Summer Camp Experience

GUEST AUTHOR
JESSICA ROSE, BOARD OF DIRECTORS
EMPOWERMENT 4 GIRLS

Connection and Safety
I had the privilege to serve the girls at one of the summer camps. When I arrived, I was immediately moved by their sense of connection and safety in the container of this powerful circle that had been created by Kristen, the girls, and many volunteers and guest speakers. My intention was to support their heart connection. I was astounded to witness the magnitude of their capacity, amplified by the safety and flexibility of this circle. 

Self Love
I first invited them to experience self-love by saying "I Love You," to themselves. Then I asked them to find a body area (physical, mental or emotional) that could use more love, perhaps it was hurting, perhaps it was a part that just wanted more attention, that was sad, wherever they were drawn. I invited them to place their hands there and with their loving attention continue to repeat "I Love You," to this area. Well, can you guess what happened?  The girls sat up after a few minutes and to their delight and surprise, the majority experienced a change of the areas in a way that felt supportive, or overall, they spoke to feeling altered in a life-affirming direction by giving themselves this love. And they all got it!

We continued with a circle practice where one person was the focus of the group. This opportunity allowed them to experience how when they offer love to themselves and simultaneously focused on another, the benefits of their love overflows and becomes a blessing for that person as well.

The girls were so vulnerable as they spoke about the loss of grandparents, pets, places that were hurting and were able to see the connection to a place on their body and experience that shift in the presence of this group field of love.

Some girls also shared that even when they weren’t the focus of the group, things shifted in them as well as, similar situations that they had endured arose and they felt them soften too, simply by being in this field of love.

The part that brings me to tears is that a week or two after, one of the mama’s of the girls shared with me that her daughter had gotten hurt and was really upset, and by the time the mama got to her, she was much calmer, and the little girl had her hands on the area and was loving the part that was hurt. She had calmed down and the pain was much better.

What kind of a world do we walk in when humanity knows how to offer this self-soothing to themselves, and unquestionably know and embody the power of their own love? 

How do we relate to each other when we are all self-empowered to meet the parts of us that are hurting with love rather than perceive ourselves as broken, project blame or give our power away to another to fix us or make us whole?

This is the world that Kristen Rubis and Empowerment 4 Girls is helping to create. And I am deeply honored to be a part of it.

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