Embracing the freedom to be a Woman

March 8, 2019

With Woman’s Day upcoming, I have been expectantly asking around me : “Woman’s Day ! How does it feel to be a woman ? What is it like for you to be a woman ?”

Sadly, again and again, I am appalled by the answer I get : “I don’t see any difference in being a woman. For me, it’s the same thing to be a man or a woman. There is no difference….”

Or then, we turn to the work still to be done for equality… equality of rights at work…. Equality of rights at home…. In society at large….. gender violence still prevailing. It is them and us.

So I ask : What would it be like if you were a man ? Would you enjoy that ?

There is a minute of silence. A minute that lingers and turns into a long break hanging in the conversation. Something feels weird here. And once more, the comparison : I would have liked that when I was a teenager. But with time, this has faded away. I have managed to hold the reins of my life the way I wanted to.

So … what about us ? Who am I ? I am not the woman my grandma and for that matter, my mum used to be, I am now an equal of men. (Or nearly so, we are almost there).

But does that mean I am no longer a woman ? Does that mean I don’t know any more what it is to be a woman ?

What shows between the lines is that… now that I have become a man’s equal (or nearly so…), now that I can hold my life together and become the master of my own fate, I can’t be a woman. As lurking in the depths of our mind, being a woman is still some kind of a subcategory, of a subclass….

It slaps me in the face that equality could be robbing us of our womanhood, the worst swindle of it all. NO ! Wake up ! We are equals, YES. But let us proclaim our difference as a measure of what we can bring to the forefront, to our society, to our companies, to our banks, to reclaiming our health. Not only are we physically different but we have a million-year past of laughing together, of child-bearing, of nurturing, of kindling that feeble endeavour of growth and creating the right setting for it, of embracing and of seduction, of finding our source of strength in other women and in Nature. Women have a different approach to it all - communication, love making, education, medicine, finance. Let us explore these differences and our strengths for being a woman.

As I look to the sun, the stars, the moon, rivers, plants and animals, I can see they are all different and of all kinds. Why should we humans be so insipidly boring ?

Holding in-company workshop - Being a woman at work -

English-French-Spanish

Write to me at bnazroo@yahoo.es

Coronavirus The resurge of collective wisdom

April 1, 2020

April Fool invites us to look at the archetype* of the fool & find new ways to address a new problem*

In Jungian psychology, an archetype is an inherited symbolic image from the past collective experience of humanity, present in the unconscious of the individual. At critical moments in our lives, we can draw upon these living forces within us to create real turning points.*The fool invites us to forsake known ways and beliefs and tread new lands In search of our own development as human beings. In joy and without fear

The world has gone to pieces - the one we knew ! In this time of transition, a major new event is taking place. Whilst some are fear mongering on the media and social media and adopting the old means to attack a new problem, a wide portion of the world population are looking to new means of claiming their health : Our collective wisdom is back onstage.

This is the wisdom that has taken our Human Kind across a few millions of years of threats and dangers, climate changes and natural disasters. This tribute to our elders was even paid by the Spanish President Sanchez in his communication of the state of emergency vowing not to forsake their path. The witch hunt against natural remedies, plants, homeopathy, meditation, breathing and other therapies is sensibly giving way to our natural instinct for survival and a collective effort to boost our immune system and turn to a milder form of medicine, non invasive and preventive. Natural foods and supplements companies as well as homeopathic laboratories have been overwhelmed by backlogs of orders and the social media crumbling under techniques and advice on how to reinforce immunity.

This is not to say that mainstream medicine is wrong. In these 350 years of hardcore science, we have obviously made giant leaps.....

But let us play the KIng’s Fool.

Why is it that of all places it is in a technological hub with more than 350 R&D institutes and 1 656 companies dealing in advanced technology like Wuhan where the coronavirus was being studied that it all spread out ? Leaving out all theories of conspiracy or that it sprang from the market place (since according to the Lancet, 13 of the 41 first cases had no link whatsoever with it), setting aside what is trying to control the world or what got out of control, we can venture a psychological reading.

Psychologists and those who closely study themselves and their fellow human beings observe the natural phenomenon of compensation and balance, a safeguard for our health and sanity The natural organism has its own hidden ways to restore balance. When one has gone too far in a certain direction and the whole organism is threatened, ailments and disorders appear. A workaholic will suffer from burnout. A lack of love in early childhood can lead to overeating. An excess of power can produce nightmares of utter helplessness.

What if this sudden change in our whole global picture : desert highways , closed shops, vacant squares, dramatic drop in pollution - was an attempt at the restoration of the balance of a now global organism grown sick of the cult of immediacy, of overindulgence in non-essentials, of artificial creation of pointless stress, of binges and immediate resort to drugs with their cohort of side effects, of our deaf ear to our environment and Mother Earth ?

Even as our instinct rushes us to parks and natural settings in search of health and exercise, fresh air, sunlight and trees, (didn’t the Boston Health Dept use open air hospitals in 1918 to slow down the spreading of the Spanish Flu ?), we can't but keep within closed doors, tie our kids down, stay away from our elderlies and let them die alone whether from the CV 19 or from isolation.

And whilst not going out is for many the time to go in, to open up to our real needs in silence and quiet, to bond with our close ones, to take up this activity or learning we have been procrastinating for so long now that the internet is flooding with new possibilities, beer consumption has increased by 78% in Spain, our kids already addicted to video games and the like are all day on their computer whether online studying or gaming. Once the coronavirus is subdued, then will come the time to treat depressions and the rise of antidepressants during this period, the effects of increased dosage of medication for hyperactivity, the sequels of lack of exercising on diabetes, the upsurge of gambling, the escalation of obesity and other disorders this confinement measure will likely cause if it settles in for too long ....

The Ultimate Predator of all Creatures tantalised by the weeniest teeniest of them in just three months ? Could 't that be the depiction of a search for balance ?

This is when the archetype of the Fool can lead us to new ways of addressing our existence, with an open mind and an open heart, questioning our beliefs in the light of what has happened and creating new spaces of life with the learnings of the past. Because as Einstein said, ........................

Celebrating Earth Day in confinement

April 22, 2020

And forget not that the Earth delights to feel your bare feet and the winds long to play with your hair. Kahlil Gibran

If we are restrained from taking a walk outside in natural surroundings or don’t have a garden, how to cultivate the feeling of being grounded in Earth’s energy today ?

Grounding physics is a subject under growing interest and research where it is claimed that whilst we are in contact with the Earth, the free electrons from the Earth’s surface spread over and into the body and have antioxidant effects, reducing inflammation, wound injury, improving sleep, reducing pain and overall enhancing health.*

So, first of all, let’s be aware that there is such a healing power to draw from the Earth. Being ungrounded is a worldwide epidemic that has ironically manifested itself in the blatant generalised solution of confinement. Running away from Nature and right into virtual reality. Being ungrounded can make you get distracted easily, ruminate, experience perpetual worry, eventually anxiety and depression, acquire and depend more and more on material things. It can even in the long run lead to mental disorder with technostress (term coined by Craid Brod in 1984) amplifying it all.

Here are some things we can do today.

In your computer, tablet or mobile, have images of Nature and let videos with sounds roll of walks in forests or along a river. Viewing a forest environment for a 15 min session induces a state of physiological relaxation. In various studies**, forest therapy (walking or JUST VIEWING) had the following effects: (1) it decreased the levels of salivary cortisol, a typical stress hormone; (2) it decreased the pulse rate; (3) it decreased the systolic and diastolic blood pressures; (4) it increased HF; and (5) it decreased the LF/HF ratio.

Have sounds from Nature playing in your office or at home. *** Natural sounds are proven to have a profound relaxing effect on our body and mind and induce well being whereas traffic noise has been found to be directly linked to 3% of cardiac arrest in Germany. **** .

Sit in the sun on your balcony or with your windows wide open and feel the sunshine on your face and body. 5 to 10 minutes

With your windows open, sit in the fresh air and allow yourself to feel it on your skin.

Play with your cat or dog. Let your mind empty itself of your usual thoughts and allow yourself to be your loved pet, whether even a bird or fish. Or roll on the floor like a cat.

Take a Cold Shower : This grounding technique has many health benefits (except for those who have high blood pressure) and has been shown to increase immunity, reduce fat, and elevate mood (by triggering dopamine). If this is too spartan an experience for you, at the end of your hot shower, make the water warm/cool for 30 seconds. If you want to pursue this experience over the course of the next three weeks, turn the water gradually cooler and stay under it for longer. By the end of the three weeks, your body will get used to the cold temperature. It’s a truly invigorating experience. Time: 30 seconds to 5 minutes.

Take a warm bath and visualise you were in a lake with a gorgeous scenery around.

Plant some seeds on your balcony or in a sunny spot in your home.

Place some drops of essential aroma in your diffuser. lemon, tea tree, peppermint, clove, camphor, cinnamon to boost your immune system. Lemon, eucalyptus, tea tree, palo Santo, lavender for respiratory health.

Stand like a tree (Zhan Zhuang) : This ancient technique in Qigong brings increasing energy and mental alertness. Follow these steps : 1) Stand with feet pointing straight ahead, parallel to each other at shoulder width. Clasp your feet to the ground with your toes exerting a slight pressure. 2) Extend upward from the crown of your head into the sky. 3) Allow your hips to slightly sink down as if you were sitting at the edge of a stool with your back straight. Centre your attention on the Hara, centre of energy two to three fingers under your navel. 4) Keep your knees slightly bent. 5) Relax your shoulders.6) Let your arms rest comfortably at your sides. 7) Let the palms of your hands face toward your hips. 8) Tuck your chin inward with your neck in line with your spine. 9) Keep your eyes slightly open with a soft gaze ahead of you. 10) Place your tongue gently on your palate with your lips resting closed. Relax your jaw muscles. Visualize you are a tree, with your roots plunging deep into the Earth and your head reaching to the sky. Breathe slowly in and even more slowly breathe out.

Earthing Visualization : Feel the ground beneath your feet and focus on your heart, with gratitude emanating for living on Earth in its best version : its beauty, pristine waters, luxuriant forests, diversity of animals. Now, imagine a beam of light going from your heart to the center of the Earth, whether in the form of a magma core, a circle of light, or whatever comes to mind. Feel the connection between your heart and the Earth’s core. Time: 2 to 5 minutes. This exercise is based on the current research referred to in the Harvard Gazette on visualization : imagery, deeply ingrained in our brain v/s verbal thinking, a later evolutionary development, directly speaks to our subconscious mind and grounds us in the here and now.

Living together on Earth : This is a very powerful exercise, one step further and helps come to terms with the grief, loss and depression we are experiencing during this period.

Once you have connected with the Earth's core, breathe feelings of peace and love through your heart area for a few minutes. Now connect in the heart with all people around the planet who are appreciative and bringing care to our Earth. Feel this collective heart power magnifying the effectiveness of our collective efforts and care. Imagine a ring of compassionate heart energy of a light colour surrounding our planet and watch it bring people together in their connection with Nature and the good we can achieve on earth and for each other. Visualize how all people become healthier and happier *****. And if you have lost someone or know someone who has, feel this energy of the heart flowing to them wherever they are or may be. Time : 5 to 10 minutes. This exercise is based on the research done by Heartmath into the interconnectedness of the Earth's geomagnetic field and collective human emotions.

References :

* https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4378297/

** https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4997467/

*** https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5842016/

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/03/170330132354.htm

**** https://blog.ted.com/9-ways-that-sound-affects-our-health-wellbeing-and-productivity/

***** https://www.heartmath.org/research/science-of-the-heart/global-coherence-research/