The Red Tent Temple Movement
November 17, 2009 by Coach Margie
Filed under Health & Wellness, Self Development, celebrations, personal growth, relationships, retreat, self empowerment
Awhile back a Facebook friend, and fellow Womyn’s Circle facilitator that I originally met back East in what now seems like life times ago, posted a link to a movement that she is starting, called the Red Tent Temple Movement. ALisha Starkweather is well known as an extraordinary and skilled facilitator for personal and global transformation and is the founder of the Women’s Belly and Womb Conference and Daughters of the Earth Gatherings; a Women’s Tribal Event, and her Priestess Path Apprenticeship.
ALisa says, ”
“The Red Tent Temple Movement is a way for women to gather our inner momentum, that feeling like the time is now, and to authentically come forward with everything we are as women. It gives us a place to incubate, dream, slow down, without an agenda or plan. It is a woman space where we can share stories, laughter, songs, food and honor our unique feminine cycles that we experience each month, whether we are in our bleeding time or going through peri-menopause and menopause. The Temple provides a way that is more consistent with our actual rhythms, cycles and ways of being in relationship to each other that support, foster and give us strength and courage.
It is time. The women are ready to co-create a vision in the societies we live in and make a place among us where women are honored by honoring our own unique journeys of womanhood. Join us in a revolutionary act. It is more than a woman’s circle. It is a deep learning process of unlearning the busy and finding the moment.
Inside the Red Tents we give ourselves time to remember who we are at our very core, while honoring that to remember we must turn from our identities and roles towards the innermost temple of our own hearts. Come into the Red Tent and stop. In the quiet and sometimes celebratory company of wonderful women, feel. In what you feel, there is much that is waiting for you.”
I am pleased, and happy, about bringing a Red Tent Temple to my local community of Bisbee, AZ. It’s important. It’s time. Womyn need a place to come together, to gather, to reconnect. We live in such crazy times, and our ancient ways of womynhood and divine feminine experiences are getting lost. As we struggle to fit into the boxes of societies demands and our various roles, the essence of our authentic spirit cries out to be heard and attended to. Come to the Temple. Relax. Unwind. Be nurtured by other womyn. Share stories and wisdom. This is how we create, design, and maintain sustainable relationships in our lives. Reconnect to your spirit, your story, your dreams, your purpose. Laugh, Dance and Play. The time is now.
My heart sings in the anticipation of being in your presence inside The BisbeeRed Tent and/or of visiting your Tent wherever you are. Join the movement. Erect a Red Tent in your community.
(The Red Tent of Bisbee, AZ will be starting Dec 15th. Connect with Coach Margie for more information)
A Trip Down Memory Lane
June 23, 2009 by Coach Margie
Filed under Health & Wellness, celebrations, personal growth, relationships, retreat, travel
Class of 1979 trips down memory lane
I just returned from a 10 day excursion down memory lane. What a trip that has been, on many levels! It’s amazing how returning to the scene of our past can set into motion a whole score of things.
Engaging in such activity could be trauma inducing, or it could provide us with some new insights, understandings, and appreciations. Being able to see the experiences of the past as gifts that support our growth and personal evolution, rather than a list of regrets, is key.
A high school reunion is probably the epitome of reminisce-ville. Especially when it’s anywhere past the 25yr mark! This was my 30th, and we returned to the school campus of our co-ed, college prep, boarding school, Wasatch Academy. A particularly great school, Wasatch prides itself on student body diversity and making a difference in students lives. It is where I first got exposed to a wide variety of cultures and the people who lived in them. It also became my first experience in community living, something that would have a positive impact and influence on my future life. My favorite part was getting to see all the natural wonders in Utah which was nothing like I had ever seen as a Nor-Easter!
I drove in my car from Arizona to Mt Pleasant, Utah for the reunion. I traveled along the Vermillion Cliffs In AZ before crossing the border into Utah, a spectacularly beautiful drive that loosened the baggage of my mind and allowed for the memories to begin. Along the way I stopped at Red Canyon, Bryce Canyon and many other beautiful spots. I recalled how my mom and sister drove me out to school from CT and who I was in that time. A naive, messed up kid for sure!!
Arriving at the reunion, I was struck by how instantly at home I felt, despite the many changes and advancements over the years. Connecting with friends, I saw myself mirrored in their eyes, all of us asking the question-how did I get here? I facilitated a sharing circle that allowed for participants to share their hearts truth regarding anything that needed clearing from long ago, any part of their life over the last 30yrs, or what is alive for them right now. The shared theme I heard in this circle was the awareness that life rarely turns out as we plan, that who we thought we were going to be is nowhere to be found, and that the influence of life at Wasatch Academy was a positive force for all.
How lucky we all were to have attended this institution that molded and shaped us, educated and informed us, supported and encouraged us, and set each of us on a path of discovery that 30 yrs later brings us all back together again. While not the same people by any stretch of the imagination, I could see the essence of everyone as I knew them in their smiling eyes, shining spirits and searching hearts.
Zion-spectacular beauty, land of memories
My journey home allowed for lots of reflection as I took myself to quiet and beautiful nature spots for soul rejuvenation and personal retreat. While making certain to visit key locations, I thought about the circles of time, who I was and who I have become, and how at each stop along the way there was a flood of memories that connected me to my past and looped around to connect to my life experience of today. My favorite place was Zion, an astoundingly beautiful spot on this Earth, that reminded me of my own greatness and how far I have come since I last visited there.
Ultimately, the journey to our past often informs our future, and this trip has been all that and more for me. While at Zion I received some information that indicated some very big changes in my life were on the horizon. It was exactly the same way in 1979 as I traveled home after my graduation from Wasatch.
Circles in time. The bliss of memory lane is that we know how to do it different this time.
The Bliss of Great Travel Preparation
June 8, 2009 by Coach Margie
Filed under Health & Wellness, emotional energy, retreat, self empowerment, travel
This week I am getting ready to leave for vacation. I’m packing my bags, getting my ducks all in a row, defining my intentions and emotionally preparing for a couple weeks on the road.
Preparation is an important part of any journey, whether it is an actual physical journey, or a journey of the heart. How we prepare for something sets the tone for how the experience will be for us.
Sometimes it’s OK not to prepare, to just be spontaneous and on the fly. But even that requires a certain level of preparation to be open to the flow of the experience.
How do you prepare for journey’s? Are you methodical or chaotic? Are you a list maker, or can you keep it all in your head? Do you ask for help, or try to do it all yourself?
Noticing how we engage in certain situations provides clues for how we might best show up in other circumstances. The area of preparation is ripe with possible insights.
Take a moment to consider how you might prepare for your next journey; whether it is traveling home to see the folks, embarking on a new exercise lifestyle, embracing the brilliance of your soul, building your business or learning how to slow down. What are the essentials you need to pack? Is there a new way to prepare that will support you better in arriving at your destination?
Me? I’m a list maker. And I lay out all my clothes on the bed, seeing how many I can mix and match to create numerous outfits with the least amount of clothing. I’ve learned over the years that I tend to wear the same favorite things the whole trip, so there is no need to bring my whole wardrobe. Books on the other hand…..well, let’s just say I always bring a few!
“Traveling is a brutality. It forces you to trust strangers and to lose sight of all that familiar comfort of home and friends. You are constantly off balance. Nothing is yours except the essential things – air, sleep, dreams, the sea, the sky – all things tending towards the eternal or what we imagine of it.” - Cesare Pavese
“All journeys have secret destinations of which the traveler is unaware.” – Martin Buber
“Not all those who wander are lost.” - J. R. R. Tolkien
(This post originally appeared in July 08, at gaiagirlmargie.gaia.com-since it applies so well to this week, I decided to take the easy road and not write a whole new article. Another trick for great travel preparation-decide what is really important and make it easy on yourself!)
Retreat Bliss
May 22, 2009 by Coach Margie
Filed under Health & Wellness, Whole Health, celebrations, retreat
Tea in the Garden-always a great retreat!
Hard to believe a whole week has already gone by since my last entry. Where does the time go? Sounds like it’s time for a home spa treatment to relax and unwind from the week.
Being a Retreat Coach it’s only natural that I strongly advocate the idea of retreating. Think beyond an expensive spa or long weekend retreat, although those are really great and certainly you are worth it as much as anyone! What I am thinking about is the concept of retreat as a way of life, as an attitude, a way of being. In other words, retreat can happen at anytime, in a variety of ways. All you have to do is recognize, and claim, that retreat is what you are doing.
A quiet moment in the garden. Closing your eyes at your desk for a few moments. A long hot bath. Time out in nature. Candle light. All these moments can be turned into a retreat that refreshes your mind, rejuvenates your spirit, and calms your heart.
I recently came across a great little book called “The Busy Women’s Home Spa Book” by Liz Wilde. Liz is also a Life Coach as well as a beauty, health and well-being writer. This book is fun, and easy to read. I got refreshed just looking through the pages at all the beautiful photographs that look so inviting!
She suggests that the rules are simple for what you could do every day that would make you feel-oh-so-good and what I would suggest is integrating the idea of retreat as a way of life. Your habits need to be: simple, give you energy and be things that you want to do! Easier said than done perhaps, and remember, you are in charge of your own life. Choosing to be relaxed, healthy and happy is up to you.
Here are some ideas for leading a retreat oriented life.
- Take time to find stillness and quiet every day, even if only for 5-15 minutes.
- Indulge in self massages
- Turn off your television
- Stretch and move your body
- Spend time in nature; reflecting, observing, just being
- Laugh often
- Get to bed early
- Eat healthy, organic foods
- Use candles and turn mundane events into special ones
- Take an “emotional health” day off from work
- Dance wildly in your living room to music you love
While all of these suggestions might look like every day activities, when you do them with the intention of retreat they become so much more.
As for me, I am going to get off this computer and go try Liz’s Easy Relaxing Face and Neck Massage recipe, before meeting friends for a silly game of miniature golf (laughing is essential!)
