Week 7 - The Pleasure Path: Turn yourself back on

Last Friday night I had the pleasure - and I do mean pleasure - of attending an introductory talk at Mama Gena's School of Womanly Arts in NYC. Chris Northrup has raved about this program and I finally decided to check it out. Boy am I glad I did (thanks Chris!). If you want to reclaim your power through the path of pleasure (and who the heck wouldn't?), then you'll want to check out the school here.

So imagine this: I'm sitting next to my friend Nancy. We're both wearing pink boas around our necks. We're in a room with 300 fellow Sister Goddesses (Mama Gena's name for the women who come to her programs) who are also wearing pink boas, and I'm feeling a little nervous (ok, maybe more than a little nervous ☺).

The pounding music starts. The back doors fly open. And in comes Mama Gena - a great-looking woman in a hot pink, skin-tight dress and stiletto heels - being carried in the air by three hot-looking guys. And so the evening begins...

Mama Gena challenged women to step up and own their power by taking the path of pleasure rather than pain. She taught women to brag, to tell the truth about their fantasies and desires, and to stop leveling the playing field by bitching about what wasn't working in their lives.

Throughout the evening, we laughed, we cried, we roared, and we danced. We heard the sensational stories of women who have reinvented their lives - women who found passionate love, who healed their angry hearts with pleasure, who unearthed the courage to leave dead-end jobs to finally start businesses they'd been dreaming about for years. These were women of all ages who were brave enough to connect with and breathe life into their desires.

And desire is what it's all about. Mama Gena is dedicated to inspiring and supporting women to give voice and action to the hidden longings that have gone unattended in their lives. Now that's my kind of woman!

Here's a taste of what we learned during the evening:

Turn Yourself On. If you want to lead a wildly successful, passionate life, you need to do things that turn up the juice in your life. And while sex is part of it, there are things you can do in the wide-open spaces of your day, too. You can take frequent dance breaks to get your energy pumping, wear a pink boa (it works), or brag about what's great in your life to the people who have enough self-esteem and personal power to welcome it.
Delve Into Desire. If you want to feel fully alive, you have to connect with and stay connected to your deepest longings. Make a desire list and keep it handy. Don't buy into the initial temptation to brush this exercise off with, "I'm too exhausted," or "I haven't a clue." Push past the part of you that resists change and make a list. Trust me, if you give them a chance, your desires will come flying out of your hand onto paper, like a herd of wild horses ready to gallop into the next, exciting stage of your life.
Share Your Desires. Tell the people who care about you what you want more of in your life. When you do, do it with enthusiasm and excitement. And keep doing it. The more energy you give to your desires, the quicker they start to materialize.
Keep Good Company. Put yourself in the company of other brave and adventurous people who are unwilling to settle for anything less than a passion-filled life. Mama Gena's Mastery Program is a good start.

Finally, the next time you're pissed off, frustrated, feeling stuck, or ready to scream, try something new. Look for the "path of pleasure." Yup, rather than ignore the problem, struggle to find a solution alone, or complain to friends about how bad life is, do something pleasurable instead. Ready to ship your teenagers off to a faraway land? Get into a hot tub. Yelling at your partner for not picking up after himself (or herself)? Start singing your favorite love song and see what happens.

Sometimes the best step of all is the one we are least inclined to take. This week it's all about pleasure!

Happy Valentine's Day ☺