FALL SESSION “RAVEN AND ROSE” STARTS SEPTEMBER 22

The time has come for you to weave your own legend, author your future and create a self expressed life that reflects WHO you are. Yes, this is possible and, yes, it is time.

And we know it is not always easy to make that happen alone. In fact, after working with thousands of women there are three common regrets we hear…it wasn’t usually about their relationships or their material belongings, or even work or money, or what goals they met or didn’t, it wasn’t education, and most of the time it wasn’t health. It was about whether or not they had expressed themselves and who they were in their lives.

• I haven’t fully honored and expressed my own voice and I am afraid to show who I am. That if I do, I won’t be loved, or even worse, I won’t be seen or heard.

• My life didn’t turn out the way I had hoped and it doesn’t reflect who I am and I wish I had made different life path choices sooner that match more with who I am.

• I have always had a sense that I am supposed to do ‘something’ with my life, and I don’t know what that is anymore and I am afraid my life is passing me by.

What are your big regrets? How do we live like we are living instead of living like we are dying?

WHAT IF THERE WAS SOMETHING YOU COULD DO RIGHT NOW – TODAY to change how all of this is landing in your heart, your life, your spirit?

How would you feel if you could take charge, AUTHOR YOUR OWN FUTURE instead of letting life happen to you? If there was a place to express your TRUE voice now instead of later.

“This turning towards what you deeply love, saves you.” ~ Rumi

What is it you deeply love and what is keeping you from turning towards it?

I am Shiloh Sophia, and the Cosmic Cowgirls and I want to offer you some tools you can use RIGHT NOW to begin to transform those regrets into possibilities. That is what the turning of the Red Key is – transforming the regret and despair. The feeling of isolation and emptiness, the I don’t know what-to-do-ness into an action plan.

Here’s a bit of my story…

Dear Ones,

I am going to tell you a little story about how I got where I am today and how I continue to do as Rumi suggests and turn towards that which I deeply love. Many years ago I found myself creating a life that did not reflect who I was. I was working in a corporate job selling computer training, making GOOD money for a youngster of 22, and I was going to school full time to learn to BECOME an artist and considering marriage to a man who kept me thinking there was something wrong with me. Everything was going all right until one day.

I had this thought: there is nothing left to paint or say. It has been said or done and besides I am not very good at it. I don’t know who I am or what to do and I am not very original anyway. Ok, so for those of you who know me it might be hard to believe that those words would ever come out of my mouth or into my mind. But they did. And thankfully, the FEELING that it caused in my heart and body was so foreign, so not me, so wrong, that I actually felt it, and took action on it. Many of are not so lucky. I was that scared, which is why much of my life has been dedicated to supporting women in making changes before they continue to live lives that don’t reflect who they are.

I was so scared by what I felt and imagined my life would become that I changed my life in less than one month, yes, it was almost overnight.

I didn’t want to live a life I was going to regret. And I am forever grateful for that moment. Within less than a month I changed my life, my living, my job and my art and my relationships. Less than a year later I had my first sold out show and began my career as an artist and two years after that published my first book, Color of Woman. But the most significant thing won’t come as a surprise to you.

I decided that I was the author of my own future. Since that time, almost twenty years ago I have created an incredible life with very few regrets – not because my circumstances were always great, they weren’t. At times I felt I had lost years of my life to my work, but at least it was my work, is what I told myself anyway. I have run art galleries, represented hundreds of women artists, published over 5 books, sold hundreds of paintings, taught workshops and thousands the world over – but what would all of that mean to me if I didn’t honor my own voice and express myself and who I am? Change is the constant of the world, so the only thing I really have control over, most of the time, is how I show up inside of my life no matter what is going on around me. And, my choice to be in community with other women. That is why I founded Cosmic Cowgirls in 2006 – so that we could support each other in living the lives we choose, ones where the regrets are very few and the celebrations are many. A life where the muse meets us for tea and chocolate, and where painting in my nightgown is a daily action, where writing poetry in the in between spaces is natural, where I don’t wait to be inspired because I KNOW I can create any time I choose to put my brush or pen to the empty page. This is because I have chosen a life of creative practice – a life where I self expression is the Queen of my world and where my life is a A Book of Legends.

The photo above was taken last Summer when I went to study with my Teacher and Mentor, Dr. Clarissa Pinkola Estes who wrote Women Who Run With The Wolves, a book that was on the New York Times Best Sellers list for 145 weeks. For years I had listed her as the person I most wanted to meet in my lifetime. Now I have studied with her for two Summers and have brought back the teachings to my own community that she has so graciously shared. One of the things she told us, is this: We need to BECOME ART. To not just age, let life happen, watch it go by, but to BE ART. And so what does that mean? For everyone it is different of course, but in some way it means becoming the fullest expression of who you are, expressing your voice and essence. It means opening the door of the heart…

Here is something you can do RIGHT NOW to transform those big regrets into possibilities. Are you ready?

Regret Releasing Ritual – A 5 Minute Creative Practice

Materials: Paper, pens and regrets.

1. Acknowledge: Think about your biggest regret that you have right now, the one that wakes you up at night and has you wonder, how did I get here and what do I do about it. Make four sections of the paper and rip them so you have four parts. Write this regret down and put it aside.

2. Imagine: Allow yourself, for a moment to consider what you wish the outcome was, the one that would have happened if it turned out the way you wanted, the ideal scenario, the one that would have ‘gone your way’. Write it down and put it aside.

3. Confront: In this moment allow yourself to tell yourself the truth about what happened and where you are with your belief about it. You might find a lesson in it or not. Just BE with the reality of it full on and what it’s impact has been – not just the impact of the regret itself, but what it has COST you to keep holding it the way that you have, as a regret that takes up a lot of room. Write down this belief as a kind of world view. For me, because of this regret the world feels to me like…

4. Awaken: Ok this is it. The magic moment when you transform how you have been holding this regret. It has taken up so much room and it is time to change it, to be more gentle with yourself and open yourself up to the possibilities. Take those three pieces of paper and crumple them up and hold them in your hand. Now, close your eyes for a moment and see the RED KEY, you know the one that is hot and flaming and imagine that it is unlocking the door to your possibilities. On the other side of that door is a new way you could CHOOSE to view your life from here on out. A new view. A new outlook. A new way.

The key is to choose one that you feel GOOD and yummy about but that is also believable for you. Take time to see what you see and then write this new future on a piece of paper and carry it with you everywhere!

The true turning of the red key exists in dedicated creative spiritual practice.

So that is just the reason we created The Cosmic Cowgirls Course called The Red Key – so that together we could do this work, transform our regrets and old beliefs into new possibilities and have a grand time doing it. Sparkle. Sizzle. Shine. Here we come – let’s turn our regrets into possibilities.

THE RED KEY IS A CREATIVE VISION QUEST

This is your invitation to a participate in sacred event:
The Cosmic Cowgirls Course – An Online Journey

On the Fall Equinox 2012 a growing group of women – wild, wonder-filled, creatives who are ready for transformation – are continuing a quest together and you can join in the ongoing journey as we follow the Raven’s Call along the spiral path of the Rose. You can join us from anywhere in the world. The only question is, will you say yes? Saying yes could lead you into dangerous territory because once you turn the Muse’s red key of possibility there is no going back to ‘the way it was before’. But then, many of us are ‘just done’ with before, and are ready for NOW.

Here at Cosmic Cowgirls University (online) and Campus (in California) we turn that red key of creativity to open ourselves to what is possible. Yes, it turns out, creativity is the key to a self expressed life of aliveness, but it’s not just for creatives. The work we do here, is for all beings, because all beings are creative, every bone in your body is a creative bone. You just might not have had the tools you really needed to listen to the poetry and images of your heart. And yes, it is that listening to heart which leads to a life we can fall in love with, even with challenging circumstances and a difficult past. We work with the light coming from the wound, and make art out of it. We’ll show you how it’s done. Don’t worry about your past experience with creativity – you WILL be able to self express in ways you never imagined you could. You’ll see.

SUBSCRIPTIONS ARE $47 Monthly and satisfaction guaranteed. You can join us for three months and see if you want to continue, if not – one e-mail and you are done!

This is not for everybody. This is an invitation to enter dangerous territory and participate in a Creative Tribe to light your soulfire through intentional creative practices: painting, writing, inquiry, action and community.

This course has been over 5 years in the making, through research and practices with thousands of women to find out what really works to create a life of aliveness. This is designed for women who are ready to say YES to authoring their bright futures and weaving the legend of their lives.

The Red Key path of the Raven and Rose is the second 3 month cycle in an ongoing Vision Quest and Membership Tribe run by the Cosmic Cowgirls.

The Red Key Turns …Next entry point is September 22nd!

Your $47 a month subscription to the Cosmic Cowgirls Course includes so many juicy offerings to inspire, awaken and initiate – here are just a few…

THE COSMIC COWGIRLS COURSE and CULTURE of Creative Practices

• Las Promesas – Painting as Creative Practice with Shiloh Sophia: A Video Painting Series on the Senses.
• Book of Legends - Daily tease, journal prompts, poetry and story weaving with Jenafer Joy with Daily E-mails delivered to your inbox to inspire your journal practice.
• Cosmic Cafe – Monthly Red Thread Circle Calls and Conversations with Stella Mac
• Gone Wild – Multi-media journaling art spiritual practices with Effy Wild
• The Mighty Muse – Mastermind Sessions with the Muse and with the CC community
• Cosmic Cowgirls Teaching – 8 Teaching Articles a month from our Magazine columnists on the culture of our tribe.

About note from Gemma about a 30 day painting class – I want to thank all of you for being such a great part of this. For me, this has been revolutionary. Shiloh, Mary & Jena – From the bottom of my heart Thank you! I can say for myself that this is the first art class I’ve ever taken. I felt every fear of not being enough through this class. I hit every wall of self doubt. I almost quit, but I decided to claim my heart’s desire to paint beautiful images of what I love. I claim the title “Visionary Artist” for each of us, as we share our work with one another it becomes alive in our souls, this work becomes our way of healing…

This journey is dedicated to the following core principles, designed for women just like you who are ready to take action on behalf of their own FUTURES!

• Awakening: Awakening to you and who you are – integrating your past and present with an invitation to author your own future.
• Wonder: Discovering tools from your Muse’s toolbox to manifest a fully self expressed life and access to your interior wisdom and intuition.
• Creativity: Developing and committing to a daily creative spiritual practice that will infuse your life with aliveness and inquiry.
• Connection: Belonging to a circle of women, knowing you are no longer required to walk your path alone.

Maybe you are saying…I’ve heard that before