Mojo Monday ~ She: A Celebration of Greatness In Every Woman

SHE ~ She Harnesses Everything

“SHE is a book of qualities illustrating the greatness and strength of all women.  From ‘everywoman’ to exemplars Madame Secretaries Hillary Clinton and Madeleine Albright, to visionary artist Shiloh McCloud and poet Maya Stein, these woman represent the very best in the human spirit.  Author-artists Mary Anne Radmacher and Liz Kalloch have gathered these fierce and fiesty females along with their best advice for our life’s journey on the topics of leadership, friendship, adventurousness, collaboration, risk-taking, happiness, compassion and much more.  With words of wisdom from Madeleine L’Engle, Laura Schlesssinger, Rachel Carson, Oprah Winfrey, Harper Lee, Lucille Ball, Cheri Huber, Julia Child, Drew Barrymore and many others.”

The book SHE: A Celebration of Greatness In Every Woman is a work of art. Each page is richly designed enhancing the beauty and power of the words that were written by authors Mary Anne Radmacher and Liz Kalloch.  This work of art also includes words of wisdom from Shiloh McCloud, Hillary Rodham Clinton, Deanna Davis, Jennifer Louden, Christine Mason Miller and more.

I can recall how in January of 2013 Mary Anne Radmacher emailed me asking if I might be able to give her Shiloh McCloud’s private email address, as she wanted to contact her about a particular project.  I knew Shiloh wouldn’t mind so I shared it with her.  Later that same day I heard back from both Mary Ann and Shiloh about their delightful exchange regarding this very book project. Here it is finally in all its glory.

My friend and Cosmic Cowgirl tribe chief Shiloh was selected as the representative for the Mystical in the book. Here are a few images from the book for this particular topic.

There are so many more brilliant words of wisdom in the book.  More quotes to inspire.  More image and designs to please the eyes.  It is a feast for the senses.  The only thing missing is a musical soundtrack to accompany the book.

Here are some more images and quotes from the book to enjoy.

Authors Mary Anne Radmacher and Liz Kalloch
are about to begin a tour with their new book.

One of the big book events is taking place on March 8th
from 10:00 am to 3:00 pm in Napa, CA

Here are more details:
Celebrate International Women’s Day in a festival-like atmosphere!
Join inspirational author Mary Anne Radmacher and artist/co-author Liz Kalloch
sharing their new book, She: A Celebration of Greatness in Every Woman,
as well as Dr. Rhea Zimmerman (producer and director of Love Bomb The Movie
and local author Pam Burns-Clair, MFT
(We Who Took a Leap – From Where Our Mothers Left Off),
followed by lunch (which may be purchased),
book signing, wine tasting, local entertainment and
a room filled with inspirational women sharing
their unique talents/contributions in our community.
This event is FREE to both participants and the public.

Visit the Facebook page for the book SHE here.

You can find Mary Anne Radmacher on Facebook here.

Liz Kalloch is on Facebook here.

Lastly you can also find cards (even SHE cards) and prints by
Mary Anne Radmacher and Liz Kalloch
at a web site called Applied Insight.

She Nurtures Greeting Card (She)
“She nurtures. She gardens.
She calls her friends to play in the fields of excellence.
She commands respect by never demanding it.
She grows all kinds of goodness. She lives with intention.”

Mojo Monday ~ Autumn Is...

Autumn Beauty Collage - photos by Michelle Fairchild

I find beauty and things to delight me in every season.  Our natural world is an artists dream.  Just look around and you can see how Autumn knows how to put on a show.  She is vivid and rich, the hues of yellow, orange and red sometimes shocking even in their glory.

Already this season our family of four, while on a weekend jaunt out of town, stopped in Suisun City at Larry's Produce.  I am almost reluctant to share about it publicly, thinking it might be better to keep it a secret.  The market is already a wonderful place to pick up produce during the late spring and summer months, but it becomes even more festive in my eyes in the fall when the pumpkins, squash and gourds arrive.  Here is a sample of the delights to be had at the outdoor market.

Larry's Produce - Photos by Michelle Fairchild

Living in Northern California in a more rural area there are also farms that transform into festive destinations in the month of October.  Just this past Friday I went on a field trip with my daughters 2nd grade class to a local farm where we went on a train ride, a wagon ride, picked pumpkins right off the vines, bounced on a trampoline, shot corn cobs out of air cannons, wandered through a corn maze and watched little piggies race.  

Hawes Farm - photos by Michelle Fairchild

Not only are the images about Autumn stunning, but so can be the words of writers who wax poetic about this season and its golden abundance.   Here are some delightful reads for you to enjoy.



In my exploration of all tings Autumn I also came across this sentimental creation by Cathy Cullis called Fragile Things.

fragile things

autumn leaves      seedpods

feathers      rain clouds

fading photographs

poems

my heart

Fragile Things by Cathy Cullis

Have you experienced any Fall fun yet?  

Here is a list of some ideas to get you going.  

Consider writing your own poem about Autumn or simply a list that begins with Autumn is...

Grab your camera and go for a drive or a walk and capture some of the fall color in your area.

Pick up some pumpkins and colorful gourds at the store and create a display on your porch, dining room table or altar.  

Is there something you love best about this season?

Mojo Monday ~ Pacing Ourselves

A message has been repeating itself this past week.  I am listening.  

I heard it first last weekend during an amazing workshop presented by Cosmic Cowgirls that featured Lyz Anzia, human rights journalist and found of Women News Network.  The Women News Network has dedicated itself to bringing global attention to the needs and empowerment of women through online news journalism.   

During the workshop one participant asked how do the journalists covering difficult subjects about such human rights issues which include stories about sex trafficking, rape, abuse and more, keep from falling in to despair about the many problems around the world.  Lyz responded very clearly that journalists are able to do the work because they know that the work they are doing can help to change such things.  In addition Lys shared that the stories they are writing help to inform 500 UN agencies and NGO (non-governmental organization) affiliates, international offices of legislation, worldwide universities and Schools of Law, as well the public at large.  In effect the articles being written have the power to change laws, impact legislation, and inform people who are in positions to enact even greater changes in their communities and their governments.

Just this last Friday night I had dinner with two dear friends who work on the front lines with people in crisis.  One works for a women's refuge shelter.  The other has served as a therapist for those with mental health and drug and alcohol related issues.  It is common that the shelter is short on staff and yet the clients continue to stream through their doors.  My friend's healthy realization is that she is only one person, and she can only do what she can do during her eight hours at work.  My other friend spoke of the high number of 51/50 clients that had been brought into their center recently and then shared about talking to a peer who handles all the cases in a region for veterans who are suicidal.   Again the message was we are each one person and we can only do what we can do.  

In January of this year I wrote a Mojo Monday post called Change and Empowerment.  That post was about how we can be aware of what is going on in the world and being sensitive, thoughtful and caring people, not manage to lose ourselves in all the swirling problems and tragedies in the world.  There are always so many issues from the bees disappearing, to animal cruelty, to thousands dying because of chemical warfare, to people starving or not having enough clean water, to girls being sold for sex, and the list can go on and on and on.  While I don't believe that burying our heads in the sand is the answer, it also isn't helpful to the world or to our own well being if we begin to drown in a sea of depression.

When I see someone I know posting on Facebook one tragedy story after another I want to give them a hug in person and gently suggest "Pace yourself my friend."   Personally I want to be informed of what is happening in this big wide world.  I do care deeply about our planet and all the people living on it.   My heart wants so much for every person to experience a loving and happy life.  I sadly know that this is not the reality for too many living among us.   I know that I have to balance out the harsher realities with uplifting and positive stories so that I am reminded of all the beauty and joy that also exists in our world.  I also think as Lys Anzia so clearly stated in her workshop, that knowing we are doing something to effect change and make a difference in a positive way can also keep us uplifted in the midst of stories and events that are hard to bear.  

The way we make a difference will vary and look different from person to person.  I know that my husbands day job as a middle school science and mathematics teacher impacts the lives of his students significantly.  He even has students who he taught about 20 years ago who have remained in contact with him all these years.  I have worked for a non-profit foster adoption agency for over nine years and working shoulder to shoulder with social workers and therapists to serve the foster and adoptive children and adoptive families has been very gratifying.  I also infuse the writing I do for Cosmic Cowgirls Magazine, this blog and the book I am writing with inspiring messages about healing, grace, love and forgiveness.  Other ways I try to make a difference is by eating a vegan diet, signing petitions, making my voice heard about political issues by writing my representatives and so on.  Even though we may earn modest teacher and non-profit salaries we also still choose to donate to causes each year that speak to our hearts.  It may be the local food shelter, a center to help those in need, a family that is struggling, or an animal shelter like The Farm Sanctuary.  

Photo by Michelle Fairchild

I realize that not all the day jobs out there will feel as if they are designed to serve a greater humanitarian purpose, but that doesn't stop one from having a positive impact on one's fellow workers or from volunteering or offering one's services in other ways.  While it may not be the easiest thing to do all the time it is in some ways the simplest, and that is to extend love and kindness to others on a regular basis.

Photo by Michelle Fairchild

Think of some things or images that are uplifting to you.  Do you have these images in your immediate surroundings?  Do you keep things in your environment that bring you joy and remind you of the beauty that exists in our world?

One of the things that is always sure to make me smile are sunflowers.  Sunflowers remind me to breathe. They remind me of the wonders of nature and our planet. They remind me that nothing is permanent and that this is a good thing for life is dynamic. The praying mantis friend on the one sunflower reminds me that my positive thoughts create my world and that beauty comes in all forms.

There are also sources out there that offer up positive stories.  One such site is called Daily Good: News That Inspires.   Just today a friend shared a an article to warm the heart called The Business 9 Women Kept A Secret for Three Decades.  Here is a story about a small group of women who anonymously for many years have done things like paid someones utility bill, bought new clothes for children, donated pillows and linens and personal care products to a shelter for survivors of domestic violence and so much more.  They raised the money by selling pound cakes.  You can read more about these inspiring women by clicking the linked article title.

Other stories of goodness and kindness abound if we look for them or take notice.  There is a beautiful story told in this video about a love letter a man name Fred wrote for his wife who had recently died.  You might want to have a box of tissues nearby as you watch how through the kindness of others his letter is transformed into a song.  

Recently I also found incredible inspiration in a children's book called Amos & Boris that I read to my twin daughters.  There were some simple, yet profound messages in the book that captivated my heart. Here are some images for you to enjoy.

Mojo Monday ~ A Beautiful Body Project

A Beautiful Body Project

A Movement Of Women Rising Up 

To Transform Body Image 

In Mass Media Through 

Untouched Photographs, 

Essays, Audio, And Video! 

A Beautiful Body Project is an upcoming series of book volumes & an online media platform dedicated to women & body image, dedicated to sharing stories about motherhood, aging, cancer, still-births, miscarriages, weigh-gain, weight-loss, dysmorphia, and beyond. 

It all began when photographer and dancer Jade Beall posted this photo above of a friend of hers that she took in her studio Tucson, AZ.   She had already posted photos of her post-birth body to show the world what she was going through after her son Sequoia came into this world. And through all of this she realized that there were hundreds and thousands of women who also wanted to share their life stories about their bodies! The emails started flooding in and she realized she had to build this project, that it was her calling. 

A Beautiful Body project is movement of women coming together to tell their stories and celebrate their ever-changing bodies so that future generations of women can live free from self-suffering.

Portrait of Jade Beall with son Sequoia.

A few weeks back in a Mojo Monday post called My Body Is Magic I mentioned this project and shared a video about it.  This week I found myself inspired yet again by Jade Beall and her co-creator and husband Alok Appadurai with two poems they shared on Facebook and on the web site for the project.  

Here is the first poem by Jade that will also be featured in my upcoming Cosmic Cowgirls Magazine article entitled The Embodiment of I AM in September.

You can wear makeup
or nothing at all

You can wear heels

or walk barefoot

You can drive a BMW

or take the bus to the store

You can have plastic surgery

or leave your body alone

It all means the same to me:

We are all variations of truthful beauty

I honor you as you choose to be

while I pray for freedom from unnecessary suffering

and I pray for the wisdom of listening to one’s truth

Our paths are unique while uniting as one

One Love!

And there is an urgency for compassion for one another

that begs us to

honor

and listen

and treasure

those around us

While we live our lives

As authentically as the DNA that is being danced

by the beat of our one heart.

-Jade

Here is the fierce and inspiring poem by Alok Appadurai.

Milking Millions Off Women's Self-Doubt

Industries are born on the backs of Women hating themselves. 
It's an emotional slavery that milks these women, dollar by dollar, 
Like chained dairy cows, Oozing vicious droplets of self-hate
That rot the roots of a woman's inner beauty... 

You see, executive bonuses don't swell when women feel naturally beautiful
Just as they are. 
You can't push lipstick, eye shadow, foundation, and blush 
Like crack cocaine or heroin, 
On a woman who sees her true worth, you dig? 

Millions are milked from the financial breasts of women 
Simply by convincing them 
A Grand Canyon exists between them and being beautiful.

Magazines and movies are complicit in this lie that warps all of our minds

into a silent submission prostrating to the Lords Of Media
Who enrich themselves on the suffering of a woman,

as she whips herself leaving emotional scars that don't have to last a lifetime

but all too often do. 

Diet pills, Spanx, and photoshop are foot soldiers in the war on women's self-esteem,

hell-bent on their own Crusade to convert unsuspecting teens, or worse, preteens,

into self-critical consumers of false hopes offered by surgeons, photographers, and others

who want to hide, reshape, retouch, or fix what actually isn't wrong with you. 

Millions are milked from the bank accounts of women who have been brainwashed to believe they aren't good enough. 

Industries thrive when she looks in the mirror and hates herself just a little more with each day, each wrinkle, each magazine consumed. 

Embodied self-esteem breaks the chains of dependence on products that merely momentarily massage our bandaged egos,

Cutting the umbilical chord of self-suffering that has been feeding their bodies and their brains

with toxic imagery of fake tits and other ideals that are nothing more than comparative trampolines:

Your mind soars on the amphetimes of a shopping spree

yet crashes when the superficial effects wear off. 

Ask yourself this:

Who would buy what is being sold if women actually believed they were beautiful for who they are,

not what they look like?

Industries would crumble. Bonuses would deflate.

Executives would scramble, Board rooms would be abuzz.

What would they do if women stopped buying the lie that they are flawed,  that they aren't enough?

And the best part of the corporate magic trick to maximize profits built on women hating themselves:

women do a bangup job making other women hate themselves too,

and have become the front line warriors destroying other women's fragile sense of self. 

You can blame everyone and their mother

or you can believe: It's time. 

It's time to close your eyes, ears, and wallets to the pimps of self-loathing

who want you hooked on their drugs that manufacture dysmorphia in your brain.

Self-esteem doesn't come in a bottle.  You were born beautiful.

There is only one way forward. Women rising up &

Empowering each other to leap into the unknown chasm

of life's greatest love affair with one's own self.

-Alok Appadurai is a writer, co-Founder of "A Beautiful Body Project" & "Fed By Threads", an advocate for animals & the environment, and a proud father to baby Sequoia.

Alok, Jade and Sequoia

Founder Jade Beall has been a photographer, a massage therapist, and an inspiring dance teacher for women for over a decade. Her work is touching thousands of lives around the world. 

More about Jade in her own words:

"A quiet yet profound love for photography took me by surprise my senior year of high school (1996, yeah, a while back) because of an incredible teacher at Tucson High, Mr. Halfmann.  Today, I gather inspiration from poets and local photographers alike, finally finding my true passion for what I call Medicinal Photography for Women a few years ago in 2009.  Medicinal Photography means to serve as an empowering tool to facilitate healing for women to feel beautiful and irreplaceable, just as they are, without need of digital alterations.

I have taught weekly dance classes for self-empowerment with live drumming for over a decade, I run a made in America sustainable clothing line that feeds Americans in need with my husband.  I in-joy listening to people and looking into their eyes and seeing THEM, the real, beautiful them.

Becoming a mother in February of 2012 brought forth this Beautiful Body Project.  Through this journey that motherhood in all her glory and raggedness has generously gifted me came a new-found desire to connect to other women on a much deeper and more meaningful level.  This inter-connectedness, this unity with other mothers and other women has been one of the most precious gifts of all (besides my gorgeous and perfect son, of course)."

*********************************

Please visit and explore the web site for A Beautiful Body Project.
You will be inspired and moved by the stories and the images.

Do you feel inspired by this project?

Does it have any impact on how you view yourself?

What are your thoughts about accepting and loving your body ~ imperfections and all?

Mojo Monday ~ My Body Is Magic

“I like my body because it’s magic.” - 5-year-old Sofia (aka Lola)

Interrupt Magazine published an article that caught my attention.  Writer Marie C. begins by sharing a startling statistic.  "By the age of 13, 53 percent of girls say they are unhappy with their bodies. When were they happy?"

In order to find out, Marie C. photographed and interviewed girls between the ages of four and eight and asked them what they liked about their bodies. These girls share wisdom the rest of us have forgotten.

Sharing this article was already on my agenda for Mojo Monday.  Yet I took note last Saturday during a water aerobics class how many women were making critical remarks about their bodies.  Comments were made now and again that reflected how many of the women wished they looked different.  A part of me wanted to address the whole group and ask "How many women here like their bodies?" I had a strong intuitive sense that most of the women would not have responded positively.   

Consider the wisdom in the answers of these other young girls when they were asked what they liked about their bodies.

“I like my body. I like my eyes because they help me see different things. I also like my hands because they help me write different things. I also like my feet because they help me walk and have fun. My name is Jeniah and I’m 8-years-old!” - 8-year-old Jeniah

 “My whole body I love I love.” – 4-year-old Layla

“Something I like about my body is how fast I can run,
and how healthy I am.” – 9-year-old Lana

“I like that I can move with it. I like that eyelashes are long. I like that my skin is half white and half brown. I like that my hair can shake.” – 6-year-old Bayan

“I like my hands they help draw.” –  6-year-old Laila

“My body is magic because...
...of my bright green eyes that are soulful and shine.
...of my ability to float, glide and swim in the water like an otter.
...of my big smile that is warm and toothy.
...of my hands that can transform my creative thoughts into art and written words.
...of my strong legs and big traveling feel that support me well.
...of my arms that give comfort, bug hugs and serve a volleyball fast and hard.
..it provides me with the tools to live and love this life."
 –  44-year-old Michelle Ida Fairchild

Now it is your turn.  
List some things that you love about your body.  
How is your body magic?
Take a self portrait.
The photo(s) can be your whole body
or of parts you particularly love.  

Lastly, be sure to embrace yourself as your own beloved.

Come learn more about A Beautiful Body Project
and watch this video for a very inspiring experience.