My Values and Beliefs: This is Me

I know so many of us woke up today angry and afraid. It was not the right day to release a blog about gratitude. If you are struggling, I urge you to reach out to the people that you trust. If you are not one of those people, I encourage you to have empathy. As a healer who is dedicated to helping women grow, and find their strength, it felt like a huge hit.  I have gifts and talents that I can use to help people through this. It just so happens that yesterday a friend of mine, Laura from SubSupportHer, asked me to look over a brand values exercise, so I did. It gave me something positive to focus on. Through this exercise, I was able to deduce that my brand values are Leadership, Women’s Empowerment, Social Justice, Growth, and Authenticity. It felt good to pinpoint these values for my business so that you know exactly who I am. Through this simple exercise, I was able to find the words to express what I intend to bring to the world. My strong belief is that if one of us is oppressed, all of us are oppressed. Others may see these worries as not their problem, but without the participation of all in the collective consciousness to elevate the vibration of the planet, we will all be held down. You can’t separate the hot and cold water in a bathtub. We are all one. And we’re not going back.

My strong belief is that if one of us is oppressed, all of us are oppressed.

Leadership: I naturally gravitate towards leadership roles. I am passionate about making sure everyone feels heard, and that we are capitalizing on each person's unique gifts. If they don't know what those are, we will find them.

Women's Empowerment: It's time for women to take their rightful place. People often envision feminine energy as being meek and mild, but when a mother lion protects her cubs, there's nothing gentle about that. Femininity is fierce, wise, creative, formidable and nurturing. It is the quiet and controlled rage that simmers before it boils over at just the right moment. Women are wise healers and fierce protectors.

Social Justice: I never understood how people could accept the injustices in our world as normal. Privilege allows people to say, "oh how terrible" and then never think about it again. Then you have the people that want to deny that these social justices exist. It's like a doctor looking at the top layer of your skin, and saying that there's nothing wrong, but you know that the problem is deep in the belly. They don't have the capacity to see below the surface, so they assume the problem doesn't exist. Until we restructure our society to be just, which will take decades, we will all be oppressed. We have to start now.

Growth: When we talk about the challenges of social justice, we have to be willing to accept that these belief systems were handed to us so long ago, that we don't even know that they're hiding there, but once we recognize these patterns of thought in accepting stereotypes as fact, or having a reaction that is steeped in discrimination, we have to be willing to unravel that belief system, and replace it with one born from unconditional love.

Authenticity: I don't have a persona. I try really hard to bring the best of myself to my clients, but I don't have a character I'm trying to create. Whether you see me in the wild, or on social media this is me. I would rather say nothing than pretend to be something I'm not. I have been criticized in the past for sharing my opinion, but if someone says something hateful, I'm going to ask why they would say that. If someone says something bad about themselves, I'm going to find something beautiful about them. This is just who I am. I don't have the energy to pretend. I know I have something to offer this world. I have valuable gifts, and I am passionate about using them for good.

once we recognize these patterns of thought in accepting stereotypes as fact, or having a reaction that is steeped in discrimination, we have to be willing to unravel that belief system, and replace it with one born from unconditional love

This was going to be a short entry, but I care deeply about people, and about the state of the world we live in, and I have a lot to say about it. A rising tide lifts all ships. If it's not good for the least among us, it's not good for any of us.

Oh and if you’re interested in that Brand Values assessment, it’s geared towards entrepreneurs, but go to SubSupportHer.com and tell Laura you want it when it’s ready. I’m so grateful for her, but especially today when this simple exercise allowed me to focus on what I can do to make things better.

Love and Light,

Maria