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CONTENTS On the Cover
Christine Rasmussen Visionary author, speaker and Philanthropist Christina Rasmussen, founder of Second Firsts and Life Starters. Cover Photo Credit: Caroline White www.carolinewhitephotography.com
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AUGUST | SEPTEMBER 2014
OWNING YOUR FEMININE POWER
Wisdom & Self-Growth 20 INTERVIEW WITH CHRISTINA RASMUSSEN by Linda Joy Aspire Magazine is honored to introduce you to Life after Loss Pioneer Christina Rasmussen. Christina is a bestselling author, speaker and philanthropist on a crusade to change the way we live after loss. As the founder of Second Firsts and Life Starters, both organizations dedicated to helping people create a pathway back to life after loss, Christina has helped thousands of people rebuild, reclaim, and relaunch their lives using the power of the human mind. Her book of the same name — Second Firsts: Live, Laugh, and Love Again— aims to take her message even further. Tens of thousands of people receive Christina’s magical, life changing & truthful ‘Message in a Bottle’ every Friday morning.
www.AspireMAG.net | August / September 2014
24 WAKE UP AND STOP: STARTING YOUR DAY WITH QUIET TIME IS KEY TO MINDFUL PRODUCTIVITY by Barbara Schmidt If you are woman who wakes up every day jumping right into your to-do list, Barbara Schmidt suggests you begin each day in a much more peaceful and supportive way with meditation. The practice of “waking up and stopping” gives us the opportunity to live our days more productively as well as in a more loving and compassionate manner.
CONTENTS 28 HONORING MY INNER PRIESTESS: A JOURNEY OF TRUST by Maryellen De Vine Learn how Maryellen has learned to trust her inner priestess. She believes that every woman deserves to allow her Inner Priestess to come forward in everyday life. When you learn to trust and honor your inner priestess, you will be on your way to becoming one with her, living a life filled with magic and miracles.
“Trust and surrender to the process of your divinely feminine unfolding.” SHANN VANDER LEEK
31 NOW WHERE DID I PUT MY GODDESSTHEMED THONG? by Cathleen O’Connor The archetypes of the goddesses is an accessible path to the Divine Feminine but may not be the best examples for modern-day women. The modern lure of the goddess speaks to women who have learned to give to themselves rather than waiting for someone else to come along and leave precious gifts at the altars of their hearts. The real juice is knowing your deepest needs and then giving yourself permission to get your needs met.
35 COMMON CHARACTERISTICS OF THE EARTH ANGEL by Sonja Grace Earth angels share many similar characteristics. You might recognize the characteristics of an earth angel in yourself. If you are an Earth Angel, it is vital that the elements described in this article are carefully nurtured and developed with the full understanding of their potential.
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CONTENTS
“When we cultivate a relationship with our joy, our hearts and spirits expand and we remember who we are.” CAROL WOODLIFF
Health & Wellness 40 BEAUTY BREATH MEDITATION by Cindy Heath The energy of the universe contains a sacred field of infinite magic power that every heart-filled intention can reach. Its potential to manifest beauty and all things sits inside the hidden vibratory waves and can be awakened. There are secrets in our breath that can help link us to this higher energy if we can commit to breathing more consciously.
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44 12 STRATEGIES TO COMBAT EMOTIONAL EATING by Julie Daniluk Women often reach for comfort food to feel better and then beat themselves up for not making a healthy choice. We often starve ourselves with low calorie diets that set us up to fail. The most important thing you can do is to stop beating yourself up and let go of the guilt about your food choices or lack of motivation to get moving. If you embrace healthy eating for more than 60 days, your taste buds will change and you will start to fall in love with real food.
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48 SURRENDERING TO THE PATH OF THE SOUL by Saskia Röell In my Soul’s journeys, I’ve learned to be out of my mind because the path of the Soul is not the path of the mind. Birthing a child or a huge dream or a book requires surrender. I realize that surrender was the key. And surrender is the key now, again. Instead of pushing to achieve, I have to let go and listen to my heart so I can receive. A trust in the Soul. With a leap, there becomes here.
CONTENTS 51 THE WISE WOMAN WAY: LISTENING TO THE VOICE OF INNER WISDOM by Susun Weed What is the voice of inner wisdom? Can you hear it? Does it speak to you? Does it come to you in your dreams? There is are many voices of wisdom within us. See if you can identify them. Remember that you are a woman of wisdom with many facets. Learn to trust your inner wisdom, and its many voices.
“Sovereignty naturally comes to a woman when she develops a empowered Goddess Mindset.” LISA MARIE ROSATI
Relationships 56 TRANSFORMING YOUR RELATIONSHIP: YOUR GREATEST POWER IS YOUR FEMININITY by Stacey Martino Your greatest power is your femininity. Ironically, somehow our femininity got lost along our path to empowerment. The experience that we have when we are truly in our feminine is called “feminine radiance.” Femininity comes from a willingness to be vulnerable. And anyone who is vulnerably open will tell you that it takes a hell of a lot more strength to BE open (feminine) then it does to close up and protect yourself (masculine). Learn how to flaunt your greatest asset!
61 YOU DESERVE TO PUT YOURSELF AT THE FRONT OF THE LINE by Shann Vander Leek Do want to still put everyone and everything at the front of the line before your own selfcare? You deserve to be your first priority. When women learn how selfawareness, self-talk and self-care relate to each other, we remember that the most important relationship in this lifetime is the one that we create, nurture and experience with ourselves.
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CONTENTS Career | Business 66 LIVING THE GODDESS LIFESTYLE: HOW OWNING MY AUTHENTIC TRUTH HELPED CONNECT ME TO MY FEMININE TRUTH AND OUTRAGEOUS SUCCESS by Lisa Marie Rosati Do you speak your truth in life and in your business? Do you practice being congruent so you mean what you say and say what you mean? When you follow this formula, infinite success and prosperity will flow right to you... as if by magic. Learn how Lisa learned to trust herself and own her truth and shine after several years of trying to mimic how others define success.
“Think about what made you happy as a child and rediscover it. It’s who you were meant t0 be.” CAROLYN FRITH
70 TENDING YOUR ENTREPRENEURIAL ECOSYSTEM by Jennifer Lee If you are entrepreneur, your creative business is a living and breathing entity, and it needs TLC to blossom and prosper. Whether you’re fairly new to your business, or you’ve been at your work for a while, it’s helpful to take a step back and check in — to assess the overall health of your Entrepreneurial Ecosystem, especially if you want sustained success. So let’s take a look at where your business is right now and identify what’s needed for your business to fully bloom so you can create sustainable success for your business.
Sp ea k th you in in life r you r b an d usi nes s. tru
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75 7 PRIESTESS TOOLS TO ACCELERATE YOUR BUSINESS GROWTH by Lisa Michaels As women today seek ways to own and fully embody their feminine power, they discover that connecting to the ancient archetype of the priestess awakens the source of Divine Feminine wisdom within. Priestesses learn to channel for Divine energy, which increases their inner guidance, wisdom, and selfconfidence in every aspect of their lives and businesses.
CONTENTS 78 ROCK YOUR FEMININE TYPE TO ROCK YOUR BUSINESS by Joy Balma You are the leading lady of your life. You cast and play yourself in this role, and you’ve been playing her for as long as you can remember. In fact, she was well established by the time you were in grade school, and she is probably running your business right now! It is important that you know all about this leading lady role of yours—your Feminine Type.
“Find a bit of fun and laughter in every situation. it inspires the best in each of us.” JANET NESTOR
81 INSPIRED TO WRITE? TAP INTO YOUR FEMININE POWER TO WRITE by Lisa Tener Your Feminine Power is one of the most powerful tools you can use to write. When you learn to tap into your feminine power, writing can be more compelling, beautiful, easy and fun. You’ll likely enjoy the process more and the writing will likely have a stronger voice and be more authentic and moving to your readers.
LINDA JOY
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Publisher & Editor-In-Chief | Linda@aspiremag.net
Creative & Brand Direction || RACHEL DUNHAM | www.HummingbirdCreativeConcepts.com Editorial Layout || MANDY GATES | www.GruveDesign.com Graphic Designer || MANDY GATES | www.GruveDesign.com COO || KIM TURCOTTE | www.SoulPurposeBusinessSolutions.com MAILING ADDRESS || P.O. BOX 1149 | LAKEVILLE, MA 02347 | 508.265.7929 ADVERTISING || Email Linda@aspiremag.net MISSION TO INSPIRE INFO <CLICK HERE>
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EXPERT COLUMNISTS STACEY MARTINO
LISA MARIE ROSATI
Stacey Martino helps people who feel stuck, frustrated and helpless with the challenges of intimate relationship. Through strategic private coaching, programs and events for her Relationship Transformation System™, individuals learn to use her proven strategies and tools to create an unshakable love and unleashed passion that lasts a lifetime. Stacey firmly believes that it does NOT take two to tango, that one person can significantly shift the dynamics of the relationship. Trained and certified by Tony Robbins and Cloe Madanes, Stacey is a certified marriage educator and divorce preventionist. Click Here for Articles www.LoveandPassionCoach.com
Passionista Lisa Marie Rosati is an Inner Goddess Catalyst for women and the Creatrix of The Goddess Lifestyle Plan. Lisa mentors women on how become a Modern Day Goddess by consciously designing a luscious Goddess life, cultivating radiant health and creating a lucrative business using and directing their feminine fire. www.GoddessLifestylePlan.com www.sugarfreegoddess.com
SUSUN WEED
LISA TENER
Susun Weed is an internationally renowned herbalist, author, and director of the Wise Woman Center in New York. She is a revered voice of the Wise Woman Tradition, where women’s bodies and women’s emotions are valued. Susun is a founding grandmother of the herbal renaissance and the originator of the concept of complementary medicine. www.SusunWeed.com
An award-winning authority on writing and publishing books, Lisa Tener guides you to joyfully express yourself in writing. She blogs for the Huffington Post, serves on the faculty of Harvard Medical School’s publishing course, and teaches her own Award Winning Book Writing Courses in person and by interactive teleseminar. www.LisaTener.com
Transforming Your Relationship
The Wise Woman Way
Living the Goddess LifeStyleTM
Inspired to Write?
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FEATURED CONTRIBUTORS
CHRISTINA RASMUSSEN
JULIE DANILUK
JENNIFER LEE
BARBARA SCHMIDT
CINDY HEATH
SONJA GRACE
JOY BALMA
SHANN VANDER LEEK
MARYELLEN DE VINE
LISA MICHAELS
SASKIA ROËLL
CATHLEEN O’CONNOR
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YOUR WISDOM! WITH OUR READERS
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LETTER EDITOR
FROM THE
”Nothing can dim the light which shines from within.” MAYA ANGELOU
Welcome to the August/September 2014 Owning Your Feminine Power Issue Learning to listen and honor my inner wisdom and soul’s whispers has been the catalyst behind what I call ‘living an inspired life’. In fact, Aspire Magazine was birthed in late 2005 after receiving an intuitive nudge that I was meant to create a magazine that spoke “to” women and not “at” them and that served to support women on their journey of self-discovery and transformation. Owning your feminine power is about living a life of meaning, joy and passion that aligns our goals with our values and leads us to consciously create our lives from a place of meaning and intention.
It’s about owning and embracing the truth of who you are as a woman and sharing that truth and your gifts with others.
Throughout this wisdom-filled issue you’ll discover the tips, tools and resources to support you on your path to empowered living.
Connect with me! om/ http://www.Facebook.c lindajoyinspires om/ http://www.facebook.c y aJo PublisherLind
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https://twitter.com/lind http://pinterest.com/ lindajoyinspire/
Grab a cup of tea or a glass of wine and enjoy the powerful articles, empowering wisdom and supportive resources offered by our expert columnists and featured guest contributors.
LINDA JOY Publisher & Editor-In-Chief | Linda@aspiremag.net
Here’s What I’m Reading Right Now...
FROM MY BOOKSHELF
Living The Unmistakable Touch of Grace By Cheryl Richardson
I was called to reread Cheryl’s inspiring book on how to recognize and respond to the spiritual signposts in your life. Seven years ago her book literally fell off a shelf in front of me while on vacation and was exactly what I needed in that moment. As I reread it today, I look back on how grace has transformed my life and continues to do so.
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WISDOM & SELF-GROWTH
“Don’t be afraid of your fears.
They’re not there to scare you. They’re there to let you kn ow that something is worth it.”
c. Joy Bell
The Courage to
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all Stop Playing SBYm FIA CRANDALL Do you get a sense that you may be playing small in your life? A sense that you may be holding yourself back from what is really possible, from stepping up to something bigger that you are meant to be and do? There is WAY more to you than you could ever realize. There is so much more to you than you could ever conceive of when fear is convincing you that you are small.
The truth is, you have no idea just how brave, courageous and truly capable you really are. Read the full article online
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UPCOMING EVENTS
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Interview with
Christina Rasmussen Life After Loss Pioneer Aspire Magazine is honored to introduce you to Christina Rasmussen. Christina is a bestselling author, speaker and philanthropist on a crusade to change the way we live after loss. As the founder of Second Firsts and Life Starters both organizations to help people create a pathway back to life after loss, Christina has helped thousands of people rebuild, reclaim, and relaunch their lives using the power of the human mind. Her thriving Facebook community intimately connects with over 200,000 individuals who embrace her message of love. Her book of the same name—Second Firsts: Live, Laugh, and Love Again— aims to take her message even further. Tens of thousands of people around the world receive Christina’s magical, life changing & truthful ‘Message in a Bottle’ every Friday morning. Christina’s work has been featured on the Huffington Post, NPR, The Times of India, Beliefnet, the White House Blog, and MariaShriver.com.
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identity after loss. Writing this book for me was the beginning of a journey, a journey into the lives of millions of people. This book changed the lives of thousands, more books are on the way and they will continue to build the true understanding of grief and why we as humans must experience it.
My real life experience of devastating loss was so different to my study of grief. I never expected grief to be so insane, devastating and so long lasting. Because of my experience I realized that there are millions of people out there who are as lost as I am and have nowhere to turn for real help. That is when I promised myself if I make it back to life I will go back to get everyone else. Second Firsts is my Noah’s Ark.
Christina, you often use the term “waiting room” as a way of identifying the problem of grief. How do you define the waiting room and how do you know you’re stuck there?
When did you know you could write SECOND FIRSTS and help people find their way back? I had promised myself that the day that I was going to write this book was going to be the day that I had healed and I was able to live life fully. Otherwise I would not be able to take on this mission. So this book is important because it’s changing the status quo of life after loss. It’s changing the way we perceive grief. It’s changing the way we think about someone who has been divorced or widowed or abandoned or abused, any kind of loss. It’s changing the way we look at our
In my quest to free people from pain I stumbled upon a place, a secret hiding place. I called this place, The Waiting Room. The place between two lives. The life we left behind after our loss, and the life we have yet to have. In this world in between… we live life in a loop, in a repetitive pattern. It is safe from any new life experiences and we hide from the real world in order to protect ourselves from more grief and sorrow. I met people who have spent years in the Waiting room and didn’t even know they were in there. I know there’s millions and millions of people in that gap, in that space between two worlds. But they don’t know the gap. They don’t know it’s a waiting room. They don’t know that they’re to wait for something better to happen, for time to heal them. But the pain won’t go away until they take action. So every time I mention this to people, they go, “Oh, my goodness! That’s where I’m at. That’s the gap.” Grief is invisible most of the times and it happens to everyone but not everyone has the tools and the awareness to know what they are experiencing so they try to protect themselves from something they don’t even understand. My mission is to free millions from the Waiting Room and to help the world better understand grief.
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WISDOM & SELF-GROWTH
Christina, you studied bereavement and grief in your 20’s. Later in your life you experienced the loss of your husband leaving you with two young children. How did the theory of your studies compare to the real-life experience?
Why is dealing and speaking and writing about grief so hard Christina? When I started writing the book proposal, people told me that it was going to be a hard sell that publishers are not looking to publish a book on grief. And I kept saying to them, “This is not about grief. It’s about the life after our experience with grief. It’s about what we do after grief.” And the stereotype in the world today is that grief lasts forever. I completely disagree. Grief does not last forever. Memories last forever. But grief is here to change us and evolve us into an amazing human being. This is the only reason humanity evolves because we feel pain, we grow from it, we change and become something better.
How can a person begin to get some distance from grief so they can start experiencing life fully again? Before we even begin to talk about healing, the one thing that I’ve learned through my grief and through the grief of other people is that we cannot move forward unless we get real with our grief. What I mean about that is that we have to understand our grief, understand our thoughts that come from our grief experience, understand what’s going on inside our brain and reflect on those thoughts and reflect on our feelings. Don’t run away from your grief! There’s nowhere to go if you do that. There’s nowhere to go. You’re going to come right back and it’s going to be here a year later, two years later, three years later. You need to get real and when you do get real you need to acknowledge and validate it and that’s when I think invisible losses are much harder to heal because there’s no validation. There’s no acknowledgment.
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What are the challenges and obstacles you come across while on the path to free people from grief? Grief is such a taboo topic and unless you fit in to the stereotypes the world does not want to hear what you have to say. My work on LIFE REENTRY and using brain science to heal was a tough sell for a while. But I did not give up especially when I started to see people change their lives right before my eyes. Some of the most beautiful experiences happen after loss…if we let them.
How do you use science to describe something so delicate and emotionally bound as grief? What a great question. Our brain’s ability to heal us is so underused by our world. Instead we allow people to create grief habits instead of life habits. We let our family members and our friends continue to relive the trauma and the loss. Imagine if we created a world where we could help people start over no matter the loss, no matter the magnitude of the tragedy. Imagine if it was possible to live again fully without being told that grief lasts forever. Brain science can allow for that to happen. If we let it of course.
I’m curious Christina about what a Second Firsts world looks like to you? Big smile here…. a world of Second Firsts would be made of people who survived the unthinkable, they would be our leaders, our elders, our wise souls and our mentors. Our government and corporations would rely on the people who overcame the biggest challenges to lead the way. I believe that the
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WISDOM & SELF-GROWTH
older we get the more we are equipped to live a life worth living. Second Firsts is about respecting those who endured and overcame the worst and giving them the podium. Don’t get me started on this, I can go on forever.
After someone finishes reading your book and went through the Re-entry process what one emotion or feeling will they walk away feeling? The one thing that people have told me over and over again is that they smile again and that they have hope again. They see their own transformation and believe in their own second chapter more than ever before. You can hear it in their voice and see it in their writing, they are no longer the same person. They have reentered and have started to live life once again. This time, a bigger life.
Photo Credit: Caroline White www.carolinewhitephotography.com
Read Online!
I invite you to learn more about Christina’s empowering work by visiting Second Firsts. While you are there be sure to claim Christina’s magical, life hanging & truthful Message in a Bottle delivered every Friday morning. Join Christina’s Second Firsts Facebook page and join over 200,000 individuals who are reclaiming their life after loss.
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