In honor of mothers and daughters everywhere, I’ve planned some very special things in May. My new, live online event “Lightening the Mother Load: Healing Strategies for Daughters” premieres May 9th. Join me for this three-lesson series, and rediscover, celebrate, and heal your mother-daughter relationship. Learn more below.
Also in May, I’ll be joined by two special guests on Flourish!. On May 8th, meet Latham Thomas, author of Mama Glow: A Hip Lifestyle Guide to Your Fabulous Abundant Pregnancy. We’ll talk about how you can approach pregnancy with vitality and joy, rather than expecting a whole host of medical problems.
Then, on May 23rd, meet Meggan Watterson, author of the newly released Reveal: A Sacred Manual for Getting Spiritually Naked. Join us for a thoroughly heretical discussion about the role of feminine spirituality and our sacred female bodies.
Mom—So Glad You Got a Life
I talked to my friend Jane in a local restaurant a few weeks after her mother died. Her description of her relationship with her mother—and her sense of loss—touched me deeply. Because their relationship had been so good for so long, her grief was normal and expected—tinged with love, not regret or longing. Jane’s mother was very independent and didn’t make Jane responsible for her happiness. In many ways, this is the kind of relationship we all long for—one of ease, without guilt or obligation.
Jane told me that she and her mom spoke every night. She joked, “Mom always called to ask if I knew the final answer on Jeopardy.” She went on to say, “I really miss her. No one else in my life is ever going to care about me the way my mother did. The good news is that I really enjoyed her while she was here. We were really close.” We all want someone who loves us unconditionally and is available to witness the daily joys and sorrows of our lives.
This got me thinking about my own relationships, both with my mother and with my daughters. I realized that Jane’s nightly conversations with her mother were a sharp contrast to my own mother-daughter relationships. We’re all close. And we get along fine. But sometimes, I’ll go weeks without hearing from my mother—or she from me—depending on what else we are doing. My mother is often off on long camping trips across the country with no cell service. And my daughters both lead very full and busy lives. And so do I! So, believe it or not, it would never occur to me to check in with either my mother or my daughters every night.
Every one of us has a rich, social, and happy life. My oldest daughter recently moved home for a break from living in New York City, so she can do her creative work with less wear and tear. I brag that she was fully self-supporting in New York City, but clearly the time was right for a sabbatical. And so, it has been delightful to get to know her again after nearly ten years of her being away from home. We have dinner together most nights and also check in about our schedules. It’s a delight to watch her personal rebirth.
But often we go our separate ways. When she first got here, she asked me if it was all right for her to join my tango community and come dance with us. She loves it, but didn’t want to horn in on the social life that I have created for myself. I love that role reversal! The sophisticated woman from New York City returns home and wants in on her mother’s vibrant social life in Maine. Click here to continue reading.
Lightening the Mother Load: Healing Strategies for Daughters
Early Bird Pricing Ends May 9
I’m so excited to bring you a new, three-part, live online course called Lightening the Mother Load: Healing Strategies for Daughters. It begins on May 9, 2013, and is designed to help you navigate and update this precious connection.
At those critical moments in your life—like when you go off to college, have your first home, marry or divorce, have a baby, or enjoy real success in business—you look back at your mother like a kid standing at the end of a diving board. “Watch me, Mom. Watch me!" Because your life started within her, it is her attention you want. You turn to her for validation and strength.
When mothers and daughters have a good relationship, a daughter feels safe turning to her mom if she is scared and needs encouragement. But when the relationship is poor, it reinforces a cycle of pain and disappointment. When a daughter is denied her mother’s support, it can damage her self-esteem and leave her with a crippling sense of emptiness and guilt.
A mother’s love is the most powerful and fierce force in the world. This love—or lack thereof—is also the blueprint that creates a daughter’s health and belief system for her lifetime. Is it time for you to rediscover, celebrate, or heal the mother-daughter bond in your life? Ask yourself:
- Does your mother criticize your choices or make you feel inadequate in some way?
- Do you adore your mother but find that spending time with her is tiring or unfulfilling?
- Do you worry that you aren’t a good daughter when you disagree with your mother?
- Do you worry that you will develop the same health problems that your mother has?
- Do you secretly worry that you will end up old and alone with no one to take care of and love you?
- Is your biggest fear that you are “becoming like my mother?”
- Are you the black sheep of your family and feel as though you don’t fit in?
If you answered YES to any of these questions, then don’t miss “Lightening the Mother Load.” My unique curriculum includes proven ways to lighten and heal your relationship with your mother—and improve your health. Click here to enroll.
Regular Price: $199. Early bird price: $99 until May 9th.
EXCLUSIVE OFFER FOR E-NEWSLETTER SUBSCRIBERS ONLY
Purchase the “Lightening the Mother Load” Online Course and receive The Secret Pleasures of Menopause On Demand Lecture for FREE.
Instructions: Just add the “Lightening the Mother” Load Course to your cart and use Priority Code 5293. The Secret Pleasures of Menopause On Demand will automatically be added to your cart for FREE.
Items must be purchased at the same time.
Reveal: A Sacred Manual for Getting Spiritually Naked, by Meggan Watterson
I talk so often about the Divine Feminine. So I’m very grateful and excited to share Reveal: A Sacred Manual for Getting Spiritually Naked with you. Reveal is nothing short of breathtaking! This is what the feminine path to God looks and feels like. This book is so beautifully and powerfully written that I simply devoured it like a thirsty pilgrim. You will, too.
Harvard-trained theologian Meggan Watterson marched out of her church at age ten. With little-girl clarity, she knew something tremendously crucial was missing…the voices of women.
Watterson became a theologian and a seeker of the divine feminine to find the missing stories and images of women’s spiritual voices. She knew women’s voices had never been silenced, just buried. But what she truly sought was her own spiritual voice inside her—the one veiled beneath years of self-doubt.
At a sacred site of the Black Madonna in Europe, Watterson had a revelation that changed her. Rather than transcending the body, denying or ignoring it, being spiritual for her meant accepting her body as sacred. Only then, Watterson realized, could she hear the voice of unfaltering love inside her—the voice of her soul.
With passion, humor, and brutal honesty, Watterson draws on ancient stories and lesser-known texts of the divine feminine, like The Gospel of Mary Magdalene, making them modern and accessible to reveal the spiritual process she went through. She suggests that being spiritual is simply about stripping down to the truth of who we really are.
I encourage you to get in touch with your Divine Feminine. A beautiful and uplifting way to do that is by reading the glorious book Reveal.
More Health Resources for May
I’ve chosen these special resources to help you on your journey to vibrant health.
Articles
Resources for Raising a Daughter
Enhance your ability to parent your daughter.
Tips for a Healthy Pregnancy
The perfect self-care program for a healthy pregnancy.
Podcast
Endometriosis
Did you know that many women will see as many as six doctors before being diagnosed with Endometriosis? Dr. Northrup discusses symptoms and options for treatment of Endometriosis including both surgery and a holistic approach.
Homepage Video
Sexy After 50
On the Road
See the latest photos from my travels.
Flourish!
As I said before, I’m excited to have Latham Thomas and Meggan Watterson join me on Flourish! this month. My Internet radio show programs are available for free for about a week after the show. You can also become a member of Hay House Radio and listen to programs in the archives whenever you like. An iphone app is available too! Listen live every Wednesday from 11:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. EST
Happy Mother’s Day!
Flourishingly yours,
Christiane Northrup, M.D.
