June 2011

Written by on June 28, 2011 · 13 Comments

A Million Moments in 52 Seconds

Darlings,

There were a million moments I will never forget.

Like a piece of classical music, connecting me to places in my soul which are parts of my invisible architecture. Or, a visit to Stonehenge, the Parthenon, the Pyramids—places in time which have shaped me, but I never inhabited. That is how the last live weekend of Mastery lives within me.

I can hardly believe it was only four months ago that this class poured through the doors of The School of Womanly Arts, nervous, excited, scared, and wondering what was going to happen.  Who were all these strange women who were taking the class together? And now, we have a new family of 200 plus Sister Goddesses and a box of Tools and Arts so relevant, so practical, so essential that we can barely get through an hour of our lives, or a decision of our lives, without reaching for a Tool or an Art to give us a leg up.

I mean, I just logged onto Sistergoddess.com this morning, and this is the first brag I read from Sister Goddess Sarah:

I brag that as my husband and I flew into Roanoke, Virginia, and I looked out the window, Roanoke looked different. It isn’t different, but I am. I felt (and feel) different. I’m not a different woman; I am a goddess with clarity.

I brag that now I’m Sarah with glitter, Sarah with a new outlook, Sarah with greater potential for joy and peace.

I brag that as I unpacked my suitcase, rather than putting my fairy goddess skirt back in the attic with my other infrequently worn outfits, I put it in my closet. I wasn’t ready to put it away. The crown …oh, the crown …it’s residing on the top shelf beside my pink tutu where I can see it everyday. It will be a reminder.

A reminder of 5 weekends of confusion, struggle, awakening and beauty.
A reminder of the potential my life is offering.
A reminder of the beauty I have within me.
A reminder to use the tools.
A reminder of my new family of sisterhood.
A reminder of the divine.
A reminder of the goddess I am.

I am grateful for my husband and family.
I am grateful for Mastery.
I am grateful for my BSG Sonia.
I am grateful for my Pod sisters and new goddess sisters.
I am grateful for change and chance.

SG Sarah

See, with Sisterhood like this, we are never alone.

With support like this, we can do anything we dream.

With this kind of cheering section, there is no way we cannot get anything and everything we want.

I want to give you my deepest gratitude for the extraordinary experience that Spring Mastery 2011 has been for me.  This was, without a doubt, the best Mastery class, ever.  You created so much ravishing beauty for yourselves and each other.  It was unforgettable—from Victoria’s song on the courtesan couch, to Merry and Faith’s courage and power, the beach in Miami, Elvira’s sacred dance, the incredible Big Sisters, Dara’s Empire State brag, Dr. Northrup’s powerful commencement address, Team Pleasure, the gorgeous men from Men’s Night and the panel, the sexperts, Camilla’s swamp run, Halie’s prom brag, the Sister Goddess Gospel Choir (featuring Alfa Anderson of the band Chic, who also sang backup on the original studio recording of “We Are Family”), the heart-stopping talent show, oh, I could go on and on and on…

And I will go on.  With each of you, living inside me, inspiring me, encouraging me with your marvelous outrageous Pleasure Revolutionary actions, out in the world.

Thank you, thank you, and then, again, thank you.

With so much love and pleasure,

Mama Gena

Written by on June 21, 2011 · 18 Comments

My Own Personal Pleasure Diet

Darlings,

Do not be frightened of my Inner Circlets.  In this photo, they were in the midst of making a hilarious art project out of that inner voice of judgment that haunts every woman, and calling it out to play.

Inner Circlets on The Pleasure DietWhat you know, can’t hurt you!

We had the most crazy fun event at The Palace designed around our brand new topic called The Pleasure Diet.

You know how we are as women–even though we KNOW it is good for us, we resist pleasure with every cell of our being.

When you have a gang of 75 sisters, all on a pleasure diet with you, it is waaaay more difficult to resist.

And think about all the things we do if we lack pleasure: overeat, drink too much, feel depressed and unattractive, etc.

So, after a night of deep celebration of ourselves, our bodies, our weight, and our beauty at the last live event, we are all officially on The Pleasure Diet.

Here it is, custom-designed especially for Inner Circle: your sneak peek into The School of Womanly Arts’ hottest, newest creation.

Please join us, just for a month, and report back!

The Pleasure Diet (diet: from Latin diaeta, “way of life”)

1.   Spring clean every day on your body.

2.   Every day, approve of and appreciate your body, in the mirror, and kiss the parts you dislike (or have a hard time loving).

3.   Get off at least three times per week.

4.   Every day press your pleasure edge by getting yourself out in the world publicly; take yourself out to lunch, or dinner, or a social event.

5.   Flirt.

6.   Dress hot every day.

7.   Every first bite of any snack or meal is Courtesan eating—savor, don’t chew until it melts away into your body. Then continue eating…

Inner Circle Fall 2011 has officially sold out, and we are already 2/3 of the way full for IC Spring 2012, which kicks off in February! If you are a Mastery graduate and would like to be placed on the waiting list, please call The Palace at 212-787-2411 x1.

With so much love and pleasure,

Mama Gena


Written by on June 14, 2011 · 3 Comments

The Power of One Single Woman to Create a Revolution: YOU

Darlings,

I am an anomaly: a brilliant and serious anthropologist of the profane–The Pleasure Queen, and the extravagantly determined Headmistress of The School of Womanly Arts. And I am also just like every single woman: a life-long student of pleasure. Every day is a new opportunity to research, explore, and investigate what it is that ignites a woman, connects her to her deepest passion, and enables her to live her most closely held desires.

Marie Curie had her Radium. I have Pleasure. Both are nuclear in their global impact. That’s the beauty of pleasure: it is ever expanding. And in the spirit of pleasure research, I want to invite you to participate in one of the grandest experiments of all time, one that is guaranteed to have Sister Goddess Marie Curie rolling over and having a good chuckle in her grave…

What happens when you let loose hundreds of Sister Goddesses and myself, in a ballroom, armed with tiaras, for the purpose of outrageously celebrating each and every glorious inch of ourselves and our lives for no other reason then because we can?

Check out this field report from Sister Goddess Mary…

My sister-in-law Barbara Stanny is the reason I attended graduation last June. She has taken Mastery three times and is an amazing teacher and guest speaker of the course, and she invited me to come experience the magic and wonder of the Sister Goddess community firsthand.

I love the confidence Barbara possesses, and I really love how happy my brother is right now. I have never seen him this happy in a relationship! So even though I live in Portland, Oregon, and knew it would be a huge commitment with all the cross-country flying, I simply had to have a taste of the Mastery curriculum that Barbara had always hinted about…

 

Seeing Mama Gena make her entrance at graduation in her pink, sequined dress was unforgettable. The energy was intoxicating!  Watching over 200 women swagger into the room took my breath away!  They were beautiful and sexy and having so much fun, and I wanted what they had!

 

I remember hearing Mama Gena’s creative partner, Dr. Anne Davin, speak with such presence and vitality that I wondered where she got all of that confidence. I watched as guests told Mama Gena about how their mother, sister, or friend had completely transformed her life, and now they wanted to take Mastery, too. And when I heard Dr. Christiane Northrup deliver her commencement speech, I was mesmerized by her inner glow and inspired by the journey she and both of her daughters had taken at The School of Womanly Arts. I even had the incredible thrill of meeting Dr. Northrup, after having been an avid fan who read all of her books and listened to her radio show every week. By the end of the ceremony, I couldn’t get to the back of the room fast enough to sign up!  I knew without a doubt that this was the next step for me, and I decided to say YES! And when I returned home, I told everyone I knew about my experience…

 

A year has passed, and now I am preparing to graduate as one of those beautiful, sexy women having so much fun! My capacity for loving myself has completely transformed. Before I took Mastery, I understood the concept of “self-love” in my mind, but I had never experienced it at such a deep, cellular level. I have such profound respect for myself now. I have taken self-love from my head to my heart and into my spirit, and it all began one year ago at graduation! And I have much more to learn and practice with my Sister Goddesses; this is yet another new beginning!

 

If you are considering attending graduation, I invite you to experiment and go and see if it’s a fit for you. I think every woman on the planet could benefit from saying YES. Hope to see you there…

 

-SG Mary

Whether you’re a seasoned Sister Goddess or brand new to The School of Womanly Arts, graduation is an opportunity to honor every facet of yourself and forge new inroads into your pleasure research.

We have extended our RSVP deadline, so click here to register today!

Who knows what awaits you, should you choose to experiment…

With so much love and pleasure,

Mama Gena

Written by on June 9, 2011 · 3 Comments

A Mission for Sister Goddess Activists Everywhere

Darlings,

This is my ninth Womanly Arts Mastery Program!

I have had the privilege of reacquainting hundreds upon hundreds of women with the most delicious, divine part of themselves for 13 years now.

In all these years, every woman who has taken my class has gotten there the same way: a woman in the world stood for her.

In the beginning, it was me, one woman, standing for women. Then my graduates, who had been inspired and ignited by the experience of the class, began to stand, alongside me, for the women in their lives. They began to bring their friends, their sisters, their moms, their aunts, their cousins, their co-workers. This thrills me, overwhelms me, delights me, and makes my soul soar.  My stand for women is eternal.

My desire to see women stand for one another is taking wing. Sister Goddess Activism is what it means to be on the front lines of the Pleasure Revolution; because of you, me, all of us, women’s lives are forever changed. We all have an eternal stand for the women of this world to dance with every facet of themselves–right here, right now–in our lifetime.

I created The School of Womanly Arts for my daughter, Maggie. And it is my own mother, Bebe, who elegantly holds space for the Mastery students, every weekend. So I have a soft spot for the mamas and daughters of Mastery.

Can you imagine? Mothers, swelling with pride at the sight of their own creations unfolding. Daughters, honoring the women who most profoundly shaped their lives.

Check out SG Marie aka Glamour Puss, whose mother is traveling to graduation all the way from Denmark!

 

I knew from the very beginning that it was important to me that my mum, Rete, attend graduation. I want her to be a part of this, a part of my new life, so to speak. I have a hard time explaining to people what I’ve learned at Mama Gena’s and why it has changed my life, although my mum has always been very intrigued. I’ve bought all my good girlfriends Mama Gena’s books but knew that my mother had to be there in person to understand, and my wish is that she will return to Denmark with some of the magic that has entered my life.

 

I have a very devoted mother, so it didn’t take more than me telling her that it would mean the world to me if she attended. That is one of the things Mama Gena has taught me – you first have to ask for what you want! I’m so grateful and proud that my mother is the kind of woman who loves her child so much that without question she would travel across the globe to participate in something she knows is important to me. She is taking a huge stand for me just by attending, and it is a privilege for me to able to stand for her blossoming as a Sister Goddess. This will be my mother’s first visit to New York City, and I know for sure she has never experienced anything like this!

 

Although I haven’t told my mum that much about the course in detail, she can tell that I have changed and that I am much more thrilled about my life, and honestly that’s all a mother really cares about at the end of the day. She just wants to see me smile, to hear me laugh, and for me to feel good in my own skin—after all, she is the one who created me! And I am most looking forward to her witnessing the power of sisterhood and what happens to a woman’s life when she makes pleasure her guiding force. Who knows what it will lead to! It would be a dream if she were to gather her girlfriends back in Denmark and tell them all about it!

 

I have the utmost respect for both of my mamas, and I know that my mother will see, hear, feel, and experience exactly what she needs to at graduation. She is my mother, but it’s her journey, and I know Mama Gena will work her magic and have a deep impact on my mother’s life.

 

-SG Glamour Puss

 

Could it be any sweeter? SG Glamour Puss told her mother it would mean the world to her to have her at graduation, and now her mother is literally traveling the world to share this experience with her.

I cannot wait to celebrate them. And you. Graduation is for any woman who wants to feel each and every cell in her body ignited by the privilege that it is to be her. And if you really want to soar, bring a sister, a girlfriend, or your mom with you! Registration closes Monday, June 13th, so click here to RSVP!

With so much love and pleasure,

Mama Gena

Written by on June 7, 2011 · 2 Comments

Human Firework

Darlings,

I love human firecrackers. Sparklers. Igniters.

Women who are in love with their lives, in love with their work, and exploding with passion.

Meet Debbie Rosas, Human Firework.  She insists on standing for women to fall more in love with themselves, and their bodies, with every step, every breath, and every kick.  She makes being a woman a huge celestial party.  Debbie is my friend, my inspiration, my compatriot. 

And she’s offering a free Nia Livelihood Membership (a $520.00 value) for Sister Goddesses, when you register for her next Nia White Belt Training. Read on for all the details!

With so much love and pleasure,

Mama Gena

“I surprise myself at how much passion I continue to have for sharing Nia after 30 years. I’m on fire about what I call the new face and culture of Nia – me really allowing the work (and myself) to transform. The evolution of the practice is extraordinary. This is the time, if you’ve ever thought about taking the training, to do it.” – Debbie Rosas

The Nia White Belt Training is the first level of a five-belt training series that presents a body-centered approach to health, wellness, and fitness. Those who choose to pursue the path of personal enrichment use this training as a starting point for becoming a master student. If you have a desire to share Nia in a professional capacity, the White Belt Training is your entryway into teaching.

Over the course of one week, you will comprehensively explore physical sensation through five core-competency areas of study including movement, music, anatomy, science, and philosophy. This joyful journey into the self is instrumental in helping you develop the ability to listen, interpret, and consciously respond to the information your body communicates to you via sensation. Read what previous graduates have to say about their experience. Then enroll in one of the upcoming trainings and positively shape the way you feel, look, think, and live.

The next Nia White Belt Training begins Saturday, June 25th at 4:00PM and concludes Friday, July 1st at 4:00PM at StudioNia in Portland, Oregon. Debbie is offering a free Nia Livelihood Membership (a value of $520.00), just for Sister Goddesses, which can be redeemed by using the promo code “mamagena” when completing the online registration process. Click here to register for any of the upcoming trainings!

← Previous Entries