Dear Pausers,
What a difference a few months of sun and freedom can make. The world is still complicated and confusing, but right now there is a feeling of hope and renewal in the air. We hope you've had some time to take some deep maskless breaths and share time with people you love.
We had a wonderful Launch Your Pause Open House at the beginning of the month and we learned a lot about how women feel about menopause and other aspects of their lives:
- We are the experts about our bodies. We know what is happening, we can feel the changes. The challenge is that often our medical providers are not as curious as we are to figure out the best solution.
- Life is throwing us lots of curve balls at this age-- parenting, caring for our parents, job transitions, and of course health care and concerns.
- Women want peer support to give and receive comfort and advice to each other.
So, in response to these reminders about what women in midlife need and want, in addition to our annual retreat we will offer regular opportunities to share stories and support. We're launching Hot Topixx, periodic opportunities for women to come together and be experts to each other, to share what each of us is learning in our own journeys. Read below for information on our next Hot Topixx.
We have two spots left for our annual retreat and the early bird rate is available until August 1st so get on board! Scroll all the way down for registration details. Scroll even further to watch "Liberate Your Launch," our short video of menopausal women talking to their younger selves, an exploration we love to do on our retreats.
The retreat is always amazing, but we think this year will be the best ever. We can't wait to see some of you at our next Hot Topixx. Finally, read below for some retreat inspiration from Laura!
Warmly,
Laura & Kate
Collective Effervescence
By Laura Culberg
Collective Effervescence is a term coined by Sociologist Emile Durkeim. According to the Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy, "Collective effervescence refers to moments in societal life when the group of individuals that makes up a society comes together in order to perform a religious ritual. During these moments, the group comes together and communicates in the same thought and participates in the same action, which serves to unify a group of individuals. When individuals come into close contact with one another and when they are assembled in such a fashion, a certain “electricity” is created and released, leading participants to a high degree of collective emotional excitement or delirium. This impersonal, extra-individual force, which is a core element of religion, transports the individuals into a new, ideal realm, lifts them up outside of themselves, and makes them feel as if they are in contact with an extraordinary energy."
When I read that paragraph, I replaced the word ‘religion’ with ‘menopause’ which makes for some key sentences that perfectly describe our upcoming retreat. The first, “Collective effervescence refers to moments in societal life when the group of individuals that makes up a society comes together in order to perform a MENOPAUSE ritual.” Yes! We are our own little society of women going through physical, emotional and spiritual changes that deserve to be recognized by slowing down and engaging in some rituals that honor this time in our lives. That's why we created Put Some Claws in Your Pause. We want women to feel honored and supported as they move through these mid-life changes.
The second set of sentences, when religion is replaced with menopause read, "When individuals come into close contact with one another and when they are assembled in such a fashion, a certain “electricity” is created and released, leading participants to a high degree of collective emotional excitement or delirium. This impersonal, extra-individual force, which is a core element of MENOPAUSE, transports the individuals into a new, ideal realm, lifts them up outside of themselves, and makes them feel as if they are in contact with an extraordinary energy."
We're now in our third year of doing Put Some Claws in Your Pause, a retreat honoring women at all stages of menopause and all that is true. There is electricity. There is emotional excitement, maybe even delirium. There's also yoga, meditation, delicious meals, hiking, writing, sleeping and laughing. There's optional watercoloring and book making. There's community. And at the end of the three days of rest, ritual and community, we leave and go our separate ways, still connected and united by collective effervescence, that amazing energy that transports us all to a new realm.
Come gather with us in November at Aldermarsh to pause and notice nature changing inside and around us so that we might dig into this renewal business.
