“I hear your voice when I read these words. I hope it can inspire new ways of expressing what you already do so often.”
That’s what my friend Lisa told me when she gifted me the book Daughter Drink this Water. It’s a sacred love song, timeless affirmation, and ancient prayer that speaks to all human beings.
Dr. Jaiya John was born an orphan on the Puebloan lands in the high desert of New Mexico. He is an internationally recognized freedom worker, author, poet, and former professor of social psychology at Harvard University. His teachings have reached over a million people worldwide, speaking to audiences as large as several thousand.
Lisa was right. Jaiya John’s words align with my worldview, passion, and mission. The Beacons of Change mission.
Daughter Drink this Water doesn’t leave my nightstand. It’s one of those books I never get tired of reading. You can turn to any random page and read what your soul needs to hear.
Page 13. “The roots of womanhood live in you, our daughters. For you, we have sacred gardening to do. Songs. Ceremony. Self-Love. Feed the root, and you get a more beautiful flower. Feed the soul, and you get a more beautiful light.”
Our inner goddess is part of our soul that is fully connected with the divine feminine. When we unleash her, she shines from the inside out. Practice #2 of the Beacons of Change 12 Practices for Living at Full Power invites us to love our inner goddess.
Our Inner Goddess loves us unconditionally and is wild and free. She embraces her sensuality, prioritizes pleasure, and wants us to allow ourselves moments of bliss and luxury.
She loves the mother of all goddesses: Mother Nature. She feels nurtured by water. The ocean, a lake, a bath. She loves the purifying effect water has on her.
Our inner goddess loves the smell of perfume, essential oil, the soft touch of silk, and the sound of music and birdsong. Sex is one of her favorite things, with a caring partner or simply making love to herself.
She is the roots of our womanhood.
Page 21. “The voice that says you are not pretty enough, not funny, popular, liked, loved, admired, respected, celebrated enough is not your voice. It is a cloud sent by old oppression to recruit you. Reject the invitation.”
I love the boldness of this statement. Living as an integrated Beacon of Change is only possible when we heal our wounded and critical parts.
Our inner critic is our protector, our wounded self, that is committed to stopping us from getting hurt. It is also committed to keeping us small.
We have the power to accept what serves us and reject what doesn’t. Understand that the negative voice that tells us that we aren’t good enough, smart enough, or pretty enough (I could keep going) is NOT the voice of our true self. It is the voice of our inner critic.
Page 24. “The more you pour your care into others, the more you may lose track of pouring into yourself. If you are a caretaker for the world, you will be vulnerable to not caring for you.”
Most of the women in our community are natural givers. Being caretakers for the world has become part of their identity. Our Beacons of Change manifesto reads, “We balance giving and receiving, doing and being, caring for others and for ourselves.”
Since many of our Beacons gain a sense of self-worth helping others, they feel guilty making themselves a priority. This is an area for personal growth. We believe that self-care is not selfish. It is a necessity and our sacred responsibility to care for ourselves AND others.
Page 38. “A spiritual life can be a powerful anchor, reminding you that you are real, worthy, irrevocably, complete.”
The storms of life and the winds of change can easily pull us off course. Since I found Reiki in 1996 (or Reiki found me), it has become my lighthouse in the dark. In turn, Reiki has become a guiding light and anchor for many Beacons in our community.
Thousands of women in our online sisterhood see Reiki as the core of their wellness and well-being. Maintaining a spiritual practice, whether religious or not, can become our safe harbor in the ocean of the world we live in.
Page 91. “Slow down. Practice not doing. Peace doesn’t grow in the vortex of your anxiousness. It grows in the meadow of your stillness. Even a moment of nothingness is a gift that leaves you new. Your thoughts will be okay without you. Rest.”
If we genuinely want to live a balanced life, we need to say “yes” to less and “no” to more. Most of us are busy doing, doing, doing, and have a hard time simply being. Practice #11 from the Beacons of Change 12 Practices for Living at Full Power calls for balancing DOING with BEING.
Society tells us to overachieve, over-perform, and expect perfection. Jon Kabat-Zinn, mindfulness teacher and professor, suggests “Mindful Play”-taking time for non-doing with no agenda-as the cure for overwhelm. So dare to rest. Slow down. And invite time for “doing nothing” in your life.
Page 126. “Listener. Lover. Healer. Humanizer. Peacemaker. Truth teller. Hope dealer. Light keeper. Soul worker. There are the labors the world needs most.”
We have a world to change, and the change starts with us. We are part of a rising collective feminine energy that is asking to be celebrated. Make it your mission, mantra, and intention to live as a Beacon of Change.
Together, we are women craving, longing, and seeking belonging, connection, and deeper meaning. The road to change isn’t easy, but when we heal ourselves, we heal the world.
Page 147. “I see your empathic gift. Your heart aches for the loneliness you feel in the last leaf left on an autumn tree. This sensitivity, this great caring for the feelings of life around you, is a power, a challenge. Stay close to what it means to you, using it with care, it won’t use you.”
Those of us who are empaths or highly sensitive can relate to this. We are highly tuned to the world around us. We hear the things that go unsaid and unseen. We experience everything on a deep level. Many Beacons in our community are Empaths-and we are a gift to the world.
If you are an Empath or a highly sensitive soul, you probably resonate with all the quotes I’ve shared in this blog. You care. You feel. You intuit.
You feel the pain of others in your body or in your heart. You may have been told that you’re too sensitive and weak and need to toughen up. Maybe you grew up believing something was wrong with you.
The truth is, you are perfectly made the way you are and are not alone.
You are one of us, a Beacon of Change, who cares deeply, empathizes freely, and experiences the world in vibrant color.
Your voice matters. Your spiritual lesson, like other Beacons, is to learn to be of service and pour into yourself just as much as you pour into others. You bring sensitivity, caring, imagination, intuition, and empathy into this life. And you have the power to create it however you want to.
I’ll leave you with this final quote and a question.
Page 214. “With life, you are given paint and canvas, and the freedom to create works that hang in the gallery of your soul.”
What do you want to paint on the canvas of your life?
Here are the resources I mention in this blog:
Daughter Drink this Water by Jaiya John
The Beacons of Change 12 Practices for Living at Full Power.
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