The Essential Feminine Company - Empowering Women to Create Successful Businesses and Lives

“You are a human magnet and you are constantly attracting to you people whose characters harmonize with your own.” -Napoleon Hill

What you imagine you can create. Within our imagination we hold the power to recreate our lives and manifest far more than we believe on a day-to-day basis. The art of manifesting includes one’s ability to clearly define a desired outcome or way of being and to believe and work towards this on a daily basis.  Setting a clear intention is the first step in creating a new reality.  Never be afraid to think big and design this new reality to include things that both feel good and provide you with opportunities for growth. We often beaver away in our own world, viewing life from a set of limited lenses.  Expand your vision to include seeing the world in a whole new way.

 There comes a time in life where we know we have to take ourselves to the next level; the next level of adventure, accomplishment, exploration or achievement. When this feeling sets in we often feel a questioning of our abilities to take our life to the next level-whatever that may look like for you. Some may chose never to move past a certain level of development or living and remain in a state of entropy. It takes great self-confidence to move throught theses challenging times; to stretch ourselves and move to new levels of living expression or achievement.  It is easy to spot those who old back and show a lack of confidence, as this lack of confidence shows up in the words they speak, the way that they hold their body and the way that the repel rather than attract others. Today’s economy and the state of the world can shut people down and make them question their self belief. On the other hand, these times that we are living in can offer one an opportunity to stretch beyond limiting thoughts and beliefs and to live with a new level of confidence. What’s your choice?

 The clearer we become about what our life is meant to express, about our talents and our gifts, the more powerfully we will be able to attract allies, guides, friends, and supports to help us on our journey.  When Socrates spewed the famous quote, “know thy self,” the importance of his words carried throughout the ages. I believe that this quote carries such importance because as humans unless we “know thyself” we miss a tremendous opportunity to live fully alive lives, to create at a truly high level and to manifest and contribute in powerful ways. The first true step to powerful manifestation is to truly know what we value what we believe and what we would like to create. From this simple knowledge we can go forth into the world with this powerful inner-knowing and understanding and manifest far beyond what we ever envisioned.

Life is fast and full for most of us! We go through the days like ships at sea without a compass, seemingly at the mercy of everything around us. That is when it is important to make a conscious decision to pause and realize that we are the ones responsible for our lives. We can take charge. We can find our compass, our direction, and make a difference in the world. Three steps we can take to achieve our direction are to quiet the mind, connect with the body, and evaluate whether or not we are expressing our gifts fully in the world. All three of these practical expressions can make a major difference in the quality of our lives!

The first step: Quieting The Mind

 • Set aside time in silence at least 3 days a week for 20 minutes where you can begin to get to know yourself, your needs, your desires and aspirations. Learn to identify and trust your intuition and inner voice. We all have an inner voice that guides and directs us. We just need to listen.

• Question: Can you think of one way this week that you could actually create a period of calm and stillness for yourself?

The second step: Connecting With The Body

• Learn to become more aware of your body’s needs.

• Listen more closely to the signs that your body gives you, i.e. where are there aches, sensations and areas of tightness? Is your body sending you a message? What might the message be?

• Explore these sensations through yoga or other movement you enjoy. Your body holds great information about its own healing needs and emotional state of being.

• Question: What 2 things would you need to do differently to begin to honor and care for your body in a new way?

By taking these two steps, you start to walk on a path of self-exploration. You begin to get a sense of who you are and how your life fits into the scheme of things. Each of us is unique and each of us has a unique contribution to make in the world. The world today needs the contributions that are born from the qualities and gifts embodied in women. We as women need to discover these gifts and bring them forth.

Several years ago in a blog entitled “Are Women In The US Really Leading?”, I commented on a global survey ranking women in the area of gender equality that was compiled by “The White House Project”.  The survey stated that “The United States ranks 22nd out of 115 countries.”  The report utilized 4 measurement standards: economic participation and opportunity, educational attainment, health and survival, and political empowerment.  We came in first for Health and Survival, and third for Economic Opportunity.  But, we received our lowest score for Political Empowerment, coming in 66th. 

I wondered about our progress since that time and went looking for an updated report.  I discovered a thought provoking and heart touching blog written by Mary C. Wilson for “The White House Project Blog”, entitled A False Divide Between Head and Heart: What I Learned From Robert McNamara.  It is well worth reading in its entirety.

As for the report, she states in her blog, “Women are still vastly underrepresented in the halls of power. As the soon-to-be-released “White House Project Report: Benchmarking Women’s Leadership” has found, women are far from parity in every sector, from business and politics to sports and religion. Projections show that it will take decades to reach even a critical mass in many of these arenas; and the women who do make it into positions of power often do so at great sacrifice.”

 Do we have decades?

 Becoming leaders takes courage and determination and most of all a willingness to step forward.  It can not and will not be done for us.  Though, each of us must take that step for ourselves, we need not do it alone.

 

 

These days I have been reading a book called “Ask & It Is Given” by Ester and Jerry Hicks.  It has become very clear to me that when we rediscover our innate ability to allow well being to steadily flow in to our lives, that our lives are lived from an elevated level.  We are the ones who restrict our experiences from the steady flow of well being.  In the book, the Art of Allowing our natural well being is referred to frequently as “the art of no longer restricting the well being that you deserve; the well being that is natural; the well being that is your legacy…”

If it is true that we are the ones that allow for our own well being, what gets in our way?  What stops us or restricts us from living well every day of our lives.  If this well being is natural and it is said to be our legacy, let’s take a look at some of the hindrances that we create:

•  Fear – of failure, of success,  of accomplishing, of not accomplishing
• Sabotaging our potential – not feeling worthy
• Underestimating or not being clear about our gifts
• Not staying fit and maximizing our life energy and life force
• Not setting boundaries or limits with ourselves and other people

 The list goes on and on.  Add your own.  But take this moment to name the hindrance but next to it, name the potential solution.  If our well being is up to us, it is our responsibility to find a way to support it, to flow naturally on a daily basis.

Take a moment to identify your hindrances to your personal well being.  Create a solution for each hindrance.  Go for it!

 Maureen Simon

maureen@maureensimon.com

www.maureensimon.com

www.theessentialfeminine.com

“An aim in life is the only fortune worth finding; and it is not to be found in a foreign land, but in the heart itself.” Robert Louis Stevenson I guess I’ve always been pretty clear about why I’m here. My journey began years back at seventeen years of age when I chose to study human services and community organization. My heart has always been with people. My dream has always been to be a part of maximizing human potential in every possible way. I have dedicated my life to this aim. However, each day and each year of my life sure as to what the best way for me to achieve this aim would be. But I always kept the question alive. I am convinced that the answer does lie in our heart, not in a foreign land, and it’s our personal responsibility to embark upon that exploration. As I’ve written many times, I believe each of us is here for a very specific purpose that no one else could fulfill. Some days the clarity of that purpose feels very far away, but we owe it to ourselves to stay conscious and inquisitive. You are a very special part of a whole. Without you, things would be very different. “What is your aim?” “Can you look in your heart and trust that the answer is to be found there?”

Maureen Simon

Maureen@maureensimon.com

www.maureensimon.com

www.theessentialfeminine.com

As John O Donohue the famous Irish writer said, “…to be born is to be chosen. No one is here by accident”. I love that thought because it deepens my inquiry as to why I am actually here!  I also find the statement to be bold. Irish writers are not afraid to be bold or to think outside of the box!

I know that there are many arguments that can and have been made regarding John’s statement above, but I totally agree with his wise words. The above quote comes from John’s stellar work Anam Cara (soul friend in Irish). In Anam Cara John goes on to write,” This selectivity intimates a sheltering providence that dreamed you, created you and always minds you. You were not consulted on the major factors that shaped your destiny: when you were born; to whom you were born or. where you would be born. Imagine the difference it would have made to your life had you been born into the house next door.

John’s conversation above gets me thinking:

 For what have I been chosen?

If my life is not an accident, there must be deep meaning for my life. Am I living up to this sacred contract?  How can I take my commitment to live fully to the next level?

Consider asking yourself the above questions.  And, for a new perspective on life, ask yourself, “What would it have been like if I had been born next door?”

 Maureen Simon 

www.theessentialfeminine.com

www.maureensimon.com