Although “The Woman You Become” blog has a new address, it hasn’t been very active because of my deadlines with my new upcoming book — and its companion blog. Come see what The End of the Fairy-Tale Bride: How Diana Exposed the Princess Myth for All Woman is all about. I think you’ll enjoy….the draft is getting great reviews!
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]]>While out ‘n about, I was reminded of the words of my friend Lainey Papageorge, a jewelry designer in Atlanta: “The spring here is full of a ripeness that is intoxicating in the best sense of the word. Maybe because it took so long to get here, it seems especially luscious and plush.” (And that’s the quality Lainey captures in her jewelry designs!)
In addition to planet Earth, I am also celebrating another “planet”….the release of the new book “Planet Wedding: A Nuptialpedia” by Sandra and Harry Choron. They included one of my stories of the fragrant, legendary orange blossom. (Check it out on Amazon.com — with a discount!)
And coming up in a day or two….I’ll post an article I think you’ll enjoy about another legendary botanical — full of goddess mythology and royal connections! Stay tuned….
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Being a lazy exerciser, I sometimes leave out the physical exercise part of my day — a hike, or even a short walk; a stretching routine, or even a few loosening-up bends! But on this occasion, with the anticipation of the coming spring’s magical gifts, I really wanted to create the perfect space to call the abundance of Mother Nature into my heart.
Standing beside a beautiful mountain lake — with a soft wind blowing through the surrounding pines and hemlocks — I began with a few Qi Gong movements, lifting my out-stretched arms heavenward. It felt so wonderful to feel my body open — exactly as the teacher promised — and the added delicious feeling of the sun warming me up!
Already more peaceful, I then sat on the grass in the filtered sunlight to enjoy this refreshment of nature and continue the Spring Equinox meditation. As I breathed in the vibrant energy of this blessed place, visualizing the intention I set for this meditative process, I felt my whole body smiling.
I thought how simple “relaxation” can be. Stretching and opening the body also “stretches” and opens the mind and spirit. As I open, I relax; as I relax, I become more available to see and live the pleasures of life instead of indulging in the worries around me. (Why don’t I do it more often? What a fun little ritual this is!)
After finishing the afternoon meditation, and soaking up the sweet peacefulness all around me, I feel the calm settle deep inside me. Thinking something like “but will it last?”, I head off to a friend’s house. And there on the place where for some has become the ultimate repository of profound truths — magnets on the refrigerator door — I read this epistle by an unknown scribe:
“Peace: It does not mean to be in a place where there is no noise, trouble or hard work. It means to be in the midst of those things and still be calm in your heart.”
And there on the spot, I promise myself, once again, that I will begin each day with “calm in my heart.” I will start with some slow stretching just ’cause it feels so good. Then a few minutes of sitting quietly with my eyes closed, letting my noisy thoughts float by while I breathe slowly and deeply into my heart. I’ll imagine putting down roots deep into the Earth to ground me, then find my center in that place in my torso that holds my truth. I will relish the infinitely abundant day to come (no matter the circumstances swirling about) and remember that my inner and outer peace is up to me. One slow, pleasurable stretch; one deep, languid breath; one positive, kind thought at a time.
]]>Dona’s passion is producing fitness programs and workouts — using her background in Yoga, Pilates, Reike, and belly-dancing — for everyone from elite athletes to those just beginning physical pursuits.
She is offering her popular exercise DVDs (available in English and Spanish) designed for bridal parties and couples — but are fun & beneficial to everyone — as free gifts to my readers! Order a copy of my Amazon bestseller, The Bride’s Ritual Guide: Look Inside to Find Yourself, and receive Dona’s two DVDs (and a little bonus from me) as your Free Gifts. 
ps: The Bride’s Ritual Guide: Look Inside to Find Yourself is a soothing gift of ease for any bride-to-be. Focusing on the feminine and personal language of this womanly rite-of-passage, it is an intimately sized paperback just right for a bride-to-be to tuck inside her purse and use during her busy day as a heart-centered guide!
“Wasn’t she actually a chubby, unattractive prude?” my movie buddy asked after the film. From what I’ve studied through the years, the movie was an authentic personal portrait of the young Victoria, although the public mostly knows her later-in-life image as a dour-faced, plump widow dressed in black.
“Well,” I responded to my friend, “after nine children, being less than 5 feet tall, and probably having a sweet tooth, she did get increasingly round. And then losing her beloved Albert in mid-life and perhaps never completely coming out of her deep mourning for him — as well as having an expanding empire and industrial revolution to manage — her more somber, reserved side was indeed her main public persona it seems.”
But that was not the whole picture of this woman who influenced global culture, including wedding customs that remain to this day. And I liked that the new film shook up the typical public’s — and history’s — point of view.
History is full of misconceptions that we take as fact; what we “perceive” — historically or in this moment — is not necessarily the truth or reality, it’s just how something “appears” to us at the time. And in today’s “talk show” crazed world, no matter how thoroughly even a fair host may interview someone, there is always another side, another slice, another angle. “Things are seldom as they seem” is actually a profound axiom!
I find it helpful to read and hear most things “with a grain of salt” — staying open and curious, yet thoughtful even when I disagree. (As one of my teachers use to say: Be a “healthy skeptic” not a “rude cynic.”) Life then becomes lighter, more expansive and imaginative. (Is having an “open mind” the first step to having an “open heart”?)
Queen Victoria continued to be hard to pigeonhole during her long reign, which perhaps affected her historical legacy. Not perceived as a “fashion plate,” yet she influenced what women wore — for better or worse — during important rites-of-passage. The fact that she wore black for the remainder of her life after Prince Albert’s death put the widows of the entire era in de rigour black (no matter their age) to wear like a badge of honor. And on the other end of the spectrum — literally — Victoria was not the first royal bride to wear white, but the fitted bodice and full skirt of her white silk satin gown trimmed in lace set the vogue for wedding fashions and established the iconic “wedding gown” silhouette we still know today.
Now if only another royal princess would come along and influence current brides away from the usually unflattering — that’s MY perception! — STRAPLESS wedding gown styles that have become their own icon of the last few decades. (But that’s the subject of another book!) For now, I’m working on “staying open.”
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Did someone you know become engaged on Valentine’s Day? (Or perhaps is “on the verge”…?) All during the month of February, we will continue CELEBRATING LOVE with a Special Offer!
Order a copy of my book, “The Bride’s Ritual Guide: Look Inside to Find Yourself” from Weddings of Grace, and receive 3 Gifts! The book and any of the free gifts would make a perfect bridal shower present or treasure for a special bride.
Click here to purchase an autographed copy of my Amazon Bestseller book and you will receive both of my soothing Open Your Heart relaxation CDs — one especially for Brides and one for all Women — plus a vintage sixpence coin (“…and a sixpence for her shoe.”) in a little gift bag — all FREE!
Someone in your world would love a copy of “The Bride’s Ritual Guide” … and you’ll receive lots of extra love to go around with this Special Offer! (Reviewer are calling the book “a small, intimately-sized paperback perfect for any bride-to-be to tuck into her purse and use during her busy day as a heart-centering guide!”)
Click here to order a book … and receive your 3 Gifts as a little thank you!
CELEBRATE LOVE with us during February. And thank you for sharing the news….and the love!
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Flowers were the passion of my grandmother Gummie, my father’s mother. I’ve written about Gummie a great deal—stories of our relationship and her contributions to my various little girl rites-of-passage as I was growing up. A walk with her around her big fenced-in yard in any season was not only a botanical education for me, but an education of the heart.
Gummie talked about how she loved the happy “faces” of pansies—they seemed like personal friends to her—and how she could set her watch with the opening of the trumpet-shaped “four o’clocks” by her garden gate. And it wasn’t about just the flowers. Gummie always had kind stories about the people who gave her cuttings, or shared exotic lily bulbs, or told her about a new rose in an irresistible shade of pink. I remember walking under a trellis that she had built, lush with the palest palest pink climbing roses, was like crossing over into heaven.
She always had her clippers and a basket with her on our walkabouts around her spacious yard and before I knew it, we were off up the country road in her big blue Oldsmobile with a vase of flowers going to call on a neighbor—usually someone who had missed church the Sunday before. It was like she put all that love she gave, then received back from friends, into her flower garden, which in turn grew even more abundantly.
On our garden strolls, Gummie didn’t exactly talk to the flowers, but was she talking to me? She knew all their names: Herme japonica, Professor Sargent, Debutante, Purple Dawn, Pink Perfection—and these were just the camellias! Had she fallen in love with their colors, or had she chosen them because she liked how the names rolled off her tongue?
Gummie always wore something blue, matching her eyes. Every Sunday during the winter, when camellias were in season, she picked one from her yard and pinned it on the lapel of her dark blue wool coat to wear to church. And without fail, she gave it away, happily pinning the regal purply-pink flower on the costume of a beaming recipient. As a little girl watching this gesture, I always felt I was in the charmed presence of something divine—an exchange of hearts.
I don’t know if Gummie had a mantra or not, but if she had, it would have been something like this: “Give love away and your true heart’s desire magically appears.” No wonder, whenever I see camellias in bloom, I’m compelled to go gather a bouquet and place them on the nearest tabletop, then watch for the magic.
[Reprinted from the January Notes from Cornelia newsletter]
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Thanks to all who supported the kick-off to my booksigning “tour” this past week for my new book, ”The Bride’s Ritual Guide: Look Inside to Find Yourself“! I’m setting up new cities and dates now — and will keep you posted via Facebook and Twitter….join me there!
In case you haven’t heard, the book made the Amazon Bestseller list when it was launched last month….and reviewers call it “not only an essential gift for brides of all ages, but also a pleasure for every woman who loves matters of the heart.”
Also, if you know of a wedding event or special store in your area, let me know….perhaps ’tis a place for me to book a speaking engagement and/or have a booksigning — and there are always lots of free gifts to share!
Many thanks…..love, Cornelia
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