How The Connection Between Childlessness And These Transformative Times Ushers In A New Age For Women
Despite the grief that comes with childlessness, women are being set free to come into their power in a way impossible in the past. Queen energy emerges from a combination of natural wisdom, world experience, the grieving process, and the end of traditional social models. It is not the ceremonial queen that we see today, not the power behind the throne queen of the past. It is the full whole embodied feminine in all of her glory and capability, and wisdom.
DATE: Saturday 16th September
TIME: 7pm BST - Find your timezone HERE
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Please note: Whilst the panellists will be recorded, your camera and audio will be turned off. If you are unable to attend the webinar live, you DO NOT need to register to watch the replay on the website.
PANELLISTS
Maria Hill - US
I have worked in health care and the computer industry, and have an MBA. But when my life started falling apart, I took an opportunity to go to art school and then started Sensitive Evolution, an online platform for sensitive people, most of whom are childless, just like me. I came to Gateway Women, now Lighthouse Women, about ten years ago, and enjoy supporting other childless
women including our group for sensitive childless women. I have additionally trained in coaching, cultural and other frameworks, Reiki, and Theta healing.
My online work has become a transformative coaching practice teaching energy and cultural discernment skills to sensitive and/or childless women through Magic Of Joy. I also participate in Jody Day’s Fireside chats as part of her Gateway Elderhood Project.
I believe women are being freed to come into their power in a way impossible in the past.
Stephanie spent a large part of her twenties in an abusive relationship and took the contraceptive pill to ensure children would not be born into that situation.
In her early thirties she met her husband to be but they didn't try to conceive until nearing forty. At the age of 39 she was told by an unsympathetic doctor "if he manages to get you pregnant it is highly unlikely you'll carry full term". She knew in that moment, she would never be a mum.
In 2016 Stephanie Joy Phillips founded three childless support groups on Facebook: Childless Path To Acceptance focuses on support, Childless Chit Chat is a trigger free zone and Childless Perks!! is all about laughter and finding the positives of being childless, without a parent saying 'I told you so'.
In 2017 after realising there was no national recognition of the childless community she founded World Childless Week. Seven days that enables the childless community to have a platform where they can find their voice and share their stories with confidence.
Steph lives in Worcestershire with her husband and two rescue cats, Storm and Tea-Cup. She enjoys gardening, arts and crafts, a good book, dining out and relaxing in front of the television with a puzzle book and one of her two cats snuggled up beside her.
Yvonne John - UK
Yvonne John is the author of ‘Dreaming of a Life Unlived: Intimate Stories and Portraits of Women Without Children’ (2016).
As an activist and public speaker Yvonne has appeared on numerous radio and television programmes, including ‘Woman's Hour’ on BBC Radio 4 and the Myleene Klass: Miscarriage & Me documentary, to talk about her experience recovering from the devastating grief of involuntary childlessness as well being a panellist for the Independent Newspaper’s
conversations on ‘The Parenthood Question’ and ‘What does being a woman in 2023 mean’.
Yvonne is a graduate of Gateway Women (GW) year-long Plan B Mentorship programme and is a trained facilitator of the GW reignite weekend workshops.
Yvonne is passionate about creating an inclusive space for black women and women of colour to openly talk about their childless journey and is the leading voice on the childless WoC’s experience of infertility.
Sarah Bradley - UK
I live a contented, fulfilling life with my cats in beautiful rural Gloucestershire, England.
My journey through childlessness has been the toughest challenge I have
faced and coming to terms with it has been life-changing.
We can never predict how life will turn out, but we can give ourselves opportunities to find happiness and joy.
These days, having qualified as a life coach, Apricot Lane Coaching, I support childless women, men and couples to find a way through the loneliness and isolation of childlessness, to create a happy life without children.
I also work with women who are single and childless in our SIN+CH coaching groups, where we challenge stereotypes, build self-confidence and encourage brave decision-making.
World Childless Week gave me the courage to talk about childlessness when I thought I couldn’t. Now I’m proud to be a WCW contributor, helping others to see that there is life beyond childlessness!
Catherine-Emmanuelle Delisle -Canada
At the age of fourteen, I was diagnosed with unexplained early menopause without having reached puberty. I learned I would never be able to have biological children. I also knew right away adopting was not the path for me: grieving was.
In 2012, I decided to be vocal about my experience as a single childless woman
through my bilingual blog (French/English), Femme Sans Enfant. I am now a TRA, Therapist For Relationship Assistance ™ and World Childless Week Ambassador based in Montreal, Canada and I help childless women accept and embrace their lives through one-on-one therapy and workshops.
Helen Louise Jones - UK
Helen Louise Jones is a singer from London UK. In 2020 she founded Our Healing Voice, vocal projects to support Involuntarily Childless women. Her own childless journey began at 18 with endometriosis.
Helen sings jazz, blues, and improvisational music. She says of her childless journey. 'Singing probably saved me'.
It was while living in Goa, India, making improvisational music, she came to understand the powerful
transformative, healing alchemy of body, breath, and voice, from which she created The Chanting Circle. A sound healing and somatic practice that aims to calm and help empower involuntarily childless women.
Her 1st project, Childless Voices Singers, was researched by Laura Curtis. Weekly Sessions ran throughout the Pandemic. A few months ago, 'Calm After The Storm’ was written and recorded by the participants of that research. Sixty brave involuntarily childless women sent Helen their pictures, for a video, to raise awareness.
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