Woman Spiritual Leader – the term sounds very impressive and well, somehow, larger than life. Many women would look at that phrase and say, “that’s not me!” Mother Theresa is a Woman Spiritual Leader, not me. Marianne Williamson is a Woman Spiritual Leader, not me!

But, I would beg to differ. I think that most women are spiritual leaders. Hear me out for a minute. Let’s delve into the individual definitions of each of the words that make up this term. First of all, what is meant by the word “leader”?

A leader is someone with a vision, who sees a direction and pursues it. A leader wants to create change in the world or in the community or even just in their home. A leader sees an opportunity for improvement and takes steps towards achieving that change no matter how small; and people who resonate with that change, follow.

Most spiritual leaders don’t have specialized training in spiritual leadership. They could, but it’s not a requirement.

Many times names like Eleanor Roosevelt, Margaret Thatcher and Indira Ghandi come up as names of Leaders. But a leader doesn’t have to be known all over the world or even in their own country. A leader is known to the people they have influence on. For most of us, that is our family, friends and community, and clients or customers if we have them.

Who do you have influence on? Who do you connect with on a daily or even just monthly basis? What areas of influence to you desire to improve? Your home? Your business? Your client’s lives? Your community?

If you named even one area you have influence on, and a “vision” for how you would like that area to be, you have the makings of a leader!

Next, let’s take a look at the word “Spiritual”. Now we can go a lot of different directions with this one. Some people would think this implies only very religious people. Others would think the opposite, that it is a “New-agey” term implying no religion, but some other metaphysical concept. I would like to propose that it encompasses both of these terms and many things in between.

For this discussion, I am proposing that “spiritual” means – anything that describes the desire for humans to connect to a force greater than themselves.

Do you believe in something larger than yourself? God? Allah?

Your Higher Self? The Force? The Universe?

Do you have a desire to connect with this Source in the manner best suited to you?

Would you like to add more meaning to your business and personal life?

If you answered yes to any of these questions and determined a sphere of influence you have “vision” of improving in some way – or making a difference in some way, then YOU are a SPIRITUAL LEADER!!! And, of course, it goes without saying that if you are a spiritual leader AND a woman, then you are a WOMAN SPIRITUAL LEADER!

This article was written by Patricia Selmo, an Interfaith seminarian, certified life coach, spiritual healer, teacher and guide. She is the co-founder of the International Association of Women Spiritual Leaders: www.iawsl.com.

WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR EZINE OR WEB SITE? You may, as long as you commit to leave all of the links active, do not edit the article in any way, and include the following byline: The International Association of Women Spiritual Leaders was founded to support spiritual women in living abundantly while serving their unique missions. We invite you to download-as our GIFT to you-the 5 Secrets to Creating Abundance Through Your Calling. You will also be registered to receive our weekly newsletter full of information and tips for supporting you in your calling. Just click here: www.iawsl.com

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WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR EZINE OR WEB SITE? You may, as long as you commit to leave all of the links active, do not edit the article in any way, and include the following byline: The International Association of Women Spiritual Leaders was founded to support spiritual women in living abundantly while serving their unique missions. We invite you to download-as our GIFT to you-the 5 Secrets to Creating Abundance Through Your Calling. You will also be registered to receive our weekly newsletter full of information and tips for supporting you in your calling. Just click here: www.iawsl.com

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Painting by Marica S. Lauck & Deborah Koff-Chapin

How often have you been in the middle of a dilemma – unable to decide which direction to go in, which step to take next? How to choose?  Every day we are confronted with decisions to make – some big, some small. How do you decide? You could make a list of pros and cons, you could ask your neighbor what you should do, or you can follow a Higher Power that has your best interests at heart.

There is a perfect GPS for guiding you through your life and you have access to it at all times. It goes by many names – intuition, gut feeling, higher self. It can also be “externally” directed such as – God, Allah, guardian angel, or spirit guide.

It really doesn’t matter which if these you relate to and choose to you, the methods and techniques for hearing it are the same. Below are several techniques for gaining access to this important tool in your business toolbox.

Technique #1: Get quiet
Sit quietly in meditation or just silently a few minutes each day. Just taking the time to do this, can open up the sensitivity needed to “hear” the guidance you are seeking.

Technique #2: Clear clutter
This can mean physical clutter, such as in your home or office space, but it can also mean mental clutter or time wasters. Get rid of any menial jobs or tasks that can be done by someone else, or perhaps don’t need to be done at all. Guidance needs space to work; and you need space to hear it.

Technique #3: Journal
Keep a daily journal of concerns and questions. Ask questions of your intuition in Q&A format and see what comes to you.

Technique #4: Play
Do something fun that you don’t normally do – plant a flower, go for a hike, play tag with your kids. Doing fun, playful things can disengage the mental chatter that goes on and again, create the space required for the messages to come through.

Once you have received some information, it is very important to validate it. You need to be sure it is coming from this all-knowing source and not from your own mind or ego with all of its wishes, wants, and desires. Here are a few guidelines to help you determine if this is a valid message:

1.    It is not fear-based – If you get a feeling of fear from the message, it most likely is NOT valid; if you feel peaceful about the message (even though it might provoke some anxiety), it most likely is valid.

2.    “I” versus “You” language – The message came across in the second person. For example, “You need to take the job offer.” versus “I want to take the job offer.”

3.    Declarative language – The message came in declarative, strong language – not in weak, unsure language. For example, “You need to take the job offer” versus “Maybe you should take the job.”

4.    Surprising – this was not the message you “expected” to hear. If you went into the process expecting to hear a particular message and that’s not the one you heard, it is a good indicator that this is a valid message.

Please note that some of these indicators may or may not be present. The more of them you have, the more likely the message is valid. However, the most important one is the first one – if this one is not present, the odds of the message being valid are pretty slim. God or intuition does not operate using fear-based principles. You will be guided through a feeling of peace – not through fear.

Remember to take advantage of this readily-accessible system for guiding your business and your life through anything that comes your way.

This article was written by Patricia Selmo, an Interfaith seminarian, certified life coach, spiritual healer, teacher and guide. She is the co-founder of the International Association of Women Spiritual Leaders: www.iawsl.com.

WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR EZINE OR WEB SITE? You may, as long as you commit to leave all of the links active, do not edit the article in any way, and include the following byline: The International Association of Women Spiritual Leaders was founded to support spiritual women in living abundantly while serving their unique missions. We invite you to download-as our GIFT to you-the 5 Secrets to Creating Abundance Through Your Calling. You will also be registered to receive our weekly newsletter full of information and tips for supporting you in your calling. Just click here: www.iawsl.com

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Next Sunday is Mother’s Day in many parts of the world. As I sit and think about the idea of honoring mothers, it comes to my mind that this could be a pretty complex topic. For some the idea is inconceivable – perhaps they never had a mother or they had an abusive or negligent mother. Even if you fall into this category, I would hope that you at the very least have someone that represented for you the energy of The Mother.

What is the Mother archetype energy? Often it is associated with Compassion (Quan Yin) or with Peace and Love (Mother Mary)… it is these things and so much more. 

A Mother’s love is:
Selfless – a mother will do anything for her child
Kind – she whispers tender words in your ear when you fall down
Supportive – she will help you attain your dreams in any way she can
Optimistic – she knows that you can do anything you set your mind to; she can be your biggest cheerleader,
Knowledgeable – who else know what you should do when the guy you have a crush on doesn’t call back?
Wise – She knows that chicken soup and ginger ale will cure everything
Healing – her kisses magically make the “boo-boos” go away
Comforting – she can make you feel that any problem is surmountable
Eternal – this is a love that never dies from the moment it is born
Fierce – like the mamma bear, she will go up against anyone who threatens her offspring
Sustaining – a mother’s love can carry you through all the rough times in your life
I think this poem by Helen Steiner Rice sums it up nicely.

A Mother’s Love

A Mother’s love is something

that no one can explain,

It is made of deep devotion

and of sacrifice and pain,

It is endless and unselfish

and enduring come what may

For nothing can destroy it

or take that love away . . .

It is patient and forgiving

when all others are forsaking,

And it never fails or falters

even though the heart is breaking . . .

It believes beyond believing

when the world around condemns,

And it glows with all the beauty

of the rarest, brightest gems . . .

It is far beyond defining,

it defies all explanation,

And it still remains a secret

like the mysteries of creation . . .

A many splendoured miracle

man cannot understand

And another wondrous evidence

of God’s tender guiding hand.
Love and Blessings to all the wonderful mothers out there! And remember to bring the energy of the Mother to your business or practice – it is your child!

This article was written by Patricia Selmo, an Interfaith seminarian, certified life coach, spiritual healer, teacher and guide. She is the co-founder of the International Association of Women Spiritual Leaders: www.iawsl.com.

WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR EZINE OR WEB SITE? You may, as long as you commit to leave all of the links active, do not edit the article in any way, and include the following byline: The International Association of Women Spiritual Leaders was founded to support spiritual women in living abundantly while serving their unique missions. We invite you to download-as our GIFT to you-the 5 Secrets to Creating Abundance Through Your Calling. You will also be registered to receive our weekly newsletter full of information and tips for supporting you in your calling. Just click here: www.iawsl.com

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A few weeks ago, I wrote an article entitled, “5 Actions for the Woman Spiritual Leader to Ensure Financial Success”.  I will explore action #1 in this article:

Be Crystal Clear About What Your Mission Is.

Just what does this mean to those of us starting out on the spiritual path, those of us in the throes of starting a practice, and those of us who are in jobs or places in life where we know “there is something more”? 

As women, we have assumed many roles in our lifetimes, and likely will have more in the future.  I propose that because we have been good at doing a myriad of “things” and fulfilling those roles to the best of our abilities, our thinking around what it is that we want to do in the world can get muddied.  It’s that “Jill of all trades, master of none” concept that I believe many women wrestle with.

We often have so many interests and have had experience and success in a number of fields that it is easy to fall into the trap of wanting to serve the needs of a broad mix of people. 

As a result we can become “scattered” and “fuzzy” about what it is that we want to do…  our mission.  The end result often is that we fail at getting the message across to the people we want to serve.

Several weeks ago, Patricia Selmo wrote an article entitled, “6 Reasons Why You Should Know Your Life Purpose.“  Identifying your life purpose is a good place to start if you don’t know how that may impact your identifying what your mission in the world is.

(Some spiritual traditions believe that we have only one true purpose, and at the risk of lengthening this article, I will refrain from going deeper with this subject.  That is for another article!)

If you are just starting out, in the planning stages of your service delivery, or are scratching your head as to how to get more clients or build your practice, it is advisable to seek help with drilling down to what your mission will be or is. 

The internet is alive with information.  Coaching programs abound.  The Small Business Administration offers assistance, to name a few.

Your mission should not only be clear to you, but to the people you serve or will serve in the future.  Your people will be the ones benefitting from your mission… all that it is that you deliver, and how it will transform them. 

That sounds like a “tall order”… ‘transform’ them… but isn’t that what happens whenever we engage in an exchange of some kind?  It could be as simple as that latte that you make or stop for in the morning that seems to help you wake up, or that you take pleasure in… ‘transformation’; or as complex as the changes that take place in the life of your client and those around him or her as a result of your work together… ‘transformation’.

Transformation, ideally, is at the core of your mission.  How is it that what you do, or want to do, will transform the lives of the people you serve, or want to serve?

My suggestion would be to take some time apart with a notebook, and envision what some of the transformations of the clients you serve, or hope to serve, may look like.  You may be amazed at how this exercise will assist you in getting clarity around your mission!
Love and Blessings,

Ruth

Ruth Reiner is an ordained minister in the interfaith tradition, certified spiritual counselor and certified life coach; registered nurse.  She is a successful entrepreneur, and has helped others launch their visions.  Her expertise is borne of the transformations that have occurred in the lives of the people she has served.

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Two weeks ago, I posted the article; “5 Actions for the Woman Spiritual Leader to Ensure Financial Success”.  In the introduction, I addressed some of the issues women who are doing “spiritual work” seem to have around money.  Here are some excerpts from that article:

“How many times have you stopped short of telling a client what you thought your services were worth?  How often have you given your services away because it was considered to be the ‘spiritual’ thing to do?  We who deal with services that are considered to be spiritual in nature, it seems to me, have mind-sets to deal with; those of the people we serve, and … our own!  When we begin to deal with our own ideas, misconceptions, and beliefs around what our services are worth, we will then be able to better deal with those of the people we serve.”

Being women, we usually think about and handle money differently than men do.  Men seem to have an easier time asking for what they think they’re worth.  This likely is driven by a man’s need to provide and to ‘accumulate’.  Women, on the other hand, have a need for security, their family, their home, and their community.  Historically, women also have not been the ‘breadwinners’.

How much we have seen this change in the last few decades!  While women are still not compensated at the rate that men in the same positions are, in many instances they have become the ‘breadwinner’; the main, or often, only source of income.

We women who are spiritual leaders doing “spiritual work”, it seems to me, have a double whammy to deal with.  I think we would agree that as women our mindsets around money are different from the mindsets from men.  And secondly, we have to deal with the mindsets we have brought to our work.

While much of this mindset has been borne of our culture’s view that anything of a ‘spiritual nature’ should not have monetary value (never the twain shall meet!! – Heaven forbid!) as women we have not been encouraged to change our own individual values around the services we provide.

In order to begin to build an awareness around any issues you may have around money and the services you provide, I invite you to take a notebook and respond to the following:

1.    Identify your own mindset around money and what money means to you

View your “monetary history”.  Take a look at your check register, credit card statements, investment records, and spending habits.  It would also be helpful to look at records of your reimbursements from individual clients, work-shops, and other sources of income.  What does this data have to do with your mind-set around money?

2.    Write down some phrases, edicts, shoulds, etc. that you may remember from your childhood around the subject of money

We all have grown up with probably hundreds of those that now form the hodge-podge of the way we view money and how we value what we do.  And so much of it is unconscious.  And what is “unconscious” will begin to surface once you have set your intent around making it so, and commit to being aware.  You may be surprised by what emerges…

3.     Try to recall situations where you have been involved in conversations around money, and your emotional reactions to what was being discussed

This is also a good exercise to do in the present.  Other people’s remarks, an article that you may read, or something you may view or listen to in the media, may trigger emotions in you that you may not have been aware of.  It is helpful to have a small note book in your purse or small recorder to document your reactions.

4.    Identify areas in your life where you would like to have more confidence

Building confidence in yourself and what you do is one of the key ingredients to becoming more financially successful.  Write those down, and don’t be bashful… no-one is looking over your shoulder, and, after all, this is your life!

5.    Seek support

It is not easy to roll back years of brain washing, acculturation, habit, and mindsets by yourself.  Women, by nature, love relating.  Find that group, person, program, or community that will best serve your needs.

To your financial success!

Ruth

Ruth Reiner, President and Co-Founder of the International Association of Women Spiritual Leaders is an ordained Interfaith Minister, Spiritual Counselor, Certified Life Coach, and successful business woman.

WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR EZINE, PUBLICATION, OR ON YOUR WEB-SITE? You may, as long as you commit to leaving the entire article intact, do not alter it in any way, and include the following: “THE INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF WOMEN SPIRITUAL LEADERS” was founded to support spiritual women in living abundantly while serving their unique missions. We invite you to download – as a gift to you- THE 5 SECRETS TO CREATING ABUNDANCE THROUGH YOUR CALLING.
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Is it really important to know your life purpose? After all, plenty of people go through life never knowing theirs and yet they seem to be content. After all, once you’ve gotten the good job, spouse and 2.5 children, what else is there? Plenty!!

1. Inner Peace – when you know your purpose, a sense of calm surrounds you. You don’t have to worry about what you should focus on

2. Clear Direction – When you know your purpose decision-making becomes easy – if something comes your way that is not in alignment with your purpose, you can easily turn it down; if it does align, say YES!!

3. Financial Success – by having a clear purpose that you are passionate about (because if it’s your Divine Purpose, you WILL be passionate about it), you can easily make money doing it. Why? Because you have the passion that can carry you through the rough times. Someone who is doing something they aren’t passionate about, will give up much more easily.

4. Marketing sense – when you need to market yourself to the world, it becomes very clear to you who you are marketing to and what exactly you are providing. You no longer have to be everything to everyone. There are some people who just aren’t meant to be your customers and that’s OK!!!

5. Happiness – When you are doing what you were put here to do, you are HAPPY!!! Yes, times might get hard and people can treat you unkindly, but you will be happy because you are doing what you were designed to do – it just flows!

6. Eliminate living from Fear – When you live a purpose-driven life, you are no longer living your life from a position of fear – for example, doing things because you “should” or because of what others will think of you or because of some dire consequence you believe will happen if you don’t. You will be living in a proactive manner guided by the direction of your purpose; not reactively out of fear. This is an incredibly powerful way to live.

Once you know your purpose and why you are here, you can set about making changes in your life to adjust to this new knowledge. Slowly you will eliminate things that don’t align with your purpose and draw things to you that do. You will clearly be able to determine if opportunities are right for you or not and you will have a sense of joy and fulfillment that can only come from living purposefully. And, you will easily be able to make money because you will be able to clearly define what you do and whom you do it for – an essential for good marketing. You will be able to do all these things and be happy! What more could anyone ask for – so what are you waiting for? Find that purpose and start living it – the world needs you and whatever it is you were uniquely designed to do!

Patricia

WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR EZINE, PUBLICATION, OR ON YOUR WEB-SITE? You may, as long as you commit to leaving the entire article intact, do not alter it in any way, and include the following: “THE INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF WOMEN SPIRITUAL LEADERS” was founded to support spiritual women in living abundantly while serving their unique missions. We invite you to download – as a gift to you- THE 5 SECRETS TO CREATING ABUNDANCE THROUGH YOUR CALLING.
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