Times & Valentines

Like many holidays, Valentine's Day holds a secret.

In other times, this day was a celebration of women's pro-creative power — the body-centered power to renew life, and the pleasure of doing so!

Strands of Celtic, Roman, and heretical Christian customs weave through Valentine's Day...

This Valentine came in the mail today—
the fe-male, that is:
Greetings from history in women's terms.

Valentine Day's is a fraud, of course, you know that,
Hall-marked and carded as it is for commerce.

But more than that:
The boy himself's a fraud.
St. Valentine's a fiction, the convenient invention
of some grim Christian churchmen.

What Valentine's Day is:
it's a thin distillation of our
midwinter night fever;
the celebration of our sexual heat and staying alive.

More...

Healing Bodies and Souls

Bodies and Souls is a series of stunning nude portraits of women combined with their personal statements. Presented as a book as well as a traveling exhibit (a selection of photos is available online), the images bring forth what photographer Frank Cordelle calls The Century Project.

As Cordelle photographs women of many sizes, shapes, and ages -- from newborn to nearly 100 years old -- his purpose is to "give voice to women through pictures and words which project, among much else, courage, vulnerability, strength, diversity, multiplicity, and uniqueness."

O, the Oprah Magazine, raved about the book in its March 2007 issue and tens of thousands of people across the continent have viewed the exhibition. The photos provoke powerful responses. For example:

"When I left the exhibit, I was a changed woman."

"Never have I been in a room with more beauty, more talent, more freedom. Never have I felt more in love with myself."

"To see an image of a nude woman that is not sexual is rare. To see an image of a woman who is nude, old, proud, powerful, honest, and beautiful -- this is amazing."

Celebrating women and our bodies as subjects, not objects, The Century Project will be on view in 2008 with exhibitions in Kentucky, Minnesota, Pennsylvania, and North Carolina. I heartily invite you to consider bringing an exhibit to your community. See The Century Project's website for details.

Check out readers' reviews and order Bodies and Souls at amazon.com or your local bookstore.

Dancing with Sabrina

Okay, I'll say it: I'm devoted to watching tv's Dancing with the Stars. I love seeing how the newbie dancers develop their skills and confidence from week to week.

On Monday, September 24, the six women in the competition took the dance floor with their professional partners. Far and away, it was actress and "Cheetah Girl" Sabrina Bryan who delivered the most dazzling performance.

And, with all due respect, it was supermodel Josie Moran whose performance left both judges and audience yawning.

From a body-confidence point of view, the contrast was amazing. The scenes of Josie in training highlighted how uncoordinated she was. (Well, anyone might stumble around on their first day of dance training.) Still, she lacked strength and fitness, admitting that just because a model looks good for the camera doesn't mean she's physically fit. As this svelte figure moved through her steps on Monday night, her shapely arms and legs were lovely yet they seemed to be floating in space, disengaged from her body's core.

Again with all due respect, as tall and skinny as Josie is, Sabrina is short and chunky. And the non-question of the night was: Who cares? So what?

Sabrina drenched each step, twist, and turn with overflowing exuberance. In the moments she fixed her gaze on judges and audience she made direct transmissions of delight. It was plain to see she was taking supreme joy in her body and her capacity to move.

I wish every girl and woman beset by worries about her weight and shape could see this pair of dancers, could compare and contrast Josie's and Sabrina's vivacity and vitality. I would ask each one: On the way to being your true self, whom would you rather emulate?

Hands down, I choose Sabrina as my inspiration.

Now about breasts...

A friend writes:

The Breast Cancer Site invites people to visit and click the pink "Click Here to Give - it's FREE" button at the top of the page. Clicking on the button enables the National Breast Cancer Foundation to donate at least one free mammogram a day to a woman in need.

It takes less than a minute and doesn't cost you anything. The site's sponsors donate mammograms in exchange for advertising.

Here's the web site! Pass this message along to people you know: www.thebreastcancersite.com

Who are your "gutsy women"?

On page 6 of The Woman's Belly Book, I invite you to list the women you admire and their qualities that inspire you.

Sherryl Treen writes:

"This is my list: Comedian Phyilles Diller; Florence Nightingale, who improved/started nursing; Clara Barton, who started the Red Cross and went to war zones to help people; Deborah Samson, who fought in the Revolutionary War. Also abolitionists Harriet Tubman and Sojourner Truth. These are gutsy women."

Thanks, Sherryl!

The Heart of the Game

The Heart of the Game tells the story of a scrappy Seattle high school girls' basketball team and their unconventional coach, Bill Resler.

Ward Serrill began filming the Roosevelt Roughriders girls' basketball team without knowing the drama that would unfold over the next six seasons. He shows how these gutsy girls triumph on and off the court — and how their coach provokes their self-esteem and self-confidence along the way.

See this movie (available on DVD) and revel in the images of young women expressing their soul power as physical, emotional, and spiritual strength.

Also: check out the conversation between coach Resler and filmmaker Serrill included in the DVD's special features. You'll see a fine example of men actively serving and supporting women as winners.

As Resler says: Have fun. Never give up. Put yourself in a position to be lucky.

A Charming Review...

I recently received this poetic review of The Woman's Belly Book — I'm charmed! Say it out loud and see if you hear the poem as a rap:


The image in the mirror — the body that is me
I feel is looking good except my fat belly
My stomach sticks out, my pants are stretched tight
50 situps each day haven't put it right

Then I read a book that changes how I feel
My belly becomes my center and my soul is real
Centered in my fat white belly that I was taught to hate
are intuition, compassion and the ability to create.

Now I look into the mirror and smile
Breathing life deeply all the while
Thinking how wonderful my belly can look
After reading Lisa Sarasohn's book.

— Brenda Phillips

Minerals, Magnetism & A Mighty Midriff

Something remarkable happens when I'm at the natural foods store, standing in front of the bin of Celtic Sea Salt.

It's like a crowd of long-lost relations has gathered on the ocean shore as I'm rowing toward them in my wooden boat. They're smiling broadly, hopping up and down, sending up flares that make the air above them sparkle.

And every cell of my body is waving madly back at them, shedding the weariness of separation, lit up with homecoming.

Okay, that's a lot of drama for standing in the aisle at the grocery store. But what do I make of this sense of coming home?

As Belly Queen, I've had the opportunity to study human body and being in many dimensions. I've come to understand our bodies as portions of the ocean made portable. After all, where did life on this planet begin? In the ocean. (For my musings on this subject, see Serotonin, Peristalsis, and the Origins of Life, page 102 in The Woman's Belly Book.)

No wonder all my cells get excited at the sight of Celtic Sea Salt. French farmers have harvested this salt by hand from the coastal waters of Brittany. Standing in the aisle at the grocery store in Asheville, NC, I can hear the salt in the bin still whispering "ocean." The coarse granules put me on the scent of my ancestral home. They lay out a banquet of minerals and trace elements that my body is craving even if my mind can't put a name to the hunger.

continued...

I am truly fantastic

A friend writes:

I don't know that I have one defining moment of acceptance for my belly, but I have lots of moments when I recall being degraded, or snubbed because of my size.

The fall of the year that I turned 28, I met a man who I am still together with, and with whom I own a home.

He loves me. Every square inch, including my big belly.

It has taken him almost 2 years and innumerable compliments for me to finally realize that I am fabulous just the way that I am.

My pants may sometimes be too tight, but that means we have good incomes and enough food to satisfy us.

My body may not resemble that of a Victoria Secrets model, but every part of me is in good working order. I can run - if I want to. I can walk, and see, and hear and speak, and play games and ride a bike. There are so many people out there who can't do what I can do, and who don't have what I have.

I am now using my size to my advantage. I flaunt my curves and swing my hips and hold my beautiful head up high.

Those who don't like my size? That's their issue, because I like who I am!

It just took me 30 years to figure out that I am truly fantastic - me and my belly.