Darlings,
When I want something, I know how to get it.
How many women can say that?
Most of us were taught everything, but.
Learning how to fulfill someone else’s desires for us is a very different game than fulfilling our own.
Learning how to defer your dreams is a very different game than getting what you want, exactly how you want it, exactly when you want it.
Having a community of support for every twist and turn in your adventure, is very different than slogging it through, alone.
What happens when you are 67 years old, moving across the country to a town where you don’t know anyone, leaving your grown-up daughters to start a brand new life with your retired husband, and you just gotta have some fun, some community, and sink some strong, fast roots in your new life?
* * *
Before joining Virtual Pleasure Boot Camp, I had just moved from upstate New York—my home of thirty years—to a small town in South Carolina. My husband is a horseback rider, and this particular town offered a variety of riding events, making it an ideal place to retire. But never in a million years did I think I would end up there, so far from everything I had ever known.
I couldn’t have stepped further outside my comfort zone. And it scared me. I knew not a single soul. Was this really worth the sacrifice of living near my friends and family, particularly my two daughters? Would I be missing more than I would gain? I had traded deep-seated comfort for pervasive uncertainty. I wanted something of my own…but what? How would I begin to create a new life, hundreds of miles away from the people I loved the most?
All I knew was that I needed to feel more alive again. Having been a two-time graduate of the Womanly Arts Mastery Program, I understood the difference between a Sister Goddess who consistently engages the Tools and Arts and one who does not. One is juicy, the other is…crusty. And I was feeling pretty crusty.
That’s the thing about crustiness—it can be so insidious. Before you know it, you wake up every morning with a general feeling of malaise. You don’t want to get dressed up anymore. You hold back. You stop putting yourself out there. It would be easier to just stay inside your own cocoon…
I found that I desperately needed a sense of connection, and on top of that I worried it would be harder to meet people, now that I was not working. So when I heard about Virtual Pleasure Boot Camp, it seemed like the perfect opportunity to reconnect with the Sister Goddess community and get my emergency juice transfusion.
I hesitated signing up because I wasn’t sure it would be worth the money to try to interact with Sister Goddesses I had never met, just by computer and over the phone. But because I didn’t yet know anyone in my new hometown, I felt I needed the support to prevent myself from isolating and missing my daughters and friends and family so intensely. I knew I needed to reach outside myself and find my footing in community again. So despite my nervousness and doubt, I made the move.
As soon as I joined Boot Camp, I found myself opening up to many experiences in my new environment. I became more courageous at taking chances and reaching out to people. I created a Desire List (my favorite Tool), and during the program, two of my biggest desires came about simultaneously. I had wanted to meet strong, confident, open-minded women that I could relate to. I also wanted to ignite my passion for journaling. And it just so happened that I was invited to attend a lecture as part of a women’s group called “Sisterhood of the Spirit,” on the topic of journaling! I joined the group immediately and eventually formed my own journaling group with some of the women. These new friends added such dimension to my life. On top of that, I even started taking Tai Chi. And all of these new experiences stemmed from my decision to become disciplined about my pleasure, in community with my Sister Goddesses.
One of my favorite features of Boot Camp was the teleclasses with Mama Gena and Dr. Anne Davin. These two women really play off one another in a beautiful way. I loved how Anne was able to dissect the Arts and Tools on a technical level, and Mama Gena added her outrageous flair. Even though I had taken Mastery twice, I was amazed at how much I continued to learn. And because I tend to be a more logical person, I appreciated the technical breakdown of each Art and Tool. I began to understand the technology on a whole new level, and the best part was that I could do it at my own pace.
The practice calls were intoxicating. It was such a turn-on to hear women introduce themselves by their nicknames (mine was Pink Goddess of Peace). The leaders of the calls were all super coaches. It was just like working out. I got to practice brags, gratitudes, and desires with my sisters and participate at my own level. We also had breaks in between the calls, with time to practice the Tools and Arts in our day-to-day lives.
Traveling to Miami for the World Wide Sister Goddess Reunion was another highlight—when I could finally meet my sisters in person and put a face to a name. I was totally immersed in the Pleasure Revolution. The whole experience made me realize that I am always a Sister Goddess, even if I don’t feel like it at any given moment.
I now practice the Tools and Arts so frequently that I can share them even with other women who are not a part of the Sister Goddess community. I am constantly writing Desire Lists before every event, phone call, and family function. I used to tell myself, “I can’t have that,” or “It’s too much money.” I’ve now learned to hone my skills with the Womanly Arts and Tools to such a degree that when I want something, my mantra is “Go for it, girl!” My eyes are more open. I feel a greater sense of possibility. I go out more. I glow. I make much more of an effort to own my beauty, not because of what someone else will think but just because it makes me feel so much more alive and juicier.
It’s easy to revert to old ways of thinking, feeling, or acting when you are not in touch with women who are empowered to radiate their own divinity. My experience in Boot Camp reminded me how important it is to keep in touch with Sister Goddesses in order to feel the juice that gives me inspiration. Our enthusiasm is contagious!
–Sister Goddess Geri
Woman, it’s your time.
We have charted the course.
The Tools and Arts are in place.
All you have to do is show up, do the work of pleasure, and you will get results that will light your hanky pankies on fire.
With so much love and pleasure,
Mama Gena
