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/

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/

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

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...

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

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.

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. 

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?

Seeing the sacred...in everything

An invisible person or persons scavenge through the aftermath of the cyclonic storms and build a sacred altar.

Such seeing, such honouring, such recognition.

Storms humble humans, bringing them to their knees and it is from that they see the sacred...in all things.

Thank you, invisible one(s), for taking my attention and inviting me to worship at the altar you so lovingly created.

Blessing on you...