Author Archives: Ymani Simmons

Autumn Equinox Women’s Retreat

Open your heart, heal the old patterns that confine you, release them with grace as we dance with the Dark Mother under the light of the full moon. Isn’t it time to fly?

What a LION Team – A Circle For Women!

L.I.O.N., Love Is Our Nature, had our first ‘DreamStorming’ meeting in January of 2018. That was the birthing of our sewing group, A Circle For Women.

We came together in the beginning of this new year to share our hearts about the numerous problems witnessed in the world, problems we felt weren’t receiving enough attention, assistance, or solution. Many projects surfaced that day and we began a deeper dialogue about what we could do individually and collectively to be of service to the greater good.

One of those projects is assisting girls and women globally with the basic need and right of having sanitary, personal products for their monthly menstrual cycle. The knowledge of this women’s struggle has been burning within me since I became aware several years ago and I have felt helpless to assist my sisters – until now.

A Circle For Women has been meeting monthly, since March, with the focused goal of creating a product that is “Win-Win”, comprised of 100% cotton, cotton flannel, and or wool fabrics to ensure a  product for women to use that is clean and safe and also contains no plastic, for a sustainable environment.

 

Many meetings were held filled with ideas, suggestions, thoughts, feelings and respectful conversation about what would work best and we arrived in agreement, through consensus. What a wonderful exercise in community-based planning, organizing and action!

We already have numerous groups globally that have expressed a need and we just shipped our first order for 45 kits going to Kenya via New Jersey. The Pastoralist Child Foundation will be handing out these free hygiene kits to young girls stepping into their next phase of feminine life, becoming a woman. We are proud, grateful, excited and enormously happy to be able to give assistance to these young women, assuring their ability to stay in school and receive the education that could be the path to growth, empowerment, self-esteem and personal sustainability.

How can you help, you ask? One way is to provide financial assistance which will enable us to continue to purchase the fabrics needed to provide these kits and help pay for delivering them to the numerous locations around the world. Another way is to organize sewing groups in your own communities – many hands make for lighter work.

Just as it takes a village to raise a child, it also takes a village to provide for the needs of each of its members. We are all members of the same human family.

“The pain of one is the pain of all, and the honor of one is the honor of all –

because we are all related.”

Contact me today for more information about getting involved with this good work! [email protected]

A line in the sand….

We have allowed a line to be drawn in the sand. Someone else put it there, yet we continue to give it validity. The line tells us we are separate. In fact, we are one.

When faced with a seemingly sea of ‘problems’, it can be challenging to recognize solutions. It feels easier to focus elsewhere, or maybe just give up. Sometimes, we need to step away for a broader perspective, a gentle nudge, or an opportunity to take a bold step into discovering what role we can play in “being the change”.

The StarLions of Timbavati, South Africa offer you an opening to change your life forever by introducing you to LionHearted Leadership,

 

 

Ymani Simmons is a peacemaker, spiritual mentor, writer, ceremonialist, and conservationist. She assists women and men internationally in healing their hearts, embracing loving empowerment, and remembering who they are. Through her voice of experience and wisdom, conscious awareness, and positive spirit, she provides a safe and sacred container for individuals to experience inner growth by reconnecting their deeper self and all of Nature.

After two group trips to visit the White Lions in 2015, Ymani registered and attended the White Lion Leadership Academy in 2016 and is currently a Practitioner Trainee with the 13 Laws of LionHearted Leadership.

As an advocate for securing a safe future for the White Lions and all species at risk, she has made the commitment to devote her life to conservation – helping restore Mother Earth to her rightful and authentic state.

Wisdom of the Heart…….

There are just a few spaces left on this incredible journey to South Africa to spend time with the White Lions of Timbavati. You don’t want to miss this experience of a lifetime!

 

Women’s Vision Quest, August 9 – 15, 2016

Women’s Vision Quest

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Vision Quest is a multi-cultural ceremony that has been leading people into the wilderness to ‘cry for a vision’ for thousands of years. For some, it is a response to a tap on the shoulder, a tug at the heart, an opportunity to get quiet, go deep, search for answers, and face the fears that we are ready to remove from our path.

By fasting and sitting alone in the stillness of Nature, we are given an opportunity to listen with all of our ears and open ourselves to the Wisdom within and without that speaks with a golden voice through the seen and unseen worlds.

It is not a Ceremony to be taken lightly and all women are expected to come, participate in service and support at a Women’s Quest Fire and base camp before making the commitment to climb the mountain and seek a vision.

Questing begins with a series of circle gatherings to explore the foundations of self discovery. Part of taking care of oneself is remembering how to connect deeply with nature, and with the sacred rhythms of the earth. All one needs to understand spiritually can be found in nature. In this modern-day, fast-paced living that we do, we often forget to slow down and see the sacredness all around us; to really honor the sacred space of the plant people, the stone people, the four-leggeds, the winged ones, those that crawl, and those that swim.

We are nature, and in our spiritual walk, we want to respect, honor, and learn from the beauty that surrounds us, the life that surrounds us. We have merely forgotten, and it’s time to come together in Ceremony, and remember. Vision Quest is an opportunity to peel away the layers of everyday life, and connect deeply with nature and one’s place in it.

60007_1616470898155_7177431_n2Together, we prepare. Together, we learn and grow. Together, we make the changes necessary for a new world.

Whether you are going up on the mountain, or supporting the Questers and community at base camp, it’s a time of inner growth by learning to live fully in gratitude, honoring the sacredness of all life, honoring ourselves and one another, and becoming comfortable with our own personal power. Everyone Quests. It’s a beautiful time to go deeper into learning the value of ceremony.

This is a wonderful sisterhood of women growing together in community while holding a higher vision for humanity.  There are many variations to the quest, which we have been holding annually since 2008.  If you are interested in learning more about this sacred tradition, supporting the Questers at base camp, or are being called to Quest yourself, please contact me.

Three Sacred Portals of Womanhood

New Events for Spring!

Individual Workshops for Women of all ages!

There are many ways to explore the changing stages of a woman’s life.
Though each stage may be symbolized by a woman
of a particular age and phase of life, their aspects interweave within us.
They exist as archetypes, an aspect of the human experience that continually occurs,
a pattern of behavior that becomes represented, or embodied by a symbolic personality.

The Emerging Maiden            The Nurturing Mother            The Conscious Crone

ThreeSacred Portals

Space is limited so contact Ymani for more information, or to make your reservation:

[email protected]

Women’s Winter Retreat…….

The hearth Fires are burning, the nights have turned cold, and some may be feeling a longing to discover something forgotten, remember something hidden.

If you are hearing a call for deep introspection, release of old patterns, and clarity of purpose then this weekend retreat has arrived right on time.

Register now at http://www.watergirlsatplay.com/yoga/tending-fire-within-winter-retreat/

Space is limited!!

We look forward to assisting you in Tending Your Fire Within.

Tending the Fire Within2

 

Tending the Fire Within, a Women’s Winter Retreat

What is Inner Fire? It is the essence of creation that exists within all people; the spark of inner power, creativity, and joy that motivates and directs us to make the specific choices that become our path. It is the essence that is unique to you.

A Women’s Winter Retreat of Introspection…….sound like something you need? Come, step into Sacred Space with us.

Space is limited and reservations are coming in, so make your choice soon! Tending the Fire Within2

Stepping into Winter…….

Ice TreesWe take a step through this darkened doorway of stillness called Winter Solstice. As we do, let us remember….

…that darkness holds the seeds of tomorrow gently in her cold hands, and cradles them as she sings her Winter song of purity.

…that without knowing the depth of darkness, one can never fully appreciate the magnificence and fullness of the light.

…that as you venture deep into your cave of dreams, wrap your heart in the loving blanket of trust that lines this womb of the Divine Feminine.

…to give our unexplored potential to the fearless creativity of the darkness.

…the endless possibilities of creation that our dreams and visions hold.

…our joy as we reflect on who and what we love, and how we might better serve them.

…the inner peace that only illumination can bring as we shine our hope, dream our future, and fully awaken a new reality that nurtures, loves, respects, and rejoices in the beauty and Sacredness of all.

May the magic of the Winter Solstice fill your heart and soul with all of the abundance that Life has to offer.