The
other
day
someone
asked
me
what
I
thought
was
the
most
important
thing
for
a
woman
in
midlife
to
know.
It
didn't
take
me
long
to
answer.
The
most
important
thing
to
know
is
how
to
access,
unblock,
and
attract unlimited
amounts
of
energy.
The
ancient
Asian
term
Qi
(pronounced
chee),
refers
to
one's
vital
energy.
There
is
no
greater
knowledge
for
a
woman
who
wants
to
experience
vitality,
heath,
and
happiness
during
the
second
half
of
her
life.
But,
there's
a
lot
more
that
comes from
learning
how
to
tap
into
our
Qi.
Our
world
obviously
needs
our
love,
care,
and
attention
more
than
ever
before
.
One
of
the
deepest
longings
shared
by
most midlife
women
is
to
discover
their
Divine
purpose.
They
want
to
create
meaning
and
find
a
direction
in
life that
helps
make
this
world
a
better
place
for
their
children
and
grandchildren,
for
plants
and
animals,
and
for
all
the
innocent
human
beings
who
are
experiencing
challenge
and
hardship.
Are
you
one
of
the
many
who
have
been
feeling
a
nudge
to
express
your
true
voice,
to
share
yourself
with
the
world,
to
help
heal
the
planet?
Have
you
been
reading
book
after
book
or
taking
workshop
after
workshop
on
things
like
finding
your
life's
purpose,
but
seem
to
hit
a
wall
each
time
that
leaves
you
more
frustrated
than
before?
Or,
are
you
one
who
knows
exactly
what
you
would
love
to
do
to
make
the
world
a
better
place,
but
don't
have
the
freedom
(financial
or
otherwise)
to
do
it?
I'm
sure
you've
heard
the
directions
given
on
airplanes
that
in
an
emergency
you
should
put
on
your
own
oxygen
mask BEFORE
you
help
anyone
else.
Well,
the
same
advice
goes
for
women
in
midlife.
It
is a
rite
of
passage
that
we
have
to
take
in
order
to
access
the
energy,
the
guidance,
the
purpose,
the
money,
the
health
and
everything
else
we
need
to
help
others.
Our
rite
of
passage
involves
giving
ourselves
permission
to
show
up
for
ourselves
so
we
can
show
up
for
the
world.
It's
a
rite
of
passage
because
it
doesn't
feel
natural
to
show
up
for
ourselves.
It
feels
natural
to
show
up
for
others..
We
have
to
learn
how
to
do
it
for
ourselves!
Many
midlife
women
are
experiencing
a
wake-up
call
in
the
form
of
depression,
physical
illness,
financial
problems,
etc. These
are
direct
results
caused
by
actions
like
saying
yes
when
we
really
mean
no,
not
listening
to
our
intuition,
allowing
ourselves
to
become
over-committed
and overly
responsible.
All
of
these
actions
deplete
our
vital
energy.
Are
you
depleting
your
Qi,
your
vital,
precious
life
force
energy,
by
not
giving
yourself
permission
to
focus
on
you?
Do
you
feel
guilty
taking
time
for
yourself?
Are
your
grown
children
taking
advantage
of
you?
Are
you
experiencing
adrenal
exhaustion
and/or
chronic
illness
from
overextending
yourself?
Do
you
find
it
impossible
to
save
money
for
your
needs
and
wants?
Do
you
feel
depressed?
Do
you
have
a
hard
time
insisting
that
others
give
you
the
space
that
you
need
to
take
care
of
yourself?
Are
you
having
a
hard
time
discovering
what
you
want
to
do
with
your
life?
Do
you
have
difficulty
taking
your
talent
and
gifts
seriously
and
worthy
of
attention?
Do
you
feel
good
about
yourself
only
when
you
are
doing
things
for
others?
Do
you
ignore
the
impulse
to
do
creative
work
because
you
feel
it's
not
good
enough
to
justify
the
time?
Do
you
feel
uncomfortable
focusing
attention
on
yourself,
such
as
writing
your
bio
or
marketing
your
talents,
because
it
feels
arrogant?
The
next
step
involved
in
freeing
up
our
Qi
is
discovering
the
"unconscious
motivator"
that
is
driving
our
behavior.
We
do
this
by
being
radically
honest
with
ourselves
as
we
ask
ourselves
whether
we
are
"choosing"
our
behavior
or
whether
we
are
doing something
because
we
fear
how
we
will
feel
and
what
people
will
think
if
we
don't
do
it?
In
The
Wisdom
of
Menopause,
Christiane
Northrup,
M.D.,
writes
that
one
of
the
main
things
we
have
to
do
in
order
to
move
through
this
rite
of
passage
is
to
give
ourselves
permission
to
show
up
for
ourselves
as
we
have
for
others.
She
states,
"Acknowledge
that
women
have
inherited
a
cultural
and
personal
legacy
of
self-sacrifice
that
has
been
passed
down
to
us
for
generations.
If
you
routinely
sacrifice
yourself
for
others,
relax.
You're
normal.
We've
been
socialized
to
value
our
contribution
to
our
family
or
social
group
-
our
social
worth
-
more
than
we
value
ourselves
and
our
relationship
with
our
soul."
I
call
it
using
our
wand
to
break
the
trance
of
the
socialized
self.
It
is a
trance
in
the
sense
that
we
don't
know
we
are
doing
it.
It
is
part
of
our
social
conditioning.
Dr.
Northrup
goes
on
to
point
out
that
women
won
the
right
to
vote
in
1920,
a
mere
eighty-seven
years
ago!
" We
haven't
had
much
time
in
which
to
shed
the
automatic
caretaking
roles
that
have
given
us
so
much
praise
for
millennia,
let
alone
replace
them
with
new
beliefs
and
behaviors
associated
with
taking
our
lives
as
seriously
as
we
take
those
of
others,
particularly
men."
Part
of
the
inner
conflict
is
that
we
feel
we're
betraying
others
when
we
try
to
be
true
to
our
own
feelings
and
ourselves.
We
feel
like
we
have
to
choose
between
them
and
us
and
because
of
our
desire
to
be
good
people,
we
choose
them.
But
what
if
we
questioned
our
unconscious
beliefs
and
assumptions
about
this
whole
us
vs.
them dilemma
and
choose
us
AND
them
in
that
order,
knowing
it
will
be
the
best
for
all?
This
is a
transformation
at
the
very
core
of
our
being. We
need
to
do
it for
our
health,
vitality,
and
well
being
so
that
we
can
shine
our
light
in
the
world.
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