Hijas Americanas

What I love about myself is my capacity to be open and truly interested in all kinds of people, from all walks of life, from every cultural background. Meeting new people enriches my life a thousand fold.

My biggest challenge in accepting my body and beauty is when that monkey-mind thinking leads me to believe that I’m not doing something right.  And that “right,” I suppose, is according to the world outside myself.  When I get quiet, go inward, am creative, I become more accepting of self again.

My biggest support in learning to appreciate myself is that deep-still voice within.  It also helps to surround myself with people who support my creative way of being and thinking—people in my writing and creative circles, my husband and family members who support who I am.

Beauty is deeper than body image.  Over the years, I’ve actually positioned my young nieces in front of a mirror and have them stare into their own faces repeating, “I am beautiful inside and out.”

I am strong because I believe in a higher source, and I don’t mean a big man in the sky. That higher source (consciousness) permeates everywhere—in nature, in healthy foods, in you and me.  Being strong means being authentic, truthful, loving—including sometimes being firm, standing ground, setting tough boundaries, which has been something I’ve really had to learn over the years.

I am beautiful because I take good care of myself by eating healthy, especially eating organic food, by using alternative health professionals, having energy work done on me, working out, journaling, writing, reading, meditating and following my passion of living a creative life.

Women must know that we are powerful beyond measure, that we have intuitive abilities that can lead us onto paths bigger than our ego-self can image, that it is time for the female to truly have an equal say in all aspects of life, so that we can get this earth back on track.