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The
Goddess Path
Issue #044
Behold Beauty
June, 2006
This Issue: Table of Contents
1. Beauty of a Woman
2. Facts on Figures
3. Goddesses with Beauty Issues
4. Get Over It!
~Beauty of a Woman~
The beauty of a woman is not in the clothes she wears,
The figure she carries, or the way she combs her hair.
The beauty of a woman must be seen from her eyes,
Because that is the doorway to her heart, The place where love resides.
The beauty of a woman is not in a facial mole,
But true beauty in a woman is reflected in her soul.
It is the caring that she lovingly gives,
The passion that she shows.
The beauty of a woman
With passing years – she only grows.
~ anonymous author
Facts on Figures
There are 3 billion women who don't look like supermodels and only eight
who do.
A recent study revealed that three minutes spent looking at a fashion
magazine caused 70% of the female subjects to feel depressed, guilty, or shameful.
The models in the magazines are airbrushed and computer enhanced -- not
perfect!
Models twenty years ago weighed 8% less than the average woman. Today they
weigh 23% less.
Marilyn Monroe wore a size 14, not the coveted "10". (In
US sizing)
If Barbie were a real woman, she'd have to walk on all fours due to her
proportions.
One out of every four college aged women has an eating disorder.
An urban myth perhaps, but I heard a story about Roseanne Barr speaking at a luncheon for the
up-an-coming young businesswomen of Los Angeles a few years ago. Someone asked her about diets.
. . big mistake!
Roseanne responded, “Listen, girls . . . you and I eat the same. The
difference is that I don’t throw up!” In all seriousness, our obsession
with “thin” has led to an epidemic of bulimia.
Lessons About
Beauty from the Goddesses
Talk
about supermodels! 'Tis a rare thing indeed to see a goddess being
described as being anything less than a raving beauty. Why is that?
It's easy
to jump to the conclusion that to be a goddess you have to be stunning,
a model of physical perfection, that it's just part of the job
description. And having a belief like that is just plain harmful to any
mortal woman who is foolish enough to buy into that assumption.
Mythology
tells us that it's what's in the heart that matters, that when a woman
accepts her 'true self' and beholds the truth and beauty inside she
becomes the irresistible woman that she was always meant to be.
Here are a few examples (just click on the links to read the story of
the goddess if you want to know the whole story):
The
goddess
Parvati
underwent a skin transplant, thinking that if she was
light-skinned the god Shiva would fall in love with her. It didn't work,
but her devotion, her sense of compassion for the unfortunate, and her
willingness to learn and to develop her spiritual gifts certainly did
bring her the love she sought.
In a
culture where feminine beauty was defined by being feminine (whether it
was dainty, posh, or just plain sexy), the muscle-bound
Atalanta defied
convention and went around in her sports togs, beating the men at their
own games. Even though it was 'Off with their heads!' if they lost, the
guys were willing to risk it because her self assurance was so exciting
and attractive.
With her
perfect hair and skin and body (not to mention sex appeal)
Aphrodite
might have been the kind of girl that filled the other goddesses with
hate and envy. Instead her incredible friendliness and generosity made
her everyone's best friend.
Even
Psyche
learned that although physical beauty can make it easier to get
into a relationship, it's not enough to keep the home fires burning!
A single
thread runs though all the
goddess myths, the message that the path to happiness and the
secret of inner beauty is to . . .
Accept and Love
Yourself As You Are
In your heart of
hearts, do you truly believe that you deserve to be
loved even when you aren't looking your best? What would
happen if you decided to love and accept yourself as you
are, even if you don't look anything like a supermodel?
Take an inventory of
your thoughts and beliefs about your appearance and
about loving and being loved. See if you can grow beyond
any negative, self-limiting ones.
Do you believe that you
are beauty-full? Lovable? Or do you believe that you
have to work hard and struggle to look good and be
appreciated? Do you believe that you have to be
'perfect' to be worthy of love and admiration?
If you know deeply how
gorgeous and loveable you are, even though you aren’t
'perfect', you will attract others to you and have the
satisfaction of knowing that it is the 'real' you that
they are responding to. No more struggling against
society's standards because you are now above
them, daring to be yourself and showing the world the
unique goddess that you are.
What could be better
than that?
Some of you lucky gals had the good fortune
to attend the solo exhibit of Bernette Rudolph's wood
sculptures in New York a few months ago. Now the rest of us
can also enjoy her fabulous "World
of Goddesses"!
Bernette has just released a beautiful catalog of the
goddess series. Each dazzling sculpture is enriched with a vignette
relating the mythology and meaning of the goddess. The artist advises
that the catalogs are available for $12 (USD)...just contact her at
info@BernetteRudolph.com
It's been a wild couple of months as we do all the
last minute things in preparation for the birthing of our
big baby...Goddess Gift (The Book).
I'll be back in touch with you later with all the
exciting details!
Till then . . .
Remember that you are a goddess.
Every morning when you wake take
time to look at your sleepy, bed-headed self in the mirror, pinch your
cheek and give a big grin, then say,
"By goddess, Sharon, you ARE
gorgeous!"
Use your own name, of course...though I must admit that I am warmed by
the image of thousands of women around the world saying this just for me
every morning :-)
Walk in beauty.
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