Hello, Beautiful Women

(and the guys who believe in them)

~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

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FACTS ON FIGURES:

There are 3 billion women who don't look like supermodels and only eight who do.

Marilyn Monroe wore a size 14.

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.

(Note: I heard a story about Roseanne Barr speaking at a luncheon for the up-an-coming young businesswomen of LA. Someone asked her about diets. Her response was, “Listen, girls . . . you and I eat the same. The difference is that I don’t throw up!”

Seriously, the American obsession with “thin” has led to an epidemic of bulimia.

(OK, we’ll try to address the issues at the other end of the scale (pun intended) in another issue.

The models in the magazines are airbrushed and computer enhanced -- not perfect!

A study done in 1995 found that three minutes spent looking at a fashion magazine caused 70% of women to feel depressed, guilty, or shameful.

Models twenty years ago weighed 8% less than the average woman. Today they weigh 23% less.

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An English professor wrote the words, "Woman without her man is nothing" on the blackboard and directed the students to punctuate it correctly. Most of the men in the class wrote: "Woman, without her man, is nothing." The women wrote: "Woman! Without her, man is nothing."

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THE IMAGES OF MOTHER

4 YEARS OF AGE ~ My Mommy can do anything!

8 YEARS OF AGE ~ My Mom knows a lot! A whole lot!

12 YEARS OF AGE ~ My Mother doesn't really know quite everything.

14 YEARS OF AGE ~ Naturally, Mother doesn't know that, either.

16 YEARS OF AGE ~ Mother? She's hopelessly old-fashioned.

18 YEARS OF AGE ~ That old woman? She's way out of date!

25 YEARS OF AGE ~ Well, she might know a little bit about it.

35 YEARS OF AGE ~ Before we decide, let's get Mom's opinion.

45 YEARS OF AGE ~ Wonder what Mom would have thought about it?

55 YEARS OF AGE ~ Wish I could talk it over with Mom.

***Please send this to some of the phenomenal women you know in celebration of Women's History Month. Something good will happen, GUARANTEED.... YOU will boost another woman's self-esteem!

MAMMAS, DON’T LET YOUR DAUGHTERS GROW UP TO BE WEBMISTRESSES!

“Two steps forward, one step back . . . two steps forward, one . . . “ (These were the words of a 1970’s joke about what it felt like to be in the women’s movement.)

Beset by technological woes this month, we DID manage to get a few things done anyway. They include a very important note for Netscape users (eg. AOL), so be sure to check it out by using this link.

BONUS OFFERS

When we put up the new Goddess Quiz Page to Be the Heroine in Your Own Life Story we added some Bonus Offers for those who were purchasing the Goddess Quiz and Report. Click on the link above to learn all about them. The bonuses are described at the end of the letter on this webpage.

We especially want to make these bonus offers available to YOU, our subscribers, so you’ll be receiving another email from us in the next few days telling you how to pick up these special gift, just one of the benefits of being on “The Goddess Path".

FEEDBACK, GLORIOUS FEEDBACK

Several of you responded to my request for feedback about the site with wonderful ideas and suggestions. Blessings to each of you!

One provided corrections to our Goddess Cross-Cultural comparison chart. Another pleaded the case of Hestia, the Goddess of Home and Hearth, asking that she be included in our pages. (Your wish is our command, Dear Reader, we’re at work on it already!)

A special thanks goes out to Liz who, like others of the Artemis type, was out there in the lead, thoughtfully pointing us in the direction of new adventures. She wrote that she would like to see us evolving in directions that included “sharing ideas on bringing our ‘goddessness’ into modern life, living with your goddess self, and sharing how to bring the powers of the rest of the goddesses into our lives”.

Liz thought it would be nice to have frequent “reminders to celebrate the goddess in us, and why bringing forth that divine feminine power is so important to the world”.

We’ve been doing some heavy thinking about this and would appreciate your ideas and suggestions about specific ways we could incorporate that vision in the website.

One idea we’ve had: introducing a “Featured Goddess of the Month”, outlining the learnings she offers us, and providing specific meditations and activities that would help us grown in the direction of her “strengths”, perhaps by way of frequent emails.

What do you think? Let me hear from you.

LOL (translated to “lots of laughs”) were sent our way this month. They sustained us and kept us going long after “lights out”. So, Susy, Mike, and Tania . . . many thanks, and LOL back to you!

WHITE BUFFALO CALF WOMAN, A Goddess for These Times

“It was told that next time there is chaos and disparity, she would return again. She said she would return as a White Buffalo Calf. Some believe she already has.”*

Words of Chief Arvol Looking Horse, 19th Generation Keeper of the Sacred White Buffalo Calf Pipe of the Lakota Nation

The legend of White Buffalo Calf Woman is ancient, arising about 2000 years ago, and is central to the spiritual practices of numerous Native American nations, with minor variation. The brief story presented here is based on the story as told by Joseph Chasing Horse, Traditional Leader of the Lakota Nation.

While two warriors were out hunting buffalo, a white buffalo calf appeared. As she approached them she changed into a beautiful young woman . . . which is how she came to be called the White Buffalo Calf Woman.

One of the young warriors offended her with his lustful thoughts, and White Buffalo Calf Woman asked him to approach. As he stepped forward, a black cloud descended over him and when it dissipated all that was left of him was his bones.

The other warrior fell to his knees and began to pray. The White Buffalo Calf Woman told him to return to his people, telling them she would appear to them in four days, bringing with her a sacred bundle.

And this she did, appearing to them as a white buffalo calf descending on a cloud. Stepping down, she rolled over on the ground, changing from white to black, then yellow, then red. When she arose she was once again the beautiful woman, cradling the sacred bundle in her arms.

Spending four days with the people, White Buffalo Calf Woman taught them sacred songs, dances, and ceremonies as well as the traditional ways. She instructed them to be responsible caretakers of the land and to be always mindful that the children are the future of the people.

On the fourth day she left in the same manner she had arrived, telling the people she was leaving the sacred bundle, the White Buffalo Calf Woman pipe, in their care. She promised to one day return for it and to bring harmony and spiritual balance to the world.

White Buffalo Calf Woman prophesied that the birth of a white buffalo calf would be a sign that it was near the time of her return.

*In 1994, a white buffalo calf was born on a farm in Wisconsin. . . the first in decades. Some believe she is the fulfillment of the prophecy that the return of the White Buffalo Calf Woman will herald the advent of an age of peace and harmony.

Laurie Sue Brockway highlights the importance of the White Buffalo Calf Woman in her delightful book, A Goddess Is a Girl's Best Friend:

“Now, more than any time in history, we need the sacred feminine to balance our lives and to balance our world. We must be spiritual warriors…culling the profound and important aspects of the power of feminine wisdom and directing them toward peace within, as without, and utilizing the energies of the goddess and all mythical women and spiritual heroines to help direct the course of history.”

She adds: “While men, historically, fight and defend, females seek to draw peaceful resolve… the important thing is to have both and a chance for balance… [White Buffalo Calf Woman] represents the balance, the peace, we all crave.”

We Wish…

Pray…

And Hope…