Angela Seeling

"May your choices reflect your hopes, not your fears" ~Nelson Mandela

Category: Wise Woman Work

True Belonging

September 25, 2021 /


What is true belonging?

I spent most of my pre-40 life looking for a place to belong – a community, friends-for-life, people who wouldn’t move, or leave, or disappoint, or disapprove; that wasn’t based on my attendance or a system of belief, my appearance, my ability, my loyalty, or my ______________ fill in the blank.
Somewhere, Someone(s) who felt safe.

Until I realized that this place, these people do not exist. And not because there aren’t beautiful people out there.
But truly, the only place or person I can truly belong to, is me.

“Belonging so fully to yourself that you’re willing to stand alone is a wilderness — an untamed, unpredictable place of solitude and searching. It is a place as dangerous as it is breathtaking, a place as sought after as it is feared. The wilderness can often feel unholy because we can’t control it, or what people think about our choice of whether to venture into that vastness or not. But it turns out to be the place of true belonging, and it’s the bravest and most sacred place you will ever stand.” ~Brene Brown

Whoah. Backup Brene. This is some scary stuff.

But that last bit, the place of true belonging – the bravest and most sacred place you will ever stand.
That’s what I am after. That’s a journey (scary, uncertain, and sometimes wild) worth embarking on.
But, THIS is where the Magic happens.

If you read my story, you may remember the part where I mentioned that I had lost my song, quite literally. I had come to a place where I was so crippled by fear, that I could no longer use my voice. So, when I speak of belonging, it is my greatest honor to hold space for those who are willing to face the fears and challenges to truly belong to themselves, and rediscover their song.


Searching? Hoping? Knowing there has to be more?

I’m here. Let’s chat.

What if there was a place for you? 
Are you looking for deeper connection? A circle of women who truly listen, a time for every woman to be seen and heard.
Not that an occasional dance-party or happy hour with friends isn’t a hoot, but what if there was a place for you?

Contact me for more information on our Women Empowerment Circles.

Second Spring

September 23, 2021 /
Japanese Cherry Blossoms in Springtime

Menopause – the change of life, midlife crisis, the point of no return.
What are some of the other terms you have heard?

Here’s some slang words: menopostal, mental pause, men-o-pause.

Funny?

Here’s a special definition from the urban dictionary: “A special time in a woman’s life when they can’t have babies anymore. They get hormonal, mean, rude, short-tempered, angry, and awkward. Bad time for teenagers to live with their moms.”

Wow, no wonder this is a such a dreaded time in most women’s lives.

Big thanks to Dr. Anna Cabeca, who introduced me to the idea of the Second Spring during the Menopause Relief Summit.
Dr. Cabeca shared from her international studies, that the Japanese have very little or minimal PMS or peri-menopausal symptoms.
They use a word for the time of no more periods, that past reproductive time or menopause, called “konenki” – which means second spring.
What would it be like to breeze through menopause into our second spring?
I’m in, my friends. I’m owning it.
This is my second spring.

How would your life be different?

November 5, 2018 /

How would your life be different…..if there was a place for you?

In our culture, there’s little time or a safe place for women to express their inner truth and be heard by other women seeking personal growth. Woman Within Circles are a place apart from everyday life that give you ongoing opportunities to learn more about yourself. Experience opening your heart and connecting with yourself – and other accepting women. No judgment or advice, just open ears and hearts.

Woman Within Open Circles

Woman Within Open Circles allow women the space to support and be supported in whatever is going on for them whether that is anger, joy, sadness, shame or fear. Open Circles are led by an experienced woman, and offer all women the chance to be heard, or not, depending on what she chooses. Open Circles mean there is no commitment to be there each time and any woman 18 or older is able to attend without any previous training or pre-requisites.

  • Led by an experienced Open Circle host
  • A great way to take your first step into Woman Within
  • Bring your woman friends along too
  • Open to any woman over 18
  • Typically 2-3 hours, from one to four times a month
  • Usually meet in women’s homes or community centers

We invite all women to attend an Open Circle in your area or online. See our Open Circle calendar to find the circle that is right for you.

If you’re in Colorado, be sure to follow our Facebook page for the most up-to-date circle times and locations.

Woman Within Weekend in Colorado

April 12, 2019 @ 6:00 pm – April 14, 2019 @ 4:00 pm

The Woman Within® Weekend will take you on a journey. It is a descent into yourself. Through this descent, you are given the opportunity to re-establish connection with the part of yourself that intuitively knows – your ageless wisdom. You will be provided with an opportunity to reclaim a part of yourself that may have been lost, stolen, forgotten or fragmented.  The Weekend offers a series of experiential activities, guided meditations, and focused individual and group work. These processes have been carefully designed to effectively assist women in finding their inner power and in using it to support themselves in their daily lives. In a safe and supportive environment each woman has an opportunity to reclaim her wholeness as a woman.

To Register for this weekend, please click here.

You are invited to this Weekend not as a mother, daughter, sister, partner or wife, but as yourself. We offer you the chance to let down the masks and defenses which you use as protection, to journey into your past, to experience your deepest feelings and to turn them into positive healing energy. Being among women is an integral part of this Weekend and our staff of women will support you as women have supported each other for generations. The Weekend is based in part on the ancient Sumerian Myth of Innana, the Queen of the Heavens.

Healing, Educational, Experiential.  The unfolding events of the Weekend are intensive. You will work individually as well as in small and larger groups. The experiences of each woman will be different and individual. If you are ready to face some of your fears and past wounds and reclaim your passion for life and your belief in yourself, the Woman Within® Weekend is for you. This is a healing, educational, and experiential Weekend: it is not therapy or medical treatment.

Facilitators and Staff.  Experienced facilitators from the USA and other areas around the globe lead the Weekend, together with the support of 25-30 staff members who have all gone through the Weekend themselves. The concept of support is paramount on these Weekends, and we ensure that there is at least one staff member per participant. For some women, the experience of being supported by other women is completely new and may be the biggest thing they take away for themselves from the Weekend.

Continued Growth.  Once a woman has completed the Woman Within® Weekend, she may participate in one of the other workshops and also apply to staff the Woman Within® Weekend and in time take on a leadership role. Some women start their journey with our organization with the Weekend, while others start by attending a Circle Training and participating in a local circle. Wherever your journey begins, all of you is welcome here.

The Woman Within® Weekend is a powerful transformational experience created by women for women. Since 1987, thousands of women from over 20 countries have attended this two and a half day workshop at locations throughout the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, France, South Africa and Australia.

Who can attend?

  • For women over 18 years young

How much will it cost?

  • Program fee $695. A $300 non-refundable non-transferable deposit holds your place. Payment plans and financial assistance available. Inquire at info@womanwithin.org

Where will it take place?

  • JCC Ranch Camp, Elbert, Colorado

How do I sign up?

To Register for this event, register here.

She is Me

August 24, 2018 /

I share this story as a testament to myself, and for another who may need hope.
This morning I had one of those dreams that woke me with real tears. I don’t remember the details, but it represented the “me too” events in my life. The sadness and shame was heavy and tried to overcome me, reminding me of the dark and lonely places that I have kept hidden in the past. I lay quietly in my bed allowing the tears to fall, acknowledging the pain and sadness.
Previously, I would have allowed the shame to overwhelm me, and serve as proof for my unworthiness, while shoving it back into the shadow so that I could continue on with the responsibilities of the day.
But recently I have done some powerful work in the area of shame. And, as I lay in the dark, I was quickly reminded of another element of my dream — the beautiful angel that stepped up to walk along side me. She didn’t have wings or wear a white gown with a halo, but she definitely radiated a beautiful light that shined into my darkness. You know that friend…..she almost danced into the scene with her vibrant energy, not to discount the sadness, but to bring hope and joy that would invite any down soul to turn their face toward the sun.
And then she spoke to me. She reminded me of my beauty, and that the details of my past, the wrong of others’ actions, or even my own choices, do not define me. They are part of the story, but I get to re-write the ending.
She reminded me that when we step into the darkness with each other, “me too” shines the light on that darkness and lets us know that we are not alone, that we are worthy, and that the beauty that we see in each other when we share our stories, also lives within us.
This beautiful woman in my dream is a real person to me. She is one of the many precious souls that I have met this year through Woman Within International.
And also, she is ME. Within me, and each one of us, lives this vibrant champion who invites us to speak, shine, and LIVE.

In the dark, I rolled over to wrap my arms around the man who shares my bed, and my life. I hugged Caleb, not in need of being rescued or even comforted, but in gratitude – for doing his own work of looking in the mirror, the undoing, and the becoming. For seeing ME, and for ALWAYS walking along side me, showing up in this brut-iful life.

I took my time moving through the morning, taking care of myself with a long shower, a few yoga stretches, trusting that the others in the family were equipped to move through their morning routine without my nagging. After sending the kids off to school with Caleb, I took a moment to sit in the chair with my coffee and tried to meditate and pray. But I couldn’t shake the sadness.

I felt a primal energy within me that needed to be expressed, that noise and voice that has no words. I put on some primal music, gave myself permission to stomp, let the noise rise up, and then as the energy moved through and out my body, I began to flow, and fly and felt the tingle in my body as I felt free.

I sat back down in my chair, chose 2 of my favorite essential oils and rubbed them on my heart to help anchor in my experience. (Balance – the grounding blend, and Grapefruit – the oil of honoring the body, which I didn’t remember until I looked it up later).

This woman in the picture, she came out this morning. I looked in the mirror through tears mixed with joy and sadness, and expressed my love, and gratitude for the beauty I see.

Original video credit: Westone Productions

She is in each one of us, and she longs to be free.
And if you need someone to dance, stomp, and give witness to your story, I see you, and I’m here.   

**Note: So much gratitude to the men and women of The ManKind Project and Woman Within International for introducing us to and modeling this life-changing work.

And for those who need some primal music to stomp and dance to, this video is what spoke to me this morning.

This post was originally shared on my Facebook page in November, 2017.

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