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.

Belly-Centering Our Awareness for Peace & Justice

Here's an excerpt from a message I sent to peacemaker Sharif Abdullah. He recently met with a group of people interested in Sacred Activism.

My questions these days: How can we bring our power-centering practice to the attention of those who could and would like to use it in the process of peacemaking? How can this practice play a part in resolving the local and global crises that are putting human and planetary survival in jeopardy?
•
Dear Sharif,

I loved the moment during your presentation when you showed us the photo of Earth from space. You said something like "Look at this picture with more than your eyes. You have to look at it with something deeper." At the same time, you brought your palms down from the level of your chest to the level of your waist.

Several times during the afternoon you asserted that transforming the dead-end "mess" we've created into a sustainable future depends on our changing our consciousness. Given our brief time together, we didn't have a chance to explore just how to generate the inclusive consciousness that peace, justice, and sustainability require.

In my own work, I name the divisive patterns of perception sustaining the "mess" as "conquest mentality." I name the holistic patterns of perception as "connection consciousness." And I suggest that the evolution from one to the other follows from a change in the locus of our awareness....

Awakening and energizing the body's center, the hara, develops the awareness that we're kin to all creation. It awakens our capacity to see with that "something deeper."

Informed by the consciousness alive in our body's core, we can look at the photo of Earth from space and see the sacred home that we share with each other and all of life.

continued...

Wear your politics on...

...your undies!

Panty Palooza (a.k.a. Stiff Competition 2007) is a fundraiser for Pittsburgh's Planned Parenthood Action Fund. If you've read The Woman's Belly Book, you already know about adorning your briefs and bikinis -- the chapter on "Spice Up Your Sensuality" features the Decorate Your Underwear project.

Now's your chance to help cultivate the art of political underwear. All you artists, knitters, sewers, sculptors, and crafters are invited to send your entries into this juried art show. Due date is May 24 — and there's no limit to the number of entries you can send in. Enter as many times as you wish!

For more info, read the press release and call for entries.

Don't just wear your politics on your sleeve; keep them close to your passion....

Satisfying Hunger

I recently led a 90-minute workshop in Atlanta titled "Satisfying Hunger: The Secret Your Body Wants To Tell You." (Click here for details on the program.) Here's a comment from one of the women who attended...

My experience at the workshop, after doing some of the belly-energizing exercises, was a delightful and delicious sense that I was completely filled with my Self.

The struggle or effort I continually put into "connecting" to myself was gone. The distance or gap I imagine to be present most of the time as I journey through daily living, vanished. The energy released from my belly filled me up — it filled in the gap — effortlessly.

What is most interesting and most exciting to me is that although I "know" that the gap isn't real, I still feel it most of the time. I've gotten used to it and tend to try to fill it with food — the image that comes to mind is throwing food into Tallulah Gorge. It's about that senseless and satisfying.

So, I'm excited about making these exercises/practice part of my daily routine. I love the feeling of being filled with Self. I think the belly work will be a crucial part of healing my relationship with Self. Again, thank you, thank you!!

Do not strip mine our daughters!

Corporations have a long history of exploiting natural resources – the earth's body – to make their profits. Think global warming. Think strip mining.

The drug companies are exploiting another resource:

Women's bodies.

Drug-manufacturer Merck, for example, is capitalizing on women's susceptibility to cervical cancer.

Merck has waged a nationwide campaign to make its Gardasil vaccine mandatory for sixth-grade girls. The company has lobbied state legislators to make 11- and 12-year-old girls ineligible to attend school unless they've received the vaccine's three doses.

Why bother creating consumer demand for a drug with limited effectiveness when you can bypass the illusion of free enterprise and free choice?

Why bother creating consumer demand for a drug with limited effectiveness when you can use the government to enforce it?

The company recently suspended its campaign in response to parents' and medical groups' objections. But not before the campaign had made its mark. And not before its questionable practices had come to light.

Continued, with links to updates, at lisasarasohn.com/gardasil.

Menstrual supplies for women's shelters

Click on a link and Seventh Generation, an earth-friendly paper products company, will donate a pack of organic cotton tampons or chlorine-free pads to a women's shelter in the state of your choice.

The link is at http://www.tampontification.com/donate.php.

What could be easier?

Soft Belly

a poem on writing practice
by Jennifer Browning

Click.
Rustle.
Scratch and scribble.
The ring of the bell.
The breath in.
The breath out.
The smell of coffee.
And paper.
And ink.

A prompt.
A sword to the heart.
Soft belly open to possibility.
Bleeding on the page.
Real life.
Real death.
Real writing.

Like blue faced Picts
facing the hordes
we rush forward
fear inspiring our courage
brandishing only a pen
for battle
for defense
for life.

Belly Story

From a belly buddy...

I had a fun belly moment last night:

I was cooking and my fella was there standing behind me with his hands wrapped around my back. He was playing with my belly roll ... tapping it rhythmically and squeezing it and such.

In the past I wouldn't have been able to stand this because of how much shame I have had about that part of my body. Last night was different though.... I actually felt comfortable while he was doing it: empowered, even if just for a few moments.

He was being playful and laughing as he did it, and eventually his laughter triggered me and I blurted out, "Hey, now, don't be squeezing my beautiful bodacious belly and laughing while you do it!"

I noticed myself wanting to collapse into a victim energy because of the old emotional charge I have had about my belly, but I didn't. His reply? He smiled and said, "Why can't I? Your belly makes me happy ... and I think it is really cute."