Jeanicebarcelo’s Blog
Just another WordPress.com weblogA SHORT NOTE ABOUT ABORTION
I received a request today to share my thoughts about abortion. Here is my response:
My initial thought is — abortion should never happen. It is one of the most extreme expressions of spiritual dysfunction in our society. We need to educate people about the importance of conscious conception and we need to steer people away from random acts of sex because this type of sex is spiritually disempowering and debilitating.
Also, we need to help women remember that they have control over their own bodies and whether or not they are available for reproduction — simply with their conviction and intent. Many do not believe this and so they ingest chemicals and do a variety of other things to avoid getting pregnant — never considering that they could simply choose not to have sex until they are clear that they want to bring forth a child. Despite all the chemicals and other stuff, pregnancies are happening haphazardly – because sex is happening haphazardly.
Abortion is traumatic — it is a form of birth trauma — and leaves scars on the mother (and the father) that most do not recognize. The fact that so much abortion is happening in our society is a clear indication of the extreme levels of spiritual, sexual and psychological dysfunction prevalent within our culture.
It is time to take our power back. Abortion should never be necessary.
THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN SEX AND LOVE
Recently I was asked by a colleague to write a short essay on the difference between sex and love. Here are my musings:
SEX and LOVE are definitely not the same thing. Although the words are often used interchangeably in our society, there are some very important distinctions that should made regarding the nature of sex and love and the quality of the experience that each provides.
The word “sex,” can be used in a variety of different contexts, such as to describe the difference between male and female and/or to describe the activity of sexual intercourse.
Some people argue that intercourse is the only form of sexual activity that qualifies as “sex,” while others use the word “sex” to describe various forms of sexual behavior including oral sex, anal sex, masturbation, and all forms of sensual touch engaged in for the purpose of creating sexual arousal.
The activity of “sex” can result in an “orgasm” which provides the human body with an experience of physical pleasure. This physical pleasure can be brilliant and powerful, however, it is also fleeting and short-lived, and in some instances, can be followed by longer-term feelings of emotional, spiritual and psychological loss and depletion. This is especially true if “sex” is engaged in outside of the bonds of authentic love.
The activity of “sex” can also lead to the conception of children. However,it is important to note that babies conceived as a result of a lustful or loveless sexual encounter are often unwanted, which causes them to suffer — both in the womb and at birth and beyond — and can result in an adult who has life-long difficulty generating authentic experiences of love.
Children conceived through lustful or loveless “sex” are often perceived as draining or burdensome to their parents – whereas children who are purposefully conceived in a mutual explosion of love can provide feelings of restoration and renewal to their parents.
The mainstream media promote lustful and pornographic sex, as does the culture of “masculinity” in western society (i.e., a society that has come very far from understanding the truth of how the sacred masculine energy was intended to express itself). The media would have us believe that sex based on carnal desire will lead us to joy. However, nothing could be further from the truth. Sex engaged in solely for the purpose of fulfilling carnal desires will lead us away from love.
Pornographic sex (i.e., bodies without heads or hearts grabbing, rubbing and banging against each other) can cause incredible pain to the human psyche and spirit because this type of sex is devoid of spiritual depth and connection. Two bodies coming together for the sole purpose of experiencing fleeting moments of physical pleasure can leave participants feeling empty and short-changed once the sexual encounter is complete. This emptiness can be deep and profound, leading participants to engage in numerous sexual encounters in the hopes of someday experiencing “the real deal.” This is what we call sexual addiction.
The “real deal,” ironically, has nothing to do with carnal desire or physical pleasure, per se, but involves two people coming together with profound spiritual intent to engage in lovemaking for the express purpose of co-creation with God in the form of bringing forth new life.
This type of “sex” will most definitely activate the neurobiology of love in both participants and leave a lasting, love-filled imprint on both mother and father as well as the child being conceived.
“Love,” is the energy that creates universes. It is all-pervasive and all-powerful.
At their core, humans ARE love and are able to experience their essence when circumstances and conditions allow for the neurobiology of love to activate within their physical vehicles (i.e., the human body).
In a context of absolute spiritual safety and trust, humans can undergo physiological, hormonal, and neurochemical changes in the brain which will trigger a release of oxytocin and endorphins into the system, activating an experience of “love.” This neurochemical experience does not require “sex” to activate, but can be triggered by something as simple as eye-gazing, such as when a new mother gazes into the eyes of her newly born babe and suddenly experiences deep and profound sensations of extreme joy and well-being – sensations which will be remembered throughout life.
The energy of love can also be felt as heart-center sensations of expansion and opening, and can cause alterations in conscious perception, enabling the experiencer to connect with a much expanded version of themselves or “God.”
Due to the extremely high levels of trauma that most humans are experiencing in the womb, at birth, and within the first two years of life, it has become increasingly difficult for us, as a species, to maintain our connection to our essence and to produce authentic experiences of love. We are, in effect, a brain damaged species, and this is making it more difficult for our systems to activate the neurobiology of love in our bodies.
To compound our troubles, we are being conditioned/manipulated to “have sex” in ways that are deeply wounding to the human psyche and spirit. This is moving us further away from our essence and from what we really want – i.e., to experience a love-filled life and to live in a culture that knows the secret to preserving love in families forever.
Getting clear about the distinction between sex and love – and adjusting our behavior accordingly—is key to our healing.
To learn more, tune in to my radio show every Wednesday, 1pm PST, 4pm EST: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/jeanice-barcelo
Makena, Maui – Home to a future Ringing Cedars kin domains settlement – focused on conscious birth
Aloha all! Today is the day I have chosen to articulate the vision for a future Ringing Cedars settlement on Maui. This settlement, which will be brought forth in the very near future, will consist of a large area, several hundred acres around, located on the south side of the island of Maui, previously referred to as the Honua’ula district. This area will comprise an entire territory (an “ahupua’a”) which runs from the top of Haleakala mountain down to the sea, and across the ocean to the islands of Kaho’olawe and Molokini. This territory will be governed by a sovereign Hawaiian entity of our choosing and will be off-limits to all United States governmental agents and activity unless expressly invited by the residents of the area.
Along the coastline of this ahupua’a is the area known as Makena. A coastal community, made up of happy families who are focused on conscious birth & parenting, will have their domains here. There will be a large educational center in the middle of this area which will be one of the world’s top centers for the preparation of conscious conception, pregnancy, birth and parenting. There will also be an ecstatic birth center at the end of the coastal road in the area commonly referred to as “La Perouse” (ancient Hawaiian name is Keoneo’io). Residents (and perhaps visitors) of the community who do not have oceanfront parcels but who wish to birth their babies in the crystalline ocean waters of Makena can do so here. There will be a top-of-line waterbirth training facility here.
Makena Road will be closed to all common traffic (deliveries only) and residents/tourists will travel through the area on horseback, bicycles, canoes or kayaks. There will be many beautiful, scenic,,bike trails, horse trails and hiking trails throughout the Honua’ula district.
The ocean surrounding the area and between Maui, Kaho’olawe and Molokini will be off-limits to all US governmental activity, including military ships, planes, bombs, submarines and other war games/equipment. Motor boats will be strictly prohibited in these waters in order to protect the aquatic wildlife and especially whales during breeding season.
Whales, dolphins, sea turtles and more abound in the waters and will provide joy, company and support to the birthing families who take up residence here. It will be customary for residents of the area to swim with these aquatic beings, and to birth their babies in the presence of these magnificent creatures. All beings that reside in this area will be delightfully moving toward becoming one big, happy, inter-species family, all swimming together in love.
The Makena area will be home to one of the world’s largest wild animal protection habitats, and will provide sanctuary to abused, neglected, injured or other animals that need special care. Thousands of well-fed, well-loved, well-cared for, cats, dogs, horses, birds, deer, and other land, air, and sea creatures that reside in this territory will flourish and live harmoniously with the human families. Hunting for sport will be strictly prohibited and will become unthinkable in the very near future.
Please see my photo albums for visual images of this magnificent place. Here are the links:
Keoneo’io – future birth sanctuary
http://ringingcedars.ning.com/photo/albums/home-of-the-future-maui-…
Makena, Maui – Home of a Future Kin Domains Settlement
http://ringingcedars.ning.com/photo/photo/slideshow?albumId=2975522
Feel free to write to me at jeanicebarcelo@yahoo.com if you would like to be part of this vision.
April Bevin’s Orgasmic Birth Story
APRIL’S ORGASMIC BIRTH STORY
My Orgasmic, Pain-Free Labour
Written 19 January 2009, by April Bevin
(1 year, 4 days after the birth)
I.
When people talk to me about childbirth, I am uncomfortable.
I am almost embarrassed.
They talk to me in understanding tones about suffering, hardship, pain, and wishing it wasn’t necessary for the end result. They are forever saying with empathy, “at least there’s a great reward at the end”. And it’s not even just those who are also mothers, those who have been through the pain of their own labour/s. There are the younger girlfriends expressing horror and fear at the thought of one day enduring childbirth, and the men – the men, expressing pity, relief, and admiration.
And yes, there is a great reward at the end of labour. But in the meantime, as we fear childbirth, offer sympathy to expectant mothers, and embrace the notion of it as inherently dangerous, and the drugs and interventions that go along with that view, are we missing out on one of the most incredible experiences available to women?
As women, do we know what we may be missing out on by accepting these stories of childbirth as ‘reality’, and handing our births over to obstetricians as a medical condition that needs to be ‘handled’?
As a society, are we denying women the freedom, joy, delight and empowerment that labour and childbirth naturally offer?
But what kind of labour would it need to be in order to offer women this experience?
One that occurs easily, naturally, and without pain…?
Exactly.
II.
In his book ‘Childbirth Without Fear’, first published in 1942, physician Grantly Dick Read explores why it is that for some women, childbirth is the most horrifically painful experience imaginable, whilst for others it is incredibly ecstatic and completely pain-free. Sadly, in our Western society today, we are far more exposed to the former experience – Hollywood is forever perpetuating ‘birth fright’, and almost anyone you ask will tell you birth is inherently painful and dangerous. Birth is, in fact, inherently safe, and is to be trusted rather than interrupted (but that is a topic for another post…).
What I intend to do is make the latter experience more widespread and known; women need to know that a pain-free birth is available, naturally and easily. In fact, it is suprisingly simple.
There are three muscle groups in the uterus, two of which concern us in this discussion.
One is the vertical muscles (bear with me, I do not know anatomic terminology), and the other the circular muscles (they go around the uterus). When a woman goes into spontaneous labour, the vertical muscles naturally contract to push the baby out; the other muscles are designed to stay relaxed during labour.
However, should a woman be fearful of birth (let’s face it, completely understandable given the images and preconceptions she is faced with), her first contraction often initiates the body’s ‘fight or flight’ reflex. This reflex drains all blood and therefore oxygen from any part of the body deemed unnecessary for either fight or flight, and all the blood is delivered to ‘necessary’ parts of the body such as the limbs. One of the ‘unnecessary’ parts is the uterus; many women are actually trying to labour with an oxygen-deprived uterus! Talk about hard work.
Another function of this reflex is that the circular muscles of the uterus – designed to stay lax during labour – begin to contract. Now your uterus is contracting against itself, and *this* is the cause of the labour pain experienced by most women; this causes labour to be painful, and much more drawn-out than necessary.
What Read invites us to do is not to anticipate pain – rather, to anticipate *new sensations*. Unlike anything we have felt or experienced before, yes. Unavoidably painful? Not necessarily.
Imagine a preganant woman living on a deserted island, alone apart from the man who is obviously necessary. She spontaneously goes into labour; she experiences the same type of physical feeling any woman would feel at the beginning of labour, but due to having no external influence (media, other mothers, etc), she is not expecting any pain. And so, she experiences all these new sensations within her body – undoubtedly these include a degree of discomfort as a small body exits her own! – but no pain.
Now imagine this same woman, but now in our society, bombarded by horrific birthing scenes in movies such as ‘Knocked Up’, where the labouring woman is screaming for drugs, blaming the man, hating it all. In this environment, with these expectations of a painful labour, when she now experiences the initial sensations of labour, the birth fright kicks in, initiates fight or flight, and we’re away…
Every woman may start out with these basic feelings, but it is how we take these on within ourselves that then directs the path of our labour – either painful, or not.
I want to make a point here that there is nothing right or wrong with either way; the purpose of my writing all this is to spread awareness to women that loving your labour IS possible; that it could very possibly be the most euphoric experience of your life, if you so choose.
When I understood this basic concept put forward by Read, I was very excited. My only apprehension was this: what if, even knowing this, I still get scared, and ‘accidentally’ initiate the fight or flight reflex?
That, I guess, is something for each woman to handle her own way; for me it was prayer, and consciously, completely letting it go – over and over and over again in the weeks leading up to birth. Once the birth began, I actually didn’t think about it at all; there was not even a space for fear to exist. All I felt was complete trust, and the space for pain-free, naturally-occuring childbirth opened up…
And with my uterus allowed to function in the way it is truly designed to, without it interrupting and working against itself, labour progressed extremely quickly, indeed.
Beforehand, I was told to prepare; that first labours averaged 12 hours – some women I know have laboured for more than 24… I cannot even imagine how tiring this must be, and commend you!
My first labour was over in 2 hours, 20 minutes — and that includes 1 hour+ of *holding in* the baby in hopes Pete would make it in time (his work is far from both home and hospital).
Had he been home, labour would have been approx 1 hour, 5 minutes.
This may sound like a dream – having such a quick labour. I admit I am grateful to not go through extensive exhausting hours of labouring. And yet I hope, somehow, my future labours will last a little longer, so that I may have more time to enjoy them.
III. Orgasmic Birth
I did not hear of orgasmic birth until after I had already given birth, when I came across this site:
www.orgasmicbirth.com
As yet I have not viewed the movie, just the trailer available on the website. But it resonated with me as soon as I discovered it; you see, I did not experience pain in labour, though neither did I experience orgasm in the first and second stages of labour. However, after choosing not to have the syntocinon injection routinely given post-birth (known as third stage) to stimulate the ejection of the placenta from the uterus (something the body is naturally designed to do on it’s own, without the need for any injection), the placenta came out in it’s own time… and when it did – woOoAaoaoooOOoohhhhhh! (insert ecstatic, highly orgasmic groan of pleasure *here*.)
Yes, I had a naturally pain-free, speedy, easy, EUPHORIC delivery – and to top it off, an absolutely indescribable out-of-this-world orgasm!
Will we be having more children? Yes, please!
Carl Calleman on Jose Arguelles Dreamspell Count
How and why was Argüelles Dreamspell calendar invented? by Carl Johan Calleman The question of how and why José and Lloydine Argüelles invented the Dreamspell calendar, rather than using the one used by the Maya for thousands of years, is long-standing. It however comes in a somewhat new light in the biography of José, written by Stephanie South, and also the response to this by his ex-wife Miriam Tarcov. I would, from another perspective than her, here like to point out that what has been revealed may have had very significant consequences also for people at large, some of whom had been hoping for José to provide them with guidance about the Mayan calendar. It should be said that José Argüelles understood early on, and certainly before almost all others including myself, that the Mayan calendar is a critical source of knowledge for humanity in our own time. In the years 1986-87 he hence played a very significant seminal role through writing the Mayan Factor and promoting the Harmonic Convergence. Yet, although the Harmonic Convergence had been based on the true Mayan calendar (1 Imix and 2 Ik in this count given to him by Tony Shearer) José Argüelles later decided to change this to the Dreamspell calendar for reasons that have never been clarified and it seems that it is only now that we can clearly put together the puzzle that explains this. Hence, I have earlier suggested that the Dreamspell “Mayan” calendar in fact is designed so as to give the birthdays of José and Lloydine exactly the “master numbers” 11 and 22 in the tzolkin (http://www.calleman.com/content/articles/hidden_agenda.htm). Large numbers of people, mostly under the illusion that they are using the true Mayan calendar, have then in fact unknowingly given their energy to the “masters” who designed it. Moreover, the kin numbers of everyone using this calendar are then defined by their relationships to the “masters” on whose kin numbers it was based. This scheme seems optimal for creating a cult of its inventors, something that the energies of the true cosmic Mayan calendar would never have allowed. I see no reason to doubt that such a scheme is the origin of their calendar since neither José nor Lloydine have cared to provide an alternative explanation and naturally it would be the easiest thing in the world to do so. It is possible that only José knows how the Dreamspell tzolkin actually was designed, but also the new biography ignores the topic of why a new “Mayan” calendar was invented as a replacement for its true cosmic form. At one point in the biography we are however given a hint to the explanation of the design of the Dreamspell calendar through a dream that José Argüelles relates: “when the Eastern Sun meets the Western Sun at the 33rd degree”. Curiously, even if this dream is presented as significant the actual meaning of the number 33 to José is never explained and remains hidden. It is however not very farfetched to assume that it was this attraction to the number 33 that led him to invent the Dreamspell calendar in such a way as to give himself and Lloydine the kin numbers 11 and 22, since, as we know, 11 + 22 = 33. This may have lasted until 33-year old Stephanie South came along and gave a new meaning to the dream of the man who wrote the Mayan Factor after having studied the Maya for 33 years and obviously was attracted to this master number. Is there then any reason to believe that the Dreamspell calendar is something other than just a personal calendar of José Argüelles? Well, it certainly does not seem so, given the predominance of the number 33 in Argüelles’ personal mythology (which incidentally is the highest degree in freemasonry) and the power he associates with his own kin number in other writings: http://www.tortuga.com/archives/library/28meditations/28med26.pdf “Again, here the sign of the return of the heavenly city Tollan, and over here the sign of the Star Traveler, the avatar – this time with signs of the Spectral Monkey, kin 11 and kin 22, which as we all know add up to 33. This is meditation 26 and we are entering the 33rd Harmony. Everything really is that psychedelic that we could be here explaining this to you, and that we are the numbers that talk and you are the numbers that listen, and we are all numbers together.” or “Trungpa Rinpoche [Argüelles Buddhist Teacher] was the eleventh Trungpa. Pacal Votan was the eleventh ruler of the dynasty of Nah Chan. The Avatar Spectral Monkey [José Argüelles] is the third eleven to make the 33. The Mystery is to understand the 33. Today we are in the 33rd Harmonic. You won’t understand this mystery if you can’t get rid of your ego. This is profound. This is the meaning of mystery.” Based on these passages who can doubt that Argüelles transformed the Mayan calendar into the Dreamspell count to fit his personal mythology? By itself, I see nothing wrong with creating such a personal mythology in calendar form and to different degrees we all have personal mythologies and even personal timelines. What seems profoundly wrong however is when other people, in this case sincere and innocent seekers of the Mayan calendar, without their own knowing are pulled into such a mythology. Considering Miriam Tarcov’s posting above we probably should not be surprised either that Argüelles considers it “psychedelic” that kin 11 and 22 talk while the other kin listen. While such a suggestion to an outsider sounds fairly absurd it is in most cases probably not what the seeker of the Mayan calendar originally had signed up for either. In my view the negative result of this hidden agenda of the Dreamspell calendar is that thousands of people have been cheated on their access to the true Mayan calendar, which is a key factor for everyone wanting to approach the future in a purposeful way. The Dreamspell scheme has even left many in the dark about the very existence of a true Mayan calendar. Hence, in the name of consumer rights, is it not time that the inventors of the Dreamspell calendar, as well as anyone teaching it, should be obliged to clearly explain why the original Mayan calendar, which after all the Harmonic Convergence had been based on, was changed? Could there ever be peace between the counts unless there is complete transparency as to their origin? Carl Johan Calleman http://www.calleman.com
Barbara Harper’s Ecstatic-Orgasmic Birth Story
Barbara Harper, well known for her amazing work with waterbirth and her book, “Gentle Birth Choices,” gave a candid interview in 2005 with Danielle Harel, while she was working on her PhD dissertation (2007) “Sexual Experiences of Women During Childbirth.” The original interview was done when Barbara was 54 years old, single and the mother of three. She was told that her story was confidential, but when she read it in an email that was sent out, she decided to go “public” and own her sexual experience with her second birth. She gave birth at home 25 years ago in 1984. The experience changed her life:
Here are some excerpts from the original interview:
It changed my life and I wouldn’t be doing the work that I am doing if I didn’t have this experience. Because I remember just a few minutes after he was born saying to my midwife “Oh my God, I have to tell women they can have orgasms during birth!”
It was an incredible experience of oneness with my baby. It was a feeling of transcendence, a spiritual transcendence. My yoga guru used to say: “A woman that prepares and gives birth with consciousness experiences the same enlightenment as spending twenty years on the top of the mountain meditating.” You can experience oneness and transcendence with God. It is an incredibly spiritual experience. It is as if you have the ability to cross over to the other side and then come back and be completely in love with this angel being.
Sexual messages in childhood:
As a child I got the messages that sex is forbidden, dirty, hidden and not to be discussed. My mother deliberately went through art books and tore out all the famous paintings of naked women, yet my father kept Playboys under his side of the mattress. Talk about mixed messages! I was probably around 16 or 17 when I experienced my first orgasm through masturbation. It just felt different. Like… oh! But that was around the same time as having been raped by an older relative. Something that could never have been discussed or shared with my family. So, it was locked away in my psyche.
What was your conception like:
I had a conception orgasm. I knew that I was conceiving. I felt the moment of conception, and that was an incredible feeling, and I felt the communication of the spirit – everything. Had a vision of the baby talking to me at the same moment of conception. His conception orgasm was probably the most powerful orgasm in my life except the orgasm I had when he was born.
Childbirth preparation:
I believe my tantric practices influenced my second birth, one of the other things that influenced my second birth experience is rebirthing. I worked closely with, Binnie Dansby, a rebirther who was then from southern California. I worked closely with her from the beginning of my second trimester all the way to the end of my pregnancy. We would do rebirthing on the bed and in warm water rebirthing sessions. We used an isolation tank – it is a completely enclosed capsule that is filled with shallow water containing Epsom salts. That was a way to be in touch or access your origins and feelings at surround your source experience – birth – bonding and all of those issues. It was a delightfully incredible experience. I took the time to focus and concentrate. The focus was to get me into my body, to be physically present, to “feel” my feelings and experience them in my body. With that
pregnancy I was probably more body focused then anytime in my life. It brought me in touch with what I needed emotionally and mentally. It was more right brain work than I had ever previously done and as a result it gave me this emotional connection with my body and with my sexuality, not to mention this amazing being growing inside of me. I felt connected to the baby’s thoughts, especially when I was in the deprivation tank. You float and completely relax and when the baby moves, your entire body moves in the water. It is like the baby takes over your body. Just amazing.
I wasn’t a midwife at the time, but had previously worked as a labor and delivery nurse and knew a lot. I was working as a holistic nurse in a doctor’s office, but I decided to totally prepare for a waterbirth. I got on a plane and actually went to France to seek out the one doctor that I knew was doing waterbirth in Pithiviers, France. I wanted to find Michel Odent2, and called the hospital once I got to Paris, only to find that he wasn’t there. He was on his first lecture trip to the US, and was actually in my home town of Santa Barbara, when I was in Pithiviers. But I glad he was gone because it gave me a chance to observe the midwives and experience natural birth first hand. I’ll always remember the first woman that I witnessed have a completely natural birth standing up over a sheet spread on the floor. The look on that young woman’s face as her eyes met her baby’s eyes for the first time is etched in my brain forever. I stayed there for a week and took childbirth classes both in Pithiviers and Lelila, outside of Paris. I was directed to the hospital where Fredrick Leboyer3 had worked and met with the midwives and a wonderful woman who taught childbirth classes there. I was able to meet with Leboyer for a quick interview. In both places I was shown a large round blue built-in bath in the labor ward, in which hundreds of women had already given birth. I was on a mission to find out the most I could about water labor and waterbirth. I was already about six months pregnant and was fortunate to stay in France for a couple of weeks and soak up this environment and knowledge. I had a very young man who was my driver and translator and when we parted at the airport on my way home, he confiding in me that his mother was going to be very proud of him. When I inquired why, he said, “because after attending all those childbirth classes with you and translating, I now have a different view of women and would never think of having sex before I was married!!” I laughed and got on my plane to return to Santa Barbara and prepare for a waterbirth.
The birth story:
I had planned a home birth, and I had planned for a lot of people to be there, all together there were supposed to be twelve people. My massage therapist, a harpist with a big concert harp playing live music, my acupuncturist in case I needed pain management, my housekeeper, my cook, my best friend, my rebirther, my partner, of course, and I can’t remember who everyone else was. I had constructed my own pool with Binnie’s help, and put it together at the end of my bed. It was a lovely house with a big bay window in the bedroom overlooking the garden. When the contractions began I was on my hands and knees planting an herb garden with my friend, Michael. I was very happy that I was having contractions, and I was very comfortable. Being on my hands and knees felt sexy to me, it just felt wow… my lower chakra was kind of buzzing. I went in to take a shower in the late afternoon after about two hours of mild contractions. I remember standing with the warm water flowing down on me, pulling on my nipples and stimulating myself to the point of having an orgasm. I kept thinking ‘It can’t hurt,’ feeling really good about it and the contractions were really strong right after that orgasm. I repeated that in the shower another time and then laid on the bed and did it again, kind of experimenting to see how it affected the intensity of my contractions. I started calling people just to let them know that I was in labor, but didn’t reach one single person, so I got in the car and went to the grocery store, thinking that I had to feed all those guests. I also stopped at the florist and ordered about $900 worth of floral bouquets and live plants to be delivered. I remember wanting flowers in every room in the house. While I was in the grocery store, the contractions got very intense and I remember leaning over the cart and breathing through them. The cashier at that store was worried because I could not carry on a conversation without stopping to breathe. She wanted to call an ambulance and I told her proudly that I was going home to have a waterbirth. She at least got someone to carry out my groceries!! When I got home I tried calling people, again, and still couldn’t find any one. So I left messages on answering machines. I tried paging my midwife and even she didn’t answer. I didn’t panic; I was ready to do this birth by myself if I had to. My partner finally came home, and he got excited and we filled the tub and we got in bed and made love while I was in labor. I just had him doing clitoral stimulation, and he loved to suck on my nipples, and I had orgasm after orgasm. I was so happy that nobody was around; otherwise I wouldn’t be doing this. Then it got really intense and I was walking around, but never, not even once did I not enjoy the power and the intensity of it and to me it all felt very sexual. My belly and my groin were lit up, on fire, I was always touching myself, enjoying the juices that were coming out of me. I got back in the shower and I was chanting, “opppen” and “OM” when my midwife finally arrived. She asked me to get on the bed and she checked me. I was eight centimeters. I asked her if I could get in the pool and she said “Use your own judgment,” so I got in. The minute I got in, the minute I sank into the water, it was as if a super charged lightening bolt went through me. I experienced some very intense – perhaps five to six contractions. I turned to my midwife and said that my body was pushing, and she couldn’t believe me since I was just eight a few minutes ago. But my body was vibrating and I was OMMMING loudly. She then asked me to come out so she could check me again and when I stood up I had another contraction and said “No.. no.. no I am getting back in the water, I can’t get out.” My partner got behind me and very soon after that I vocalized while my body was pushing. Oming… I was making sounds as if I was being made love to… really letting that sound out enjoying every single movement… I could feel the micromovement of his head right through me, I could feel everything intensely. As he was coming through me, there was this incredible orgasmic tantric relief, and my body just went with it, I shuddered from head to toe. When I have an orgasm my toes always curl up and the soles of my feet burn with heat and I remember my toes curling at the bottom of the birthing pool. It was as if every fiber of my being was having an orgasm and then suddenly the midwife lifted him right up onto my chest. He didn’t cry, but simply breathed in the dark quiet candle-lit room.
I got out of the tub, leaving my son with his father cradling him in the water, and got into the bed to check for tears. All of a sudden I heard a dripping sound …and in few minutes the whole tub collapsed… 300 gallons of water on the bedroom floor, blood clots, placenta and more, all over. I was high from the birth and I didn’t care… “It will get cleaned up.” They put him back on my chest naked and he stayed there just like that for two days. It was amazing.
When I think about the birth I feel pure and absolute joy, remarkable, wonderful happiness. I still feel the fire in my belly, just a warm sensation. It is not an orgasm. When I tell my birth story I can feel myself relaxing, it just feels pleasant in my body.
I wasn’t prepared for this kind of sexual experience, my rebirthing coach talked a lot about moving from pain to pleasure. She worked with me about experiencing pleasure but never put it in sexual or orgasmic terms. Binnie always talked about choosing… that we can choose in every moment to experience pain or pleasure, and I was choosing pleasure. It changed me in the sense that I felt very powerful afterwards and I felt empowered to be his mother. I fell in love with him
so completely, so amazingly, I would do anything to protect him and take care of him. Now that I know what I know about these powerful love hormones… if I am having the most powerful orgasm of my life I am soaked with oxytocin and betaendorphins. I was changed enormously. I tell everybody that my 22 year old son and I have never had one single argument between us. I look at the picture of him and my chest just expands, and it started with his birth.
What do you think allowed this experience to happen?
I had prepared myself physically, spiritually and mentally for a pleasurable experience in labor. I was surprised by the intensity of orgasm at birth but welcomed it at the same time.
In what way did it feel sexual or orgasmic?
In every way! It was a total body-mind-spirit. With my first birth I left my body. It was so incredibly painful and so humiliating I felt that I was raped. As I mentioned, I was raped when I was 17, so I knew how it feels to be raped and the feelings of humiliation and discomfort that go along with that –the powerlessness. My first birth was in the hospital; I was tied to the bed and couldn’t move or protect myself. It was so incredibly emotionally painful that I left my body. I remember having the feeling of sitting on top of the curtain rod on the window and watching them cut the episiotomy and force drugs into the IV and tighten the wrist restraints. Therefore, when I was working with rebirthing Binnie helped me be aware of when I was “leaving” my body and she worked with me on staying in my body and feeling the feelings no matter how scary or painful or conversely, pleasurable. So much was tied into my personal sexuality of a mixture of pain and pleasure of love and rejection of being pleasing or being pleased. During that birth and even now, my mantra is: “My body is safe no matter how much energy moves through it.” I remember this mantra and I have used it with hundreds of women. It really helped me move into experiencing pleasure.
How does this experience compare to masturbation or partner sex?
It is completely different – a hundred times more intense. I would say it is a similar body feeling and mind exploding, being able to open your chest and expand, all of that – hundred times more intense then orgasm through either masturbation, penetration or Tantra. It was an explosion from every fiber of my being. I was surprised by the intensity. When my sexuality arose I accepted it as a benefit and a reward for doing homework and being clear that my body had the incredible ability of doing this. I used a lot of imagery in my head. I used the candle imagery and the flower imagery, but not so much sexual imagery. Flowers tend to represent sexual imagery for me – a yoni opening – the tender blossoming of the petals of the rose. That is one reason I stopped at the florist to have roses and beautiful flowers all around me.
Did you share it with someone?
I tried to explain it to people 20 years ago and I had people say that I was doing a disservice to women. I was ridiculed and yelled at so I stopped talking about it… and I realized too that you really have to prepare your mind to have an orgasmic, ecstatic birth. You have to be in a place of being able to transcend and move from pain to pleasure. I have written things about it, but I stopped yelling it from the roof top and realized that we have so much work to do… that is why I rolled up my sleeves and began this work.
Did you experience pain?
I never felt pain. The sexual stimulation, making love in labor, and stimulating myself with my fingers and with my husband’s tongue opened me more. It just added to the pleasure and I never felt pain.
Did you feel sexual during breastfeeding?
Well, that is a topic that is not talked about much.
I found nursing in general very pleasurable, not exactly arousing but pleasant enough to know that it was juicy.
How did your sexuality compare before and after childbirth?
I feel like for a little while it was harder for me to have an orgasm, just for a little while, and maybe it was my mothering hormones that took over. I would say it was almost the same for me; because our sex life was always very open and passionate. We still had amazing sex.
My sexuality is very much connected to my body image; I remember an intentional thought that I had around 1992-3 that if I get fat I won’t have to deal with my sexuality. My body image was very much wrapped around my sexuality. I was a child of the sixties, before AIDS came into play, so there was a lot of experimentation. At some point I made the intention that I didn’t want to be in relationship and I just drew a line and said that was enough, and my body changed and I allowed myself to gain a lot of weight and get out of shape, so in my mind if I wasn’t appealing, looking sexy I wouldn’t have to think about my sexuality.
How did you feel about yourself as a woman after the sexual birth?
I did not stay with that partner. We had another child two years after that, but the relationship was fraught with so much angst and difficulty that it was impossible to stay together. I made the conscious choice to be celibate after parting from him in 1989. And now, even though I have not had sex for 15 years, I love my body. I love the feelings in my body and I test it out every now and then with masturbation. Love my hand held shower!! I can still get orgasms from kissing – there was this one very attractive seat partner on a long overseas flight – it still works! I know it works, so I am not worried at all about that. And when I am blessed to have the love of my life find me, I know that I will be very grateful, excited and very gifted in that department. I will enjoy my sexuality to its fullest. Sexuality is more about how you think and how you respond than what you actually do to physically produce an orgasm. I live an ecstatic life and expect an ecstatic partnership some day. I have spent these past 15 years growing and learning about who I am and what it all means to be a woman without limitations and my birth experiences helped mold me into the woman that I have become.
Please help me win $10,000 by voting for my idea
Aloha friends and family. I am writing today to enlist your support. I have submitted an idea to www.ideablob.com that could help bring my conscious conception, pregnancy, birth & parenting program into reality. I have decided to create an event (a BABY! film festival on Maui) that will help raise funds for the creation of a school for young adults. You can help bring this event (and a conscious birth preparation school) into reality by voting for my idea.
To view my idea (which is listed in the education section) and vote for it, please go to:
http://www.ideablob.com/ideas/5777-BABY-Int-l-Film-festival-re
Time is of the essence. Please vote for my idea this week. I would like to win the “sprint” for this week as that will put me in good placement to win the $10,000 this month. You will need to register at the ideablob.com website and then vote for my idea. This will take just a few minutes of your time.
If you would like to see the curriculum I have created for the future school, please visit this link:
http://www.facebook.com/note.php?created&&suggest¬e_id=97618004444
If you would like more info about the school, please visit my facebook pages:
Love, Sex, Pregnancy, Birth & Parenting: Free/Low Cost Info & Support for Maui Youth
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1171342849&ref=profile#/group.php?gid=84583410788
Let’s Create an Ecstatic Birth School and Center on Maui
http://apps.facebook.com/causes/275864/31376210?m=6d54c0aa
Thank you so much for taking the time to support my idea.
Sending blessings and gratitude,
Jeanice
Vision for the Future
Aloha! My name is Jeanice Barcelo and I am blessed to live in Hawaii on the island of Maui. I consider Maui to be one of the most beautiful, fertile, abundant places on Earth and I am looking forward to creating a home and a family in this magnificent place. I am especially attracted to one particular area on Maui called “Makena.” For more information about Makena, and to get a real sense of my love for the area, see my poems here….
Makena is a magnificent oceanfront community which right now consists of housing and “vacation rentals” for the wealthy. There are semi-pristine, majestic, public beaches in this area, which tend to attract tourists as well as thousands of local residents and animals. Very few people actually live at Makena as the housing is priced in the many millions of dollars and most of the “homes” remain vacant much of the year . This is a highly unfortunate aspect of the economic system we are living under as all of these structures (and all of the pristine and beautiful land that surrounds them), could be used for the benefit of humankind.
During my time on Maui I have fallen deeply in love with the land and, as a result, have been drawn into the politics of Hawaiian sovereignty. I feel it is important for people to know that the United States is illegally occupying Hawaii and has been illegitimately selling off Hawaiian land for more than 100 years. The U.S. has installed a puppet regime in Hawaii (which they call the “State of Hawaii”) which has wreaked havoc on Hawaiian land and the Hawaiian way of life. There is a huge and growing movement in Hawaii for a return to national sovereignty. I see many positive changes happening in the very near future with respect to land management in this country – and I believe we are about to see the collapse of U.S. power here and the rise of a totally new form of government. I am very active in this process.
I have had a vision of creating a conscious birth community at Makena for some time, but this vision has become much clearer and stronger after reading the Anastasia series of books distributed by Ringing Cedars Press (www.ringingcedars.com). In a nutshell, I think Makena would be an awesome place for people to live, conceive, gestate, birth, nurse and parent their children. We have warm and sunny weather here, gentle ocean breezes, white sandy beaches, warm ocean water, big green sea turtles, large pods of dolphins, whales aplenty during wintertime, and much, much more. This is an idyllic place to conceive, birth and raise our babies.
I am completely committed to conscious birth as a result of my own personal life journey. In 1998, I lost my infant daughter, Anastasia, to a still-birth. After a very long, 53-hour, homebirth labor, Anastasia was born dead and I almost died trying to give birth to her. Anastasia was my 6th attempt to give birth to a healthy child. All of my pregnancies ended in death. I now understand that the reason I had so much difficulty giving birth was because I was carrying an enormous amount of unconscious, unresolved birth trauma. These unconscious memories had been with me from the beginning of my life due to negative experiences I had both in my mother’s womb and during the birth process (I was born in a hospital in Mineola, Long Island). These memories activated each time I became pregnant and interfered with my ability to give birth in a gentle and healthy way.
For more info about birth trauma vs. gentle birth see these two short clips:
Birth Trauma: <a href=”http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CX_FbcEcMFg”>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CX_FbcEcMFg</a>
Gentle Birth: <a href=”http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nZtYCHASqNM”>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nZtYCHASqNM</a>
As a result of my birth/death experiences, I have become steadfastly committed to creating a community of conscious birthers and to educating young people about the importance of gentle birth, as well as conscious conception, healthy gestation and conscious parenting. I have skills and credentials that make me particularly suited to “teach” young adults about these important topics, including a master’s degree and several years of teaching experience at the university level.
To see more about my vision for a conscious birth school/sanctuary, please follow these links:
While I am very strong on vision, I am challenged with a lack of financial resources to back it up. Money has been an area of great concern for me since moving to Maui 9+ years ago, and I have found it difficult to move my work forward, despite repeated attempts and credentials up the gazoo.
A little more about my vision for Makena:
I envision the main road (which runs along the coast) being closed off to general automobile traffic (local deliveries only) and people traveling this area by bicycle, horseback, canoe and/or kayak.
I envision a prohibition on all motorboats and US military machinery and testing (such as submarines, helicopters, bombs, sonic underwater tests, etc.) in the waters and air-space surrounding the area. These waters should be designated as a sanctuary as they are filled with whales during wintertime who return here each year to conceive, gestate, birth and nurse their babies.
I envision all the land at Makena being turned into flourishing gardens through reforestation and conscious, loving interaction with the Earth.
I envision all the land at Makena (and throughout the entire ahupua’a including Kaho’olawe and Molokini) being returned to the Kingdom of Hawaii).
I envision the future government of this area to be willing to give 2.5 acre parcels of land to every willing family at no cost so that each family may have the space to create their family domains and hold the land in perpetuity. This is the real Hawaiian way.
I envision all of the empty structures at Makena filled with happy families – couples making babies and birthing them in water, raising their children close to nature, toddlers waddling up and down the beach. I would also like to see an alternative healing center, an alternative educational facility, a conscious birth center/sanctuary and huge areas of organic gardens.
If you feel called to this vision and would like to make a contribution, please send your checks and/or money orders to:
Jeanice Barcelo
PO Box 1882
Kihei, HI 96753
Here are a few pictures of Keoneo’io, which sits at the end of the road and opens up to a bay where dolphins are a aplenty. This is the place I envision for the birth sanctuary:
And here are a few shots of other places along the Makena coast:
Aerial view of Cape Kinau (the nipple of the Mother) and the Keoneo’io bay
<a href=”http://gohawaii.about.com/od/mauiphotos/ig/Makena-Coast-of-Maui-Photos/makena_046.htm”>http://gohawaii.about.com/od/mauiphotos/ig/Makena-Coast-of-Maui-Pho…</a>
Ahihi Bay
<a href=”http://gohawaii.about.com/od/mauiphotos/ig/Makena-Coast-of-Maui-Photos/makena_046.htm”>http://gohawaii.about.com/od/mauiphotos/ig/Makena-Coast-of-Maui-Pho…</a>
Aerial view – Ahihi Bay
<a href=”http://gohawaii.about.com/od/mauiphotos/ig/Makena-Coast-of-Maui-Photos/makena_042.htm”>http://gohawaii.about.com/od/mauiphotos/ig/Makena-Coast-of-Maui-Pho…</a>
Big Beach
<a href=”http://gohawaii.about.com/od/mauiphotos/ig/Makena-Coast-of-Maui-Photos/makena_039.htm”>http://gohawaii.about.com/od/mauiphotos/ig/Makena-Coast-of-Maui-Pho…</a>
Big Beach
<a href=”http://gohawaii.about.com/od/mauiphotos/ig/Makena-Coast-of-Maui-Photos/makena_038.htm”>http://gohawaii.about.com/od/mauiphotos/ig/Makena-Coast-of-Maui-Pho…</a>
Aerial view – Big Beach
<a href=”http://gohawaii.about.com/od/mauiphotos/ig/Makena-Coast-of-Maui-Photos/makena_037.htm”>http://gohawaii.about.com/od/mauiphotos/ig/Makena-Coast-of-Maui-Pho…</a>
Little Beach
<a href=”http://gohawaii.about.com/od/mauiphotos/ig/Makena-Coast-of-Maui-Photos/makena_035.htm”>http://gohawaii.about.com/od/mauiphotos/ig/Makena-Coast-of-Maui-Pho…</a>
Pu’u Olai
<a href=”http://gohawaii.about.com/od/mauiphotos/ig/Makena-Coast-of-Maui-Photos/makena_033.htm”>http://gohawaii.about.com/od/mauiphotos/ig/Makena-Coast-of-Maui-Pho…</a>
Help me open up a school for Maui youth
Aloha beautiful people! I am writing today to enlist your help and to let you know that I have created a new Facebook group entitled “Love, Sex, Pregnancy, Birth & Parenting – Free/Low Cost Info and Support for Maui Youth.” If you have not yet received an invitation from me to join the group, please consider following this link and becoming a member:
http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/group.php?gid=84583410788
Beginning in late June (around the summer solstice), I intend to offer weekly gatherings at my home on Maui to provide a safe space for young adults to share, view pertinent videos, raise their questions and get meaningful answers about love, relationships, sexuality, conception, gestation, birth and parenting. To my knowledge, young people have nowhere to go to get this type of information and, although I have created an entire curriculum about these topics, there is not a single school on Maui that was willing to accept it.
I will be offering these gatherings on a donation basis so everyone who is interested may attend.
For your info, I hold a master’s degree in sociology with a minor in women’s studies and I taught at the university level for five years. I have also been teaching independently on Maui for several years on topics relating to conscious birth and the importance of healing our own birth trauma if we wish to experience ecstatic birth.
My long-term vision is to create a community on Maui that functions in accordance with the principles laid out in the Anastasia books (www.ringingcedars.com). Basically, this means accessing a huge tract of land (ideally oceanfront), dividing it up amongst willing families who wish to be part of the community (approximately 2.5 acres per family), allowing each family to nourish their parcel and turn it into a flourishing garden (what Anastasia refers to as a “Space of Love”), and allowing each family to hold the land in perpetuity to pass on to their children.
I envision this community to be focused and committed to conscious birth. Conceiving, gestating and birthing our babies right in our own Space of Love is the ideal. Right use of sexual energy, conscious conception, healthy gestation, gentle birth and conscious parenting are all part of the glue that will hold this community together and create the texture for the preservation of love in families forever.
This is a broad and long-term vision and I believe there are “steps” to achieve this end, such as offering classes out of my home to attract youth, then creating a “school”, then creating an “ecstatic birth center,” which can then blossom out into a full-blown conscious community of conscious birthers!!!
If you are drawn to this vision, I would very much appreciate hearing from you. I am seeking to bring together a core group of individuals who are willing to get behind this idea and work with me to create it. I have been in touch with a person who may be able to offer funding for the land if I can pull together the core group and we begin to work consciously toward this goal. You do not have to live on Maui to be a member of the core group, but would need to be available for conference calls and also have a long-term interest and willingness to move to Maui when we get the land.
Also, I am in need of financial support. My situation is critical. I do not want to bore you with the details but suffice to say that I really need your help if I am to successfully access an appropriate “home” that would co-exist as a gathering space for young adults. Rent on Maui can be very high and I need a special space for this work.
If you are in a financial position to do so and are willing to help, please send your checks and/or money orders as soon as possible to:
Jeanice Barcelo
PO Box 1882
Kihei, HI 96753
No amount is too small. Your donations will be lovingly received and accepted.
Please e-mail jeanicebarcelo@yahoo.com for more info.
Or visit my Facebook pages:
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1171342849&ref=profile#/profile.php?id=1171342849&ref=profile
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1171342849&ref=profile#/group.php?gid=84583410788
http://apps.facebook.com/causes/275864/31376210?m=6d54c0aa
http://www.facebook.com/inbox/readmessage.php?t=1004107722950&mbox_pos=0#/group.php?gid=85884841263
Here’s a quote from the Anastasia series, Book 8.1, entitled “The New Civilisation” that briefly describes why we need to create a school:
“…[S]he asked me to find out where she can locate an educational institution in our country for women to study up on the best way to carry their pregnancy, as well as what the birth process and subsequent child-raising involves. And what the role of the father should be in this….
…[B]ut, I’ve never even heard of that kind of school, either in our country or abroad.
Strange! They teach everything nowadays, and yet this most important issue isn’t touched in either our high schools or our post-secondary institutions. I wonder why?” (p. 122).
BIRTH TRAUMA VS. GENTLE BIRTH
In 1998, my daughter, Anastasia, was born dead after a well-prepared-for, 53-hour, homebirth labor. I almost died trying to give birth to her. Anastasia was my 6th attempt to give birth to a healthy child. ALL of my pregnancies ended in death. 11 years later, I now understand that the reason I had so much trouble giving birth is because I was carrying unconscious traumatic memories of my own birth. These memories “activated” each time I became pregnant and influenced my capacity to give birth in a gentle, easy way.
Birth trauma is real. Let’s do what we can to stop the abuse and educate people about this most important topic. Take a look at the two videos below to see for yourself the implications of birth trauma vs. gentle birth:
Birth Trauma: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CX_FbcEcMFg
Gentle Birth: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nZtYCHASqNM
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