By Sharon Riegie Maynard

If I had needed a reminder of the deplorable state of women in our country, it could not have come with greater power than via my oldest Granddaughter, Sara. Sara is an incredible young woman… you know that kind of granddaughter, right?

She lives in another state, is doing her very adult life, married to a wonderful man as a partner and has always stepped into adventures that made me wish I were 40 years younger.

She sent me a text this morning that read, “At a conference today – Take Root: Reproductive Justice in Red States.”

Flash back to 1970’s when women were fighting for the Equal Rights Amendment here in this country. And then to 1973 and the Roe vs. Wade landmark decision by the U.S. Supreme Court on the issue of abortion. I was so brainwashed by my patriarchal religion that I did not support the ERA nor did I cheer Roe vs. Wade. Oh, to do life over!

I had planned to write a very different newsletter this week. One cheering you on to finding your own vision, your own voice, your own authority. And that is an incredibly, valuable idea.

And…

If we women in the West do not wake up and shake off the blinders we have had placed on our eyes, the chains around our belly wisdom and return to our strong roots within Earth and our sisters, humanity is in BIG trouble!

Why do you think that women have been so targeted over the ages? Why have we been beaten down, laughed at, discounted?

Who has benefited because women are not at the decision making tables in GREAT numbers?

Look around you and see the devastation of corporations gone wild, the human trafficking, rape, murder, poisoning and double speak. You see the end results of domination and you see the total lack of the values, visions and voices of the women who create Good for those they love.

We, women in the U.S.A., have a tendency to walk around in a stupor. We talk of being privileged, of being safe, of being blessed while the power over our bodies, our food, our air, our children, our time has been taken from us. You think not? Who dictates your health care? Who decides if GMO foods are labeled? Who gets a pass when fracking destroys water or when lead laced water is sent into your home? Who benefits when the cancers in female reproductive systems run rampant? Who decides whether you have time off work and who decides that your work efforts are worth less then men?

A valuable friend of mine who helped women in Russia claim their place in the politics of that country said, “When you are not at the decision making tables, you are the meat!” Well, my sisters, we have been the meat for way too long.

Where do you begin? By waking up! All is not well and it is because the female mission has been squelched. Standing and designing cultures that result in  Good is not up to someone else! That is YOUR job. You are needed. Your malaise, your depression, your fear are the very things that allow those whose agenda is to dominate and use humanity want. Don’t give it to them!

Reconnect with the Earth! Find other women. Talk with one another honestly. Build strong connections Do not think that you are an isolated tree in this Forest of Sisters! You are so bound together in Spirit that when one wakes up, others wake up.

The singer/songwriter, Cris Williamson, told me in a conversation with her, “Everything that women began and accomplished in the 1960’s began with conversations over coffee in kitchens or coffee shops.”

We have to start talking with one another about things that matter and make sure our feet move!

treesisters.org is a group I want to highlight this week. I asked Clare Dakin, the Founding Mother, where you could go in their network to be feed by the energy of trees and Mother Earth. Her gifting to you is their archive of meditations and guided  visualizations. I have so benefited by them and am honored to share them with you. Women are sooo needed! Click here..

“Hypnos, God of Sleep

“Please awaken us.

“While we sleep Ignorance takes over the world.

“Take your spell off us.

“We don’t have long before

“Ignorance makes a coup d’état of the world!”

Gary in the book Mindset by Carol W. Dweck

We cannot go blindly into a Dark Night!

We must wake up and then wake up our Sisters.

 

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Donna Henes is the author of The Queen of My Self: Stepping into Sovereignty in Midlife. She offers counseling and upbeat, practical and ceremonial guidance for individual women and groups who want to enjoy the fruits of an enriching, influential, purposeful, passionate, and powerful maturity. Consult the MIDLIFE MIDWIFE™

The Queen welcomes questions concerning all issues of interest to women in their mature years. Send your inquiries to thequeenofmyself@aol.com.

 

 

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