A teacher I know suggests that our personal power lies in connection with our own bodies. As in, choose a part, right now, and feel it. Or let the part choose you. Where is the pleasure in your body in this moment? I sometimes notice that I haven’t allowed a sensation for years, for no good reason. So it is indulgent and wonderful.

Having children nearby affords an excellent opportunity for pleasure. Overhearing them in conversation with one another is illuminating and frequently a hilarious reminder of our own better nature. Better yet, accepting an invitation into their world of play can be a truly astounding experience.

Playing in the water brings me present. If there is space for it, floating on my back, allowing my neck to release completely, the underwater lick lick lick and the blue sky, there she is again.

I learned this morning that a woman I know is dying. It was shocking to find out she is sick again, and preparing to pass on. I have felt shaken since hearing the news. This woman has not known me well – we have not shared the intimate details of our lives. But I have been attracted to the light within her for the three years since we met. She recognized and acknowledged joy in me, and modeled a life of presence for me to follow.

My joy is silent. My joy is raucous. It is earthy, sensual, serene, reverent and boisterous all at once. My pleasure is a celebration of my joy.

Wishing you midsummer bliss and a lifetime of fully expressed Joy!

With love and gratitude for Kate D.

This is, in a nutshell, the most important nugget I gleaned from spending last weekend in New York City with about 200 women in the company of Regena Thomashauer at Mama Gena’s School of Womanly Arts. That is, this is the particular nugget that I am noticing right now, because this experience was like jumping into a vast treasure trunk full of gold nuggets. I cannot escape the desire to dedicate my blog to Mama Gena and to try to somehow convey what happened there. And yet I realize that it’s simply NOT POSSIBLE to convey the experience in words in such a way that replicates experience – kinda the nature of experience! So I won’t attempt full disclosure – it doesn’t make sense. I want to say just a couple things. By the way, if you happened to click on the hotlink(s) above you were greeted by a provocatively pink page, pictures of a wildly exuberant Mama Gena in various states of tantalizing behavior. And that’s great. It’s good marketing. But there’s more to it than that.

Here are the couple things I want to say: As women, we are not taught to know ourselves fully, and MG gives us the tools to do so. So many of us are caught up in ungratitude, anger, frustration and disappointment that we are unable to listen to the voice within. When a woman listens and knows the source of her power, there is tremendous healing that spills out from her in huge vast ripples into the world. When women cherish women who honor themselves it is a glorious thing to behold! When women cherish themselves, men receive the appreciation they deserve, and they reciprocate wonderfully.

Perhaps this is a tease, or it doesn’t land perfectly with you, my reader. That’s ok with me, because in this moment I am writing for my pleasure alone. However I do desire that if you feel intrigue, you may find a copy of Mama’s first book to conduct your own research, because that’s what it’s all about.

Oh yes… did I mention that I had a boatload of FUN too? Oh yes, more for me, thank you.

With love, Sister Goddess Maddy