Darling,

In exactly 16 days, a group of 65 women will board a plane and land in Paris.
These women are part of my intimate inner circle called The Creation Course.
Our purpose?
For each of us to ignite and inspire and re-consecrate our Inner Courtesan, in the city that gave birth to her.
We are headed on a “Courtesan’s Tour of Paris.”

There are certain words that reach off the page and tug you awake.
“Paris” is one of those words.
“Courtesan” is another.

Why Paris?
Well, if we are going to study something, anything, at the School of Womanly Arts, we head straight for the top, the best, the most iconic.
And Paris? She is unsurpassable.
Paris presses you right up against a gorgeous limestone wall, like a hungry lover, and forces you to remember a forgotten part of yourself. She reminds you that you are more than your hard work; you are more than struggle, striving, and stress. She whispers, “You are poetry, you are beauty, you are magic, you are worthy of worship. Let me serve you the best, the most beautiful, the most delectable. Let me surround you with inspiration, with gorgeous gardens, fabulous cathedrals, winding rivers, exquisite art, to remind you who you are, and connect you to your eternal, incandescent beauty.”
This beauty that you have been longing for has been longing for you.

Why Courtesan?
I know what you might be thinking…and I want to take you in a new direction.
I want to invite you into the world of the Courtesan. In this case, the Courtesan for the twenty-first century. For centuries, successful courtesans were the most free women on the planet. From fifteenth-century Rome to nineteenth-century Paris, courtesans charmed Europe’s most important leaders, beguiled their way to power, wealth, education, and sexual freedom. They were the arbiters of style, fashion, and trends. Courtesans had the right to own property, to control their own money, to be educated, and to choose their lovers. They cultivated the Womanly Arts. This was a far cry from the other women, who had none of these privileges. Even noblewomen from wealthy families were considered the property of their fathers and husbands. They were denied all the freedoms we take for granted today. Actually, feminism arose because of the courtesan. Women saw the freedom that courtesans possessed, and wanted to experience that for themselves.

My definition of a twenty-first-century Courtesan is this: a woman who knows and owns herself sensually. She lives via her desires, rather than her obligations or other people’s blueprints for her. She explores the world with gusto, saying an enthusiastic yes to whatever she wants. Her pleasure is her first priority. She uses all the womanly arts—surrendering to her pleasure, having fun wherever she is, owning herself sensually, owning her beauty, flirting, loving her inner bitch, inviting abundance, and training her men. She is aware of the privilege of being in her presence, aware of the impact of her beauty, aware of the radiance of her sensuality. She deeply appreciates the men and women in her life. She deeply appreciates and relishes every drop of her life.

Let me give you an example of how the Courtesan informs my life. Two weeks ago, when I was in Spain, hiking 115 kilometers of the Camino in freezing rain and hail for six days, I have to tell you, I was cranky. I had never been in such a challenging physical situation, in such difficult weather. At home, when challenged by rain and hail, I take a taxi. I don’t walk.
I wanted to stop. Or cheat and hitch a ride on a tractor. I wanted to quit. When my whiney cranky side lashes out and says, “I hate hiking in the pouring rain! I have blisters!! My hiking boots are wet! In fact, every inch of me, inside and outside of my not-so-protective rain gear is soaked! I cannot walk another step, ” the Courtesan in me comes to the rescue.
She sails in like Cleopatra on her golden barge, inside me, knowing her next opportunity for mischief and sacred merriment has just arrived. My Cranky slinks away, and the Courtesan takes over. She wonders, how can we weave this tale of overwhelm into a fantastical, sexy, sacred adventure?

What did I do? Every day, under my hiking gear, I wore lacey, sexy lingerie. I took time to put on lip gloss, mascara, and my favorite perfume, every morning. At the end of my hiking day, I showered, changed, and dressed in my one dress-up outfit, for dinner. I insisted on remembering my beauty, and taking delight in the experience of being a woman, no matter what.

My Courtesan is an aspect of what defines me, inhabits me, and orients me, surfaces, winds around my being like wafting perfume, paths a direction as count-on-able and numinous as the North Star, and encases me in the delicious erotic elixir of the exquisite essence of the woman I am. She awakens my spirit to the privilege of life itself, despite the challenging circumstances.
So what does this legendary figure offer us today?
Why am I, and a gang of my most intimate cohorts from the Creation Course, heading to Paris to reunite with our Inner Courtesans?

Because we are more than we know.
Because we will not rest until we live every drop of the legend that we were born to live.
Because the poetry in our souls commands us.
Because savoring the privilege of being a woman has become a preoccupation and a necessity.
Because sensuality is our way of life.

Come, climb out of the box, and be a twenty-first-century courtesan with me from wherever you are. Take the time to let your desires, rather than other people’s opinions, rule your life. Experience the rush of freedom as a woman, as a Courtesan.

In the comments below, I want to know—what does the Courtesan inspire in you? What would it look like to live a life designed by your desires?

If you’d like to take it one step further, take this exercise from my book, Mama Gena’s Owner’s and Operator’s guide to Men:

Write Your Story

Write an essay on what it would be like to abandon yourself to your desires. To live with abandon. To surrender yourself completely to love. To become the heroine in your own novel.

Be sure to report back. And if you’d like to remind another woman of her poetry, of her inner Courtesan, please share this post. Over the next few weeks, my Creation Course will be preparing for our “Courtesan’s Tour of Paris,” and I’ll be sharing little bon-bons of our journey with you here on the blog, Facebook, and Twitter, so keep an eye out!

With so much love and pleasure,
Mama Gena

P.S. We have some exciting, new developments in store for the next Creation Course. If you’re a Mastery grad interested in learning more about this program, you can find more information here or call us at 212-787-2411 x1.

P.P.S. Check out a video of our Palace staff “Under Pressure” entrance from this past Mastery weekend!

photo: lizlinder.com