Logo for the 25th Annual Women of Wisdom Conference
Seattle, WA February 16 - 20, 2017
Tickets at www.womenofwisdom.org
For a long time I, like many women, have sensed that women must play a pivotal, if not central, role in birthing a new paradigm for Earth. We feel this timing within us as a quickening and as a call to action. We may not yet know what specific action we are being called to, but there is a new level of alertness within us, an eagerness and an urgency to "receive our instructions" as soon as possible.
But time and again I've also noticed something that holds us back as women, a lingering feeling that we are not enough to bring our message, our gifts, our passions into full expression. We believe we are not strong enough or resilient enough to endure the inevitable criticisms and setbacks. We feel we aren't confident enough or "big" enough to announce our knowings or launch our projects loud and proud. We think we don't have enough time left over after caring for our families, homes and jobs to become activists or to commit to a larger calling. What I've noticed is that all of these beliefs about ourselves have one single phrase in common - not enough.
But I also want to say that it is time to get over it, this paralyzing belief that we somehow aren't enough, because it isn't true and has never, ever been true. If anything, humanity desperately needs what women have to offer in order to recover its wholeness, and it needs it right now. Earth and the vulnerable need women to speak up for them. The enough that we each are, whether we identify as men or as women, must include the feminine qualities of deep listening, intuition, compassion, patience, community building and nurturance. It must include attunement to nature, service to others and receptivity. Without these qualities we are not whole human beings and cannot create cultures, businesses, organizations, governments or families that are whole and healthy. The world needs us more than ever. It is time to claim that we are enough to rise up and be seen in our fullest truth, power and brilliance.
If we are discovering anything from the recent turmoil in the world, it is that so many of the patriarchal structures and authorities we have counted on to have our best interests in mind have failed us. As traumatized and disappointed as we may be feeling to face such uncomfortable truths about our history and present reality, I believe it has been necessary to reach this level of truth and trauma to free ourselves from unwittingly perpetuating a patriarchal system that was built to keep in place the very scarcity, competition and control that is at the root of suffering.
When you are in the game, it is impossible to know that it is just a game. You are so consumed with the task of trying to win that you don't realize that the game itself is why you can't win, not you. You don't realize that you can choose to not play the game. The good news is that many of us realize that we can choose to energize something very different. Because we are evolved women, we are in touch with another way. Our ears are attuned to the whispers of nature and of spirit, a much more ancient and heart-connected story of well-being and resilience courses through our veins. It is time to bring that story through us in service to humanity and Earth.
An Unprecedented Moment in Human History
I don't think I need to tell you that the old "Never Enough" story created by the patriarchy has become dangerous and unsustainable. That culture which is still hanging on for dear life today is at best expressing an adolescent perspective of reality characterized by a self-serving, impatient short-term focus that harms the environment, future generations and the most vulnerable. But just as surely as adulthood follows adolescence, many of us are being called to a more mature, holistic and wise way of being and perceiving, a way that thinks globally, systemically and long-term. Our consciousness has grown beyond the narrow, selfish adolescent perspective. This is why so much that goes on in the mainstream makes no sense to us and seems completely senseless and cruel.
But in this gap between reality and our sense of what is right is an opportunity of monumental proportions. At times like this, it is always important to remember that real change has never come from the powers that be. It always comes from the grassroots, from what I call "the fertile fringes" who want and dream something different. And that means you and me. This is why gathering at this time is so critical. You are being invited to activate.
You see, my research has pointed to a very clear picture. The evolution of human consciousness that is affecting each of us is leading us all to the same destination. It is leading us to rediscover that the universe's 13.8 billion year old success story of "enough for all" is humanity's story, too. The driving force of every ecosystem is to provide enough for everyone in it, and each species is enough to play their role in sustaining the system for themselves and others in an intricate, balanced web of life. Enough is what binds us together in common destiny. Enough is how we pay it forward. It is how our lives have meaning. When you look widely and deeply enough, enough is the story you see, the good stuff, the glue.
The trouble is, we as human beings have been socialized to ignore most of the enoughness that is within us and all around us. We are taught to see through narrow, distorted lenses, taught to work and create against nature and against our own true natures. So often, this means against our feminine sensibilities. And this is why it is particularly painful for us as women to live in a "Never Enough" culture. We've forgotten how good it feels to be part of a community that wants us to have enough our whole lives through, not as an exchange for our labor or loyalty. We have forgotten what the sisterhood, united can achieve.
The truth is that we aren't powerless, inadequate or alone, and never have been. It has only seemed that way through the culturally-imposed lens of scarcity. We are enough - perfectly enough. This hidden "enough" order of the universe - of all life - is the throughline that connects us to all good and right outcomes. It enlivens a deep sense of harmony, purpose and meaning in our lives and communities. And yes, the enough principle is steeped in the feminine principle. And that is why the call for us as women right now is so strong.
The hidden order of the universe reveals itself with surprising ease and grace when we get one simple thing right: our personal relationship with the word "enough." We love ourselves again. Our authentic selves. Not our pretend selves. Not our performance selves or idealized selves, but the messy, imperfect, no lipstick, seat-of-our pants, can't-help-but-speak-our-truth selves.
We've been slogging together through the old story of "Never Enough" for 5,000 years, generation after generation learning from the principles of scarcity, lack and competition. But like a shoe that no longer fits, the Never Enough Story is so constricted and painful now that it prevents us from moving forward. We forget that it is just a shoe and not our own foot.
Scarcity (or "Never Enough") has never been an accurate picture of how the universe works. It has never been a proper or all-encompassing representation of the vastness of our human potential. The worldview of scarcity can not be hacked or patched together to make it sustainable or to make any sense long term. It is a deeply flawed and outdated worldview. Ask any quantum physicist, sharing economy convert, evolutionary biologist or clean energy expert. Scarcity has already been debunked. There is actually enough.
Still, the Old Never Enough Story is trying harder than ever to hook us back into old scripts of fear, shame and blame, and worse - into hopelessness. Who hasn't felt the squeeze in some way in 2016? We do not need to comply. It is time to take our story back. But how? We begin at the very beginning which is to root out wherever the Never Enough Story has landed in us as unworthiness, self-rejection, martyrdom, victim hood and lack of self-confidence. We reclaim our inner territory for ourselves.
What do you believe about your own enoughness - are you enough?
Are you worthy enough to deserve to have enough to bring your dreams to reality?
Are you powerful enough to demand that the world lives up to your values and visions?
Imagine how our lives and the world would be vastly different if we could answer all three of these questions in the affirmative! We can and most certainly will with just a little effort and coordination. We begin with one simple tool: by cleaning up our relationship with the word "enough" so that this word empowers us rather than traps and limits us. Reclaiming our enoughness then becomes the key not only to our own liberation, but to creating a world capable of providing enough for everyone.
Women: don't let anyone fool you. We are enough to change the world and always have been.
Laurie will be presenting next month at the 25th Annual Women of Wisdom Conference in Seattle Washington February 17 (Opening Keynote) and 18 (One Day Intensive).
If you are feeling a big inner "Yes!" to this call, please join us at the Women of Wisdom (WOW) Conference, North Seattle College, February 17 & 18, 2017.
My talk on Friday will give an overview of the Enough Message and why I believe it has transformative powers anyone can use to claim a better future for themselves and the world.
Saturday's one-day intensive will provide brand new material to facilitate a deeper experiential dive into what it means to change your inner orientation from "not enough" to "I am enough!" The workshop will include journaling, circle, music, movement, celebration and deep communion with other women who are as committed as you are to reclaiming their enoughness once and for all. Singer-songwriter Karie Hillery will be joining me to perform songs from her new CD which she created in support of the Enough movement: Together We Rise!
Everyone attending the conference will receive a mini-ebook download and a link to a mediation video to deepen your Enough practice. I look forward to seeing you there or connecting with you online.
Thank you for spreading the word of this important convergence.
Together we rise!
Laurie
FB: LaurieCMcCammon
Twitter: @EnoughMessage
