“When I dare to be powerful–to use my strength in the service of my vision–then it becomes less and less important whether I am afraid.” –Audre Lorde “The purpose of life is not to maintain personal comfort; it’s to grow… Read More ›
childbirth
Turning One by Sara Frykenberg
This month I turn one as a mother. My daughter, consequently, is also turning one—a first birthday I am excitedly planning. Specifically, I want to make Hazel a rainbow cake with lots of colored layers and white frosting. I’m not… Read More ›
Restoring Ourselves to Ceremony: Red Tent Circles, by Molly
“I believe that these circles of women around us weave invisible nets of love that carry us when we’re weak and sing with us when we’re strong.” –SARK, Succulent Wild Woman Seven years ago, a small postcard at the local… Read More ›
Hidden Seeds in Laudato Si by Peg Conway
The opening two paragraphs of the recent environment encyclical just might be saying even more than the pope intended. Beginning with a quote from the famous Canticle of the Creatures by St. Francis of Assisi, Laudato Si refers to “our sister, Mother Earth,” and compares… Read More ›
Birth Warrior by Molly
“In this culture…a woman can be made to feel foolish for emphasizing the centrality of giving birth to her identity or her personal religiousness, her ‘womanspirit…’” –Stephanie Demetrakopoulos (Listening to Our Bodies) After the birth of my daughter in 2011,… Read More ›
Birth as a Shamanic Experience by Molly
“Childbirth is a rite of passage so intense physically, psychologically, emotionally, spiritually, that most other events in a woman’s life pale next to it. In our modern lives, there are few remaining rituals of initiation, few events that challenge a… Read More ›
The “Curse of Eve”—Is Pain Our Punishment? Part 2 by Stacia Guzzo
In the first part, I posed the question about whether or not the so-called “Curse of Eve” could be interpreted alternatively from the traditional understanding of Genesis 3:16a (the result of Eve’s disobedience being the punishment of painful childbirth for… Read More ›
The “Curse of Eve”—Is Pain Our Punishment? Part I
I have been involved in several interesting discussions lately involving friends asking me what I thought of the so-called “Curse of Eve.” This “curse,” which is generally used in reference to the pain of childbirth, is assumed from the text… Read More ›
