Women Speak Out About What's Gone Wrong with the United States Birthing System

Because so many women don’t have an image of what a natural, empowered birth looks like, there is a lot of fear surrounding the act giving birth. Accordingly, the majority of women give their inner authority over to doctors in their birth process. They trust the doctors more than themselves. The problem with this is that many women aren’t aware that the majority of her doctor's medical decisions are being made today for monetary and legal reasons, and not necessarily for the good of her and her baby.

Lynn Zavaro is Goddess of the Week!

Through her brand, The Game of You™, Lynn Zavaro has emerged as a defining voice in the art of guiding others to know themselves and create the life they want through the lens of spiritual psychology and the creative process. She is an artist, writer, teacher, and has a Masters degree in Counseling Psychology. Through an integration of her skills and life experiences, Lynn has created a book, card set, and game for others to have fun while discovering themselves on their creative life paths.

Girl Up: Give a "High Five"

One such campaign, which had its official launch this month, is called Girl Up. Started by the United Nations Foundation, Girl Up was created to channel the energy and compassion of American teen girls as a powerful force for change. As Girl Up global advocate Queen Rania of Jordan has put it, "Girl Up is about changing peer networking from sharing movies and music, to sharing missions and movements."

The Clinton Global Initiative: Empowering Girls and Women

"So when you educate a woman, you really do transform societies," said Queen Rania Al Abdullah of Jordan yesterday in the panel discussion. "It's not just about doing girls a favor, it's really about benefits that cascade throughout society and really make a huge difference."

How We Can Stop the Oppression of Women and Girls

Until we get this disrespect and dishonoring of women and girls straightened out, we are going to have a long way to go to create world peace. I believe it is this abuse of the feminine that holds us back. Without taking responsibility for abusing the Divine Feminine, we are killing ourselves internally and externally. Look at what’s happening to Mother Earth, for example. She is being raped just as the women and girls are around the world. We keep taking from her, expecting her always to give back, but soon she will not. Her anger and hatred will be so strong, that we will destroy ourselves.

Cecily Miller is Goddess of the Week!

Cecily Miller, M.A., is dedicated to educating and empowering women from conception through birth to foster the development of healthy, secure, confident children. She advocates for the emotional well-being of pregnant women, optimal prenatal development, and early-parenting. “If we are to foster healthy world citizens who comprise a coherent society then it is our responsibility to proactively develop and raise babies and children from a base of secure attachment,” she says. Cecily has a Masters Degree in Prenatal and Perinatal Psychology, and is completing her Ph.D. in Transformational Education. She works to educate and empower women along the motherhood continuum locally, nationally and internationally. What a goddess!

Attention Women: Being a “Good Girl” Comes with Risks

What happens when a woman doesn’t use her voice to express herself fully? I have been thinking a lot about this question lately, and have been struggling with using my own voice in a way that feels aligned with the bigger picture that I feel inside of me.

Catherine DeMonte is Goddess of the Week!

Catherine DeMonte, LMFT is helping women "ignite their inner goddess!" As an extension of her private practice in psychotherapy, she offers classes to women that are literally called "Ignite Your Inner Goddess" and "Women Living Full Out." "My work is about bringing people back to their most authentic self. This means being true to who they came in as," she says. Catherine combines her 20 years of expertise as a psychotherapist with her passion for all things Goddess, to help women live in their full potential.

Postpartum Sexuality – How to Get Your Sexy Back

Over the last year, Ellen Heed has been working on a project to determine how best to help women “get their sexy” back after childbirth. She has been collaborating with Jaiya, world-renowned sex educator and a fellow sexological bodyworker. The two women have worked both hands-on and in interview format with 25 women who have shared their birth stories, sexual and psychological histories, stories of physical trauma during the birth of their children, and the effects of scar tissue on their sexual lives. “We have found that when a woman sustains an injury during childbirth, due to a tear, an episiotomy, or C-section, working physically with the scars is the fastest route to getting physically comfortable with sex again,” explained Ellen in an interview with me.

Ellen Heed is Goddess of the Week!

Ellen Heed is revolutionizing women's health and sexual empowerment with her attention to postpartum sexuality. She has spent over 10,000 hours as a bodyworker, is a certified Shiatsu Specialist, a Craniosacral Therapist, an international teacher of human anatomy, a yoga teacher, and more recently has become a certified Sexological Bodyworker.In 2006, she launched the Women's Sacred Anatomy Project, with the intention of teaching women detailed sexual female anatomy and educating women about the full extent of their erotic possibilities. Ellen is dedicated to helping women experience full sexual empowerment and their ecstatic potential.

Are You a Woman Doing Business Like a Man?

t’s no secret that women have had to play a certain game to make it in the business world, i.e. be the bitchy boss, dress down their femininity, or abide by the rules of a hierarchal structure. Today, however, women are running their own businesses in increasing numbers and are making their own rules. According to the Center for Women's Business Research, women-owned businesses comprise 40 percent of all privately-held companies in the U.S. and women entrepreneurs are among the fastest growing groups of business owners.

Are You a Woman with a Message?

Do you have a fear of public speaking? I do. (Yikes!) Even though I am a writer and reporter and have spent plenty of time on stage as a singer and many years center stage as a teacher, I am still carrying around the fear of public speaking. Ridiculous, right? Maybe not. (Statistics show that the fear of public speaking ranks up there with the fear of death for the majority of people, and for some, even higher.)

Tracey Trottenberg is Goddess of the Week!

Tracey Trottenberg is a powerful feminine leader helping other women step up and step into themselves as powerful feminine leaders! She is an international speaker, leadership & communications strategist and trainer, and founder of Amazing Women International. She says says being a feminine leader is not about being perfect, it's about being authentic.

What's a Woman in Transition to Do?

Wendi Knox is the creator of Oh My Goddess, a company whose mission is to inspire women to listen to their inner voice and unzip their true selves. After working her way up to be a Senior Vice President Creative Director at a big advertising agency in Los Angeles (she was the only woman in this position), Wendi was laid off. "I had been at my agency for 15 years -- it felt like family. It was a huge shock having to reinvent my life," said Wendi in an interview.

Wendi Knox is Goddess of the Week!

Wendi Knox, creator of Oh My Goddess, is on a mission to inspire women to be true to themselves, listen to their inner voice, and unzip their inner joy by sharing her own truth, humor and heart. “I feel like I’m a part of a women’s liberation movement, but it’s the liberation of spirit,” she says. A former “Execu-Woman,” Wendi today writes the Oh My Goddess Bloggess, paints and sells goddess gift cards at stores like Fred Segal (see her gorgeous artwork below), hosts goddess events, is a mentor speaker for women’s groups, and has recently written a book that many of us will want to get our hands on (publisher TBD). Wendi is an inspirational goddess of creativity, sharing her inner vision, heart and soul to help other women unzip their truth and live in alignment with who they really are. What a goddess!

No Mean Girls Here

If you are a female entrepreneur, groups like SMARTY, eWomenNetwork, Ladies Who Launch, or First Tuesday are great options to connect with outstanding women. Whatever group you may choose, I think if we as women gather together in the truth of our vulnerabilities, fears, needs, dreams, desires, and passions, we will be creating an expansive space to raise our daughters, granddaughters, nieces, students, and other amazing girls in our lives and in the world.

Amy Swift-Crosby is Goddess of the Week!

Amy Swift has helped thousands of women launch their business. She is an expert at helping women entrepreneurs connect the dots to turn their ideas and dreams into reality and create profitable, sustainable businesses. She has an outstanding gift of being able to extract the genius in women -- helping them articulate what they know (but think they don't know). Amy has moderated dozens of panel discussions on the subject of entrepreneurship and has got some of the best interviewing skills I have seen!

Fearless Women: Is There Such a Thing?

On August 26, 2010 women will gather around the US and Canada in celebration of their fearless journey for a first annual “Fearless Women Day.” On this day, 90 years ago, the 19th amendment was ratified to give women the right to vote. Each city participating will vote for, select and honor one fearless woman who has contributed to their community and the world by awarding them with a “Fearless Women, Susan B. Anthony” award.

Mary Ann Halpin is Goddess of the Week!

Mary Ann Halpin is an internationally acclaimed author and photographer who is leading women in what is being called a "Fearless Women Revolution." Her first two books, "Pregnant Goddesshood" and "Fearless Women: Midlife Portraits", were groundbreaking (and controversial), and now she is about to release a third fearless book. In her new book, "Fearless Women, Fearless Wisdom," Mary Ann has brought together 40 female entrepreneurs from across the country to celebrate their courage and strength in having worked through their fears to achieve great personal and professional success.

Could a Photograph Really Up-Level a Woman’s Business?

A good photograph commands a conversation. It even can change the direction of the culture. Think: Demi Moore’s nude seven-month pregnant body on the cover of Vanity Fair’s August 1991 issue. That photograph made way for women to appreciate their pregnant bodies – and even see them as sexy – as opposed to cloaking their feminine selves underneath baggy, unattractive maternity clothes. Today women are celebrating their round-bellied bodies and embracing the beauty of their pregnancy. Maternity clothes have gotten more hip too. So what’s this got to do with a woman’s business?