Fat Bachelor: TV imitating Life? I'm afraid so

I love to watch TV sometimes so I can see what the American culture is up to. Being a sometimes reluctant member of my own culture I figure I need to know what the collective mind is focusing on. Sadly I must report that not much has changed in our collective unconscious for eons, as evidenced by the new reality show: More to Love, or as I call it: Fat Bachelor.

The premise is that fat people need love too. The set-up is familiar and rather sick, really. One guy. 20 women all vying for his love, affection, and, the ultimate prize: being his wife. The twist in this show is that the lucky guy and all the contestants are obese.

As I watched this show so many issues got triggered I thought I would have to eat an entire tub of Haagen-dasz just to appease myself.

The most obvious, and pernicious, dynamic is the vying for a man's attention as proof of personal validation. Can anyone say "Unresolved Daddy issues"? It reminds me of an old Joan River's routine where she is talking about women in an old age home who are so desperate for a man's company that they decide even if the man is dead to bring him along and they'll prop him up.
Will the time EVER come when we, as brilliant creative female beings feel just fine without the approval of a man, where approval of ourselves is ENOUGH?

Then there's the issue of women competing with one another for what seems like a limited amount of available love. Another blatant lie perpetrated by the dark forces that, guess what, ladies, there's just not enough love around on Planet earth and if you don't find it with your one perfect partner you're doomed to a life of picking through take-out leftovers and holding endless conversations with your four-legged companions, who are clearly blind to your unlovableness.
Anothe falsehood.

And then there's the vicarious thrill of watching women "cat fight" over a man. I can see fighting over the last pair of perfect shoes on sale in just your size, but fighting over a man? Clearly a throw-back to gladiator days where enslaved beings were forced to fight one another for the pleasure and entertainment of the power elite. Mmmm, not much changed there, I'm afraid.

And why is this man so worth fighting over anyway?As my mother always said: "Men are like buses. No reason to chase one. Just wait and another one will soon come your way." And of course if you're looking for a plus-size. meat and potato-loving man, who will kiss any woman anytime, for any reason, you won't have to wait very long at all in the good old U.S. of A.

And finally. The fat thing. Fat is not an affliction like leprosy or excessive tallness. Fat is a choice.
Now I'm no Twiggy myself and I would love to see the 15 pounds hovering around my hips and thighs move on to another landing spot but I don't have any illusion as to how, and why, that fat got there. But an extra 100 or so pounds? That's more than an " I like to eat" issue. That's a deeper issue that is just not being addressed. The endless denial of our collective self-hatred. Just as painful as the women who work out so excessively that they become shadows of their former selves, setting themselves up for early osteoporosis and other health challenges.

The issue is not too fat or too thin. The issue is that our bodies become the playing field for all our feelings about ourselves. Get to the bottom of that and you get to the bottom of the eating disorders. And yes, being 100 pounds overweight is an eating disorder. Fat is not an affliction laid upon you by an evil God. Fat is what happens when you swallow your feelings and deny, to yourself, what is really going on with you. Too lonely. Too sad. Too angry. Too bored. Not enough creativity flowing. Not loving yourself enough, or at all. Looking outside yourself for approval and acceptance.

Does the list ever end? Yes. When you tell yourself the truth and decide for yourself what you want your life is to look like. If you need help and support(and who doesn't?) - get it.
The time of the Divine Feminine is here. We can no longer wait and continue to lie to ourselves.
To live in empowerment, which is our divinely given right, you have to do your own work on yourself to disentangle yourself from untruths that keep you enslaved.
You are needed in full functioning form!
Fat, skinny, whatever. Be whatever you CHOOSE to be, consciously and with awareness.
That is the Priestess way.

Check out the Priestess empowerment products lovingly created to help you be in your full empowerment. Visit my site and receive your FREE empowerment gifts.
http://PriestessEntrepreneur.com/products.html

This is an important conversation.
Let's converse about it!

Cindy Morris, msw
Priestess Entrepreneur
http://PriestessEntrepreneur.com/products.html

Holding back only holds us back

Today in my NIA ( dance/exercize) class I had an epiphany, as I usually do when Laurie Pemberton is teaching. Laurie is one of my favorite teachers. She's my age (we like a lot of the same music), she's become a kundalini yoga teacher in her 50's, and she always brings some provocative thoughts to class that push me mentally beyond wherever I am at.

Laurie is preparing for a workshop she will be presenting on behavior body movement patterns later in the summer. She asked us to notice all the chatter we endlessly tell ourselves as we avoid doing certain movements. She asked us to notice where we resist movement and why.
I found this a fascinating exercise. I heard myself drag out the usual suspects that sound like a combination of the following whines:

I will look weird doing that
I'm too fat to move that part, things will jiggle too much

I'm not coordinated enough, I'll fall over and people will laugh at me

I am not strong enough to do that move

I am embarrassed to scream and grunt

I hate to sweat, it makes me look dirty

I don't want to be seen

I don't want to be judged

I can't follow the directions. I must be stupid

WOW! That's quite a line-up of negative self-talk. I exhausted myself just thinking about all the reasons I couldn't do what I was already doing!This got me thinking about the other parts of my life where I am afraid to put myself out there, for all these very same reasons. As it turns out I exhibit the exact same limitations in all parts of my life, and perhaps we all do.

I am grateful for NIA, and Laurie, and all the other wonderful movement teachers that have helped me over the years to feel more comfortable in my body. I am convinced that the more comfortable I become moving around in my body the more comfortable I become moving around the planet. I am feeling the pull to start moving in all kinds of ways and this is a very good thing.

Cindy Morris, msw

Priestess Entrepreneur

If you want to read (or listen to me narrating) more stories on being a Priestess in thess amazing time of transformation and change, check out The Priestess Chronicles at:

http://www.priestessentrepreneur.com/products.html

Always read the fine print, if you can find it

I don’t know about you but I am so sick and tired of being ripped off by companies, large and small, who tell you: “It’s in the contract.”
From bank credit card processing companies to dating sites to coaching programs it seems that TOO MANY businesses are making their money by hookwinking you into extra charges that they claim you should have known about. Start-up fees, cancellation fees, continuance fees, the list of rip-off scams goes on and on.
Is there a special ring of Hell for blood-sucking scammers and those who torment animals?
One can only hope so.

So here’s what I have learned:
ASK endless questions of clarification when you enter into ANY contract at all.
ASK so many questions they think you’re from another planet or that you’re 5 years old.
CRUCIAL must-ask questions:
Is there a fee to begin the service?
Is there is monthly or yearly fee?
Is there a fee to cancel the service?
What is the name and phone number (with extension) of the person you can call should problems arise (which they absolutely will)?
Will they be claiming your first-born during or after the contract is completed?

As soon as you give your credit card number to a business you MUST check your statements CAREFULLY each month to see what, if anything, you are being charged. Also check your online banking daily so you can catch any transactions that you have not authorized. if you don’t have online banking yet, think seriously about setting this up.

If you are receiving information like newsletters and /or cds in the mail from a company chances are you are paying for that. Make sure you are on the lists you want to be on and off the ones you don’t want to be on.
Keep your own business running on the up and up. Treat your customers EXACTLY as you would like to be treated. If you mess up (you will), make appropriate amends. Be meticulous in your contracts, explaining CLEARLY to your customers EXACTLY what they are paying for when they do business with you.

As priestesses, we each have to clean up the world, one transaction at a time.
Be impeccable in your communication: clear, concise, and kind.
And don’t give your power away by rolling over and playing stupid, or dead. Take responsibility for all your transactions by getting ALL the unreadable fine print spelled out for you in neon.

Now I am off to tackle Chase Paymentech services. Wish me luck!
Cindy Morris, msw
Priestess Entrepreneur
http://www.priestessentrepreneur.com/products.html

'Priestess Sleeping' Eye Pillow

What?! You don't have a Priestess Sleeping eye pillow yet?
Getting good sleep without ambient light interference is a MUST for
any Priestess. I mean really, how are you going to save the world
if you're sleep deprived? You won't.
Sleep is the the #1 important bodily function you need in full working order to be your best.
You are needed!
The world needs you and you need your sleep.
Check out the Priestess Sleeping eye pillow as the must-have sleep aid .
Beauty sleep is great, empowerment sleep is better.
Power-sleeping. Now THERE'S a sport I can get behind!

Check out all the other Priestess empowerment products.
Sign up for your FREE downloadable gifts.
http://www.priestessentrepreneur.com/products.html

Thanks for showing up. You are needed.
Cindy Morris, msw
Priestess Entrepreneur





www.PracticalPriestess.com

Priestess Meditations

I often get asked: " I KNOW I need to connect with my own inner guidance but how do I DO that?"
To which I answer: "It's easy! As easy as breathing."
In our busy, overstimulating world it can be so challenging just to take a deep breath. It is that slowing down to take a conscious breath that allows us to make the magical connection to our own divine guidance.
It is easiest to do this slowing down when following a guided meditation. Once you get in the daily habit of it you will want to do some meditation every day. Promise! Your mind will be clearer and you will feel better about your life. Decisions and choices that have eluded you will be easy to grasp.

These particular meditations, the Priestess Meditations, have been lovingly created with you and your peace of mind in mind! When your mind is peaceful then you can go about the business of creating and spreading more peace in the world. The Priestess Meditations have been designed to align your chakras. There is one meditation for each day of the week, correlating to one of the seven chakras.

You can try a FREE sample of the relaxation practice and meditation.
Go ahead! Try it! Attune. Align. Empower.
You have nothing to lose but your agitation and anxiety!
http://www.PriestessEntrepreneur.com/products.html
Scroll down to the Meditations.
Or try the other FREE samples of the Priestess products, all designed to uplift and empower you.

Let me know how you like them!
Cindy Morris, msw
Priestess Entrepreneur



http://www.practicalpriestess.com/

When there's nothing else to do, clean the refrigerator

I was born into a family of clean freaks.

My mother was the type of woman who cleaned for the cleaning lady, God forbid
the woman who traveled an hour by subway and bus to clean under our sofa should think we were dirty. My mother would catch worn clothing items before they hit the floor, spiriting them away to the hamper. Her highest insult, which she would mutter under her breath as if it were an affliction, was: “Oh, so and so, well, you know he’s not very clean.”

My sister is just as bad, if not worse. I have seen her pick up the shower
mat,swabbing the floor before the person in the shower was finished soaping up. I have also seen her on her hands and knees wiping the bottom of the shoes of the refrigerator repair man as he was buried shoulder-deep in lettuce and leftover Chinese food. He turned around, no doubt thinking it was the dog, only to find my sister spraying his shoe bottom with disinfectant and rubbing it with a paper towel. She smiled meekly, as did he.

Such is the countenance of the women in my family. Clearly I am from a
different genetic branch. Don’t get me wrong, I love a clean house. In fact my dream
living situation is closer to a hotel than a house, where they come in every day to tidy up and do the deep cleaning. It takes everything I have just to keep my house minimally fur-free, what with three shedding Smooth Fox terriers and one Siamese type cat who would rip my eyeballs out without a second glance if I tried to brush her.

Needless to say, it can be many months before I can muster the forces necessary to deal with the innards of the refrigerator. Between my roommate, who eats pizza and all the stuff one could think of putting on a pizza, and my own collections of endless leftovers, my fridge is a disaster zone of jars, vitamins, and Tupperware containers of every size and shape filled partway with foods that are barely recognizable.

My mother bought my fridge for me as a housewarming present many years ago.
That was her signature gift for any of us when we passed into house ownership. I know she bought this one with some reluctance, or maybe it was sadness, because with my sibs the refrigerator came after a marriage. The only marriage it looked like I was going to have was with myself. The marriage that had already ended never received a refrigerator. Maybe that’s why it failed. Of course she did give us the down payment for the house,which cancelled out the refrigerator.

My mother told me to go Sears and pick out the one I wanted. The
refrigerator arrived. I watched the delivery guy maneuver that beast through the door of my 1911 Victorian, which was just not quite wide enough, and just as he plugged it in, sweat pouring down his face, I said to him: “This isn’t the refrigerator I ordered”. I thought he might cry. “The one I saw at the store had food in it.” I really had him going there for a bit and it made the whole “I’m not married and maybe never will be” pain in my heart subside for just a minute or two.



So years later I am still not married and my refrigerator has outlived my
mother. She would die a thousand deaths anyway if she saw the state it is in because in her refrigerator you could have performed surgery.

Today I tackled the refrigerator. I am in a waiting period of my life. I’ve
created. I’ve put things out in the world. I written. I’ve narrated. I’ve prepared.
I’ve blogged. I’ve sent newsletters. I’ve done what I can do, for today. Today I feel I cannot do one more thing for my stalled business. Today it’s the refrigerator. Serious refrigerator business.

I get the elbow-high rubber gloves on and dive in. I start tossing, If I don’t recognize it, out it goes. If there is even a hint of a question about it - to the trash. I empty bottles, toss plastic bags, sniff, and rummage through all the amazing things that have been living in the relative comfort of a chilled box on a very hot summer morn. I takeout the shelves and scrub them to a high gloss. I pick every errant crumb from all the little crevices on every edge of the fridge. When all is spotless and dry I put back all the items that have made it through security clearance, organizing by taste. Sweet thingswith sweet things, sour things with other sours, spicies with other spicies. Neutrals are in bins all to themselves.



And just like that, I am done. I survey my success. My mother would
be proud. I feel pretty good myself. I know it won’t last. Entropy will take up residence soon. But for today, when I couldn’t think of anything else productive to do, and it is,after all, a work day, I cleaned the refrigerator. I’m giving myself an A plus today.

Now it’s on to the cat box.


If you enjoyed this story there's plenty more where this came from!
Check out The Priestess Chronicles as an ebook collection and as an audio book
narrated by yours truly (me!).
http://www.priestessentrepreneur.com/products.html

Cindy Morris, msw
Priestess Entrepreneur

Don't know if I should laugh or cry

I heard the MOST amazing story on NPR's This American Life the other day. 43 years ago two baby girls were mistakenly switched at the hospital shortly after birth. Every mother (and kid's) nightmare, right? One of the mothers knew the switch had happened but when she told her husband about it he told her not to say anything because they shouldn't insult the doctor. Over the following years everytime the mother thought she shou;d say soemthing she decided she shouldn't "make any waves".

I was so blown away by this I think my mouth was hanging open in "stun" mode.
The two families lived in a teeny weeny town. It was obvious to EVERYONE that the little girls were clearly related to the other family than the ones that were raising them. Finally the mother who knew wrote letters to the girls and told them. 43 years later.

The fall-out was so painful for all involved. The other mother (how She could not have know gives a whole new meaning to the word "denial"),the girls (now grown with their own children), and the siblings.

This brings many issues to mind for me, the obvious one being the willingness of the mother who "knew" to go along with her husband's wishes to not insult the doctor. That could be the most insane thing I have ever heard. On the other hand, how often do we defer to men as if they knew better? Are we so far away from being burkha-clad ourselves? I can look back on my own life and see many instances where I deferred to a man's perspective and was sorry that I did.

Another issue that this story brings up is the DENIAL. Both those families, and the entire community, knew that those girls were switched because it could not have been more obvious, not only by the looks of the girls but also by their behaviors and personalities, all of which fit perfectly with their birth family but not at all with the family that was raising them as their own.
Denial is an easy lull to fall into. If we stay in denial we won't "rock the boat" or "make waves".
How many times in my own life have I chosen to do just that so as to stay safe? But was I really safe? Denial gives us a false sense of safety and then when the truth is finally revealed (which we knew all along anyway) the crap REALLY hits the fan!

Some things to think about, for sure.
How scary is it really to tell the truth?

The right tools for the most important job of your life: Empowering Yourself to be fully in your Divine Feminine power

As an empowered woman, Priestess, and as an empowered woman in business, Priestess Entrepreneur, there are certain, specific tools you will need to use in order to step into and maintain your full empowerment. Connection, trust, faith, and a postive mindset are a few of the MUST-DOs to keep the Priestess empowerment energy alive and flowing.



Check out all the Priestess offerings, available as books, ebooks, and audio downlaods.
Visit my website and receive a FREE GIFT to help support you in your Priestess empowerment.
Thank you for showing up!
You are needed.

http://www.practicalpriestess.com/

Priestess Petals of Wisdom as daily support for your all-important mission: Empowering Yourself!

Priestess Petals of Wisdom is a collection of 36 affirmations and delightful vignettes
lovingly created to support you in empowering yourself to be the amazing living manifestation of the Divine Feminine that you already are.
The time for the Divine Feminine to emerge fully into power is NOW! It is time to access and activate your innate gifts and talents as a Priestess in your own right. We all need support and encouragement as we learn to live in an empowered, enlivened state. The Petals are simple, easy-to-digest. loving words of support and guidance to help you get on and stay on the empowered path.
The Petals are available as an audio download and as an e-book.

Thank you for showing up!
You and your unique gifts are needed right now!

Visit my website and receive your FREE GIFT to support you in your Priestess empowerment.
http://wwwpracticalpriestess.com/


http://www.practicalpriestess.com/

Learning to video blog

Who knew I would EVER be learning to video blog?
Here I am at a book-signing where I am SO much more comfortable than online.
But you know what? The more I learn the more comfortable I am in all new ventures.
So, keep learning to keep your vistas ever-WIDENING!
As an empowered Priestess be EAGER to master tools that increase your impact on
those you wish to serve.

We play out our Family Dynamics in our Women=owned Business

If you're a woman and you own your own business, guess what? You're going to be seen as the MOM of your business. All your issues about your relationship with your own mother and your staff's relationships with their mother is going to be acted out at work. It's just what happens.
As it tuns out, we are creatures of family patterns and habits.
The more you know yourself and what your issues are, the better equipped you are to handle those issues OUTSIDE the business (that would be in therapy) so that the business can function free of the past.
As always, the Priestess Entrepreneur must know herself!
That is the source of true empowerment.

Visit my website to receive a FREE GIFT to support you in your Priestess empowerment.
You are needed.
The world thanks you for showing up and working on your "stuff".
www.PriestessEntrepreneur.com/LP

Boundaries in Women's Business: A MUST for healthy functioning

Owning and managing a business provides endless opportunities for you to work on your boundaries. Healthy boundaries make for healthy business practices.
These boundaries are just like having healthy skin that protects your body. So do emotional boundaries protect the inner you from invaders! A Priestess entrepreneur know who she is and what she thinks. If you don't know that and maintain clear boundaries you could be living someone else's life with someone else's beliefs and ideas. That's a karmic no-no!
It's your life! Know and be who are. Let others be who they are.
Simple, yes. Easy? NO!
Get help and support to build and maintain healthy, supportive boundaries.
Learning to say NO when you mean NO is a good place to practice creating healthy boundaries.

Visit my website to receive your FREE GIFT to support you in your Priestess empowerment!
You are needed to show up in all your unique splendidness!
www.PracticalPriestess.com

Intuition : a Woman Business Owner's Internal GPS

Every woman has her own internal, decision-assisting navigation system. Its kind of like a feminine GPS, and its called, INTUITION.Learning to use and trust your intuition allows you to use your most powerful tool, the tool you were divinely given to navigate the journey of your life.
Like any tool you have to become familiar with it and learn how to use it.

Like many other qualities that are considered female, intuition has been relegated to less than important, outshine by logic. The truth is you need BOTH intuition AND logic to have the best journey! One without the other and you're working at a deficit.
Spock and Kirk TOGETHER form the most powerful team.

Visit my website to receive a FREE GIFT to support your Priestess empowerment.
You are needed!
The world thanks you for showing up.
www.PriestessEntrepreneur.com/LP

Time: Your most precious commodity

Time is our most precious commodity. Wouldn't it be great if we could go up to a TIME station, put in our credit card, and buy more time? Well until that happens you only have the time you have. Use it wisely. Don't be giving your time away without thinking: "Is this what I want to do with my precious time today, this moment?"

Visit my website for a FREE GIFT to support you in your Priestess empowerment.
You are needed.
The world thanks you for showing up.
www.PriestessEntrepreneur.com/LP

Empowering others

If you really want to empower the people around you, especially if they are staff!, you have to stop doing everything for everybody else. A successful entrepreneur KNOWS she cannot do it ALL herself, that she MUST delegate. When you delegating you actually need to let the other person do their job. If you try to do your job AND everybody else's you not only will exhaust yourself , you take away that other person's ability to grow and learn in their job.
If you never let your kid learn to tie their own shoes, guess what? It's velcro and loafers for them for the rest of their lives!.
You don't have to fix ot someone else. In fact, you can't. When you constantly try to fix things for others you comepltely disempower them and exhaust yourself.
When you allow others to figure things out for themselves and not depend on you to make it all better for them, you empower them to live more fully, and have more time to do the things you REALLY want to do!

Visit my website to receive a FREE GIFT to support you in your Priestess Empowerment
You are needed.
The world thanks you for showing up.
www.PriestessEntrepreneur.com/LP

Let's put people-pleasing to rest!

If you are saying YES when you really means NO, what are you really saying? Learning to say NO when you mean NO is the single most important thing you NEED TO DO as Priestess Entrepreneur and living, breathing resident of Planet Earth.
It can pretty hard to say NO when you mean NO if you are prone to people-pleasing, and what nice girl wasn't taught to do that?
That is someone else's agenda!
There is no time anymore for codependent people-pleasing. It's positively life-sucking, sucking the life right of YOU! And if you have the life sucked out of you who is going to show up to live your life? It's YOUR life. Live it.

Visit my website to receive a FREE GIFT to support you in your personal empowerment.
You are needed.
The world thanks you for showing up.

www.PriestessEntrepreneur.com/LP

What are your products and services worth? Charging appropriately

Charging appropriately for your work is probably the hardest thing for a woman to do in business. If you have any issues of self-worth, and if you are a woman in today's world I'd be surprised if you DIDN'T have self-worth issues, you are going to have to confront this head-on.
If you don't value your work, no one else will. You've taken a lifetime to learn what you know. Everything you have learned (that's not only book learning!) has value and has made you the amazing person you are today. You have intrinsic value and you have value in all you have learned in the school of life.
Let yourself charge what you are really worth.
Get help and support to clear away any doubts you might have about your self-worth. It's the most valuable gift you will ever give yourself. I promise.

Visit my website to receive a FREE GIFT to support you in your personal empowerment!

www.PracticalPriestess.com

Word-of-mouth: referrals help your business grow

Starting a business is no easy task. Congratulations for taking the plunge and testing your entrepreneurial wings! The absolute BEST way to jump start your business, or give it a lift as it is running along, is to offer your products and services FOR FREE and start collecting those testimonials. It's much more effective to have another person rave about your business!
When you are asking for testimonials be specific. Ask for the benefits. What SPECIFIC benefits did they experience from using your products and services?
ASK for referrals. Offer your products and services in exchange for referrals.
Nothing like giving to get the getting going. Just don't give it all away.
I give a free session to someone who cannot afford it every few weeks just to keep the energy MOVING.
Keep the energy MOVING in your business. A static business is a dead business.

Visit my website to receive your FREE GIFT to support your personal Priestess empowerment!
You are needed!
The world thanks you for showing up.

www.PriestessEntrepreneur.com/LP

Importance of Down-Time for a Woman Entrepreneur

Downtime is a MUST for a Priestess Entrepreneur. Have you ever been to a yoga class? Part of the class you will do postures and breathing techniques and movement. A HUGE chunk of the class
(and my personal favorite part) is the relaxation time. This is when you lie on the floor in what's called corpse pose, eyes closed (in a really good class they will give you a silk eye pillow...hey! I have those for sale on my website-check out the Priestess Eye Pillow on the products page). They lower the lights and you just REST. In that rest time you integrate the gift of the entire class. If you miss the relax time you have not really experienced the class!
It's the same with life!
If you pass on the relaxation you have missed out on the day.
Now give yourself a nice lie-down and just let it all go.
It will ALL be there waiting for you when you return but then you will be able to look at your life refreshed, through vibrant eyes.

Visit my website to receive your FREE GIFT to support you in your personal empowerment!
www.PracticalPriestess.com

Respecting Body Rhythms in Women's Business

As a women entrepreneur you need LOTS of soft, luxurious, female REST and REJUVENATE time in your life. Relax time is the MOST IMPORTANT time in your day. When you relax you allow the experiences of the day to integrate into your system. It's like digestion. You have to have time to digest your food so that your body can assimilate the nutrients. When you give yourself TIME to relax and integrate the experiences of the day you can take in the gifts of a day on Planet Earth and all the wonder of being a spiritual being in a human body!
I have even been known to take a brisk nap before going to bed for the night. Sleeping is so delicious; I don't want to be so exhausted that I can't even enjoy it!


www.PracticalPriestess.com
Visit my website to receive a FREE GIFT to support you in your personal empowerment!