GATHER THE WOMEN NEWSLETTER ~ NOVEMBER 2009
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From: Julie R.
Date: Wednesday, December 2, 2009, 2:52 AM
Subject: Gather the Women Newsletter ~ November 2009
ID: 269373
You are invited to visit our website: www.gatherthewomen.org
We are so grateful for the circle of women who have gathered this year. The gifts that each of you bring into circle create a sisterhood that expresses compassion, love and hope for a new way of being. You are all loved and deeply appreciated.
With great affection,
The Gather the Women Core Circle
I. Message ~ By-Law Evolution by Joy Adams
Authored by rotating members of the GTW
II. GTW Vibe ~ 5 Reasons Why
Stay on top of what’s happening in this amazing organization
III. Passions ~ Meet: Sharon Regie Maynard: Radical Mystic & Spiritual Shawoman
Focus on one GTW woman. Get to know the another women in the circle, what she’s passionate about and why she’s here.
IV. Earth Circle ~ In Our Right Minds by Dale Allen
Events, organizations and people outside of GTW
V. Circle Offerings ~ Excerpt & Invitations to Participate
The when and where of what’s coming up.
VI. Echoes ~ PALESTINE - Hopes & Dreams Online Video Project - Girls
A news item related to women.
VII. Feedback ~ by Mary M. McNall, MBA
Response to content in previous GTW Newsletters.
By-Law Evolution
by Joy Adams
Gather the Women is not a traditional organization; it has been set up with the intention to serve as an organic matrix of women and existing women's organizations, encouraging new models for collaboration and co-creative leadership. Our legal name is Gather the Women Global Matrix…a model or womb for something new to emerge.
Circles are the heart of Gather the Women because circles have the power to transform the world. A circle is nonhierarchical—everyone’s input holds equal importance. One of the leadership covenants of GTW is to create containers that practice the form and principles of Circle, with a focus on shared leadership, shared responsibility, and shared deep listening. Since the beginning the primary functioning leadership structure used by GTW has been a concentric circle model.
Our nonprofit corporate status requires that we have By-Laws to describe the corporate structure. Our By-Laws have just been revised with language that complies with legal corporate organization structure requirements and fulfills the GTW leadership covenant. Here are examples significant changes:
• Decisions are made by consensus. Election renamed to Selection.
• President renamed to Matrix Convener. This is to avoid the subtle hierarchal perceptions that go along with the title of president.
• Board of Directors renamed to CONVENERS CIRCLE. Conveners Circle consists of Conveners of Working Circles and is responsible for overall operations of GTWGM.
• Executive Committee of the Board of Directors renamed to OFFICERS CIRCLE. The Officers Circle consists of three corporate officers and meets only to address issues specifically related to corporate business.
These changes may not seem significant, but linguists have said that language creates and conveys the culture. Throughout history, many have reflected on the importance of language. For instance, the scholar Benjamin Whorf has noted that language shapes thoughts and emotions, determining one’s perception of reality. We believe the language changes made in our By-Laws are important to the leadership of GTW and may create a new model for corporations to operate on circle principles.
5 Reasons Why GTW Is Different
1) Gather the Women is not a traditional organization; it has been set up with the intention to serve as an organic matrix of women and existing women's organizations, encouraging new models for collaboration.
2) We do not seek to change minds but to connect hearts. GTW does not endorse any particular stance on any particular issues; we do not seek to tell women what they should think and feel. Rather, we seek to create a space where women can explore and expand the powerful pieces of common ground we all share.
3) Gather the Women is grounded in a set of spiritual values and these values guide every aspect of our work. We acknowledge that each of our daily interactions with one another present the opportunity to live a new world into being. We acknowledge that the opportunity to bring integrity and compassion to all of our work together IS the outcome we are seeking. We acknowledge we can only find our way by staying open to learning through every interaction and challenge.
4) Gather the Women rests in the deep well of grace provided by Divine Source, with the commitment to honoring all the diverse expressions of faith in that One Being. We believe that when we can bring together a critical mass of diverse women of deep faith in a shared understanding of our common beliefs that everything will change.
5) We acknowledge that we cannot know the outcome of our work, and that this work is continuously unfolding in powerful, expansive ways we could not imagine. Therefore, we commit ourselves to following that energy as best we can in a fluid process based on faith.
Meet ~ Sharon Riegie Maynard: Radical Mystic & Spiritual Shawoman
Favorite Quote: When the forms of an old culture are dying, the new culture is created by a few people who are not afraid to be insecure." ~ Rudolf Bahro
Cuddled up in her father’s arms as a three year old, Sharon Riegie Maynard remembers hearing her father speak to his friends about this world, as it could be. He envisioned a world filled with joy, laughter, pace and harmony. Even as a toddler Sharon could feel and therefore understand, that vision of hope. The courage to hope was vital when she became a widow at the age of 34, and simultaneously a single parent to seven daughters and two sons. Raising nine children alone, Sharon opened to her own inner voice, learning to trust her inner guidance without fear. Without fear, Sharon was free to step into her divine assignment as a radical seeker and mystic.
A mystic is someone who seeks answers from sources beyond conventional books, tapes, and movies of standard information. A mystic searches for and develops their own way of tapping into knowledge and wisdom that is held in the greater expanse of intelligence beyond physical perceptions.
A radical seeker is one who is not satisfied with standard answers but delves ever more deeply into what others have forgotten, ignored or buried. Shamen value the energetic relationship between all energy forms, elements, divas in the circle of life.
The circle is a gentle, valuable process, embracing women in whatever shape they come. Women can be heard, and step into authenticity. Circles brought Sharon to Gather the Women. The Regional Coordinators Conference in Seattle last August, deepened her appreciation for the circle as a process to clear the way for women more than ever before. The modern healing process has often counseled women to be angry and stay angry about damaging experiences. Sharon believes women must move from powerlessness and anger into clarity.
With this unique perspective Sharon understands components of what must be done for women to free themselves for their highest calling, to release women to full empowerment of our basic nature, which Sharon identifies as: clarity and discernment of the divine feminine to design the world and society.
In her quest to release clients from sabotaging patterns, Sharon developed an amazing relationship with spiritual teachers who exist in worlds beyond our physical senses, and are still her constant companions today. Extraordinary clarity allowed her to see addictive, dysfunctional and abusive behaviors. She asked questions. The answers took her deeper into stewardship. She learned that we have been trying to create health with corrupted circuitry and stories designed to enslave.
Spending time in nature, connecting to Mother Earth, the trees, birds, and water nourishes her sacred connection to life. Together with her spiritual companions, Sharon holds a clear vision of how the world will be. Women are the focus of Sharon’s life. She is passionate about helping women to step into their gifts, waking them to power, voice and place. She boldly invites women to become radical seekers.
Sharon lives in Mountlake Terrace, Washington and is co-creating the 2010 Gather the Women Regional Coordinators Conference in Seattle.
http://sharonriegiemaynard.com/
IN OUR RIGHT MINDS™ by Dale Allen
A Celebration of Women, the Sacred Feminine and the Right Brain
Dear Friend of Gather the Women,
I made a commitment a long time ago, and I know you did too. I have a vision. Like you, I have a knowing that I came to this earth at this time to help to create a new paradigm—a paradigm of peace. I know that I came here to offer my soul-gifts in service of the healing of our planet. We all made this commitment. We are all connected – you, me and every single person who reads this Gather the Women newsletter. We are collectively generating incredible energy at this time on our planet. We’ve been waiting a long time (lifetimes) for this! It is time for us to claim our power in order to have the resolve to offer our soul gifts.
“Power.” It’s a word women tend to shy away from. We resist describing ourselves as powerful. That’s very understandable, because we have not appreciated the definition of power. Power in our culture has meant, “power over” and we are not interested. We need new (ancient) images of power that we can relate to and be inspired by. That’s where my soul-joy comes through. I have traveled nationwide and as far as Kauai and Dubai with my one-woman “Cape Canaveral lift-off,” In Our Right Minds – Guiding Women to their Strength as Leaders, Leading Men to Strength without Armor.
In Our Right Minds is my of bringing the Goddess mainstream and helping audiences to receive the potency of this archetype. The archetype of the Goddess is a part of all men and women. An archetype is an inward image in the human psyche that exerts a powerful influence on the nature of an individual personality and in turn on the larger culture. Though the archetype of the Goddess has been suppressed in our psyches and our culture a very long time, it is now becoming active. She is reemerging.
When I address audiences, I am careful to include men in describing the way the Goddess shows up for us, but here on GTW, we’ll talk about our experience as women. The Goddess archetype is active in us when we say: “I am inherently valuable. There is a Divinity that runs through me and it looks like me. It’s female and it’s who I am. She is I and I am She. And the things that mean everything to me, that I love with all my heart and soul – this is the energy of the Goddess moving through me.” The Goddess is your most authentic soul-self as a woman, a living, breathing, menstruating, nursing, hot-flashing, loving, caring, in-love woman. She moves through us when we say, “You know what? I always wanted to start a business. I think it’s valuable, I think it’s important. I’m going to do it. Or, “I’m going to write that book, or take that class, or help in this way.” When we value our contributions, our talents, gifts and passions – She moves through us and strengthens us in our resolve. And she bolsters us when we make no apologies for seizing our power - when we say, “No, this I will not allow because it is not OK!” That’s the Goddess too and She can be fierce - the Lioness who protects, defends and assures the wellbeing of all.
We are the Co-Creators of Heaven on Earth, all of us, the women and men who have the courage to envision a world that is peaceful and sustainable, one that nurtures every spirit and takes us well beyond our paradigm of hierarchies, imbalances, war and conquering. Power is redefined as the passionate flowing of each individual’s unique gifts for the betterment of society, our planet and all life
In both contemporary and historical societies where the Goddess is present, the worldview is much different than what we have come to accept as “human nature” in our society.
In a survey of 150 cultures today, anthropologist Peggy Reeves Sanday compared cultures structured around male dominance with those that embrace female power. She found a clear correlation between female power and Goddess veneration. Where the divine has a feminine face, there is a correlation with the society’s honoring of nature, women’s role as officiators of sacred sacraments, connection to the land, and female power. There is egalitarianism, rather than women holding power over men. The worldview is holistic and oriented in the embodied rather than the abstract. These cultures value community, birthing, nurturing, empathy, intuitive intelligence, earth, nature, connection and interdependence. There is general harmony and peaceful resolution of conflict. Also, the orientation of time is not linear, but is cyclical and aligned with the eternal cycles of birth, growth, death and renewal. The divine is understood to be embodied in every person and in nature, not somewhere else, abstract and disembodied. Sensuality and sexuality are honored as sacred. These “feminine” values belong to women and men; they are a valued part of society when the feminine is not subjugated. They are not seen as women’s tenets, they are societies’.
Our job, our invitation is to make these tenets a part of our own experience – in our relationships, families, communities, schools, work, faith and participation in government. And then we are to take them beyond, as together we co-create a new way of being. She calls to us to shine the way we’re meant to shine, and to offer the gifts we’re meant to give.
In my letter to you today, you to whom I am connected in this vision, I ask you, I beseech you to harness your power and offer your gifts for all of our benefit. And if you resist because you have a voice in your head that says you can’t, or you are not worthy - trust me, we all have that voice! It’s designed to keep you safe, it can’t help but do its job of trying to talk you out of extending yourself and being seen. (It thinks you’ll die if you dare to live your dream.) If you take but one small step, it will lead to another and you must persist. That voice will become much smaller, I promise you. Join with positive people who support and inspire you – there are many of us all the world over.
My DVD “In Our Right Minds” is an inspiration. The power of the information I share is much bigger than me – it inspires and moves blockages. The DVD is on sale this month, just in time for the holidays.
Thanks so much for making the commitment with me. Victory is certain.
Peace, Passion, Profuse Abundance and Joy,
Dale
ABOUT: In Our Right Minds
Described as a “Cape Canaveral lift-off,” In Our Right Minds has been igniting audiences nationwide with a dynamic message that guides women to their strength as leaders and leads men to strength without armor. In a fun, multimedia performance featuring history, myth, comedy, art, artifacts, characters and original songs Dale Allen takes us on an exploration of the Goddess archetype as a model of female power, and leads us to the discovery of how profoundly ancient wisdom can strengthen us as modern men and women. Get ready to shake up old assumptions, delve deep into the foundation of our collective psyche, and break ground for a new era. “This powerful performance should be required viewing – not just for women and girls, but for men as well – it is chock full of information and inspiration.” Suzie Galler, Esteemed Woman Foundation
Dale Allen is a veteran of business and commercial communications with hundreds of live presentations, voice-overs, and on-camera projects for BMW, General Electric, and Canon (among others). An accomplished lecturer, facilitator, playwright, and actress, Dale was a featured speaker at the Kauai Wellness Expo with Dr. Wayne Dyer.
“Dale Allen speaks to the heart and soul of all women regardless of their personal histories…she reminds us how connected we are to one another and to our ancestral mothers and teachers.” Dr. Dale Atkins
See a preview at: www.inourrightminds.com
Buy Your "In Our Right Minds" DVDs Here
InOurRightMinds.com
Buy Your "In Our Right Minds" DVDs on Sale for the Holidays!
“I have watched your In Our Right Minds DVD more than once. (I have loaned it out at the moment!) Your presentation is so empowering, from-the-heart and inspiring – it’s downright the most uplifting, motivational presentation I have been privileged to see about the divine feminine!” ~ Patty Allen
Exerpt from WAYS WOMEN LEAD NEWSLETTER- December 2009
http://www.wayswomenlead.net
The Parliament of the World’s Religions, Melbourne, December 3-9, ‘09
www.parliamentofreligions.org
We are invited to participate in a Moment of Global Connection as A Creative Exploration of the Sacred Feminine takes place at the Parliament of the World’s Religions, held this year in Melbourne, Australia, December 3-9, 2009. At the Parliament women’s perspectives are represented in over two dozen presentations, panels, and gatherings, and one of these will anchor, honor and celebrate the Sacred Feminine in ceremony. Believing we each have the power to choose our thoughts and help create a loving field…you are invited to light a candle and join with many others to collectively beam thoughts of love, wisdom and deep peace into this session and around the world. See www.womensspiritcouncil.org to register your intention to participate in this Moment of Global Connection through ceremony of the Sacred Feminine.
A Moment of Global Connection to the Sacred Feminine
4:30 p.m. on Friday, December 4th, in Melbourne, Australia
Use www.timeanddate.com to calculate the time in your area.
A daily 30 minute teleconference celebrating the new visibility of the sacred feminine
9-9:30 pm EST, December 3-9
218.936.4700, access code: 235418
http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=33026&Cr=palestin&Cr1
PALESTINE - YOUTH - HOPES & DREAMS ONLINE VIDEO PROJECT - GIRLS
The “Hopes and Dreams” project encapsulates the youngsters’ aspirations, bringing together on-line a community divided and scattered by decades of statelessness and exile.....Each student is recording a 30-second message. These will form the basis of a living network for the future.....
http://www.hopingfoundation.org/ - Website Link has 5 colored bars. Click second
from top to see multiple video subjects. Click individual photos to see video segments.
November 20, 2009 marks the 20th anniversary of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. But 20 years on, what difference has it made in the lives of hundreds of thousands of Palestine refugee children?
To mark the anniversary, Hoping, in partnership with the UN's Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) is unveiling a project in which Palestine refugee school youth across the Middle East will create
the region's first ever online video yearbook. This project captures their hopes and dreams and
creates an online community, previously divided and scattered by decades of statelessness and exile.
Hundreds of flip cams have been distributed to tens of thousands of students in UNRWA schools in Gaza,
the West Bank, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria. Each student is recording a 30 second message.They will
form the basis of a living network for the future,to be added to each year.
The Yearbook has been endorsed by UN Secretary General, Ban Ki Moon, who highlighted the project in
a recent statement. Author Philip Pullman, musician and writer Nick Cave, and other prominent individuals have also videod messages in support of the Hoping/UNRWA initiative.
The following article has been offered to the GTW Newsletter in response to Octobers Echo story.
My ECHOE Response
Mary M. McNally MBA
With the challenging job market in the US which impacted me most directly in April 2009 when I was forced to collect unemployment, I decided, almost as a last resort or a lark, to investigate career opportunities abroad. Ultimately that lead me to accepting a full-time position teaching Business courses (Managing HR Services, Managing Projects and Managing Budgets and Finance) at a private women’s college in Kuwait. To quote the Navy motto, “It’s not just a job, it’s an adventure.” I believe this is an enormously unique opportunity given that women have recently earned the right to vote. I am essentially a pioneer working with young women who aren’t even old enough yet to vote.
My hopes are many: to inspire my students to fulfill their own personal greatness; nurturing their creativity, sense of self, sense of leadership while allowing them to expand through learning, critical thinking, and analysis. Meanwhile, as a child of the 60s, I have the unrealized dreams of working in the Peace Corps or being an exchange student. This opportunity is allowing me to actualize those dreams and my sense of purpose, my own soul’s mission or destiny of serving as an ad hoc ambassador of the United States and exchange teacher instead of exchange student.
In reading the words of National Assembly member Dr. Maasouma Al-Mubarak in your last month’s publication, I must corroborate that obviously at my institution, indeed women are being given the opportunity of a post-secondary education in Kuwait. This insitution has been established as a private college for women, devoted to providing a positive learning environment which nurtures life long learning and achieving goals.
We are offering essentially a strong vocational education program based on the Australian Quality Training Framework where the students earn certificates in Interior Design, IT, and Business that are taught in English only. Initially the students may also have matriculated through a Foundation program to polish their English reading, writing, and speaking skills.
Mind you I am now only completing my fourth week of teaching and it has proven invigorating as well as opened up my creativity in terms of information delivery and classroom management. As I have just parachuted into the country, I can only surmise that changes are taking place rapidly, such as the building boom, yet, at first blush, society maintains an appreciation for a strong practice of tradition.
The young women love fashion whether they are fully abaya-clad, clothed in Western dress or in colorful attire more reflective of their Kuwaiti heritage. There is a strong sense of creating personal identity through the choice of shoes, handbags, sunglasses , eyeglasses, watches and jewelry for those who are “covered” and uncovered alike. There is lots of bling -- these gals know how to dazzle. Those uncovered women take it a step further with makeup and hair styles.
Typically, however, most women dress rather modestly -- I can count on one hand how many women I have seen wearing long shorts, for example. Most women are wearing long sleeves and skirts to at least their knees, if not longer.
My students are quite verbal, active, alive and fun! I asked them to read the article which ironically they read on the October 27, 2009, the first day of the Parliamentary Session. Then I asked, “What issues are important to you personally?”
Here is a sampling of their responses:
“I’m very concerned about the environment of Kuwait because I feel by keeping the environment clean, we can have tourism in Kuwait. I would like cleaner beaches, cleaner streets and would like more flowers and trees planted.”
“I’m interested in the discrimination issue between men and women in society.”
“My important issue is education in Kuwait. They have to move the education level up.”
“Agriculture in Kuwait is important to me. I would like to provide more agricultural areas in Kuwait to help reduce the dust because Kuwait has a desert terrain.”
“I really hope all Kuwaiti women hope to be heard. I want to grow up and have children. I want the children to feel proud that Kuwaiti women did something in this country. I also want women to do something; not just let the men lead the country.”
Kuwait is an amazing and wonderful country. I think my students will be contributing members of society being a part of any solutions required and not the problem.
Julie Raymond, GTW Newsletter Editor
gtwnorthwest@yahoo.com
Idaho Falls, Idaho
208.252.1390
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