Last week I showed up to lead the very first Reclaiming Sisterhood Workshop in NYC. I was really excited to be in the room with these amazing women & I foolishly thought, “Sisterhood…This is just gonna be a light weekend! Just a helpful reminder of the power of sisterhood…no big deal.”
And, wowsa, I should have known…
When the WILD Women of NYC get together, we go deeeeeep. As I sat listening to stories of sisterhood-the ups and the down-the joys and the perils, I felt a deep yearning in the room: we want to love each other and hold each other up AND we have been told over and over again that we are in competition. We’ve spent our lives, consciously or unconsciously comparing ourselves and judging one another other.
The Sufi poet, Rumi wrote: Your task is not to seek for love, but merely to seek and find all the barriers within yourself that you have built against it.
Sisterhood is the same. It is the natural state and the optimal one. We don’t’ have to create it, We simply have to drop all the blocks we have against it. We must open to it.
I was deeply moved at the willingness of each of these amazing women to honor one another and really show up with vulnerability and sincerity as we took a deep dive into the waters of sisterhood.
I know I’m always saying dramatic things about changing our world (inner and outer). I hope you know by now, how very sincere I am about the pursuit of creating a better world for us all. Honestly, my sincerity comes directly from the experience of being in circle so often-I see it happening before my very eyes. People are changing, they are waking up and taking responsibility for the future of our world.
And in a society filled with such injustice, pain and garbage of all kind, I feel a genuine sense of optimism when I sit in circle with women who are awakening to the possibility of working together to create new systems (inner and outer). It’s happening. Right now.
We truthfully cannot afford another day of separateness and competition-it is tearing us apart. We’ve been taught, largely by profit-driven corporations, to see each other and judge (our sisters and ourselves).
To this, I say, “No mas.”
Why would we want to continue like this when the possibility of true sisterhood (real support, genuine community, co-creation and love) exists?
At the end of the workshop, we crafted this Sister Creed: What we will and will not do, in the name of sisterhood.
Any one of the statements below could be a practice.
So if you feel moved, Do Practice:
Sister Creed
(Created by the First Reclaiming Sisterhood Class, NYC)
10/19/13
As a sister, I will…
Encourage you.
I will see you through the lens of love.
As a sister, I will always have your back.
I will love my body and honor yours.
I will be authentic with my voice.
As a sister, I will listen to you
& graciously hold space for you.
I will share my light.
As a sister, I will see each woman’s unique beauty, both inside and out.
As a sister, I will encourage bravery & creativity.
I will support my sisters by spending my energy & money
in ways that promote and celebrate womanhood.
As a sister, I will respect your boundaries.
I will give you the benefit of the doubt.
I will love you, unconditionally.
I will trust you.
As a sister, I will protect you.
I will help you when you need it.
I will be considerate and compassionate.
I will reach my hand.
I will stand beside you.
As a sister, I will not…
Make myself lesser or greater than you.
I will not see you as competition.
I will not judge you to make myself feel better.
As a sister, I will never betray you to receive personal attention.
I will not allow you to settle.
I will not hold myself up to a specific standard of womanhood.
As a sister, I will never dim your light.
I will not lie to myself or you.
I will not spite other sisters or myself.
I will not apologize for my path or existence (and I won’t allow you to either)
As a sister, I will not hide my body or encourage you to hide yours.
I will not take you for granted.
I will not project my insecurities & negativity upon you.
And I will not be ashamed of believing in sisterhood.
Reclaiming Sisterhood NYC Oct. ’13: Kelly Renn, Meredith Edwards, Amy Gerber, Lauren Hemley, Kelly Renn, Nikki Sheidt & Chris Maddox
With love,
Chris
P.S: Next Week is Circle Week (Find one near you) & if you want to bring a Circle to your Community, Circle Leader Training Registration opens Mid November, starts December 2nd! Details here.
On the Horizon
Join us for an hour-long New Moon Meditation Adventure on December 2nd!
Online, from anywhere.
Using a dynamic meditation journey, we will tune into the New Moon, to your own Inner Guidance, synced up with wild-hearted women from around the world. This offering will include music, storytelling, meditation, journaling prompts & intention-setting.
Can’t make it live? No worries. All participants will receive a copy of the recording with 24 hours of the session.
Join the WILD WOMAN UNDERGROUND.
"The Circle Leader Training Program at The Wild Woman Project was one of the most transformative and healing experiences of my life. I have received many tools, resources, support, and connections that I will carry on with me forever." ~ Hannah Devin, Graduate
We have Wild Woman Project-trained Circle facilitators is 26 countries, and 44 out of the 50 United States.
Chris Maddox is the founder of The Wild Woman Project where she teaches women how to utilize the gifts of the Wild Woman Archetype in their everyday lives & how to lead women’s circles in their local communities. She is the organizer & facilitator of the beloved annual WILD WOMAN FEST, a women’s retreat-festival hybrid which fosters a deep connection to nature, a direct experience of the divine feminine & profound spiritual sisterhood among the women in attendance.
An ever student of the great mysteries of existence and nature itself, Chris believes women are holding innate gifts & tools that society at large needs – now more than ever. She is committed to helping women remember their special magic and to bring it forward into every corner of their lives, for the greater good of the planet.
Do I violate copyright if I use news article on my own newsletter?
If I take an entire article from WIKIA with informations, script especially and I post it on my site, translating the infos into my language, is this a problem? the scripts from WIKIA are copyrighted or smth or there is a way they could close my site?.
The sister’s creed is amazing. Do I have permission to use it for the women’s group I am forming? Thank you.
Hello again. The group is no longer being formed so thanks for not responding. All the best going forward.