Roe vs. Wade as a Global Imperative

The right for a woman to choose whether or not to give birth and to have access to safe, legal abortion services is not only a human right but a global imperative.  As reported in the Stanford [University] News recently, Stanford biologists Paul and Anne Ehrlich maintain that global civilization is moving toward a collapse.

The key drivers of collapse, they maintain, are worldwide overpopulation and overconsumption, putting an incredible strain on the planet's natural systems, and threatening to negatively impact all future generations.
A critical first step of the Ehrlichs’ roadmap for avoiding society's total collapse emphasizes equal rights for women worldwide.  "This will allow us to include more of their brainpower to help solve these problems," Professor Paul Ehrlich said. "And studies have shown that when women are given full rights, they have fewer children, which will help slow birth rates."  (The Ehrlichs gathered research from over 150 published papers to support this thesis.)

A woman’s right to choose is a powerful and positive weapon in the need to create population sanity.  It is a big part of the discussion.  

Said Professor Ehrlich, “The U.S. just had a presidential election in which the crucial issues facing society were not debated. Instead the focus was on financial problems easily solved by negotiation among people. You can't negotiate with nature."

Agreed, nature is at stake here.  As pointed out in Independence Ring: Rock the Female Revolution, it is natural for women to express their innate power.  This power should naturally be expressed in leadership including social, political, media, economic, educational and scientific arenas.  It is natural for women to choose the timing, frequency and occurrence (if at all) of child-bearing. 

There was a time, not that long ago, when child-bearing was a requirement in order to pass on a family lineage, to work a farm, to run a business.  Women might bear ten children and only three would survive to adulthood.  Safe, simple abortions were impossible to come by.  That time is over, and we live in another time – a ticking clock towards planetary destruction unless women sit at the table with their wisdom, intuition, leadership, articulate communication skills and complete control over their own bodies.   To regulate the biological functions of a woman and tell her what she can and cannot do with her own body is not only absurd but unsafe for the world we live in.

*****

Liz Lewinson is an author, speaker, teacher and technologists.  Her recent book is Independence Ring: Rock the Female Revolution.

Jennifer Lawrence and Vanity Fair's Sexism

Vanity Fair Magazine has proclaimed Jennifer Lawrence the most desirable woman in the world.  I hope Jennifer is annoyed about it.  She is definitely the hot actress of the moment, but she is also smart, brainy, self-confident, outspoken and funny.  On the Vanity Fair cover she holds a little white daisy.  It doesn't fit.  The person does not fit the title and the title does not match the image.

We are in a time of change regarding gender roles, fortunately.  The Vanity Fair cover is a jarring mismatch of old and new.  Little white daisy -- simmering, powerless women in pretty dresses floating around the garden.  Jennifer Lawrence, strong-minded and capable 22-year old actress, a new generation of feminist. 

This is what the cover did for me.  It provoked a thought process.  Are older editors at Vanity Fair, which is frequently known for demeaning photo images of women, stuck in the fresh younger women equal white daisies syndrome?  Do they have any idea how to portray powerful young women?

Yes, Jennifer Lawrence is attractive, but sexual attractiveness is the least of her traits.  She is athletic, natural and smart.  Don't push her boobs up and stick a daisy in front of her.  Praise her for being the most desirably talented woman in the world.  Still not a complete statement but a bit more accurate.  

Who is the most desirable woman in the world?  Women are. Why are we so desirable? Because we as women are great problem solvers,  we have an advanced intuition, we communicate well, we are comfortable with complexity, we are innately powerful.

It's really no fun to have mainstream media consistently perpetuating 50 shades of sexism.   #notbuyingit



Liz Lewinson is author of Independence Ring: Rock the Female Revolution.  www.independencering.com. @lizlewinson.

Women of India, Leaders in Restoring Harmony

In an interview on CNN, Erin Burnett spoke with Fareed Zakaria about the international coverage of a gang rape in India, and the national outrage that the rape has sparked.  Both the coverage and the outrage, while fully merited, are unusual.  Zakaria made some interesting points about it.  

The first is that social media has made the spread of information accessible in ways that never existed before.  Many people in India, for example, do not have computers but they do have cell phones that receive text messages and can access the internet.  Now groups of people can be informed and mobilized in ways never before possible.  In the past, in the lore of repressing and weakening a segment of the population (in this case, women), the best way to do this was to keep them isolated from one another and without access to valuable information.  With those restrictions removed in this age of social media, women can work together and share empowering information – thus large groups of women demonstrating on the streets in India.

Another point made by Fareed (and others), is that rape is not about sex, it’s about power.  The worst and lowest kind of power – domination, control and destruction.  I heard a Buddhist teacher say many years ago,  “It is human nature to destroy what one is threatened by.  Men, threatened by the power of women, have tried to destroy it in every way – economically, socially, politically, spiritually, and physically.”   

This same teacher pointed out, and I have observed for many decades that this is true, that women are innately meant to express and exemplify power. Why?  Because (in Indian yoga terms), the kundalini or life force moves through them much more rapidly than in a man.   If you look at power in nature and in our physical world today, the more rapid the movement, the greater the power.  

Here in the West, women are making great strides, raising awareness of gender inequality and absurd and false stereotyping.  Victories in the boardroom and in government are being won.  My inspiration, however, for the women of India is that they leapfrog over the battles on many fronts being waged in the West and go right to the heart of victory.

I traveled in India many years ago, from Mumbai to Rishikesh, and I know that spiritual belief is paramount in many homes.  India is a democratic country rich in tradition.  In India, it is known that it is bad karma to suppress and dominate an entire segment of the population that is naturally and innately powerful.  It throws the whole nation and society off balance, upsetting the wheel of dharma.  Traditions exist to be honored, but they can adapt.

Women exemplify power from a spiritual point of view.  Power means leadership, education, and economic success.  Women are innately suited to deal with the complexity and rapid movement that is characteristic of power.  Bringing women to the fore in government, education, conservation, science, medicine – in every field of endeavor – will create a balance not seen in recent history (the last few thousand years).  India deserves to become a leader in restoring balance to the planet.  

Liz Lewinson is the author of Independence Ring, a book that explains how and why women need to reclaim their innate power, not just for themselves but to help many others. 

MORE for Women in 2013!

2012 was a watershed year for women.  Awareness grew about the prejudice and repression of women around the globe.  Women around the world reached new victories and landmarks.  Social media served as the broadcast medium for change.  Hardly a day passed on Twitter that I did not feel inspired, motivated and impressed by the strides and new realizations of women.

For 2013, here are the top ten things I'd love to see MORE of. 

1.     More telling it like it is.  Prime Minister of Australia, Julia Gillard, unleashed an unflinching denunciation of the misogyny and sexism of a leading male member of her parliament.  If you haven't seen this clip, you should -- the first seven minutes are priceless.  She is SAYING what every woman has thought or felt for years and that's why the clip went viral.  In 2013, I'd like to see every women push back against the winking, derogatory, behind the back downgrading that goes on in many workplaces and social settings.  Call it for what it is.

2.     More pressure on the media.  Media watchdog films and clips by MissRepresentation.org are reaching millions.  Check out their best and worst of 2012.  We need lots more of this.  Why is reality TV with women depicted as bitches and bimbos even allowed on the air?  Women's Media Center is also active in this space, as is Geena Davis.  Let's keep the pressure on media executives to depict women as they are -- powerful and strong.

3.     More research on women's roles in society.  One of the great books to emerge in 2012 was "Sex and World Peace."  Nope, it was not a book about sex.  It was about women and their effect on society.  Today's mega-computers process huge amounts of data, and these college professors enlisted their students' help assimilate data about how women fare in every country in the world.  Countries where women fare best -- are safest, earn highest income, are most influential -- are the most peaceful countries in the world.  Surprised? Of course not.

4.     More grants and awards to support research on women.  Speaking of Geena Davis, her Institute on Gender in Media landed a $1.2M Google Global Impact Award to develop voice and image recognition technology to assess gender inequalities on screen, and promote balance in children’s media and entertainment worldwide.  A victory.

5.     More mind-opening films about the plight of women.  "Half the Sky" by Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn won praise, a wide viewership and excellent media coverage.  It brought to the mainstream just a few examples of unspeakable crimes against women -- forced prostitution, genital mutilation, the slave trade.  Efforts to correct extreme gender imbalance are a worldwide planetary requirement.

6.     More social media-inspired activism and initiatives. In 2012, online petitions and campaigns brought awareness regarding abuse of photo retouching to create an unreal standard of female beauty that teenage girls in particular and women in general are then held to. This past Christmas, campaigns to stop sexism in toys (pink ovens for girls, science kits for boys) raised the awareness of toymakers about how toys send wrong messages to girls.

7.     More video game gender equality.  Anita Sarkeesian bravely endured death and rape threats to stick to her message -- represent girls and women accurately in video games.  Kids today spend hours on these games and what do they see -- violence and degradation of women.  Anita has started dialogues with video gamers and companies and she's not backing down.  Much more work to do.

8.     More women in politics.  We have the largest group so far in the US congress -- 20 women senators.  They say they can solve problems more quickly because they innately k now how to collaborate.  According to science, they have better intuitions and communication skills, too.  Who better to lead nations, corporations and cabinets?

9.     More women in STEM.  Science, Technology, Engineering and Math are excellent professions in which women can excel.  The lack of women in these fields undermines progress, and women are denied challenging, interesting, high-income work.  Re-igniting women’s access to and interest in these fields will bring new breakthroughs.

10. More focus on the root cause of gender issues.  There is underlying cause.  Women are the power species. Just as there are physical differences, there are energy differences. Empowered women will create world peace. See Independence Ring and download a free chapter!

2013 will be an exciting and inspiring year for women!

Liz Lewinson is an author, speaker and teacher.  She also specializes in business and technology strategic planning.  Her recently published book is Independence Ring: Rock the Female Revolution.   

The Female Definition of Power

Recently, an article posted on CNN ran with the headline, "Female Senators Say They'd Already Have the Fiscal Cliff Solved."

There was near unanimity among the female Senators today that they’d be able to broker a deal faster themselves.  “What I find is with all due deference to our male colleagues,is that women’s styles tend to be more collaborative,” Senator Susan Collins, Republican of Maine, said.

The group of 20 women, the largest group of women in office in the Senate at the same time in history, is redefining power.  I would also say they are representing power the way it is supposed to be expressed.

Power is not the slow, cloddish, clashing of solid objects that thud together and get very little done or changed.  Power is fluid, rapid transmutation.  Look at nature if you don't believe me.  In nature, "the power of nature" manifests when the elements are volatile, rapidly changing.  Think of water rushing through a dam, wind turning the blades of a windmill, the rapid combustion of various forms of fuel to generate power.

When Senator Collins observes that women are more collaborative, she is referring to the innate ability of women to deal with and exemplify power.  In the case of a fiscal cliff, and one would imagine if pushing for legislation on gun control, women working together will find the fastest and most efficient path to completion, which by definition involves collaboration, fluidity, thinking out of the box of one's own rigidly held belief systems.  

A woman's definition of power is not control, domination, clashing.  It is sharing, democratizing and seeking new solutions.

Women in power will usher in a new era in our government. 

Things Got Switched

Why am I passionate about women’s causes?  I have been taught/have observed that women have an innate ability to deal with power, that it is their birthright to be powerful.  I believe that for women not to become powerful in their chosen field in any given lifetime suppresses the potential of both men and women.  I believe that the history of the suppression of the power of women has led to the current state of warfare, imbalance and poverty on the Earth.

Suppression and misrepresentation of the power of women is still the predominant global situation, but the situation is changing.  Ha!  Men and women should rejoice over this!  It is good news for everyone.
Attitudes change first, and the numbers will change later.  I see the work of talented younger woman focusing on socially responsible causes; the growth of powerful grant-giving groups like the Global Fund for Women; the work of the Pachamama Alliance representing the needs of Mother Earth; Hillary as Secretary of State; women leaders in spiritual communities and much, much more.

Yet we have so far to go.  “Miss Representation.”  All men and women should see this film.  It shows the misrepresentation of women in the media, the powerful negative impact this had on all of us (most visibly  in teenagers).  It touches on history in a striking overview of all-male leaders in the United States and the fight for basic rights for women.   The filmmaker, Jennifer Siebel Newsom, was able to interview many women from divergent backgrounds ranging from Condoleeza Rice to Nanci Pelosi, and a range of women in media.  Men are also filmed, discussing their experience of women’s roles in media and government.
The punchline of the film is absolutely accurate.  “You cannot be what you cannot see.”

Kids today (Generation C — connected) spend 10 hours a day immersed in various forms of media.  If all forms of media, from video games to film to cable, do not honor and acknowledge powerful women for their capability and brains, then what is left?  Brain dead bimbos?  Men who wield power and decision-making and women with insane bodies following along?  This is biologically and energetically wrong.  Untrue and detrimental to both genders.

I have been taught/have observed that men are innately suited for love and humility.  It is their highest and most effortless path.  Women are most innately and ideally suited to handle power.  It is their highest and most effortless path.

Somewhere in the last few thousand years, things got switched.

www.independencering.com

A Violent World

12-14-12

Today 20 schoolchildren and seven school administrators at the  Sandy Hook School in Connecticut were shot to death by a teenage gunman.  A few days ago, a shooting in a mall killed "ONLY" two nice, innocent people because the gunman's gun jammed, thus countless others were saved.  We know of many other violent incidents that are senseless, happening with no apparent reason other than the perpetrator snapped, lost their mind, became consumed in anger and violence, grabbed a massive weapon and took out their delusion and rage in the form of mass killings.

I don't know why this type of horror and tragedy takes place, but I do know this, and I write about it in Independence Ring. There is a core imbalance on our planet today.  Call it the gender gap, gender inequity, gender inequality.  Whatever you call it, solving the imbalance in the roles of men and women as seen by themselves and others is core to achieving national and world peace. 

All beings have an energy body, and a woman's energy body conducts light and energy more rapidly than a man's energy body, which is more fixed and condensed.  Women are naturally suited to handle power, as power by definition involves rapid change and transmutation.  Men are naturally suited to express a deep, rapturous love that is not just for one person but for all of life.

If women's power is repressed, and men's love is repressed, over time the result is toxic.  The gender role switch erupts in violence, depression and the axis of life spinning off its natural track. 

What can we do?  Gun control, yes.  More counseling, yes.  I would add more meditation practice.  That would help a great deal.  But mainly, men need to blossom and express love.  They are suited for it.  Women need to recognize they are vastly more powerful than they realize and find new pathways to express their power economically, politically, socially, .  And as these realizations develop and become part of life, gender equality means accepting infinite love in men and infinite power in women.  That is a balanced planet.