In July, 2009, I sought out a spiritual advisor because my life was unraveling at the seams; my fiancé was leaving the relationship, I had come under attack by the CCO of the company I worked for, I was being pressured to put my home on the market at a horrible time by my ex who was a financial partner, my temper was unmanageable, and sibling relationships were ruptured following the death of my mother eight months before.
I had survived rough times before but this was testing me at the deepest levels – almost everything that I thought was secure was falling apart.
My spiritual advisor shared with me that, in her view, the feminine energies’ attempts for empowerment were in conflict where masculine energies’ were threatened. She said the masculine aspects were being asked to incorporate love into their power, and the feminine to reclaim their power to be integrated with love.
She said this was necessary for the paradigm shift that was coming in 2012. Her words became one of my life-preservers at that time; I hung on hoping her prophecy would come true and all would somehow “right” itself in 2012. If I could just hang on that long…
For the next two plus years, I was on the lookout for anything that looked like a manifestation of her prediction. I saw the BP oil spill as a loss for the Patriarchy. I deemed the Wall Street meltdown another perfect example. Anywhere there was destruction of the greedy and those who demonstrated disregard for the planet or her beings, I interpreted as a step toward the paradigm shift of 2012.
In May 2010, my niece Joanna Whitlow, a professional in the birthing community, contacted me to discuss her vision for a documentary called the After Birth Project. She wanted it to help raise awareness around the challenges faced by the newly emerging family, with emphasis on the care that new mothers need in order to thrive during this vulnerable period. Joanna knew that I’d been a television producer the last couple of years and in particular had been working on a project with Ricki Lake. Though I’d always had a feeling of reverence for pregnant women and considered the time when a woman’s children were small to be sacred, I found myself taking to the subject with a passion that surprised me. I felt I had found my tribe.
Fast-forward to December 2011. Production of the documentary was on hiatus due to monetary constraints. Then Joanna called and asked me if I could get an on-camera interview with Ibu Robin Lim, who was in Southern California to attend the 2011 CNN Hero of the Year Awards. Ibu Robin, an American midwife practicing in Indonesia, founded Bumi Sehat Foundation. Bumi Sehat is a not-for-profit organization providing community health and childbirth services, education and outreach in Bali, Aceh and Haiti. Robin had made it to CNN’s Top Ten Finalists.
Four days later I was sitting across from Ibu Robin in North Hollywood, listening with rapt attention as she shared her vision of birthing and postpartum support for women around the world. Robin agreeing to do the interview and her enthusiasm for the documentary were dreams I hadn’t even dared to wish for.
48 hours later, my editor posted a clip of the interview on YouTube. The following day, on live television, CNN would be announcing the 2011 Hero of the Year. I dearly wanted Ibu Robin to win. It would be a major coup for what I saw as the mounting evidence, that indeed, 2012 was ushering in a level of feminine empowerment unknown for thousands of years. In addition, Ibu Robin would be given $250,000 to go with the $50,000 she had already received. That money would make a huge impact on her three donation-based clinics, where average wages are the equivalent of $50 per month. I so wanted to believe Ibu Robin would win. But in my gut, I didn’t feel it with any certainty. In fact, I was harboring the fear that she wouldn’t win, although I refused to give voice to that fear. Even when my friend and colleague in Malaysia sent me the Facebook message that Ibu Robin had won, the thought crossed my mind that perhaps my friend got it wrong. Could a humble midwife from the other side of the globe, actually win this award from CNN? But it was true. And it was in that moment that I knew: we are entering a new era.
I witnessed another confirmation of this new era when I read that Ina May Gaskin, considered the mother of authentic midwifery, received the Right Livelihood Award, Sweden’s Alternative Nobel Prize, for outstanding vision and work on behalf of our planet and its people. A few weeks later, I was pinching myself again. There I was, interviewing Ina May on-camera for our documentary. Ina May’s book Spiritual Midwifery had reinforced my confidence to deliver my second daughter at home 19 years ago. Along with Robin Lim, Ina May was a hero and guiding light to me.
Not long ago, I received an email from a woman named Cassie Schultz, a survivor of postpartum depression. Cassie believes so much in the vision and mission of the After Birth Project, that she nominated herself Fundraising Contributor for 2012. Another beautiful demonstration of feminine empowerment. Cassie will be our guest contributor to this blog. Welcome, Cassie. We’re blessed to have you on board.
It is with great optimism that Joanna and I recommit ourselves and take up the reins of the After Birth Project documentary this January 2012. We believe strongly that the energies working to empower the feminine are poised, standing by to assist us in any way. Join us in making this a year of tremendous positive change for maternal health care everywhere.
“Every mother counts and healthcare is a human right.” ~ Ibu Robin Lim
