Читать книгу We: A Manifesto for Women Everywhere - Gillian Anderson, Gillian Anderson - Страница 14

‘You change the world by changing yourself.’

YOKO ONO

You are at the start of a miraculous journey. The Nine Principles within these pages will change your life.

As with any expedition, before you set out you need to get prepared. The essentials in this section are vital for your well-being and will ensure you get the most out of WE’s principles.

On this journey you’ll be engaged in emotional archaeology – digging down beneath layers of hurt and protection and confronting deep emotional truths to reconnect with your true self. You’ll be dismantling the parts of yourself that no longer serve you and transforming your relationship with yourself and the world around you.

These Essential Practices will hold you steady as you do the work. The extraordinary thing about them is that they do far more than just provide you with support for the journey ahead. Each one is also a powerful agent for change in its own right.

Like the principles that follow, these practices are a distillation of what works within innumerable traditions. When they’re used together, you’ll discover that an alchemy takes place that produces astonishing changes. In fact, if all you feel ready to do right now is introduce these four healthy habits into your life, you will be amazed by the miracles that start to flow immediately.

Taking care of yourself emotionally, physically and spiritually is a profoundly political act. As women, many of us have been conditioned to be caretakers, to measure our worth by how much we do for others. But when we sublimate our own needs we risk ending up dependent on others and vulnerable on many levels as a result.

Martyrdom is for saints. Real women have needs and real giving comes from a place of plenty, not a place of lack. Self-denial only sets us up for failure.

Self-care is even more crucial if you have children. When we harm ourselves or neglect our needs we model that neglect and abuse are acceptable. If we want our daughters to think of themselves as worthy, we need to model self-worth. Similarly, if we want our sons to see women as strong, independent beings, we need to show them that is what we are.

Use the four Essential Practices that follow on a daily basis. They are the foundations for your new life and indispensable for the journey to come.

You’ll be amazed at how great you feel when you start giving yourself the care you’ve longed for from others.

WE’s exercises

This is an experiential process. Each chapter contains exercises that will integrate what your mind is learning with what your heart already knows. These exercises are not optional extras; they are essential to the journey you are on, so please don’t skip them. Knowing is not enough – you need to experience the principles for them to achieve their full transformative power.

The more diligent you are in completing the exercises, the greater the results you’ll see. It is better to do them hastily than not do them at all, so don’t let perfectionism creep in. From time to time you will need to write things down, so a notebook or journal will be useful. You may also want to ensure that you have a quiet place where you can work on them without being disturbed. This is a sacred process that deserves a sacred space.

You can return to any of the exercises and repeat them once you have finished working through the principles. Use them if you hit a bump in the path or if you’re feeling stuck. Each exercise works on an emotional, intellectual and spiritual level, so take advantage of them. You will get out of this journey what you put in.

Centre yourself before each exercise. Start by taking five deep breaths in and out, allowing your out-breath to last a beat longer than your in-breath to calm your nervous system. If you have the time and space, light a candle to signify the sacred nature of the work you’re undertaking. You’re doing it for you and for many. Try not to sit on the sidelines, figuring out how to understand the journey by intellectualising it – take the plunge, dive in and experience it!

WE’s affirmations

At the end of each chapter you will also find affirmations. These are antidotes to the toxic messages we give ourselves on a daily basis. Use them to ward off negativity, as you would use a medicine to prevent an infection. Repeat them to yourself as you go through the day, knowing that each time you say them you are gradually moving away from self-harm and towards self-care and self-love.