Keynote Address: Staying Centered in the Cyclone

One of our two favorite leaders of Growing Spaces, Puja Parsons, gave a beautiful keynote address to an audience of nearly 200 at the SW Colorado Women’s Small Business Conference in Durango, Colorado on July 13th, 2012. It was a bit of a new frontier for Puja because she had the opportunity to present how the feminine works in business to a group of professionals. This is all part of our mission to model a unique and caring business culture for other businesses. This is especially important for women owners of businesses because they have so much to bring to the table and Puja wants them to understand that their feminine side is a big part of the contribution. Gifts such as intuition and compassion are invaluable assets to be cultivated and celebrated.

Here is the handheld recording of the talk. We apologize for the low quality and the background noise.

Here is an excerpt of the talk:

We live in interesting times and I see women in business as a part of the solution for the problems that exist for us collectively. This is a time of opportunity.

I live here because I love these mountains and they are my reward. Also, nature is my Teacher, and this foundation will color what I have to share with you.

I want to speak of the Feminine advantages we have by nature and instinct or by training, and conditioning, because we are built to be mothers. Our longest employee, Richard Miller said to me the other day, “Have you ever noticed that women feel they must compete or compare with men, all the while…we say Mother Earth, Mother Springs, Mother Church, Mother Ship.

Now what does THAT say?

To me it says that the feminine is foundational and necessary for life. Let yourself remember this the next time you are caught in negative self-talk or self-doubt as a woman! That level is about the archetypal level of the feminine that is a part of our inheritance. It has been reflected like the moon, so subtlety that we do not notice her in the light of day. It isn’t “touchy feely” as I’ve heard it called, it is a part of our essential nature, like gravity, and physics, the rhythm of the seasons, and our bodies. When we come from an experience of birth or death we realize the feminine is a force so incredibly strong that we can remain connected in the face of all uncertainty or challenge.