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A Gathering of Goddesses ~ Our Girlfriends Keep Us Real
By Laurie Sue Brockway

Soulful friends help us express our authentic selves and live the authentic life. They also help us discover it and define it because they reflect truth back to us … they hold up a mirror to us that shows us who we truly are … they encourage us to be more than we think we can be!

In the nineties, when I was the editor-in-chief of a national magazine, I invited a group of girl friends who worked in media together for a night of spirituality and girl talk. They were each fascinating, spiritual women with high-powered careers. It felt very natural to call the evening "A Gathering of Goddesses." Everyone loved the idea, because it made us connect immediately with the idea that we are Goddesses – beautiful, smart, powerful, able to effect change in our world. We so enjoyed each other’s companionship and support that first night; we decided to turn it into a monthly event. For over two years, we gathered every month to schmooze and share our stories, ending each meeting with a sacred circle in which we each took turns lighting a candle, articulating our dreams and goals and saying a prayer.

Because we were composed of journalists, radio personalities, performers, TV spokespeople, and authors, I nick-named the group "Media Goddesses." It was in the course of facilitating these gatherings that I discovered my new calling as an interfaith minister and stepped onto a professional path of facilitating women’s spiritual evolution. Having the chance to gather with other women in a loving and mutually supportive way changed all of our lives. We grew and empowered each other to grow more, and, six years later, we continue to share a lasting bond. We still love to gather and, although meetings are less frequent, they are no less sacred and meaningful.

We never "worshipped" a Goddess. We didn’t have to. From the start, there seemed to be an unspoken agreement that we were all connected to a higher power. As time went on, and our spiritual sisterhood evolved, it seemed natural to consider that an aspect of that higher power was feminine in nature.

Like many women, I never had a Goddess mirror to hold up and look into, an image that confirmed my own divinity. A friend once told me the problem with women is "we can see a man’s divinity but we cannot see our own." That statement changed my life. And it helped me realize that we all must begin somewhere … that I could begin to learn to see the divine in me by seeing it so clearly in women friends I love and admire. Acknowledging the feminine aspects of divinity, and celebrating the goddess in each other as well as within has always helped us to express ourselves more authentically … and to bring that energy out into the world in our daily lives and our work in media.

Over time, as my "Goddess Consciousness" expanded, I realized that acknowledging that God has both masculine and feminine faces, forms and names is essential to honoring women, empowering women’s self esteem, elevating women’s stature in the world and helping women’s voices to be heard. It is also essential to men. We can all live more authentically, and share a more natural self-expression, when we recognize that we are children of divine parents, male and female, and that "As above…so below." Within us all is the balance of both masculine and feminine energies … the yin and yang. To be authentic is to embrace and express all we are. Recognizing this is essential to the balance in our lives, our relationships, and our world.

Having a special group of Goddesses in human form in my life made all the difference on my journey. My media goddess sisters have been spiritual cheerleaders. They’ve continually reminded me of who I am because I can see it mirrored in their eyes. In our connection with one another, we have been privileged to share a scared bond that has helped us all do out part to bring healing to the world. It is a joy to be able to share ourselves on a soul level, in a truly authentic and empowering way.

If there is any time in history that women, and our world, can benefit from gathering, it is now. Whether sharing a meal and some girl talk, a night out, or coming together to pray for peace, life will change in leaps and bounds the first day you call a bunch of friends together for "a gathering of goddesses."

© Copyright 2006 Reverend Laurie Sue Brockway All Rights Reserved.

Rev. Laurie Sue Brockway is a specialist in women's spirituality, self esteem and empowerment. An interfaith minister and non-denominational wedding officiant, who regularly marries couples in love, she is also widely recognized as a bridal stress expert devoted to helping brides-to-be tap into their inner power and poise. She is author of A GODDESS IS A GIRL'S BEST FRIEND: A Divine Guide to Finding Love, Success and Happiness (Perigee Books, December 2002) and WEDDING GODDESS: A Divine Guide To Transforming Wedding Stress into Wedding Bliss (Perigee Books, May 2005). Visit her at GoddessFriends.com and WeddingGoddess.com

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