Dear
Susan,
Thanks for sharing your background and
congratulations on the Body & Soul
Sunday Telegraph coverage - I did read it and well done! I hope you get
many more enquiries and participants from the story and thanks so much for your
inspiration and passion to offer such a beautiful and needed
space.
I know
that Tracey Askew has been speaking with your colleague Jannine Barron and that they have decided to postpone
the Pregnancy Retreat planned for
Bundanoon next week until they can do more marketing and get more numbers.
Hopefully this coverage will raise more awareness for all of us who are working
with bringing back the sacred in birthing and the rite of passage into
motherhood.
Congratulations again...
Warm
regards
Maree
Lipschitz
Motherhood Mysteries
11 Oakley
Road
Bondi NSW 2026
Ph/Fx: (02)9130 7283
Mob: 0417 428
007
Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Web: www.motherhoodmysteries.com.au
'Nurturing
mothers through ceremonies & workshops that explore the inner
experience of motherhood as a timeless _expression_ of the feminine
spirit'
Hi there
My name is Sue Basser and I�ve been
an avid reader of your discussions. Not only am I learning a lot, but I�m also
inspired by your collective commitment to the empowerment of women, as the
centre of the birth experience.
I feel inspired to share my story and in fact the reason I am on
this discussion group.
I live in Byron Bay and although I have never had a child myself, I
have been a support person to 6 friends � 1 in the old Paddington Birth
centre, 4 homebirths and 1 home to hospital birth. I love being a
support person in birth and I feel privileged to have experienced such sacred
and joyous moments.
My life�s work, I guess is broader. I have always been committed to
the process of empowerment, as a youth worker, as a community facilitator, as
an organisational development consultant, and as a counsellor and healer. More
recently I have moved this life long commitment into the area of organising
retreats � an opportunity for an individual or a group to take time out to
connect with self and purpose, and to renew�.thus the name of my business,
Byron Renewal. I believe that we all have the capacity to know what we need in
our lives, to live to our highest. Sometimes, we don�t make the time or space
to �remember� that, so a retreat can provide that opportunity.
Anyway, one day my dear friend, whose
2 births I supported, Jannine Barron (founder of Nature�s Child), asked me if
I would work with her to create a retreat for pregnant women. I felt honored
to join with her and especially honored to create a space for women to
acknowledge and prepare for the potentially most empowering experience
a woman will have � giving birth.
Drawing on the vast and extraordinary
expertise in our North Coast region, we pulled together an amazing specialist
team � midwife, childbirth educator, pregnancy masseurs, ante natal yoga
teacher, belly dance teacher, hypnobirth practitioner, healers, naturopath,
preggie photograper, belly painter and caster, oceanic body
worker�
�And created
a 4 day program of nurturing, pampering, relaxation, inspiration, celebration
and empowerment ~ The Byron Pregnancy Retreat.
Then in August, we ran our first
retreat. Six women came from Sydney (4), Sunshine Coast (1) and local (1). And
I have to say, it was the best thing I�ve ever been a part of. Pregnant women
are amazing. The depth that the women were prepared to go, in connecting with
their baby and with themselves was amazing. It was a profound experience for
me, and I spent most of my time making cups of tea!
Some of the things women said
afterwards were:
�The retreat has left me with a sense of
profound liberation with my pregnancy and given me the strength to do
everything I can to ensure a sacred and fulfilling experience for me and my
baby. Thank You.�
� I came here, quite terrified of my birth and I leave feeling
fearless and empowered�
�I feel like I�ve re found the real me at this
retreat�
I was surprised at the level of transformation that took place. One
woman said, that had she been told that the retreat was going to do that, she
would have thought she didn�t need it. Then at the celebration circle on the
last day, this same woman was in tears as she shared how much she�d changed
within herself.
More
than anything these women realised that the birth experience is theirs (and
their babies of course)�.and that it belongs to no one else. They acknowledged
that although they had been told so many horror stories by family and friends,
they could choose to start with the premise that an easy, natural birth is
available and is their right. And although anything can happen during the
birth, the more informed they are of their choices and the stronger and
clearer they are on the inside, the more empowered they will be. Wow. It
really was beautiful.
The first Byron Pregnancy Retreat was such a success, that we have
decided to go ahead and run more. We have the next one planned for October 9 �
12 and then we have 5 more planned for next year. We want to do some couples
retreats as well.
I�m
telling you all this, because I want to share what seems to be a magical
experience for women who are called to it! And it feels what we are trying to
do through the retreat is so inline with what you are all doing out
there.
If you know
someone who might be interested, just call Jannine on 1300 555 632 and we will
send out more information.
Or email us at
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Thanks for reading and thanks again
for your inspiration.
Love
Sue
Basser
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