Erotic Empowerment: Embrace Ecstasy in 6 Stimulating Steps
I am a High Achiever! I am Happily Unmarried! And I am on an amazing journey of Erotic Empowerment: Embracing Ecstasy!
I was raised and came of age in religious settings where I received implicit and explicit messages that virtually any pleasurable physical activity outside of marriage was to be avoided at all costs - the "flesh" was not celebrated but "crucified." (This was one of several factors that contributed to my getting married pretty young, at 21 years old.) Additionally, as an academic I found that I was often in my head/mind and not really connected to my physical body. I could theorize my embodiment as a Black woman, but I was rarely deeply connected to my physical body, or really present "in" my body. Fortunately, I was able to re-connect to my body (and breath) in positive and meaningful ways through yoga. Being a "High Achiever" I decided to complete Yoga Teacher Training (200 Hours in 2010 and then 500 hours on 2015). A few years later, once I got "Happily Unmarried" I was able to gain even more major insights and self-awareness about my body and the importance of prioritizing various experiences of passion and pleasure on purpose, or what I am calling "Erotic Empowerment: Embracing Ecstasy."
As with my "Happily Unmarried" journey, my "Erotic Empowerment" journey has been (and remains) an ongoing and evolving process. It has involved counseling, coaching, energy work, workshops, retreats, conferences, bibliotherapy, letting go of limiting beliefs, open and honest conversations with myself and people in my inner circle, finding my voice, learning what gives me pleasure (physically, intellectually, emotionally, spiritually), practicing self-awareness, self-acceptance, self-love, learning and communicating what I want and what I like, as well as learning and communicating what I do not want and what I do not like, all while embracing (rather than resisting) the power of vulnerability.
I was raised and came of age in religious settings where I received implicit and explicit messages that virtually any pleasurable physical activity outside of marriage was to be avoided at all costs - the "flesh" was not celebrated but "crucified." (This was one of several factors that contributed to my getting married pretty young, at 21 years old.) Additionally, as an academic I found that I was often in my head/mind and not really connected to my physical body. I could theorize my embodiment as a Black woman, but I was rarely deeply connected to my physical body, or really present "in" my body. Fortunately, I was able to re-connect to my body (and breath) in positive and meaningful ways through yoga. Being a "High Achiever" I decided to complete Yoga Teacher Training (200 Hours in 2010 and then 500 hours on 2015). A few years later, once I got "Happily Unmarried" I was able to gain even more major insights and self-awareness about my body and the importance of prioritizing various experiences of passion and pleasure on purpose, or what I am calling "Erotic Empowerment: Embracing Ecstasy."
As with my "Happily Unmarried" journey, my "Erotic Empowerment" journey has been (and remains) an ongoing and evolving process. It has involved counseling, coaching, energy work, workshops, retreats, conferences, bibliotherapy, letting go of limiting beliefs, open and honest conversations with myself and people in my inner circle, finding my voice, learning what gives me pleasure (physically, intellectually, emotionally, spiritually), practicing self-awareness, self-acceptance, self-love, learning and communicating what I want and what I like, as well as learning and communicating what I do not want and what I do not like, all while embracing (rather than resisting) the power of vulnerability.
Erotic Empowerment Online Course (Coming Soon!):
Self-Paced Course: Erotic Empowerment: Embrace Ecstasy in 6 Stimulating Steps!!!!!!
Listen! Something that I learned from Audre Lorde and Octavia Butler is that Erotic Empowerment is important - even (perhaps especially) in times of crisis and despair! I trust my intuition *and* I trust my elders/ancestors like Lorde and Butler at all times, and most especially at times like these. With this in mind I am offering a self-paced online course: Erotic Empowerment in 6 Stimulating Steps!!
This is a self-paced course that will guide participants into Erotic Empowerment in 6 Stimulating Steps (Awareness, Deconstruction, Reconstruction, Practice, Vocalizing, and Lifestyle).
Erotic Empowerment Facebook Group
(Click the link above to ask to join the Erotic Empowerment FB Group.)
Listen! Something that I learned from Audre Lorde and Octavia Butler is that Erotic Empowerment is important - even (perhaps especially) in times of crisis and despair! I trust my intuition *and* I trust my elders/ancestors like Lorde and Butler at all times, and most especially at times like these. With this in mind I am offering a self-paced online course: Erotic Empowerment in 6 Stimulating Steps!!
This is a self-paced course that will guide participants into Erotic Empowerment in 6 Stimulating Steps (Awareness, Deconstruction, Reconstruction, Practice, Vocalizing, and Lifestyle).
Erotic Empowerment Facebook Group
(Click the link above to ask to join the Erotic Empowerment FB Group.)
Erotic/Ecstatic Inspiration and Guiding Principles
Erotic Empowerment is inspired by Audre Lorde's "Uses of the Erotic: The Erotic As Power." (Praise the Lorde!) She describes the Erotic as a resource within each of us that lies in a deeply female and spiritual plane, firmly rooted in the power of our unexpressed or unrecognized feeling. She encourages us to feel deeply, to connect to creative energy, to embrace excellence, to share joy, to accept responsibility, to recognize our deepest cravings, to live from within and then outward. She argues that once we have experienced the fullness of this depth of feeling and recognized its power, in honor and self-respect we can require no less of ourselves. #EroticEmpowerment #CiteBlackWomen
Embrace Ecstasy is inspired by Kathleen Collins' film Losing Ground (1982) in which the protagonist, Sarah (played by Seret Scott) is a Black woman philosophy professor in search of ecstasy while negotiating race and gender politics - including being married to Victor (played by Bill Gunn) who is a successful artist and philanderer. Her journey is simultaneously intellectual, emotional, and embodied. #EmbraceEcstasy #CiteBlackWomen
I am excited about building a growing community of people embarking on this journey of Erotic Empowerment: Embrace Ecstasy! Much more to come on this initiative! Stay tuned!
Embrace Ecstasy is inspired by Kathleen Collins' film Losing Ground (1982) in which the protagonist, Sarah (played by Seret Scott) is a Black woman philosophy professor in search of ecstasy while negotiating race and gender politics - including being married to Victor (played by Bill Gunn) who is a successful artist and philanderer. Her journey is simultaneously intellectual, emotional, and embodied. #EmbraceEcstasy #CiteBlackWomen
I am excited about building a growing community of people embarking on this journey of Erotic Empowerment: Embrace Ecstasy! Much more to come on this initiative! Stay tuned!