{"id":1388,"date":"2014-06-23T06:00:09","date_gmt":"2014-06-23T10:00:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/thequeenofmyself\/?p=1388"},"modified":"2014-06-12T17:30:33","modified_gmt":"2014-06-12T21:30:33","slug":"are-you-ready","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/thequeenofmyself\/2014\/06\/are-you-ready.html","title":{"rendered":"Are You Ready?"},"content":{"rendered":"

I am fascinated (obsessed) by women\u2019s relationship to power. It is the subject of my next book. The more I see, the more women I speak to, the more I realize that that relationship is on shaky ground. It is very clear to me that we women must claim, embrace \u2014 and most important \u2014 use our power. NOW!<\/p>\n

We women are often afraid of our own power. Afraid to be thought of as pushy or bitchy if we assert ourselves willfully with the full force of our purpose without Self-demeaning false modesty. We are sitting on a powder keg of tramped down passion. This is our power. We must liberate it \u2014 for our own good and for the greater good, as well.<\/p>\n

Wise women wield power wisely and the planet is in desperate need of our wisdom. The time couldn\u2019t be more crucial.<\/p>\n

The first step to becoming powerful women is to accept responsibility and sovereignty over our own lives and to feel secure in the effectiveness of our own authority.<\/p>\n

We need to:
\nIdentify and release our fears of success, power and leadership
\nHonor our abilities and hard-won wisdom
\nClaim our stature
\nCelebrate our strength
\nEmbody our mighty influence
\nExert the power of our moral convictions<\/p>\n

Once we embrace the personal power of being the Queens of ourselves, we can join together with other Self-directed women to take it out into the world to use for the benefit of all.<\/p>\n

Now is the time to acknowledge ourselves. It is high time to speak our truth, walk our talk and put our money where our mouth is. We have held back long enough. Starting here, starting now, we must claim our rightful duties as healers, as leaders, as visionaries. We have the whole world in our hands.<\/p>\n

Hell may have no fury like a woman scorned, but women standing together side by side, autonomous, proud and empowered can create heaven on Earth!<\/p>\n

There will be no heaven unless we make it.
\n<\/strong>– Florence Nightingale<\/strong><\/p>\n

I have been focusing on women and our relationship to power. Queens, especially have the very power that we need. We are mature, experienced, strong and brave. Plus, we are the biggest demographic in the country. Remember, one out of every three women is over 50 years of age. If only we realized how much power we have.<\/p>\n

We do have the power. We need to use it. The example of Egypt is still fresh. When enough people demand freedom and equality, they cannot be denied.<\/p>\n

In Norway, a brave women, Ebba Halund, and her radio listeners started a campaign that said, Vote for the Party that Supports Women. That beginning took Norway\u2019s decision-making seats from 0 to close to 50% and these elected women began turning the country\u2019s focus and money from financing war prevention to social and people stability. What was important to those women leaders was that our children, grandchildren, neighbors and older family had the services they needed. Creative solutions came because there was money to support this agenda.<\/p>\n

Are you ready to take a stand? Take to the streets? Run for office?<\/p>\n

* ***
\nDonna Henes is the author of The Queen of My Self: Stepping into Sovereignty in Midlife<\/em>.<\/a> 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\u2122<\/a><\/p>\n

The Queen welcomes questions concerning all issues of interest to women in their mature years. Send your inquiries to thequeenofmyself@aol.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I am fascinated (obsessed) by women\u2019s relationship to power. It is the subject of my next book. The more I see, the more women I speak to, the more I realize that that relationship is on shaky ground. It is very clear to me that we women must claim, embrace \u2014 and most important \u2014…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":218,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1,7,3],"tags":[397,278,40,13,42,43,21],"class_list":["post-1388","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-empowerment","category-self-esteem","category-womens-issues","tag-change","tag-community","tag-empowerment-2","tag-holistic-living","tag-powerful-women","tag-self-esteem-2","tag-women-leaders"],"yoast_head":"\nAre You Ready? - The Queen of My Self<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/thequeenofmyself\/2014\/06\/are-you-ready.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Are You Ready? - The Queen of My Self\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"I am fascinated (obsessed) by women\u2019s relationship to power. It is the subject of my next book. The more I see, the more women I speak to, the more I realize that that relationship is on shaky ground. It is very clear to me that we women must claim, embrace \u2014 and most important \u2014…\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/thequeenofmyself\/2014\/06\/are-you-ready.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"The Queen of My Self\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2014-06-23T10:00:09+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2014-06-12T21:30:33+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Donna Henes\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Are You Ready? - The Queen of My Self","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/thequeenofmyself\/2014\/06\/are-you-ready.html","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Are You Ready? - The Queen of My Self","og_description":"I am fascinated (obsessed) by women\u2019s relationship to power. It is the subject of my next book. The more I see, the more women I speak to, the more I realize that that relationship is on shaky ground. It is very clear to me that we women must claim, embrace \u2014 and most important \u2014…","og_url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/thequeenofmyself\/2014\/06\/are-you-ready.html","og_site_name":"The Queen of My Self","article_published_time":"2014-06-23T10:00:09+00:00","article_modified_time":"2014-06-12T21:30:33+00:00","author":"Donna Henes","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/thequeenofmyself\/2014\/06\/are-you-ready.html","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/thequeenofmyself\/2014\/06\/are-you-ready.html","name":"Are You Ready? - The Queen of My Self","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/thequeenofmyself\/#website"},"datePublished":"2014-06-23T10:00:09+00:00","dateModified":"2014-06-12T21:30:33+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/thequeenofmyself\/#\/schema\/person\/544e888db264d2e1c6e32fd2f80c031a"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/thequeenofmyself\/2014\/06\/are-you-ready.html#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/thequeenofmyself\/2014\/06\/are-you-ready.html"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/thequeenofmyself\/2014\/06\/are-you-ready.html#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/thequeenofmyself"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Are You Ready?"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/thequeenofmyself\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/thequeenofmyself\/","name":"The Queen of My Self","description":"Beliefnet Voices - Donna Henes","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/thequeenofmyself\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/thequeenofmyself\/#\/schema\/person\/544e888db264d2e1c6e32fd2f80c031a","name":"Donna Henes","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/thequeenofmyself\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/thequeenofmyself\/wp-content\/wphb-cache\/gravatar\/0c6\/0c683cd428803d35cf10fae85f8125ebx96.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/thequeenofmyself\/wp-content\/wphb-cache\/gravatar\/0c6\/0c683cd428803d35cf10fae85f8125ebx96.jpg","caption":"Donna Henes"},"description":"Donna Henes is an internationally renowned urban shaman, ritual expert, award-winning author, popular speaker and workshop leader whose joyful celebrations of celestial events have introduced ancient traditional rituals and contemporary ceremonies to millions of people in more than 100 cities since 1972. She has published four books, a CD, an acclaimed Ezine and writes for The Huffington Post and UPI Religion and Spirituality Forum. Mama Donna, as she is affectionately called, maintains a ceremonial center, spirit shop, ritual practice and consultancy where she works with individuals, groups, institutions, municipalities and corporations to create meaningful ceremonies for every imaginable occasion.","sameAs":["http:\/\/www.thequeenofmyself.com"],"url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/thequeenofmyself\/author\/dhenes"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/thequeenofmyself\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1388","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/thequeenofmyself\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/thequeenofmyself\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/thequeenofmyself\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/218"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/thequeenofmyself\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1388"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/thequeenofmyself\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1388\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1390,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/thequeenofmyself\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1388\/revisions\/1390"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/thequeenofmyself\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1388"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/thequeenofmyself\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1388"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/thequeenofmyself\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1388"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}