats and soothing sounds..."  Laurie Penny. New statesman
http://www.newstatesman.com/2013/08/laurie-penny/men-sexism/

A picture says a thousand words...

A picture saves a thousand words... so here are many thousands of words describing the joys and wonders of my women's retreats in the centre of Australia. Next month, some wonderful women will be gathering out there in the image free zone, to explore their connection to the WILD WOMAN within. Can't wait.

Just double click on the link below and ENJOY....

http://www.denisegreenaway.com/image-library.html

http://www.denisegreenaway.com/image-library.html

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.

Girls pouting and posing for a selfie. For whom?

Actor Miley Cyrus poses for a selfie.

In my practice as a psychologist, I see girls with eating disorders, body dysmorphia and other body image issues.

Sometimes they show me pics of their friends or other girls they think are PERFECT. 

Most, if not all of the pics I've seen are of girls  posing like this. Many of them post their pics on facebook. Their female friends respond with LIKES and comments such as 'you look hot.'

My question is: who is all this posing and pouting for?

The availability of so much visual media is making the body image trap more insidious for young women.

And men are being affected too, having procedures so they can look good on facebook or on their phones.

I am deeply saddened by these destructive trends. I hope they will pass, like the whirlwinds they are.   But how much damage will they leave in their wake?

What do you think?

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.  

Getting grounded

Some of the women from my Alice Springs Women's retreat enjoy rest and relaxation in the healing river sands.

Feeling the Earth, resting on her and letting her support you, is a powerful form of rejuvenation.

I wonder if some of the strange diseases of this century aren't a result of us being so DIS- CONNECTED from the healing magnetic forces of the planet we are living on.

High rise buildings, super highways, concrete etc blocking the Earth's energy.

We need to take every opportunity to touch the Earth and get grounded.

Indigenous elder Uncle Bob Randall

These beautiful people hosted our ULURU women's retreaters last week. Such good fortune for us. 

Thank you Uncle Bob and Barbara

http://portraitsinfaith.org/uncle-bob-randall/

Uncle Bob Randall | Portraits in Faith

portraitsinfaith.org

Uncle Bob Randall - Mutitjulu, Australia“Sometimes when we were beaten…we’d just lie on the earth and say “I’ve had it, I need you to hold me. And then she would. The mother would hold you.”Uncle Bob Randall was taken from his mother at seven and sent to a mission a thousand miles away.266102www.sim...

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

Women are their own worse critics

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=XpaOjMXyJGk#!

The video above is a great example of how women perceive themselves compared to the way others see them.
In my consultations, husbands and partners of women always describe the women in a much more positive light than the women do themselves.
Women are in fact their own worse critics.
That's why I am a persistent campaigner against body image damage.
Why don't you join me at my image free website www.denisegreenaway.com  

The WILD WOMAN connection

This wonderful photograph captures the Wild Feminine of a fabulous dancer, inscribed by the
marvellous Isadora.              

Doesn't it touch you...deeply?

Somewhere below your "good girl,” serving self. 

Somewhere where you can have your cake and eat it too.

Somewhere where your passion lies.  

Somewhere where your own Wild Woman resides. 

Or have you lost your connection to your WILD WOMAN?

Aboriginal women have always been in touch with theirs, because of their connection to nature, the earth, the  moon, the stars and each other. Never alone, they dance, hunt, sing and dance together - authentically wild.

 

But for European women their connection to the wild woman had to go underground when the Goddess cultures declined. To be ‘wild’ was considered dangerous and ‘out of control.’

But fortunately for us she has never died. She appears when women give birth, protect their young or  live in a household together, all bleeding at the same time. Totally alive, the wild woman is powerful, strong, and revered by ancient women’s business. 

RE-DISCOVER her, RE-CONNECT with her and INTEGRATE her into your daily life, at my desert retreats.

Supported by the ancient witness of Uluru she will return to you and put a spring in your step, a sparkle in your eye and a song in your heart.

Join me this Sept 9-13 at ULURU in the heart of Australia. 

Meanwhile try chanting this to the first star you see tonight

                       "I wish I may, I wish I might,

                         make a wish on you this night.

                         I call upon your eyes to see

                         the wild woman who lives in me.

                         I promise you with all my might

                         That I will set her free this night."    

                                                                                  p149 FINDING ARTEMISIA: 

                                                            A JOURNEY INTO ANCIENT WOMEN'S BUSINESS

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. 

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