A true Goddess is surrounded by beauty. Every thing she sees and touches is made beautiful. True Goddess power is transformative. The magic is not that of actually changing the physicality of things, but of changing the way that we see things. What we choose to see is our reality.
This months Goddess is Ckeanna, a stunning example of the power of Goddess magic. Ckeanna is a pole dance instructor at Diva Fit Studios in Massapequa, Long Island. The atmosphere of the studio that she has created is there to encourage and nurture that Goddess presence in each of her students. Not only does Ckeanna live in her own beauty, by choosing to embrace the here and now, but she possesses even more of that magic by transforming those around her, encouraging their beauty by helping to change the way they ‘see’ themselves and others, freeing them up in their bodies and their minds.
It’s easy to be critical of each other… our culture sets us up for it. It is even easier to be critical of our selves. But when we choose to see the Goddess in each other and in ourselves, we are then surrounded by beauty and we are all beautiful.
Ckeanna Speaks:
Mona Lisa smiled at me. She smiled at me with her eyes, winked at me with her thoughts and shared with me the secret of True Power. Here’s my story…
I was never a girlie girl. As a toddler I always tried to emulate my Dad by strutting around in the white t-shirt he’d just taken off after a hard day at work. His shirt fit me like a long white baggy dress, yet I thought I looked just like my Dad! I’d accessorize it with his heavy gold chain and medallion and then march around the room with a kiddie sized broom and a cadence in my head. His gold chain was my “Medal of Honor”. I guess even back then I knew I would one day be a real soldier.
From toddler to twelfth grade, my path in life lead me to the U.S. Army. A couple of weeks after my high school graduation, I shipped out to Fort Dix, NJ for Basic Training. Half way through my training, I was going to turn eighteen quietly and uneventfully, or so I thought. I’ll never forget the thoughtful present I got from my Drill Sergeant… “Private Sanchez, front and center!”, he bellowed. It was a hot summer day at high noon and all of us soldiers were ready for our hard-earned chow. “Front lean and rest position…MOVE!” I found myself by myself in a push up position in front of the entire company formation, staring down face-first at his shiny boots. Since we were right outside of the mess hall (cafeteria for all you civilian folk), I could smell the food as I counted out at the top of my lungs, “One Drill Sergeant…two Drill Sergeant… (you get the idea). I had to knock out no less than eighteen push ups before being allowed to stand up. “Happy Birthday, Private Sanchez!”
If there is anything that de-feminizes a woman, it’s the military institution! I had been trained and “programmed” not to cross my legs and arms or stand with my hands on my hips even! The uniforms are purposely designed to minimize any womanly curves so we all look like camouflaged potato sacks. I get it! The military is no place to be sexy…peace time or war time. Ok, moving right along… for years I had no sense of style in clothes, makeup or anything until one fateful day…
Fast forward four years to my duty station in Oahu, Hawaii one hot Friday morning while getting ready to report for duty, I made a decision that would affect my whole attitude for the rest of my life. It had been a very challenging week of training and Friday had finally come. It was traditional that if we, as a unit, had a productive week, thecompany commander would release the entire company early that Friday afternoon. This tradition was known as “Aloha Friday”. Being that this particular Friday could very well be an “Aloha Friday”, soldiers usually have an extra “pep” in their step throughout their workday. I, however, had a certain swagger of confidence and the poise of a peacock that day. Why? Because I decided to break the rules and wear the sexiest bra and panty set that I owned under my military fatigues. I wore it for me. I did it for me. No one else. And no one else would or could see my sexy pink bra and panty bikini set. The lacy material felt great against my skin. No “White Walls” or “Granny Panties” for me…Not TODAY! (I thought to myself).
As luck would have it, my duties that day included assisting the mechanics in the motor pool and doing maintenance on my five ton fuel truck. Oh joy!!! I was a dirty little grease monkey working in the pit under my truck lubing all the joints. But I didn’t mind because my eyes, like the Mona Lisa’s, were smiling the whole day. I had a secret… a dirty little secret of my pretty, sexy, girlie things!
The Lesson: All women deserve to have a piece of themselves all to themselves. The story I told is true. This really happened. I shared this story because when I met Isis, I knew right away we shared the same desire to help women embrace their essence. The Pin-Up Workshops are a perfect way to experience the positive body image that Isis and I encourage. My very first pin-up shoot with Isis brought back the old familiar feeling that I had over two decades ago when I was standing beneath that filthy undercarriage with a grease gun in my hand and a twinkle in my eye.
Isis captures that “Twinkle” and Goddess in all of us in her fine art prints. Polarize your moment of True Goddess Power!
I often like to remind myself of Mae West‘s infamous motto, “It isn’t what I do, but how I do it. It isn’t what I say, but how I say it, and how I look when I do it and say it.” Yeah, Baby!!
