To Cycle or Not Cycle with the Moon.

Woman reaching for the moon

To Cycle or Not Cycle with the Moon? That is Today’s Question

QUESTION: 

This comes from the 4 Seasons in 4 Weeks Free Cycle-Tracking Group:

How common or relevant is it to have your cycle days in synch with the moon days? I’m 6 days apart and am hoping for a time when I’m all lined up.

MY THOUGHTS and OPINION:

Here’s the deal, Ladies: The moon is a complex subject because there are two different ways to calculate the moon’s rhythm: the moon’s actual cycle for one full orbit is one, and how we see the light of the moon, which is one full orbit and then a bit more past its original point (because the Earth is orbiting too), is the 2nd way.

The standard, average, healthy female cycle appears to mimic the actual orbit of the moon, which is 28 days. But the way we experience the light of the moon is every 29.5 days (new moon to new moon). There are other things at play too, such as orbits changing and adjusting over time. So, if you’re a bleeding woman and trying to sync with the moon, I think you’re adding extra effort that will most likely be futile over a year’s time because your timing will move a bit each month until you’re finally at the full moon instead of the new moon. Certainly bleeding during the dark time and ovulating during the bright time supports the energy of the phases, so it is wonderful and ideal when you land on those. But I say, just take that as a gift when it happens. If you’re consistently cycling with the actual moon, then you’re cycling at a 29.5 day month on average, which is fine, just know that this is how you roll.

My opinion and suggestion: If having a healthy, consistently regular cycle is the goal, then keep your focus on getting your own moon phases balanced. You are the sacred geometric model of the moon and your body knows what it needs to do, it just needs for you to cooperate. Focus on YOUR rhythm, rather than Her’s (the moon, the one in the sky). She’s the model for it, like the mama bear who’s trying to show her babies how to be a bear. The moon is showing us how to be a moon. You are your own, independent moon, enhancing the energy of this physical planet with your feminine rhythm and rhythmic wisdom of light and dark! You’re teaching the world how to rest, how to take action, how to stand in your truth, and how to walk in chaos!

The world needs for you to find that consistent balance, and 4 Seasons in 4 Weeks is truly trying to help you to tap into that golden thread within that knows where that balance is. Find the rhythmic balance within and you’ll walk as the beautiful and healthy moon that you are, influencing all who/that are near you in positive ways.

~ Suz xoxo

Aligning With Your Cycle: How it Works

moon cycle tracking mandala 4 seasons in 4 weeks

The Rhythms

In the same way that all humans follow a 24-hour Circadian Rhythm (meaning, about a day), we women follow an approximate 28-day body clock, which I’ve coined a Circamene Rhythm (sur-kay-mena, meaning, about a month). We are lunar rhythmic beings and that’s a game changer and crucial detail to understand for our health, wellbeing, and happiness.

This is womb wisdom: a well-rounded way of thinking, communicating, and bonding. As the human sources of creation, there is very little that is more important than getting this right within the psyches and souls of every woman on the planet whether she ever produces children or not. Within us lives the rhythm of “Source creation” and every human has incubated in it and has been baptized into this world from it.

The 4 Seasons in 4 Weeks understanding of womb wisdom is an easy interpretation to follow and becomes more and more accurate as one aligns more fully with her own patterns.

Here’s how it works:

When the cycle is broken down into 4 weeks, a pattern emerges. Like pretty much every rhythm in the universe, you’ll find a resting, building, expressing, and deconstructing phase. It’s a monthly rhythmic form of Sacred Geometry.

hormone chart by 4 seasons in 4 weeks

In the same way that the moonlight waxes and wanes, we change slightly every day as we build and deconstruct our uterine linings and all other aspects that support a possible pregnancy. If not cycling, this waxing and waning of energy is a support system our bodies know very well and continues to practice beyond menopause or hysterectomy if we don’t abandon it.

This building and deconstructing is not an act of being crazy and we’re not changing our minds! We’re staying on top of the ebb and flow of our rhythmic world and our thought processes. Our choices are to either learn to surf the waves with grace and ease, or drown in the chaos and confusion.

One of the major bonuses is grasping that you have a rhythmic sex drive. There are a rhyme and reason as to why you like to be touched a certain way one day, but not enjoy (at all) that same type of touch another. The sequence of your cycle causes your uterus to be building or deconstructing, and this effects how your body is responding to stimuli. It’s important to learn and it easy to understand because the pattern repeats itself. It is super predictable.

3 women for 4 Seasons in 4 Weeks blog

While each woman’s monthly rhythm is unique to the number of days and the daily stresses and circumstances that effect it, the reproductive sequence is basically the same for all women. It’s a formula for making a baby, which means certain things have to happen: hormones get triggered following the actions of the hormones before them. It’s a pattern that gets repeated over and over again every 28 days or so and if all goes well, this is something you’ll have the chance to get good at for over 40 years of your life minus pregnancy, nursing, or major health challenge.

The 4 Seasons in 4 Weeks approach to the hormones is a daily practice, not an overnight “did it and done” experience. Like taking care of our teeth or washing our hair, taking care of our reproductive (and beyond) bodies is something to incorporate into your daily routine. Knowing what cycle day you’re on will tell you which phase you’re in. When you know this, it’s easier to prepare for it and bring in “tools”, such as music or fitness, for balance and comfort.

Women’s history tells us that we lost our female secrets for taking care of ourselves a long time ago. It’s time to remedy this now by following the teachings of our feminine lineage, learning how to manage our lunar-rhythmic bodies with grace and skill. You’ll get better and better at knowing how to prepare for each phase and which tools to bring in for balance.

Lunar-rhythmic mastery is your true initiation into womanhood and strong personal power.

This is the place where we feel “at One” with our cycles, a calm and powerful centeredness that gives us clarity, direction, confidence, and know-howWhen in alignment and “at One” with that natural rhythm, we feel Bliss. 

The time in history has opened up for us to reject and release the harmful past understandings of our cycles and selves and replace them with the powerful feminine truth. Our world desperately needs women to bring this medicine and these gifts to the planet right now.

All will benefit.  – Suz

Your Inner-Knowing Beckons and Awaits You

red dress woman in forest 28moons4s4w.com

4 Seasons in 4 Weeks (4s4w) is a symbolic journey through the 28 days of the female hormonal experience. It reveals a logical, holistic, and predictable blueprint for feeling great on a regular basis, communicating well, making your best decisions, and knowing what to do when life gets overwhelming—a remarkable navigational system that can be tapped into throughout a woman’s lifetime, even beyond menopause.

By organizing the cycle into 4 guided weeks, showing how each week prepares for the next, women all over the world are quickly getting the hang of detecting and aligning with what their primal bodies already know—the monthly lunar rhythm encoded within their own feminine design. It’s not rocket science and it’s no mystery. It’s sacred geometry—a natural rhythm that mimics all other natural rhythms in the universe.

It’s what I believe women used to understand well and help each other with before they lost their language and culture to patriarchy. It’s the source of female instincts, hormone intelligence, and core power. I feel strongly that reclaiming, living by, and loving this approximate “28-day female body clock”—the natural rhythm that regulates our womb wisdom—is the needed missing piece to our true gender empowerment and personal sovereignty.

By tracking your natural rhythm for reasons beyond fertility (cycling women begin with their periods and non-cycling begin with the new moon) you’ll begin to undo and drop the negativity that society has programmed you to believe about your female body and ways while allowing your core feminine intelligence and ruling wisdom to surface.

Do you hear the call?

Ovulation: The Queen Bee

All are particularly peaceful at my abode this morning. The quiet reward for living a little more ruggedly in a rural environment is the welcomed sound of the winged ones: the birds, the flying insects, and even a couple of roosters in the distance.

It’s 5 am and I open all doors and windows to allow the heat to escape in exchange for the relief of a respectable temperature. The downside is that a mosquito or two rushes in, but I take that as a gentle reminder to create my mosquito traps.

I’m tired. Super tired. Not the kind of tired where there is something to worry about, but the kind of tired that happens after too many big events in a row. It’s the kind that is necessary; a survival mechanism triggering a person to now take time to rejuvenate and regroup.

I specialize in the hormonal lunar rhythm of women and how it applies both realistically and symbolically to our day-to-day lives in order to be in harmony with it. If you were in a workshop with me right now, you’d hear me telling you that when a woman is tapped-in and practiced, she can feel the day after ovulation.

Today, for me, is exactly like the day after ovulation.

Ovulation is the zenith of the whole female operation and basically a 12-36-hr. event. It’s the queen bee of the hive made up of female cycle days. It’s what the whole fuss is about: the party our bodies work so hard to prepare for every month. Symbolically, it represents full moon, full expression energy among many other things.

Once the event of ovulation is set into motion and parties in a raw and primal way all night, hormones dip as others begin to rise. This creates a dip in body energy that feels like “relief”, which activates reflection, as well as wisdom. One can also feel tired and not even realize why.

This scenario can happen metaphorically in one’s life as well.

Building toward a non-work-related production, I reached my symbolic ovulatory fullest expression yesterday and it came in the form of a dancing in Ashland’s 4th of July parade.

My friend, Wendy and I put a call out for fun-seekers and created a doable dance routine for people who dance well and who don’t dance so well in order to just have a great time and add our bit of spice to the parade. In 2007 we created the Firecracker Queens since our big local parade is the 4th of July. We hadn’t done it since then and didn’t have time to do it now, but we knew it was now or never.

Photo by Michelle Zundel

Photo by Michelle Zundel

Like ovulation, there is a tremendous amount of prep and build-up leading to the event. In many ways, preparing for the parade is a little like preparing for a half marathon. Training happens over several months and a huge amount of emphasis is placed on having the right personal set-up, hydration, and comfort to make it through without fainting. In our case, it was two months of dance practice in extreme heat temperatures, gathering and paying for the costumes and accessories, sound system, vehicles, etc., and constant communication with each other on our secret Facebook page. I personally got up at exactly 3:46 am yesterday morning to gather last minute items and race to get two vehicles in place at the front of our assigned street to hold our spot so as not to be at the end of the parade (first come, first serve is the short version of how this works).

A lot of thought was put into planning every detail of our routine, including what a dancer would do if she felt she was going to pass out. The morning graced us with cooler temps and a slight breeze. Judging always happens before the actual parade and we won 1st place in our category. Once out on the parade route, we had a total blast, the crowd responded, and we nailed it. It felt incredibly magical. Every dancer made it through and did really, really well. Like the female cycle, the preparation takes many days and the actual act it is supporting only lasts a few hours. In the case of our parade routine, we put an enormous amount of effort into it and were probably out on the parade route for a total of 25 minutes. Then it was over.

After that, some of us walked over to the after-parade festivities at the park and then trekked all the way back to our cars, which were at the beginning of the parade route, still in full costume. It was super hot and we were exhausted. I went home, literally peeled my dress off my skin, removed my wig, made a cold bath, got out, and fell onto my bed. Later I went to a pool party and then another party – both very sweet. I ate decent snacks, a good dinner, and drank no alcohol, only hydrating stuff. I finished the day with watching fireworks going off at various parts of the valley from the 3rd-floor deck of the pirate ship.

I woke up this morning not being able to move very well, but in a good sort of way, kind of. I got up and went into the bathroom. I had a blue sparkly heart sticker stuck to my chest (maybe someone hugged me who had it on them?), traces of long-lasting red lipstick on the edges of my mouth, a bruised knot on my forehead, and my hair doing what I call its ratty toddler thing, along with not only one bobby pin but a small French clip still embedded in its twisty layers. I removed those, as well as the sticker, and left the rest to deal with after breakfast. Oh, and the bruise came from moving a poolside lounge chair by the arms yesterday and having the heavy metal backrest slam forward and down onto my forehead.

Standing out on the pirate ship deck totally naked this morning, screwed up hair and makeup, taking in what coolness I know is not going to stay for long, I reflected on this morning-after day.

I’ve been going full throttle for 6-weeks or so: too many hours of travel but loved a family wedding, held a 4-day retreat at a hot springs resort, worked a 3-day festival and held a workshop in extreme heat temps. Normally I might be able to rest the right amount and keep going. But in the middle of it all was the inevitable decision to put my cat down, which was the devastating low for all of this high energy.

My sweet friend, Darryl pointed out that sometimes we have animals that become our right-hand person. Todd the Loverboy Cat was that for me (for too many reasons to list), so in the midst of all of these metaphorically reproductive references, I am really only aware of one thing: I’m grieving right now. I know many people can’t understand why you would grieve an animal like a person, but we do for certain ones, and I am.

So, I’m going to continue with my work-related commitments and meetings, but am going to lay low in all other ways for a bit. Now that I’m on the other side of my symbolic full-throttle building and full expression ovulation phases of my right-now life rhythm, I am going to take the time to reflect, honor, and go inward. Love and thanks for all of your beautiful messages and your always lovely support. I’m going to step away from posting for a bit and be back when I’m ready. ~ Suz

7 Wonders of the Womb

7 Wonders of the Womb: Discover the Powers of the Amazing Uterus

GUEST BLOG By Kara Maria Ananda

Emma-Plunkett-art-Uterus-15-67-1024x1024

Women’s bodies hold within them an incredible organ filled with sexual and creative power.

It is time that we celebrate the astonishing capabilities and mysteries of the fantastic uterus!

Every single human being that has ever been alive upon this planet, now and throughout all of history, has achieved this existence thanks to this very organ.

Thus, we have all been intimately acquainted with the uterus, since the dawn of our lives, whether or not you have one personally within your own body.

However, the uterus is an endangered organ. Hysterectomy (the removal of the uterus) is currently the #2 most common surgery performed in the United States. The #1 most common surgery in the US today is Cesarean Section, the cutting of the uterus to remove a baby.

The uterus is sensitive and permeable to the industrial chemicals now inundating our environment. Hundreds of toxic chemicals are now finding their way into the wombs of women, and thus into the amniotic fluid of pregnant mothers and detectable in the blood of newborns.

It’s important to raise awareness today about the power, purpose and potential of the amazing uterus, so we can focus more energy on the health, vitality and preservation of this amazing female organ.

#1: The Uterus is Super Strong

The uterus is the strongest muscle in the body by weight. The uterus has multiple layers of muscle tissue that run in every direction, spiral together, and are ultra-strong. A laboring uterus exerts incredible pressure to push a baby out into the world, and is the strongest force exerted by any muscle in the body.

The Guinness Book of World Records lists the jaw muscle as the strongest muscle in the body due to a biting contest that measured pressure, but that’s just because people haven’t thought up a good way to make measuring the power of a women’s uterus in labor into a contest. Some people don’t value the uterus as the strongest muscle because not everyone has them (ahem, men) but that doesn’t mean it’s not still the strongest. We know what’s up. Womb power, that’s what.

#2: The Uterus is Incredibly Flexible

A uterus is stretchier than Gumby! During pregnancy a women’s uterus goes from being the size of a pear and tucked behind the pubic bone, to being as large as a balloon and reaching all the way to the ribcage and stretching the abdomen outwards visibly. Then it shrinks back down after birth. That’s totally amazing! Not only is the uterus super strong but it’s super stretchy too!

#3: The Uterus Heals

Menstrual blood is rich in stem cells which are found to be adaptive within the body to heal a wide variety of diseases. Each month during her fertile years, a woman’s body creates a rich endometrial layer in preparation to grow and nourish a whole new human being. When a baby is not conceived the body releases this extremely valuable and nutritive substance during the menstrual cycle.

The abundance of stem cells in the menstrual blood are being researched to treat a wide variety of conditions from stroke, heart disease, Parkinson’s, Lou Gehrig’s, diabetes, wounds, neurodegenerative diseases and more. Women create the most abundant free source of stem cells during monthly menstrual flows, which is much more ethical to harvest than from cord blood of newborns or from aborted embryos, yet it is slow to catch on because of cultural taboos still surrounding menstruation.

#4: The Uterus is Orgasmic

When a women orgasms, she experiences not just pleasurable and euphoric sensations, but waves of contracting muscles throughout the uterus, as well as the vagina and pelvic floor. The whole uterus has waves of muscular contractions which helps to facilitate the movement of sperm from the vagina into the uterus.

Some women also experience deep pleasure from their wombs during orgasm, and say that relaxing and deepening into the feeling allows a whole body orgasmic release.

#5: The Uterus is Connected to the Universe

A women’s menstrual cycles and stages of life are intrinsically linked to the cycles of the Earth, Moon and Sun. The moon cycle is 29.5 days, and the average woman’s menstrual cycle is 29.5 days. Women who’s cycles are closest to the 29.5 day cycle have higher rates of fertility.

In addition, there are 13 moon cycles in a calendar year, and the average age of menarche (a girl’s first menstruation) is age 13. The average age of menopause is 52, which is also the number of weeks in a year. There are an average of 4 weeks to a women’s menstrual cycle and 4 seasons in a year.

Women’s ancient menstrual calendars consisting of notches carved into bone or stone are said to be some of the earliest forms of calendars known. Women’s wombs hold a powerful connection to the astronomical cycles of the Earth, Sun and Moon.

#6: The Uterus Can Grow a Placenta

The uterus is the only organ that can grow a whole new organ within it. The placenta is absolutely amazing, and is an organ that is grown within the uterus when a woman is pregnant that nourishes and feeds the fetus with exactly what it needs every moment for the entire pregnancy. The placenta connects the mother and baby, through it’s attachment to the uterine wall of the mother and to the baby through the umbilical cord. It’s a physical manifestation of the nurturing of the mother for the child and is released after the birth of the child.

The placenta and umbilical cord have a pattern visible in the arteries that looks like the tree of life and is an ancient symbol of life and vitality. Placentas have been highly honored by cultures around the world since the beginning of humanity. The word “placenta” comes from Old English and actually means “a round flat cake”, and the tradition of honoring our placenta continues today as we celebrate around a birthday cake each year on the anniversary of our birth.

#7: The Uterus Can Grow a HUMAN!

It’s totally mind-boggling but true. Within the womb of a woman it is possible to conceive and gestate a whole new human being! WOW! Every single one of us is here alive on the planet today because we we started life growing within the womb of our mother, and we come from a long-line of ancestors born from the wombs of their mothers.

The first time I ever attended a birth as a doula, I was totally amazed at the power of a woman to birth a baby, and walked around for days in total amazement at every woman I saw, thinking how miraculous it is that women have wombs and that we can grow other humans within us. AMAZING.

Now you know why they called her WONDER Woman! Right?

The Universe Within the Uterus

Women can use the power of our wombs not just to grow babies but to tune into the creative potential of the Universe and birth great ideas, businesses, projects, art and more. The womb is a women’s unique connection to a primal source of creativity and can be used for not just procreation but conscious co-creation with nature and spirit.

Let’s honor and celebrate the wonders of the womb and keep our uteruses healthy and loved!

Many blessings,
Kara Maria Ananda

 

http://karamariaananda.com

Art by Emma Plunket: http://www.missplunkett.tv/tagged/womb-art/

Go Raw – Find Your Primal

let your hair down ~ forget your mask ~ find your primal ~ answer your indigenous

Release Your Raw.

Does your body image, the lumps & bumps, the out of shape, the in-shape-but-not-happy, visible flaws, hair, skin, etc. keep you from getting into water or showing your vulnerabilities? We understand. This is a retreat where we invite you to forget about it and allow yourself to just enjoy. You don’t need makeup or your hair done at this place (it’s also OK if you do want these things).

Breitenbush is a clothing optional retreat center and often there are other retreats happening that have male attendees. We’ve never found it to be a problem—only freeing. The pools are serene, discreet, and separated out into different locations. We suggest bringing a bathrobe and towel. Disrobe, get in, get out, and cover-up. All shapes and sizes take in the healing waters.

Women’s Annual Retreat @ Breitenbush Hot Springs, June 9-12, 2015

Corkscrew Jungle

Release Your Raw.

What would you give for relief from your hormones?

We all know that money is the stuff that pays the bills. We also know that there are many types of currency we can utilize to balance out what we receive for our services.

When I was a hairdresser from 1981 until 1995, I bartered a LOT. As long as I could get enough cash to pay my bills, I enjoyed trading because I actually got stuff that I loved but probably wouldn’t have spent money on myself because it might have felt too frivolous at the time. I got massages, healing work, and many, many beautiful pieces of art. My most unusual trade was when an entire family needed their hair cut, and they gave me about 7 chickens! I didn’t have any place for the chickens at the time, so I traded those for something else to someone else. I can’t remember what (maybe to my mother-in-law who had chickens?).

My first salon space lease, along with the equipment and set-up was sold/exchanged for a motorcycle, which was what the equipment was worth and what the new owner had to offer. The client list went with me to my new salon. It felt like a “good trade.”

Here and there, there is an event or festival where attendee money is tight, but enthusiasm is high for the music, art booths, dancing, and workshops, including mine. They want my book, so get creative:

“Will you trade”?
Most of the time I say, “Sure. What d’ya got”?
“Some weed and some crystals.”
“OK.”

I take the crystals and use them with my medicine bowl and hand off the weed to somebody who smokes or save it for someone in a little pain (which can often be the person you least expect, like your conservative grandfather).

Last year, from one woman with about 4 kids and a husband, I received a bottle of some amazing essential oil spray and some gorgeous temporary arm tattoos. And I think some weed.

When all of this is going on, I feel so touched and here’s why: These young women who are finding relief in just hearing about my approach to the hormones and are in need of support (what my book is about) have a stash of trade-ables, but it’s not an endless supply. Their trades are just as precious as money to them. They turn to their partners, and together they dip into their satchel and come up with an appropriate equal exchange. I feel honored that what I have to offer feels valuable enough to part with their goods.

What would you give for relief from your hormones?

This evening I was at the Co-op, our local organic food store. I was standing in an aisle looking for grainless crackers when a young family standing next to me was commenting on the cheap prices compared to where they lived. Our co-op isn’t cheap, so I asked them where they lived. Mendocino. Ah yes. Gorgeous and expensive, indeed.

Anyhow, the woman looked at me and said,
“You look familiar. Do we know each other? Do I look familiar to you?”

I admitted that she did look familiar, so asked her her name. It didn’t ring a bell.

Then she said, “Are you…? Did you…write a book, 4 Seasons….Is your name Ssss…?

“4 Seasons in 4 Weeks. Suzanne. Yes! Geez! How did you know that? Did you attend a workshop last year or festival?”

“YES! And I have your book!” (No—she hadn’t given me weed for it).

“Really?” (Of course that is the best thing anyone can say to me. Super wonderful to hear).

Then she did something that surprised the heck out of me. She said,

“Can I hug you?” She was super excited and beginning to get a little emotional.

“Sure!”

Then she said,

“I just have to hug you and want to thank you for writing the book. It has really helped me. And it has helped him too” (Pointing to her man).

Me, stunned, shocked, relieved, grateful. Again.

A little more small talk and we went our separate ways for groceries.

Compliments like that don’t pay the bills directly, but believe-you-me, they are a high dollar exchange. In this case for me, her desire to let me know her appreciation was a generous, caring boost of high powered fuel which will motivate and keep me and the whole operation going for a very long time. I can’t even put a value on that.

Thank you, Samantha. I wish I had gotten your last name.

We have to remember as a local, national and global community that money is only one form of exchange. We can’t forget to allow the beauty and heart of all kinds of currency to flow in and out of our personal support and wellbeing bank account.

 

Are you “at One” with your cycle? In a state of Bliss?

Are you “at One” with your cycle? In a state of Bliss?

If not, it’s not your fault and you’re not alone.

The vast majority of women I speak with are struggling with their cycles (or their “not-cycling”), whether it’s physically, mentally, emotionally, sexually, socially, politically, spiritually, or relationship-wise with their partners.

You’ve probably researched for solutions. You might always be buying and trying out new supplements to fix the problem or looking for the magic bullet to make it all go away.  You may have had your hormones checked and things are pretty much OK, but now what? You may be on the Pill to regulate the ups and downs, but it’s taken you even further away from your natural cycle and sex drive, and you have concerns about its long-term affects. You’ve bought books you haven’t read.

You may have even tracked your temperature and mucous for fertility or contraceptive purposes, which puts you ahead of most by understanding your cycle pretty well. But “Blissful” wouldn’t exactly describe how you feel after understanding this aspect of your cycle. “Competent & Knowledgeable” may be more like it. I congratulate you on that—it’s a great start and phenomenal tool to keep in your hip pocket at all times.

But here’s the real problem: The problem that you’re seeking solutions for is not the problem. So all of your searching is ending up at dead ends or taking you down the wrong path.

Your repeating monthly moon cycle is not the problem.

The problem is that we’ve been told it’s the problem and pretty much every culture in the world has it’s own version of why it’s a problem, which is based on major ignorance and arrogance from patriarchal understandings of the cycle and it’s desire to dominate it and women. These incorrect and denigrating understandings were deeply and generationally entrenched in our social fabric and over time, became the new truth. So again, the problem is not the cycle, but how we’ve been taught to think about it, and therefore, ultimately ourselves. We are deeply affected at the core of what makes us female, and therefore, keeps our formerly strong centers, in a state of off-balance, personally and as a gender.

But there’s an even bigger problem than this: We may have lost our equilibrium, but the ACTUAL problem is what we never learned, which is the powerful FEMALE VERSION—the incredible feminine lineage story of how to be in alignment with this monthly rhythm—the very thing that makes us female. It’s the tools we didn’t learn and the wisdom that wasn’t passed down from our mothers, aunties, and grandmothers because they didn’t know either.

As the author of 4 Seasons in 4 Weeks. I’m on a mission to change the way the world views women by correcting the self-destructive story that we, as a gender, carry within our minds and bodies on a daily basis about our minds and bodies.

It’s a self-defeating tale, one that keeps us vulnerable, as well as from reaching our fullest potential, no matter how seemingly empowered we are.

I talk to women every single day about this story (although they aren’t really aware that this is what we’re talking about) and it doesn’t matter if they are CEOs of Fortune 500 companies, stay-at-home moms who kick-butt managing and overseeing the well-being of their personal tribes, yoga Goddesses teaching in Costa Rica, or students living in Small Towns Anywhere in the World. Women are not BLISSFUL about their hormonal bodies. Period. Nor do they have any sort of clue about what’s even slightly wonderful about them on a daily basis and in regard to their day-to-day experiences.

I’m convinced that what we haven’t been taught about our wombs (whether you still have one or not, and whether you’re still cycling or not) is the missing piece to our empowerment. And yes, when our gender is STILL experiencing high rates of domestic violence, sex trafficking, rape, poverty, not-equal pay, challenges over birth control (shall I go on?), we have a major problem with our empowerment. We have a major problem with having little power over how much power others have over us and our bodies.

No amount of fundraising, lobbying, protesting, or wearing the t-shirt is going to fix this one.

We can’t depend on the courts, politicians, and clergy to protect us—women or girls—from harm when they are the powerhouses who maintain the patriarchal machine. More importantly, even if they did protect us, we still would not be standing in our core power—being in Bliss about our femaleness until we learn the FEMALE VERSION of our cycles and hold the tools on how to walk in alignment with our lunar waves and reclaim and maintain our core balance. I continue to believe that we will never have political or cultural power over our bodies, and therefore our wombs until we fall in love with our womb’s power!

The only thing that is going to fix this is our sisterhood, helping each other to awaken within us what our bodies already know. What our ancient ancestors knew so well: that our wombs are powerful and remarkable navigational systems that follow a logical, predictable sequence, which guide us to make optimal decisions in every aspect of our lives, every single day. Just like all humans follow a 24-hour Circadian Rhythm, we women follow a 28-day body clock, which I call a Circamene (sur-kay-mini—circle around the month) Rhythm. We are lunar rhythmic beings and that’s super important to understand for our health, wellbeing, and happiness.

This is major.

This is womb wisdom: a well-rounded way of thinking, communicating, and bonding. As the human sources of creation, there is very little that is more important than getting this right within the psyches and souls of every woman on the planet whether she ever produces children or not. Within us lives the rhythm of “source creation” and every human on the planet has incubated in it and has been baptized into this world from it. It’s a pretty big deal.

The 4 Seasons in 4 Weeks understanding of womb wisdom is an easy template to follow which becomes more and more accurate as one aligns more fully with it. Here’s how it works:

When the cycle is broken down into 4 weeks, a pattern emerges. Like pretty much every rhythm in the universe, you’ll find a resting, building, expressing, and deconstructing phase within the month. It’s a rhythmic form of Sacred Geometry.

In the same way that the moonlight builds and wanes, we change slightly everyday as we build and deconstruct our uterine linings and all other aspects that support a possible pregnancy. If not cycling, this building and waning of energy is a support system our body knows very well and continues to practice beyond reproduction if we don’t abandon it.

This building and waning is not an act of being crazy and we’re not changing our minds. We’re staying on top of the ebb and flow of our rhythmic world and our thought processes. Our choice is to either learn to surf the waves really well or drown in confusion.

The Archetypes

Is it possible to be in a state of Bliss with our hormonal rhythm? The answer to that would be, at times, YES. Always? Not realistically.The reason I use archetypes to guide you is to show where the alignment is, what it looks like, what to strive for. When in alignment with the natural rhythm of our cycles, we feel the Bliss. When we feel “at One” with our cycles, a calm and powerful centeredness takes over giving us clarity, direction, confidence, and know-how. Our world desperately needs women to bring this medicine to the planet right now.

I’ve identified 3 archetypes for each weekly phase, which brings us to 12 archetypes that we each step into and out of in a month’s time . Over time you might want to swap out one of my archetypes for something that suits the unique YOU more accurately.

Please accept my FREE GIFT of meeting each of these archetypes for 12 days in a row. You’ll receive an email everyday with a brief description of these archetypes. The 13th day will give you an opportunity to identify yourself as the 13th archetype through a mini, online workshop.

13 Days, 13 (Hormonally Blissed-Out) Archetypes are ready for your inbox. Sign up at the box below to begin receiving now.

With love and thanks,

Suz

13 Days, 13 (Hormonally Blissed-Out) Archetypes!

Each day, for 12 days, you’ll receive an email with a brief description of one Archetype within the 4s4w approach to hormones. On the 13th day, you’ll receive a video workshop that’s all about YOU (the 13th Archetype)!

privacy We value your privacy and would never spam you

Please share this FREE GIFT with other women in your circles!

Many women are quietly suffering with their personal cycle challenges. This may be the answer they are looking for; the beginning to a new journey. xoxo

The Storm

An earlier post introduced My New Pad, as in “abode”.  I call it “The Pirate Ship.”  I received a lot of email on it, so here’s an update. Every thought, action, and experience is exactly as it happened.

And btw, none of this has anything to do with 4 Seasons in 4 Weeks except that this is the place from which I am now creating everything for my 4s4w followers. This is the only reason I place this post on this particular website blog. In addition, The Pirate Ship is where I’ll do my private, one-on-one, 4s4w all day coaching sessions in good weather.

 

The Pirate Ship Chronicles ~ Dec. 11, 2014

By Suzanne Mathis McQueen

 The Storm

The Pirate Ship indeed, is on a ghostly adventure in these wee hours of the morn, being tossed and turned in the vast open seas of rolling hills and vineyards.

Exposed to near hurricane winds like a palm on deserted island, this skinny 4-story Beverly Hillbilly’s shack-teau is hanging on tooth and nail to keep its roots from disengaging and being overtaken by supernatural 50-foot waves. So far, earth and ship are clinging tightly to one another for support, in the same way that Todd the Loverboy Cat is hunkered down on top of my head and positioned pillow. All feels firmly attached for now. Writing keeps me focused and my fear at bay.

Sitting up slightly in bed next to a window is probably a bad idea. I mean, Dorothy got bonked on the head by a glass pane during the tornado that took her Kansas house sailing into the whirlwind of her black and white existence before landing over the rainbow. Maybe my world is about to get very colorful.

Fully alert, thoughts are swirling in opposite synchronization with the whistling, whipping gusts. Once in awhile, absolute stillness steps in and fools me into believing it’s over—but my mind, instead, becomes more active. I begin to understand things that don’t matter: Why lighthouses are built out of rock or concrete (as opposed to the recycled barn wood of the Ship); how the pig who’s house was built out of sticks must have felt completely traumatized, needing grief counseling after it was all blown down; thinking that all the kids who belonged to the old-woman-who-lived-in-a-shoe must have piled into bed with her when things got scary; how spooky it must have felt to explore a damp, stone castle wearing only a long nightshirt and lantern in hand.

After the calm comes the storm—harsher than the time before it. Mother Nature goes rogue, dressed as Maleficent—sudden, swift, relentless, releasing, howling, laughing, rising, scaring—proving who rules. Should I hide under a desk or doorway? Perhaps out in the vineyards with the coyotes. Bigger than life, the Ship groans, creaks, and shakes in a darkly orgasmic “shiver me timbers” fullest expression. I get that term now.

I’m feeling sorry for the Pirate Ship. It’s being mightily tested and so am I. But I think I’m good.

I have to pee but don’t want to budge. I’d like some coffee but not sure I should be turning on anything electrical. I decide to finally brave up and go for it, which means I have to pull the thick rope on a pulley to open the hatch that leads me down the spiral wooden steps and into the cold, but very cool bathroom (it has a beautiful clawfoot tub). I notice that the playground swing that is hooked up to my entry porch is wrapped around the front of the house. I’m wondering where I’m going to find my yoga mat in the morning that I left on top of a box under the carport. I shine-on the coffee and follow the vines of heavy chains that line the stairs back up to my cozy nest. The structure and my bones sway and rattle. I brace myself midway. A symphony of sounds is composing outside. I call on my ancestors and the greater love force to keep me solid.

I step up and onto the 2nd floor to find that one of the many big, heavy doors to the outside had blown open in my absence (Insert scary movie music and momentary heart-attack). Really? Are you kidding me? I take a quick peek onto the side deck, along with a hit from the cold blustery air, and then slam and bolt the door. I find Todd under the bed now. Smart boy. Perhaps I’ll join him.

I think pirates must have been nervous, jittery insomniacs. I now understand why they looked so bad, drank too much, and went around shooting each other’s eyeballs out and hence, the patches. I have a radio interview in the morning and I’m grateful it’s over the phone and not on Skype or Hangout.

It’s still dark and I hear a chainsaw at the main house (which is just a bit away from me). A tree must have fallen and sitting precariously. Hoping things will settle down with the light of dawn when otherworldly swashbucklers are supposed to go back through the portals from whence they came.

The Pirate Ship

The Pirate Ship

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Pirate Ship's Partial View.

The Pirate Ship’s Partial View.