Make International Women's Day Obsolete with Reiki Women Podcast

In this episode of the Reiki Women podcast, released on International Women's Day, hosts Michaela Daystar, Bronwen Logan, and Carrie Varela discuss the significance of the day, its historical roots, and the broader context of societal change and women's roles throughout history. 

Focusing on the power of change from within through the practice of Reiki, they explore how internal transformation can lead to broader societal shifts. 

They touch upon personal and systemic challenges women face, including gender disparities in business, the workforce, and societal expectations. Integrating the system of Reiki and mindfulness, they offer insights into cultivating spaces where women's voices lead and how sensitivity and awareness can be acts of love and pathways to change. 

Throughout, they share personal experiences and initiatives to support women, emphasizing the potential for the system of Reiki to facilitate inner healing and external activism, with the goal of making International Women's Day a relic of the past by achieving true equality.

00:00 Introduction and Celebrating International Women's Day
00:50 The Nature of Change and the History of International Women's Day
02:31 The Role of Reiki in Personal and Societal Change
03:27 Personal Reflections on International Women's Day
05:50 The Importance of Creating Space for Change
06:16 The Role of Fear in Change and the Power of Reiki
09:40 The Impact of Gender Roles and the Desire for Equality
14:31 The Value of Personal Freedom and the Need for Change
20:00 The Power of Sensitivity and the Role of Reiki in Change
26:34 The Importance of Creating Female-Led Spaces
45:32 Final Thoughts on International Women's Day and the Need for Change

Additional Resources:
- Join our Facebook Group: Embodying Reiki
https://www.facebook.com/groups/1564135767437136
- Subscribe to our YouTube channel
 https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCz6Jk8QD_8hjlfpSM8suMIA

Bronwen Logan: https://ReikiwithBronwen.com
Carrie Varela: https://www.reikihealingsociety.com
Michaela Daystar: https://www.heartscapesinsight.com/

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Transcript

0:06

Hello, friends. Welcome back to the Reiki Women podcast and happy International Women's Day. My name is Michaela from Heartscapes Reiki. With me today, as always, is Bronwen Logan from Reiki with Bronwen. And Keri Varela from the Reiki Healing Society. And we are coming to you today on, uh, what might be for you International Women's Day. For Bronwen over in Australia, it is already this, um, wonderful day of celebration. And here in the U. S., we'll be heading into it tomorrow. And we thought, you know, perfect time to, you know, bring the energy of this day of recognition of celebration and of action into these conversations here on the Reiki Women podcast. And where we settled in, you know, where we wanted to focus this conversation is on the nature of change. Because International Women's Day is inherently about celebrating and inspiring change. And I just wanted to read a really short introduction from the website for International Women's Day about the history of this day of recognition. It says that International Women's Day has been observed since the early 1900s, a time of great expansion and turbulence in the industrialized world that saw booming populations, growth and the rise of radical ideologies. And of course, one of those radical ideologies was the idea that women should be allowed to vote. Uh, the suffragist movement in full swing at that time, various racial justice, um, Movements going on in that time and you know quite a bit of pressure within society to change from all directions as the world became more and more industrialized and certainly the voices of women were very strong in that time as they still are today. And so since that time, over 100 years, we've, you know, held this day of recognition and celebration of many things, but I would argue central to that. celebration of change, change of society and its relationship to the role of women, change within relationships in families and in communities. And of course, change within individual people as they stepped into a new type of society. And we thought that discussing the role of the system of Reiki and creating an environment where Where we can create change within ourselves, make more space for change, for transformation, for things to be a little bit uncomfortable in the messy middle of all of that is a really lovely place to focus our conversation because we can't. Make lasting change in society if we're not able to change inside of ourselves and Reiki gives us the perfect vehicle to make space for deep and lasting change. So that's where I wanted us to get started and I would love to open it up to the two of you to see what stirs in your heart about the idea of change from the inside out here on International Women's Day. Here you go, Bronwen. Well, this morning when I woke up, it was International Women's Day and, uh, which made me happy, uh, for a second. And then I thought. Oh, shit. We have to have International Women's Day. That's just really annoying, right? Because, you know, we are the majority. You know that, don't you, women, right? We are the majority and we are not the minority. That's one of my favorite sayings of my own sayings. But, you know, I just, you know, We are not the minority. And yet sometimes it just feels like we, um, we do put ourselves in that position and we align ourselves with minorities and we, you know, we just don't see that, um, we have a place in this world and, uh, we have a place in this world that is, um, that, that should be as strong and welcome and, and equal obviously as, um, as everyone else. Yes. So, uh, let's, uh, let's embrace it. But, yes, we need to change. And that's what it's all about. So how do we change? You know, how do we make these changes? How do we get rid of International Women's Day? How do we make it, uh, unimportant, irrelevant, um, because we are, we just don't need to have to do that. I was actually thinking wouldn't it be funny if we had International Man's Day or Men's Day, Men's Day, and, um, uh, it wouldn't be funny of course because they'd be in the same situation that we're in which would be, you know, Just as terrible for them, but, uh, yes, it would be good if we could just have this lovely equal space to be in. Um, it seems to me that to make change, which is what we need to do. And so something like this day brings our focus to all the things that we're going to talk about today. Uh, so that, that is a great thing that it gives us the opportunity to have a little think about that for a moment. Um, and that we. We need to make these changes. Uh, we can't make change if we don't make the space for it. So we need to make space. I think that's really important. Um, we need to have something to step into, uh, to make these changes. Uh, the other thing is that I think that to make those steps. Uh, so that's sort of like what's in front of us, but behind us sits this fear and it's the fear of making those steps. So yeah, I, I think the system of Reiki. Explicitly works with us with fear and helps us to see our fears more clearly, to be more aware, to be more conscious of ourselves through our meditative practices. Through every aspect of the system of Reiki, really. I mean, I don't know if I need to go through all of that, but I mean, it's that thing of everything that we do is about bringing more awareness to what we do and through the precepts to actually live according to an, an open, uh, loving, uh, experience. And, uh, Yeah, I guess maybe I'll just start with that. So making, making space is for me, probably the biggest part of this. And, uh, we can only do that through our own self work. So I don't know who's next go for it, Carrie. Yeah, I, um, I think it's an important topic and it one that kind of lands right in some, you know, change and transformation that's happening for me too. And just, um, you know, as we come to this year and, um, International Women's Day, which, uh, why are we having it? I agree with you. One day, let's make it obsolete, but, um, you know, the fact is, is that men and women are being treated equally. And, um, Many different aspects of society and not just, you know, in the Western world, sure, there's inequities and disparities between genders, but in other parts of the world, women are incredibly subjugated, um, discriminated against, uh, incredible societal, um, and cultural pressures, um, to keep women out of schools, um, to keep them uneducated, to, to deny, uh, fellow human beings. the rights that we all deserve. And, um, so, you know, that's sad and depressing to, you know, to think about. And I think about my own, you know, upbringing and the kind of engendered indoctrination I received in, um, you know, growing up in a, an evangelical Christian community that was really, You know, really, uh, had strong lines and opinions around what women could do, what women couldn't do. And, you know, there's a big part of me that never bought into that, but there was a big subconscious part of me that was imprinted with that. You know, and I think I see it reflected in my adult life in many ways and also very much in motherhood. And just, um, the way, you know, I feel those pressures of, of, of, uh, motherhood in particular. Alerts alike. That it really has shrunk my window of freedom, my own ability to just like, get my needs met, um, and I feel the pressure of taking care of my kids, like, on my shoulders every hour of the day. Um, and so, you know, it's kind of a painful topic for me, I guess, I mean, but I do, I do think that change and transformation is happening, and I think it happens. You know, it really does happen for me when we start to really rethink these identity roles of, of gender that, um, so ingrained in our society and how we relate to each other. Um, and, um, but in doing it in such a way that's kind too, because I know, you know, husband and I, like, He's a doctor and he, so he's kind of at the top of the feeding pole or whatever the feeding hierarchy at, you know, and so he's just, he's very easy to be in like command and tell other people what to do and, you know, uh, you know, can't like, um, I don't know what the word is. You can't like, um, discount like a doctor. First point of view like so you can't like try to like tell a patient or something like something different than a doctor so it's just like his word and point of view is like so like important and like medicine and medicine definitely has a lot of um Gender issues too, but that's changing. Um, that's what's really exciting. There's so many women moving into health care And, uh, so, you know, like in relationship, it's just been hard to like, be kind about that, you know, confronting some of those things where that those gendered and gendered roles and pressures might be there for us. But like, knowing that, you know, at our hearts, we're equals and we, we want to relate to each other that way. Um, but there's just so much noise in society that can kind of change that, um, change that dynamic. And it's very subconscious often. So. Um, I agree that this whole notion of creating space for change and transformation is really key because when we're are just kind of stuck in the routine of life and just doing what we do and, um, maybe getting resentful or frustrated about the way things are, you know, what can super help with that? It's just like, back. And, um, and I have, uh, haven't had a chance to like get out of town recently. And so it's probably been since well before Christmas that I've been out of town, but I had a client recently at a vacation rental property in my area recently. And so I drove up to the mountains to go work with this client and like, I walked into this vacation rental and it was just like that feeling of You know, weekend away, a weekend retreat that, uh, there was this general sense of spaciousness, the lifting of our burdens and our responsibilities off of our shoulders. And even though I was just there to provide a couple of Reiki sessions for this awesome couple, we were like having a date weekend. I was like, I just felt myself being renewed by that feeling. And, um, So, um, you know, I think it's really important for us as women is to find those pockets of space and time where we can really focus on our renewal. And, um, you know, when we do feel like burdened down by the heaviness of life or discrimination that's happening, uh, you know, maybe in our workplace or in our relationship or in society in general, it's so good to like, You know, take time to step out of that and cultivate a relationship with ourself, with nature, um, Really rejuvenate from the inside out. And, um, there's no value that you can really put on that. I mean, yes, it's expensive. Go rent that, you know, go away for the weekend or, um, uh, you know, invest in a retreat, which I have a retreat coming up, so you can invest in a little adventure retreat with me. Um, and of course there's a price tag and there's a price tag. I have to put on it for, you know, my time and for organizing everything. Truly like what we get, what we received in those experiences is priceless. There's like no value you can really put on it and, um, and that's the same for women and men too. Humanity, we can't place a price tag on the value of what we bring to the world, what the value of what we bring to our families, um, and to, you know, the world itself. I think it's just important to remember that, um, you know, especially in, in, in our modern world where right now women are earning like, you know, 30%, sometimes 60 percent less than men, um, you know, in equivalent job positions and, um, you know, all of that really like, um, hindering the freedom of women. And to me, really at the core of what I want out of life and what really matters to me is a sense of personal freedom. And I think of that as, you know, one of the goals of My spiritual practice is to allow myself to feel more free even in the midst of my responsibilities and, um, you know, my pets and, you know, all the things I want to take care of, but to allow myself to feel that free heart and be inside of that freedom that is just inherent that we should all have because we're human. Um, but unfortunately, because we are a certain gender, a lot of times, um, You know, women, we, we don't have the freedom that men have. And, um, so yes, it's time for change. Let's transform that. And you can start by a weekend retreat with me. Oh, I'm coming. Oh, no, I'm not. Hashtag not sponsored. Um, wow. This is such a, such a vast topic and it's one that really, like, you know, gets me like reflecting on my kind of specific relationship to the idea or the, you know, the reality of women's experiences in society. And I think that, you know, when I really try to describe that for myself, it's, it's that I've always, of course, had proximity to sexism and to the barriers, um, to, to women experiencing kind of, you know, as much, uh, power and flexibility and, you know, capacities within society as, as men, um, you know, being in proximity to that and learning quite a bit about it, but being somewhat buffered from it, somewhat sheltered from it. from it, at least in my conscious awareness, um, I was raised by a single mom. So like seeing women as like in power, in control, making the decisions in the household, that was normal behind the scenes that I was not as aware of as all the ways in which her life was made more difficult by being a single mom and the ways in which single mothers are not well supported. Um, but I wasn't conscious of that, you know, then I was raised in a very kind of feminist community. And, you know, in an activist community and a lot of the, you know, what I was witnessing was around racial injustice and really focusing my attention there and not so much on the experience of womanhood specifically. And then I went on to, you know, have most of my career. in a, a, you know, before opening my business in higher education at a women's college. And so 90 percent of my colleagues were women, the faculty, the staff, the president of the college, the, you know, their higher ups, like pretty much everybody with significant power was female identified, um, or transgender, gender fluid in some way. And so again, you know, this formative years of my life and my early career and, you know, going into my own business was really, structured around, you know, witnessing women in power. And so things like, um, wage differential and, you know, who had more decision making authority at the college had to do with factors more like level of education, you know, number of years, people have been there. So seniority, um, you know, and other, other factors, factors that were less identified with their gender. Um, at the same time, it was, uh, you know, liberal arts, feminist college. And so like emphasis in the curriculum and in the conversations and in the community events was often on gender disparity and, you know, the experience of women, um, in, you know, certainly our local area in the United States and then, and then worldwide as well, with particular emphasis on the experiences of women of color. Um, and, you know, really, you know, witnessing the disparities and experience, um, between, you know, groups of people who, who statistically experienced largest levels of oppression of violence, which is, you know, transgender women of color at the unfortunate top of that pyramid. And, um, you know, an indigenous woman being close behind. And so, you know, a lot of my focus and kind of understanding these dynamics, um, were focused on experiences that were not my own experience. And it, it, it, it often puts me in an interesting mindset in conversations like this, because it's like the ways in which I've experienced gender based oppression are largely invisible to me personally, but I witness it in others. And the unfortunate. and frustrating dynamic that can happen in that sort of a situation is that there's the potential to cultivate some apathy and some disconnection because that wasn't my experience, you know, and you know, what I find to be, you know, my task is to find ways to stay engaged and to stay sensitive to other people's experiences. And that helps me to see the ways in which those things do show up in my life in ways that I don't recognize as well. I have a Good friend and colleague, Mina Ruchi, who is an Akashic Records reader, and she does a weekly, um, you know, Akashic Records share, um, through YouTube and through her newsletter. And her topic this week was so poignant and just, Is so resonant in this conversation. Um, it was about sensitivity as an act of love. So she was talking about, you know, the way that our sensitivity to emotional overwhelm and, and intensity can cause us to become apathetic, to disconnect from people, to, you know, turn away from difficult situations that, you know, aren't in our immediate, you know, Life, but that are in other people's lives that we, you know, in a more loving stance, a more connected, compassionate stance would move towards and to, you know, take on and to, you know, have a level of sensitivity towards, but that a natural reaction is to kind of numb ourselves out to those experiences of other people when they're not directly affecting us. And. you know, and that that's understandable because that sensitivity is so uncomfortable and it can be so painful, um, and it can be so frustrating and it can bring up fear, as Bronwen said, and it can bring up anger and it can bring up, um, you know, asking us to take actions that might be really difficult, um, when it would be easier to say, well, that doesn't impact me, so I don't have to take that action. And so this idea that's. Sensitivity, like remaining sensitive to the experiences of other people, um, whether they're, you know, a very similar demographic of person like other women or, you know, very different demographics of people. That remaining sensitive to those experiences is an act of love and of care and of connection. And resonated so much. So, so clearly to me and as well as her acknowledgement that apathy can be medicinal at times. There's times when we need to disconnect for our own well being to keep our own self, you know, regulated. Um, but, you know, this is where, you know, practicing something like Reiki comes in so important because remaining well regulated, remaining, you know, grounded, remaining, um, feeling secure and safe enough to be uncomfortable, to make difficult decisions, to move towards something that might, um, scare us or anger us or make us feel that we'd rather turn away. Uh, we need to build that capacity. Um, You know, because if we get dysregulated as we're trying to, to engage, you know, we're not going to be any help to anybody, right? We might actually make a situation worse if we try to step in or to be involved in some form of, um, change, you know, change work in the world. And we ourselves are dysregulated. We ourselves are not, um, in control of our emotional landscape well enough to really, you be present to really listen to the people who are actually directly affected by the situation and respond to that rather than to our own emotional overload. And this is, you know, where the system of Reiki has been such an incredible asset in my life and for many other people. Because it gives us these simple, accessible practices that very explicitly regulate our emotional state, you know, that very specifically regulate our, you know, fight, flight, or freeze response that give us that sense of grounding, that sense of having enough space inside to hold all of the feelings, um, and to give us a sense of, of courage and connection and that allows us to take action that might feel difficult, that might feel outside of our comfort zone, that might have us turn towards a situation that we'd rather turn away from. And so when we think about, you know, what does it take to make change, what does it take to make International Women's Day obsolete, Which I think will be the title of this episode. So what does that take? Right. It takes systemic change. Well, how do you get to systemic change? You change your own system first. Cause that's what I have control over. That's my sphere of influence to begin with is my own system. And then take action outward into the systems. Around us, right? The systems that people form, um, from that well regulated space, that space that is governed by compassion for ourselves and others, that is governed by gratitude and an attachment to anger and fear, um, but also governed by an empowerment, right? And a sense of our own clarity, a sense of our own freedom. Fullness as a whole person, um, connected with all other whole people, like just our whole system gets attuned towards compassionate connection. And that inspires and enables us to take actions that we might otherwise You know, often choose to turn away from and I'm speaking from my own experience, right? No condemnation to anyone else in this. I am really assessing my own self in this because there's been plenty of times that I've turned away from taking action that some part of my heart was calling me to take in service of change because I didn't have to take that action because I wasn't being directly impacted. And so, you know, developing a sensitivity. As an act of love and an ability to stay sensitive when things are so uncomfortable has been a really important part of my practice, not only personally, but, you know, as somebody who values social change and has that integrated into my value system and my lifestyle. But, you know, still to this day, after a lifetime of being in that place. perspective that I still struggle, um, to make the choices that I would like to make with regard to those things. So, ever grateful to the System of Reiki for giving us, um, a space to make that internal change so that we can take action to change, um, The world and make these kinds of days of recognition. These, you know, African American history month, right? Like that, that should we shouldn't have to take a month specifically to remind ourselves that it's important to learn about African American history. That should just be part of the way that things are normally, right? But if we want to make these kinds of days obsolete, like that, we, we have to do the work. We have to make the change from the inside out. So grateful to this system. What else comes up for you, Bronwen? Well, I'm going to take us in a different direction just for a second. Give me a moment. Do it. Lighten, lighten the mood. I have a little like, um, I'm not sure what you call it. Like a little, um, Oh God, my brain is not with me today. Like a little puzzle thing. Yeah. Okay. You've got to guess the answer to this. Yeah. It's tiny little, uh, so a man and his son were in a car crash. The father. was killed. And the son I bet you were lightening up the mood, Bronwen. But you said you were lightening up the mood. Sorry, sorry, sorry. Yeah. I'm getting there. I'm getting there. I'm getting there. Carry on. Maybe I'm just going sideways rather than Anyway, uh, the father was killed. Yes. And the son was taken to hospital with very serious injuries. So the examining doctor looks at the body of the son with all the injuries and says, but this is my son. How can this be? The doctor is female. Thank you, Carrie. No one ever gets it, Carrie. I mean, really. It is, our first thoughts are always that the doctor is a man. Yes? So, it's such a good little stupid little puzzle y thing because it just tells us about Exactly what you were talking about, Carrie, about how we, uh, yeah, like I said, I've got no words today. Sorry, everybody. But you know how we, um, what's the word, you know? Engender. Thank you. Oh, um, you know, our ideas and, um, we, we. need to change that. And, uh, just little things like that. Just bring our attention to how we actually think. And, uh, I think that's, that's sort of helpful, but, um, there were a few little things I wanted to talk about what everyone was talking about. Carey, you're talking about going away. I. Earlier this week, I went, um, and into the city and it's about a two hour drive. And I met up with a Reiki student who lives in the US, Brenda, Hey Brenda, if you're there. And Brenda was traveling around and you know, we had lunch and it was just so lovely. We've known each other for a long time, but not in person. Yep. And, uh, it was just. When I came home, my partner, Robert said to me, Oh my God, you look so different because I just had gotten out of the house. I'd gotten away from, you know, cause everything I do is based in this space and just moving and shifting into something different just sort of really opened me up and I had forgotten. You know, I'd started to do this. And so that was, I had exactly the same feeling and it's true. You know, we can see how change can be beneficial and how sometimes it's really scary. So I'm, um. I have been thinking about this for a little while and I thought today was a really good day to, uh, to begin it, but, uh, I'm going to start a once a month. Actually, I saw you were doing something similar, Michaela. Um, once a month, it'd be different, but similar. Once a month, uh, get together of, um, women online. Yeah. Uh, who, who I know through, you know, Reiki and everyone's invited and really just to have a, an hour sort of. social event, uh, rather than anything to do with Reiki as such, but a support for people. Because what I've noticed is that a lot of women, um, are sort of in their own little bubble, in their own little world, and it's hard and quite scary to, Reach out and to be with other people. And, uh, I thought it would be a really supportive, um, idea. So that's my launching for, uh, International Women's Day that I'm going to be doing that. And, um, uh, what else did I want to say about that? Oh, what I was going to say about that is, you know, even doing something like that, for me, You know, there is a fear. This is the thing, isn't it? It's like, we could all do nothing or we could just go, well, whatever, you know, um, whatever happens, it doesn't matter. And I'm going to step into a space that is, um, something I haven't done before. Um, maybe no one wants to do it, whatever, you know, um, it's really more, those are the fears, you know, that come up for you, but we need to actually take action for things to change. We can't just sit back and accept. the way things are. Uh, so, um, that's my little bit of a revolution for that. And I think for, you know, um, definitely women in business, you know, we were talking about how, uh, just in life, you know, change is great and, um, stepping forward, uh, into new spaces because, um, business has been a male stronghold for, for, you know, hundreds of years. I'm not sure how long. Um, then, you know, it is difficult to run your own business and all three of us here sit in that space and probably a lot of the people who are watching this and that means that every step that we're taking is is a step for women, you know, and it, it can be with fear at our back and, uh, all the choices that we make to, to hold a retreat, Carrie, you know, to organize all of that and, and to, you know, to want it to be successful, of course. Um, but you know, in, in truth, our society is much more ready to hand money to men than they are to women. That's, you know, we can say it's about the roles that women have, but it's not just the roles that women have in society. It's also how other people perceive that person. Yes. So as women, we are perceived in a, in a different light to men still. And, um, the more that we take those steps, the more retreats that you hold, the more, uh, courses, you know, the different ideas that you put out there. And, and, uh, the more that we, I mean, the more that we. all take part in those things and, uh, support each other, I think then, uh, then the better, then the better it's going to be for all women. So, um, the only thing when you were saying about freedom, I think freedom is such a divisive word these days and it freaks me out a bit. Um, personal freedom still has. the boundaries of, um, respect and love and care for others. And I know you weren't saying that, that wasn't what you were not saying. Um, but, uh, I think that's a good point to make as well when we, when we talk about that. Cause I have this feeling like there was an argument here politically a while ago in Australia, and it was about free speech and they were trying to put through. I don't know. I can't even remember exactly, but this whole thing that it's okay to be rude and horrible to people, right? And, and, and it's like, God, where are, where are our basic human values, you know? And that's what I think the Reiki precepts hold up for us, these basic, um, you know, values. And, uh, uh, sure, personal freedom, but personal freedom within ourselves does not mean, um, pulling down other people's freedom. I think, um, I'm, I'm excited about this title. I think it's going to be great. Amolish the patriarchy, Amolish International Women's Day. I do remember when we first started, we were all a little tentative, even talking about women. Funny. Right, right, right. Yeah, I mean, and I, I just, um, I guess going back to, you know, where, where this, these edges in society, they can happen, you know, in the workplace, it can happen in our relationships, it can happen internally for us, it can happen externally in society. I definitely agree as a, for sure. 15 years as a small business owner, that the challenges of owning your own small business and being a woman operated small business is just like, I don't know how many hurdles I've had to face just with those two obstacles, you know, And some of it is, is, is, uh, the like heavy task at times of convincing other women and men to, to pay a woman what she's worth and the time that she's worth. And I see it honestly a lot in my, uh, the work that I put out there. You know, I have a, a Facebook group and I see that and sometimes there's this numbers that just dwindle because people come into my community. And perhaps they just can't accept the things that I offer from a women's lens. And, um, I feel like at times as a woman, I've had to, you know, overproduce and overgive and, and like exorbitantly illustrate the value that I bring to, um, To people before, you know, before you go through a process where you can actually receive back like what the value you put forward and so I really would love to normalize that conversation and talk about, you know, and I think that's deeply intertwined with imposter syndrome is, um, you know, probably in like the world of, um, Business and, and coaching and healing is the woman who can probably help you the most is the woman who's like two steps in front of you because they understand deeply what you've been through. I also want to say that within relationships, um, you know, is this constant desire to come back to a place of equality and connection? And that I think that that's something that men really want and need too. And so it's not to say that all men are just like trying to put women down. I don't think that that's the truth at all. And I don't, I don't think anybody is. But nevertheless, we are products of a society that that's just happening either unconsciously, subconsciously, or in overt ways, and we're turning a blind eye to it. Um, but that, you know, truthfully, I don't think that that's really who we are. And if Reiki is a practice that helps us come back to who we are, For the men in our lives, this is to remember how, how to get to that place where we can really, um, purposefully connect on that heart to heart level of that place of equality within us. And, um, And I think that that is, like, an incredible salve for humanity, like, we would, there's so much, um, ways in which gender separates us, and I think that really what we, what we want and desire is to find ways to, like, come back together. So, um, but yeah, I, I don't know, I think I've lost all my train of thoughts now, so. This is a, this is a train with many tracks to take, take it on for sure. I, um, yeah, I'm, I'm just, I'm sitting with, I mean, again, I'm in a very self reflective space with this topic, but I'm feeling a lot of gratitude for what. I'm realizing in my life felt like a totally normal thing, which is that I've almost always been in dominantly female spaces. There was a brief period of time in my late teens, early 20s that I worked for a lighting and construction company and definitely had a lot of, you know, Male BS kind of come in my direction, but I almost attributed that more to being young and then being female, like even in my mind at the time, um, but other than that, you know, my as a student in college as an employee at a college, then as a grad student, my, my grad cohort jokes that I like brought the female space because it wasn't a women's college. That I went to graduate school for unlike my undergrad, uh, but the cohort I was in happened to be all female and our faculty were all female except for two. And, you know, the joke was like, I brought, I brought to the female space with me. Um, and that's, you know, just kind of been a fact of my life. And now as you know, a Reiki person, most of my colleagues and clients and students are women. And so it's very normal to me to see. you know, women as kind of the, the face of society in a lot of ways, even though I know that that is not the norm. But the other side of that, that I think has been really valuable, that I'm grateful for, is that many of the men that I am in relationship with, they are coming into those spaces. And so they are generally men who are confronting these issues, who have done some of their own personal self reflective work around the way patriarchy hurts them. You know, they've, they've been to therapy. They have been, you know, you know, unpacking their mansplaining tendencies. They've, they've been doing the work to some degree and are coming into the space with a certain level of humility because these are, you know, these have been female dominated spaces. Um, and I think that's been really healing for me to be around. So many men who are actively working to undo, you know, these systems of oppression inside of themselves to do this change from the inside out work that we're talking about. Um, I'm just like feeling really grateful to all of those men that I have been in, uh, community with. And I think, you know, where that kind of lands me is like, You know, again, at a certain point, becoming aware that this wasn't particularly normal, that most women don't get to spend most of their life in female dominated spaces. I think, you know, where that brings me to is really, You know, if that is true for any of you who are listening, um, or any of us here in this conversation, if you've really felt a lack of, of being in spaces where the leadership is primarily female, the conversations are being, um, led by female voices, by trans voices, by gender non binary voices, if you haven't had that experience of being just in a community that is female led, I really encourage you to find that space. a space like that, you know, even if your proximity community is not, doesn't provide those opportunities, you know, there are certainly plenty of online spaces that you can find yourself to, um, you know, circling around all kinds of different interests and identities, um, but I'm just like reflecting on the, the, the healing, um, experience of getting to be in those spaces, getting to see them as normal, um, and getting to welcome other people into those spaces. Um, so yeah, seek them out, seek out places where whatever identity you carry that feels, um, like it's being affronted by society, um, that might be your female identity. It might be some other identity. Um, but I just, I, I want for you to have spaces where you get to see that identity in the lead, being the voice of, uh, decision making and, you know, being in a space where people can relate around, um, around those identities. There's a healing property to that. And then noticing, you know, who you invite into those spaces who don't share that identity and what qualities you need those people to have, right? Again, the men who came into these spaces. That I'm talking about, um, came with humility and they came with, um, you know, awareness of, of the role that they hold and awareness of how they have to modify themselves to be in that spaces and the ones who didn't, didn't last long, right? They, they, they weren't around for very long. for very long. Um, so, you know, again, change from the inside out also involves change from the influence that we take from each other. Um, and so finding and creating, if you cannot find that space, create that space, um, to, you know, hold those, those identities. And Bronwen, I love that you are also kind of holding a monthly women's space. Um, you know, as you mentioned, I've started holding monthly women's circles here in my community. Out of a recognition that was brought up to me. Somebody else asked me if I would do this. They're like, we don't have a space like that in my community. And I'm like, that's right. Because that's not a normal thing for it to happen in most spaces. So, you know, if you don't, if you can't find it, create it. Call your people to you. Um, create those spaces where you can normalize a voice that might otherwise feel silenced or oppressed or not listened to. Like let that voice lead the space. And, um, you know, there's a quite a bit of buoying that happens, um, around. increasing our capacity to make change when we get to be in those kinds of spaces. Yeah. Have the two of you been able to be in a space like that where, where women's voices are in the lead outside of this podcast? Of course. You know, I'm just going to say that I think, you know what I was talking before about being in a bubble and I think a lot of women, especially when they have families, Um, there is a focus, uh, on supporting the family and, and, and that is that sort of bubble that I'm talking about. Um, I've been, uh, in a book club, which sounds, uh, I have a feeling like it's, it's sort of like, you know, people consider that a little, I don't know, a little bit of like, well, some people that, you know, that, that thing of, um, oh yeah, just a book club. Yeah, but it's a women's group and, uh, we don't really talk about books. The books are a front to talk about the revolution. But it's true. And it's been a, it's been a delight to do that. And I think that it definitely takes me outside of my bubble and, um, brings me into a space with other women where we sit, we listen, whoever was talking about listening, you know, a lot of listening happening and caring and understanding how important it is to be there for one another. And I think that those are beautiful qualities. And I do think as women that we are very good at bringing those qualities together. And I think that is a very lovely place for us to land. Carrie, do you have any final words for us as we come to the end of our conversation? Well, I was going to talk about women in the community and just finding it and stuff, but I think I'm saying, you know, you, despite, you know, most of my life, I have been in community with women and I love that and, you know, in yoga communities. A large majority of yogis are women and, um, in Reiki spaces, you know, most of my clients and, uh, most of the people I get to work with are women. Um, I also love working with men as well. And, um, and, um, but yeah, finding time to like really connect with women and, and let women lead. And, um, so I think My most classic examples is yoga classes, you know, um, yoga classes are this really unique space where women can bring their unique, um, worldview and their medicine to a group of people. And I don't, I mean, despite the fact that I do that also with Reiki. You know, in most fitness classes, it's really not about that. Maybe there's a few really powerful words and, and we, we can gravitate to that. Um, uh, you know, you can say, you know, just maybe one or two words and it just really transforms the whole vibe in the room. Um, and so, yeah, I'm continuously inspired by women and women's leadership and. I think creating spaces where we can come together in community is incredibly healing for most women and it's also a space where we get to also reflect on the challenges sometimes of being in community with women because, um, sometimes there are like jealousies and hierarchies and, uh, personality complex that can also come up too and, um, Um, you know, learning how to work with that, um, yet still maintain that sense of community too. So happy International Women's Day to all the goddesses out there. So friends, we would love to have you join the conversation. Let us know what your experiences with this has been and What comes to your mind with how you can help to make International Women's Day obsolete and unnecessary for future generations, because equality just becomes the absolute norm. That's where we're heading. So friends, thank you so much for joining this conversation. Please do share this conversation with anybody that Think would benefit from it, like the video if you're over here with us on YouTube and subscribe so that you don't miss any of these conversations coming up in the future. And until next week, thank you so much for being with us. We love you. Goodbye