The Sensual Heart

The first Sensual Heart "Women Gathering Together to Dance Can Actually Change the World" of 2009 was a wonderful success. We were an intimate group in Ventura California hosted by the beautiful Anna Lena of http://www.extremegolfbliss.com/.

Anna Lena is a no-nonsense woman who lives her passion. It was such a joy to spend time with her and meet her family.

I also got to connect with the stunningly radiant and especially on-fire Christie Calder of Santa Barbara. I met some gorgeous Goddesses for the very first time and together we danced up a storm, celebrating, transforming and changing our world!

Stay tuned as the Darfur Basket of Strength and I travel across North America circling with more amazing Sisters!

Blessings, Leela

Leela Francis
info@vividexistence.com
http://www.vividexistence.com/
http://www.vividlywoman.com/



Follow me on Twitter too! http://twitter.com/LeelaFrancis



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Interview with Amber Chand

Continued from the VividlyWoman April Newsletter: LF: What did you discover from this experience? AC: There was a certain headiness - an intoxication, you might call it - that symbolized that era of the dot.com boom. And a bravado that went along with massive amounts of venture capital being thrown at the feet of emerging internet companies. Clearly there was something unsustainable about these testosterone driven, fast paced models of growth that focused narrowly on maximizing profit in a short amount of time. Inherent in this exhausting vision of growth were the destructive attributes of fear and greed expressed through an impatient, highly competitive and aggressive drive to succeed. The only other example of unbridled growth of this kind I could think of was cancer. Deciding to go back into the world as a business entrepreneur nine months later and resurrect the crumbling mission of the old company felt terrifying in some ways and I had to ask myself the important question: how would my business enterprise differ from this model and how would it authentically reflect my values as a mother, peace builder, spiritual seeker and global citizen. It was these questions that led me to explore the realm of the feminine paradigm for business. LF: What does the feminine paradigm for business look like? AC: I believe that in order to be successful and sustainable in the 21st century, businesses like all other organizations need to create a skillful balance between receptive feminine and active masculine principles. This new kind of enterprise needs to be decisive, action-oriented, focused and strategic (the masculine) as well as intuitive, empathetic, collaborative and inspirational (the feminine).. Its success lies in its capacity to create relationships built on trust and transparency not suspicion and secrecy. Its actions need to be infused with love, respect and fairness towards all stakeholders and not fear,distrust and callous self centeredness. It needs to value interconnectedness through the partnerships it creates rather than succumb to blind competitiveness; foster patience in achieving its goals and create a steady vision for its future, strengthened by reverence and humility. The feminine seemed to beckon inviting me to reframe the context of my business as transformational rather than merely transactional. I began to envision a matrix that would measure the company's success not only in terms of its profitability (sustainability) but also in terms of its social impact on the communities it served and the happiness that the women felt because of their association with the company. This holistic view - creating an enterprise for the good of all - excited me. Each morning, before I sat at my desk, I would invoke divine inspiration and guidance, trusting in the journey I had embarked upon, feeling the sheer goodness of the work , and sensing that my business was not a separate entity from myself but rather a deep expression of who I am and seek to be - in the world. LF: Tell us about your most recent enterprise, the Amber Chand Gift Collection AC: I launched The Amber Chand Gift Collection as an online retail enterprise that offers unique, meaningful gifts created by skilled women artisans around the world. These are talented and courageous women who are rebuilding their lives in the shadow of war, genocide, civil strife and crushing poverty . All are seeking an opportunity to earn a livelihood for themselves and their families. Through the Collection, they are able to market their products to American audiences. LF: How is the Collection doing based on the understanding of the feminine paradigm in business? AC: Today, the Collection has blossomed into a beautiful enterprise small and intimate in its gift offerings whilst supporting hundreds of women artisans around the world. It has grown steadily each year, with people from 108 countries connecting to its website and a growing base of loyal customers who are considered our Ambassadors of Peace. By all accounts, it is a successful enterprise. By valuing the feminine principle in the way I choose to run my business I have found a certain ease and grace in the process, a receptivity to each new opportunity that comes along and an openness to each new obstacle and challenge (of which there are many). I find myself trusting the sacredness of this unfolding journey, celebrating its successes whenever it touches the lives of others, and honoring the deeper mission which inspires and informs its growth. Very much like in nature, a seed of a vision is sown, watered, and with patient attention, grows into blossom. This is a very feminine perspective and one that works! Amber Chand Founder The Amber Chand Collection http://www.amberchand.com/ 413-458-5343 Love, Leela is the founder of VividExistence and VividlyWoman . A facilitator of groups and individuals for over 20 years, she is an expert in the field of body, self and soul

Leela Answers

Thank you for your overwhelming response to my recent call for questions about women's spirituality. I've had a huge influx of questions. It's so helpful to know what women are thinking, feeling and wanting more of. I have chosen a few of the many questions to answer below that I felt represented the over all requests for my take on the subject.

I want you to know that putting out the Ask Leela email was really scary for me. As much as I might look like I know what I'm doing and like I have my s--t together, there is always that little voice (sometimes big voice) inside me that challenges my right to claim expertise or wisdom.

Yet it is exactly that chronic self doubt and self sabotaging behavior that actually makes me the expert. I've had lots of practice rising above my self doubt and becoming conscious of the ways I self sabotage. I share your fears, your insecurities, your challenges. All I'm doing is getting real about it with my community so that we can stop pretending, bring what's lurking in the shadow out into the light, and support and inspire each other's expansion and healing. What are sisters for?

It's amazing how the right clothes and a shiny website can create the illusion of being above it all. Let's drop the facade ladies and start accepting our own and each other's authentic selves, insecurities and all. From that place of truth I invite us all to leap into the unknown and be amazing, take risks, and be as vividly on fire as we really are, beyond the masks, and dance deeply from our hearts and souls.

Also stay tuned for the Vividly woman on-line April newsletter next week and read the April feature interview with Amber Chand. Our focus is the feminine paradigm in business.

How does one maintain a sense of sacredness and in those moments of dishonoring ourselves find the forgiveness and compassion for ourselves to be able to embrace that sacredness once more? How do we trust ourselves again after betraying ourselves once again? It is as if I am laying out traps for myself to fall into to see if I can find my way back out again.

Sacredness is maintained by honoring my connection to all of creation and engaging all parts of me; physical, mental, emotional and spiritual in that connection.

I've noticed that my life is an endless adventure of opportunities to forgive myself. Meditation is the perfect practice for this. In meditation we watch the mind. Everytime we notice the mind wandering away from this watching, it's an opportunity to forgive ourselves for this wandering of mind and come back to the present moment. Which is the meditating, being in the present moment or noticing when the mind has wandered from the present moment, or both?

Likewise, the situations we create in our lives may very well be the devices to practice forgiveness.

Noticing that this is difficult for you, be gentle and less demanding. Know that you likely will dishonour yourself again, and it will be an opportunity to forgive. As long as you have the belief that dishonoring yourself is wrong, you will blame and judge yourself. When you realize that dishonoring is obviously what you needed to do to learn a valuable lesson, you can forgive yourself and celebrate the learning.

What are the definitions of "divine feminine" and "divine masculine?" I have been trying to get a feeling around those terms in order to develop my divine feminine to attract the right man.

This is a great question, with the answer practically built in to it. Wanting a clear definition is very masculine. Trying to get a feeling around something is very feminine. In order to develop my divine feminine is again very masculine. The masculine defines and controls outcomes. The feminine intuits and senses for the truth that is wanting to be birthed.

What makes each of these divine is the permission and the honoring of each for the beauty that each is as an expression of the great turning, the rhythm of the universe, the very dance of life.

Think of your divine feminine as something that needs less developing and more nurturing. When you approach your goal in this way, to attract the right man, you will attract a man that will naturally nurture the divine feminine in you that you are nurturing in yourself.

How is a woman's spirituality different from a man's?

It is hard for me to answer this question because I am not a man. Though I have read and understand about the differences in the masculine and the feminine, I hesitate to generalize. I will say this though, a woman's spirituality is usually more connected to her body and a man's more connected to his mind. One of my teachers Wilbert Alix, says that men tend to narrow, women tend to expand. This is in sync with the body vs mind theory above.

If there was one thing that I could do, daily, on a regular basis, (for no more then 15 minutes), to nurture and expand the sensual, spiritual, and creative side of my self - what would that be?

My experience is that we each have different affinities for different practices so I can't make a broad claim as to what will be best for whom and when across the board. However, being able to refer inward for the answer to that question for oneself will help each of us to decide that for ourselves at any given time. So with the intention to identify for ourselves what will expand and nurture, I recommend that all women cultivate a practice of learning how to listen to and interpret one's inner voice, the sensations and wisdom of the body.

I for one have several different practices that I employ depending on my mood, desired outcome and what I have at my disposal. It's most important for me to know how to distinguish the longings and cravings of my being so that I can chose what will work best with each new day/time of day/occasion. For instance, my personal practices for health and well being include dance, yoga, meditation, walking, breathing, chanting. Because I know how to decipher the yearnings of my soul, I can chose what will fulfill me the most at any given time. So in order to nurture that sensitivity to ones inner knowing, I recommend these practices:

Sensation tracking- Lie down comfortably in a quiet undisturbed place. Track the sensations present in your body, notice what you sense where and watch this with utter fascination and attentiveness.

VividExistence Body & Breath meditation CD - Each track is 12-15 minutes long. This is a great way to grow that felt sense awareness and the acuity of perception to one's inner voice.

Flirting with Nature- This is a Vividly Woman practice that pretty much works anytime.

Please share your comments below or initiate further discussion on this vast topic.

Next month we'll explore sensuality!

Have a meaningful week;

Love,

Leela is the founder of VividExistence and VividlyWoman . A facilitator of groups and individuals for over 20 years, she is an expert in the field of body, self and soul

Dancing Our Ground!

Grounding is all about transforming energy into form/tangible matter. Where sense is the idea, ground is the plan to manifest the idea into a reality.

At Sacred Sensual Splendor in Mexico we are explore 3 ways of grounding/connecting to to the earth and her gravitational field:

Collapse/Surrender
Resist Resource
Combination of Collapse and Resist

We empower ourselves when we resource the power of the earth and infuse ourselves with her strength and resilience, leveraging ourselves against her.

Here we are after chakra yoga in a movement sound circle as a way to ground the energy body into the physical body.

Later in the day we had a hot sweaty dance session on the yoga pavillion. May all hands that reach be touched!

In the evening we'll further explore the power of our cravings as we surrender to them and honor each other's surrender in a creative ritual on the beach under the stars.

The ladies are out frolicking in the surf right now and a few are going for a beach sunset horseback journey before dinner.

We are all bathing ourselves in the healing, love and sisterhood of each others company and the beauty of nature that is flirting with us incessantly!

Love,

Leela is the founder of VividExistence and VividlyWoman . A facilitator of groups and individuals for over 20 years, she is an expert in the field of body, self and soul

Sensing in Mexico

March 22nd/09

Sacred Sensual Splendor 09 #2 began last night. We are 12 this time diving body. self and soul into the heart of our sensuality, spirituality and creativity here in Mexico. I so adore having my dear sisters here with me. This morning as we returned from the beach for breakfast, I looked around in awe of the beauty that surrounds me in this stunning place and how very blessed I am to be able to invite you all to share it with me.

We will spend one full day in each of the 5 stages of VividExistence so today we are enjoying Sense all day.

Here we are using the beach as our sand box to explore the felt sense experience of our energetic boundaries and how we can more consciously use our boundaries to increase an authentic sense of self both with self and others.

We empower ourselves when we acknowledge our right to choose our boundaries in each of our encounters. Our boundaries are not so much about keeping the world out, they are more about affirming our sense of self so that we can choose the level of contact that is true for us in each instant. In this way we create opportunities for intimacy with others be creating greater intimacy with ourself first.

When we betray ourself by not respecting our own boundaries, we become fragmented, meaning that the body splits off from the soul. When the soul leaves there is no opportunity for real intimacy.

As I write our sisters are practicing Qigong with Peter, resident energy guru, and later we will Vividance together on the beach, and then end the our first day with a sacred sharing circle.

More tomorrow when we dive into Ground.

Love,

Leela is the founder of VividExistence and VividlyWoman . A facilitator of groups and individuals for over 20 years, she is an expert in the field of body, self and soul.