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?

Wielding the Healing Wand

Today in Cosmic Cowgirls Magazine
is my latest article called 

Wielding the Magic Wand

“At the end of your brush is the tip of your soul.”
~ Andrew Hamilton

Some of my mission here on planet mama earth is to shine a light on extending love and grace to ourselves.  I don’t have a magic wand that can heal others or make people love themselves.  My wand can only work on me.  The good news is that I am quite confident that everyone has such a wand.

Magic Wand photo by Michelle Fairchild

To read more come visit Cosmic Cowgirls Magazine.

Mojo Monday ~ Plot Twists

It began with a dear friend posting this quote to the left on her Facebook wall on July 5th.

I responded:

LOL - This is part of what we call writing your Legendary Story. Plot twists in the real world can be a real pain, but when you look at it from a story perspective, oh this is when the story sometimes gets really good and juicy!  

She wrote:

Oh yeah! well I could use some boredom right about now LOL Plot twist, Plot twist, Plot twist!!!

I wrote:

You're funny!

Then I wrote: 

Tonight while reading the novel A Good American I come to this paragraph on page 353 that ended Chapter 40 - "My grandmother's life had been one long opera. There had been drama, heroes, villains, improbable plot twists, all that. But most of all there had been love, great big waves of it, crashing ceaselessly against the rocks of life, bearing us all back to grace." (Can you believe that!?! - how uncanny!)

Her response: 

synchronicity.. gotta love it!

Then on July 8th I read this in an astrological forecast by Heather Roan Robbins on Starcodes.

Thursday, July 11: If conflicts and friction arise early on; breathe through it and be safe. Tell good stories midday; when the plot twists, choose a good road. Afternoon is more efficient as the Moon enters mental Virgo, but instincts may work better than our minds; unknown factors can challenge our judgment as the Sun sesqui-squares Neptune. Watch out for detours, sloppy conditions, and defensive people; feel the good road underneath.

I began to get this nagging feeling that the Universe was telling me to "Pay attention, this is important!" and then laughing at blowing my mind with some good old synchronicity.

Several weeks have passed but I still felt inspired to write about Plot Twists for a Mojo Monday post.  I am curious and wondering what kind of plot twists others are experiencing out there?  How are you dealing with them?  Do you have a basket of goodies or a tool box, or belt if your more into packing them on your hip, that you can reach into when life throws you curve balls?  

Have you been experiencing more synchronistic moments?  What are your thoughts about synchronicity?  What is THAT about?  

Something to wonder about and ponder are the lyrics to the song Synchronicity by The Police:

Synchronicity I
With one breath, with one flow You will know Synchronicity A sleep trance, a dream dance A shaped romance Synchronicity A connecting principle Linked to the invisible Almost imperceptible Something inexpressible Science insusceptible Logic so inflexible Causally connectable Yet nothing is invincible If we share this nightmare Then we can dream Spiritus mundi If you act as you think The missing link Synchronicity We know you, they know me Extrasensory Synchronicity A star fall, a phone call It joins all Synchronicity It's so deep, it's so wide You're inside Synchronicity Effect without cause Sub-atomic laws, scientific pause Synchronicity You can also read more about how to handle things when life throws you curve balls in my article called The Compass of Love in Cosmic Cowgirls Magazine.

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.

Mojo Monday ~ Banging On the Doldrums

Banging On the Doldrums by Michelle Fairchild

It began as a word nerd alert. In an exchange with a friend the word "doldrums" was used. I found myself curious about where the word doldrums originated. So I looked it up. Then I found myself getting an image of a colorful art journal page with drums and the saying Banging on the Doldrums. That is how creativity can shift things. Just picturing that image was very amusing to me. 

Two days later I created this journal page.  She is indeed Banging On the Doldrums and the note below reads She was reminded of how creativity can shift things.

The topic of creativity has been much on my mind too, as I was working on my August article for Cosmic Cowgirls Magazine on that very topic.  My focus was on how creativity is a healing force and how it is an expression of our very souls and spirits.  

Is there something that is troubling you?  Is there something that inspires you right now?  In either direction one can use creativity to wonder and contemplate more deeply a subject.  Try drawing an image while thinking about a certain situation.  It can be random doodles or an image of the thing that you are thinking about.  Transforming thoughts and feelings into images can be very powerful and transformative.  Give it a try and see what happens.  

Mojo Monday ~ Express Yourself

Jack Kornfield, Buddhist author and teacher once wrote “I’ve been told the story of a six-year-old girl who asked her mother where she was going one afternoon.  The mother replies that she was headed for the university to teach her students how to draw and paint. ‘You mean they’ve forgotten?’ her daughter asked, amazed.  Many of us have forgotten how to give voice to our creativity.  And yet it is said that play —- our ability to let go, dance, sing, create — is one of the most wondrous expressions of our aliveness.”

Excerpts from the book by Nina Wise called A Big New Free Happy Unusual Life: Self Expression and Spiritual Practice for Those Who Have Time for Neither.

“Everyone is creative.  Creativity is our very nature.  But for many of us, the creative impulse has gone into hiding, ‘I can’t draw, I can’t sing, I can’t dance,’ we confess to each other, and we plant ourselves in front of the television for the evening. But the creative impulse that is at the core of all being remains robust within us.”

“Creativity is about having the courage to invent our lives – to concoct lovemaking games, cook up a new recipe, paint a kitchen cabinet, build sculptures on the beach and sing in the shower. Creativity is about our capacity to experience the core of our being and the full range of our humanness.  The question of how to become more creative is not about learning anything or even doing anything, but about allowing whatever arises to gain expression.  To do this, we must bypass the voice inside of us that says stop.  The censoring mind is clever and has an entire litany of reasons we must refrain from expressing ourselves: you are a bad dancer so sit back and watch while the skillful ones dance.  And you certainly can’t paint so don’t even try because you will embarrass yourself. You sing off-key and you can’t hold a rhythm – you will disturb everyone within earshot if you open your mouth.  And if you happen to disregard this sage advice, you will make a total fool of yourself and no one will ever love you or give you a job.  We obey this voice as if being guided by inner wisdom, but when we tune in, we hear a quieter voice calling out to us to express ourselves freely.  This is the voice that can liberate us.  If we listen and respond, our lives become rich with the pleasure creative freedom provides.”

“It is our nature to be free and it is our nature to express that freedom, spontaneously and without hesitation, through song, and dance, and painting, and poetry and prayer.  In the same way that the universe gives birth to uncountable shapes, forms, colors and beings in a grand panoply of flowing, changing manifestation, we too, are of the nature to give birth to myriad forms of expression.”

What are your thoughts regarding the excerpts from Nina Wise's book?

Has someone you know ever stated “I am not creative”?  Did you respond?

Have you ever felt that you weren't very creative?

This week if you hear that voice that says "stop" when you think about painting, dancing, writing or inventing a new recipe put your fingers in your ears and go "la la la la la" until you can't hear it anymore and then proceed with wild abandon to create without judgement, to create just for the sake of creating. Liberate yourself! Set aside time to just play and let go.  See what happens when you give yourself permission to just create without a specific purpose in mind.  

What do you gravitate to first  - paints, crayons, scissors and glue?

As Greg Anderson so brilliantly put it

"Focus on the journey, not the destination. 

Joy is found not in finishing an activity but in doing it."

 

Nina Wise is known for her provocative and original performance works. Her pieces have garnered seven Bay Area Critics' Circle Awards, and she has received, among other prestigious honors, three National Endowment for the Arts fellowships. Her written pieces have appeared in numerous magazines and anthologies. Nina lives in San Rafael, California.
http://www.ninawise.com/

Jack Kornfield is one of the leading Buddhist teachers in America. A practitioner for over 40 years, he is one of the key teachers to introduce mindfulness and vipassana meditation to the West. His approach emphasizes compassion, lovingkindness and the profound path of mindful presence, all offered in simple, accessible ways in his books, CD’s, classes and retreats.

http://www.jackkornfield.com/

Mojo Monday ~ Rocking Chair Moments

When I'm 80 and sitting in a rocking chair listening to the Rolling Stones, 

there is absolutely no way I'm going to feel old or forget my younger days. 

~ Patty Duke

A friend of mine once described a particularly happy experience as a rocking chair moment. He said he knew that when he was old and sitting in a rocking chair that he was going to  think back fondly on that event.   We humans do have a tendency to reminisce and it can be fun to look back in time.  One of the things I also registered from the comment and realized is that we still had a lot more living to do and a lot more moments to experience that would become a part of our treasured history.  

Rocking chair moments don't have to involve expensive vacations or life changing events necessarily.  Many of our most special moments take place because we are doing them with loved ones or simply participating in a favorite activity.  Talk to most parents and they will have very specific memories of their children growing up that stand out to them.  There are poignant moments during milestone markers, such as completing kindergarten, graduating high school, getting married, having a child, losing a loved one or achieving something meaningful, no matter how big or small.

One of the ways I like to track time and record special moments is through photography.  Photography is a favorite art form and also a storyteller.  Several years back I even participated in a photo blog group and for over two years I posted at least one photo a day. There were a few group leaders who would post the word of the day and the goal was to interpret or represent that word with a photo.  It was fun, creative and sometimes challenging.  It enhanced my tendency to look around myself with wondering new eyes.  I know the photographic project came easily to me because I already had a tendency to look around myself with artful eyes.  

Whether you are around the house, just going around town or away enjoying a summer vacation, look around you with the eyes of an artist and a photographer.  What do you see?  What do you notice?  What draws your eye?  What could you want to capture as an image?  What would you want to share with others?  

I recently went away on vacation with my husband and twin daughters.  We spent a few days in Monterey and then moved over to camping at Little Basin, near Santa Cruz and Boulder Creek.  Being on the coast and in the redwoods provided a smorgasbord of images to delight me.  

 

Here is a slideshow from the Monterey area and another of camping in the redwoods at Little Basin with more photos.

Make your own free digital scrapbook

Customize a free scrapbook design

I'd love to see some images delight you.  Consider what sorts of things make for rocking chair moments and photograph them, describe them in words or paint or collage them.  The creative options are wide open, so explore and have fun.