Who am I? 

If you asked me this question a year ago, I would not be open to answering it. Because in typical measurements of a successful woman in her mid-thirties, I was not. I quit my job in IT when I had my 2 babies, I was doing many things at the same time - studying for a new profession, part-time remotely working, taking care of my family and jumping from one hobby to another looking for a holy grail that would quiet my mind and give me both a pay-check and a soul-check. I was a mess according to typical modern society standards, right? And then - I was like millions of other women on our planet who are striving to be something that they are not and wonder if something is wrong with them.

When I joined The Heroines' Journeys program last year, my life changed 180 degrees. Now I can finally say that I am awakening to MY life and to MY power within. Here I found my community. I found a place where I belong. I discovered my feminine side that was hidden under layers and layers of thick wool sweaters. I became alive. I found out that life is relationships and in the process of self-discovery I need to work on my relationships with people around me. They are still work in progress but I have a map and a destination and I am grateful for the improvements I already have experienced. I can also finally focus on what is meaningful to me instead of spreading myself thin and forgetting what is the heart and soul of my life. I am healing my wounds. I am learning to not be a user/abuser of Life but give something back and participate in Life.

The Exercise

I remember the first exercise I did as part of the homework. The exercise helped me recognize if I was actually paying attention to the relationships that I considered important in my life. I would like to invite you to try it out and maybe something will show up for you too.

When you are ready, take a piece of paper, a pen, sit down in a comfortable position, and write down all the people in your life that are important for you. Now, think when was the last time you actually talked to them? Yesterday, last week, last month, last year? 

When I did that exercise, I saw that for many relationships I wasn't present. To be honest, I couldn't understand why I wasn't in touch with those who I considered important in my mind. Were they really important to me? If so, why didn't I put work into something that had so much meaning in my life? Why was I sabotaging something that had the potential to bring value to my life and the lives of others? By asking all these questions I became aware that I had no idea who I was and how I operated.

There is a beautiful quote by David Bohm, a physicist, that says,

"Yourself is actually the whole of mankind. That’s the idea of implicate order - that everything is enfolded in everything. If you reach deeply into yourself, you are reaching into the very essence of mankind."

I am slowly learning about my essence with the help of my teacher and a community of women in The Heroines’ Journey. While learning about relationships that I have with life and with others I recognized that the topics of Love, Relationships and Belonging are very much needed but rarely talked about. I started sharing what I am learning and exploring in a Facebook group for Russian-speaking women called Relationshipping.  

If you do the exercise and find out that it has helped you, I would love to see what you discover. If you are ok to share, please send us an email at heroinesjourneys@gmail.com and we will cheer for you.

So, with The Heroines’ Journeys' course, we are inviting you to walk with us on this journey to our essence together.

Iryna