Create Your Best Lesbian 2024 with the Roadmap Course & Sacred Roots Adventure in Lesvos!

And I'm going to talk briefly about the upcoming 12-week Roadmap class that I have starting actually 2 weeks from today, January 20th. And then Jodi is going to talk about Sacred Roots and introduce Demetra and talk about her upcoming trips to Greece. And what your intentions are, the magic that you intend to create for this year. may or may not have anything to do with our specific plans and projects. So we just want to let you know what we're doing, and more, more and more magic will continue to emerge. But one of my big passions has been, as I said, teaching about conscious lesbian dating and relationships, helping people really identify, you know, when there's something that you want in your heart, in your life, what are the steps to take to actually bring that into being? Because there's the magic and manifestation part of it, but I believe that for most of us, there's also a part that involves actual conscious, deliberate skill building and understanding certain principles. So that— because sometimes when you just meet somebody, it feels like magic, and, and yet— and, and it is magic. The universe is full of grace, but it doesn't always lead to the outcomes that we want. So my work has really been about trying to create the art and science of lesbian dating and love. So I bring in lots of neuroscience, lots of contemporary relationship research, attachment theory. as well as some of the spiritual practices that you've seen me talk about today. And the 12-week class is described in this book. If anybody here does not yet have this book, Conscious Lesbian Dating and Love, you can get the first 4 chapters free on the website. I can put the link in for that in a moment, or perhaps Jen can do it if she's still available. Look at that. Jen is amazing. So anybody who doesn't yet have the book, you can go get the first 4 chapters at the link she just put in the chat. And what the class does, what the book does, and what the class does in a more lively way with a community of people is walk you through the process of really understanding first What a healthy relationship looks like. You know, I don't know about you, but when I was in 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th grade and beyond, nobody gave me any classes about, you know, A, how wonderful it was to be a lesbian, and B, what a healthy relationship could be and what it was that I would need to be able to look for and show up with in order to have that kind of relationship. So I did a lot of learning the hard way. So week 1 in the class talks about what is a healthy relationship, how do you cultivate what you need to be able to bring, and what do you look for in another person. Then we go into emotional intelligence and emotional literacy, really being able to be with our own feelings and communicate them skillfully. Being able to work with our triggers, as the more intense a relationship is, the more triggers come up for each person. And so being able to really understand that process and use the conflicts as a way to get closer and build connection rather than having to get derailed by them. We talk about making peace with the past because a lot of us are carrying around A lot of hurt from previous relationships. And so being able to really put that to rest inside is part of what we need to be able to move forward into the love that we want. We talk about dating, how to date, how to find people to date, and most importantly, what to talk about while you're dating, because dating is really a trying-on period, or at least Ideally it is. I talk to a lot of women, and I have been this person in the past, who, who say that they've never dated. You know, we, we as a lesbian community are famous for the U-Haul on the second date phenomenon.

Right.

So oftentimes when we feel a spark, we just dive in. Sometimes then we found we dove into a swimming pool that didn't have water in it. It's really painful. Um, so, so this is really a class in how do you do this thing? You know, a lot of the women that tend to come to Conscious Girlfriend are over 40. Many are over 50. Quite a few are over 60. Um, and so you may have gotten to a point, and, and if you're younger than that and you've already gotten to this point, Kudos to you. But I think sometimes what happens is when we're younger, we think, oh, it's going to work out. It just takes meeting the right person. And then when we've had a number of decades of experience, we realize, okay, I'm the common denominator here. There must be something I need to do differently. So if you've reached that point, whatever age you are, that's where the Roadmap class will take you by the hand and say, okay, here is, here is a map. Step by step, here is how to date, how to prepare yourself for the relationship you want, how to really understand what that is, how to communicate about it, how to see if the other person has a similar vision, how to understand what compatibility really is as opposed to just chemistry. So I have seen this class make a huge difference in The lives of many people. I don't know if anybody here who's been through the roadmap class wants to say anything about it. We have quite a few alum here. You can put something in the chat or unmute yourself if you feel moved. We also have lots of videos, testimonial videos on the website. So would love to have. Some of you here take that class starting in 2 weeks.

I'd like to say something for a minute.

Great. Thank you, Jodi.

Sure. So 2 things. One, if you are actively kind of working on yourself and your relationship skills, and you want to date someone else that's actively working on their relationship skills, This is a good place to be because you want to show up. You want to put yourself in places to meet other women that are, are doing what you're doing, that care about what you're caring about. And it's very hard, no matter, you know, what your intention is or how skillful you are, if you're not relating to another person that's kind of in the game in the same way, that's doing the same kind of work, that's self-reflecting, that's got some good communication skills that can receive feedback so you can have that kind of interaction. So, um, the other thing I wanted to say is, you know, a lot of us have been working on ourselves for a long time, um, and, uh, my best friend just did maybe the last Roadmap class with another good friend of mine, and they've both done so much work on themselves already. And they did this class. And, you know, my friend was kind of not certain that she was really gonna learn very much. But sometimes it's not just what you learn, like you might know something already. But, you know, it's a new moment, and it's a new opportunity, even if you hear the same thing again, or you hear something new, to actually embody it and experience it.

She—

they experienced it. It was very experiential for them. They became buddies, and they really jumped into it, and they had such a profound experience. So, you know, my, my point is just, even if you say to yourself, I already know this, I've already done this kind of thing, it's a new moment, and it's a new opportunity to dig deep into who you are right now and just go through the process. It's a good one.

Thank you, Jodi. I always find that magic happens in the class. You know, this is a great thing to say on the theme of synchronicity, because the magic that takes place is so far beyond any particular magic that I alone could create or could teach. There's a real mutual learning and sharing environment that happens along with the roadmap that I have provided. And I am continuing to learn in my personal life and professional life. all the time about what it takes to have a healthy relationship. Believe me, I do not teach from the stance of being a guru who has this all figured out. I teach from the stance of, you know, literally every day I am living this. And when all of us come together with people who are engaged in this process, we bring so much to each other. And get so much from each other. So the class, this particular 12-week class, I only offer live once a year. So I definitely suggest that you sign up. You'll get the recordings even if you can't make every live session. You can sign up for it at another point of year and just see the recordings. But if you want to be able to come live all or some of the time, this is the time to do that. Awesome.

There are some— there are specific— Where are the live sessions?

They're on Zoom.

Yeah.

So it's all—

Oh, okay. Okay.

I'm sorry. Thank you.

Live on Zoom. That's funny. It's kind of an oxymoron in a way.

Well, it's still live though, because we're talking, we're interacting, we're answering questions.

Yeah.

Yeah. And so, and the class is, um, $597. Um, but if you join the Academy for a whole year, you pay just $100 more, it's $697, and then you actually get 12 months of support because we have roadmap groups that meet all year round, every, every week for people to talk about and practice. these skills and also just connect with other like-minded people.

And then you also have the elders group and you have— do you still do the coaching group? Yeah.

So, um, there are different levels of membership. I want to turn things back to you, Jodi, so you can talk about your amazing work too. Okay. But for people who are not necessarily interested in learning about dating and relationships right now, but are over 60 and just want to be connected with like-minded peers, Our Conscious Lesbian Elders group is an amazing group. We have amazing people deep sharing in that group. That happens every Tuesday morning. You can go on the website and learn about that. And then at the— we have a ton of recorded classes. So even if you don't want to join the 12-week roadmap group, you can get access to I suspect the most comprehensive lesbian dating relationship and sexuality library in the world of recorded classes. We have classes on attachment, we have classes on all aspects of sexuality, and in the higher level of membership you get live group coaching with me once a month. We also have many trained and certified coaches, so if you're looking for one-on-one coaching You can go and see the people that I've trained. Lesbian relationships are, I often say, can be the best relationships on the planet. And I believe that because 2 women bond so quickly and deeply, our relationships take more skill than the average heterosexual relationship. You know, we can, we can go further. So it also requires more of us. So Definitely check out what we have in the Academy. And people are saying some really beautiful things in the chat, so I love this. We do offer some scholarships, yes. So when you go onto the website, you will see it says click here to learn about our scholarship guidelines. And for women of color, we offer full scholarships for BIPOC people who need them. And then of course for women of all races and non-binary people of all races, you'll see our scholarship guidelines there. The Roadmap group, you do not have to want to date to come take the Roadmap class. You just have to be interested in learning more about dating and relationships. Somebody, somebody's saying they can't hear me well. Can can people hear me? Okay, sorry if some people couldn't. Maybe I just need to be closer to the computer. Yeah, so if you go check out the website page consciousgirlfriendacademy.com/roadmap, you'll learn a lot. It's really it it can also be a class for people who are currently in relationships because we do a lot about. Communication, clean speech, clean listening, working with triggers, self-understanding. And many people who come to the class who are not currently interested in dating also say that the class helps with all of their other relationships. So, but I'm going to stop talking. I love to talk about this, but I want to turn this over to Jodi because Jodi is doing amazing things.

Thank you.

Thank you. Dimitra, I want to introduce again. Dimitra, where are you? I'm gonna spotlight you just for a minute so people can find you.

Where are you?

Where are you? I can't find you.

Here I am.

Oh, there you are. So this, this is Dimitra Kamaranu. I'm laughing because we did a video when we were in Greece last time. And it took me a few times to say her name right, so she's correcting me over and over, and we just decided to post that video because it's so funny. Um, so this is Demetra. I met her in 2022, and we just liked each other so much, and we instantly started looking for ways to collaborate. So our trips are called Sacred Roots. So both of the upcoming 2024 trips have time with Demetra and I together, and also then time coming back to the Isle of Lesbos. So I want to ask you, Demetra, what does—

what—

why—

why—

oh my God, why Women's Sacred Roots? I'm going to mute myself now. Why? What is Sacred Roots to you?

Uh, okay, can I give my answer, uh, describing how I met Jodi? I met Jodi, um, on Lesbos Island During a wedding, 2 lesbian women were getting married, and I asked the organizer, can I do an ancient Greek ritual, something very small, like 5 minutes here? So this is what I did. And then everybody was moved, and they invited me to do more of that. And I said, why don't we go to the sacred places of Greece, to the sites of the goddesses, the sanctuaries of the goddesses? So we organized our first Women's Sacred Roots Retreat. It seems that we share a common mythology that represents archetypical qualities of the women. You all know Athena, Demeter, Artemis, Aphrodite. They all represent archetypical qualities of women. Imagine that we get to the places, to the actual temples, of these goddesses. And being an archaeologist myself, I don't do a guided tour like, this temple was built in this century and destroyed during this century. I do something that I call experiential initiation. And this is like embodied spirituality. I try to convey the energy, the spirit of the goddesses to the participants of this soul journey we're doing through these temples. So we share these sacred roots because these are qualities that the women, all of us, no matter where we live on this world, on this planet, we have Artemis, the liberation, the freedom, our wild self, Aphrodite, our erotic self and the transcendental also. Athena, the wisdom of the women, she's also a protector, always armed, but not to kill like the god of war, but to protect the matter, the connection with the nature, the mother. So we organize these journeys through these sacred places that are very powerful, and we convey these qualities to the women. I was surprised. We did the last year our first trip with Jodi. I'm more focused in the experiences. Jodi is more focused in the connection. So every evening we have the circles, women's circles. And I was surprised by the follow-up. These retreats were so transformational for every woman that participated. We couldn't believe that. And we don't even expect that it would be so transformational. So this year we decided to, to continue. And we organized 2 Women's Sacred Route retreats. We go to the ancient Greek temples of the goddesses, but there is even more than that. We snorkel in the most ancient submerged city in the world, 4,000 years BC. We will go by boat in an underground cave. underground river, actually, that was the oldest sanctuary in Greece, 6,000 years BC. And besides that, there is joy and entertainment and dance and drum circles and wine tasting and olive and cheese tasting. And we also are going to stay in Sparta Gaia, which is my, my guest house in an authentic Greek village.

We're gonna visit castles as well. Amazing.

Yeah, castles, castle towns, some of the most amazing and fascinating places of Greece. So I'm looking forward to this magic. I'm looking forward to the connection with my— with more women there. And I would like to thank you, Ruth, and you, Jodi, for inviting me and for letting me be a part of this community of lesbian women. Thank you, really. Thank you so much.

We are blessed to have you. Thank you. So, um, yeah, so I know the time is up right now. Um, the trip in the beginning of June is 2 weeks with Demetra and I, 2 Sacred Roots weeks. And then because it was requested, I, I added a kind of an add-on, Rest, Relax, and Integrate, to come back with me over to the island, um, in the little village of Oresos where the festival takes place. The trip in September is gonna happen 10 days before the festival. So we will travel with Demetra and I for 1 week, come back, have a couple days off, and then we're gonna go into the festival together as a group. So the festival takes place in a little village. It's not like we think— what we think of a festival is a big, you know, big place with vendors and different stages. It takes place in this small village on the beach. So we will form, you know, as a group. It'll be kind of lightly managed by me. We're gonna meet every morning for breakfast to talk about the day. So you can, you know, who wants to snorkel? Who wants to do this? Who's going to this workshop? We have breakfast together, and then you're off into the festival. So everything's on the website. I've spent many hours working on, working on the website. If you have any feedback or questions, I'm, uh, I think I already put my, my email address, lesbiangetaways@gmail.com. If you want to talk about it some more, um, anything you want to know, just please reach out. We would love to have you. Um, registration is open for both trips, and I'm so excited. I can't even tell you how excited I am. I'm excited to go on my own trip, spend all this time with Demetra in Greece. There's something that happens in Greece too. I don't know what it is. It's Everybody pretty much that's come, there's something that happens in Greece. It's just the history, the energetic of Greece. You know, its whole foundational principles are on really honoring and respecting other people's perspectives and ideas. And there's just the goddesses and Sappho. And anyway, Dimitra also, she's really a cultural expert. So everywhere you go, she can comment if you want to know about the architecture or what year something was built or what year she's got all of that information. So it's amazing. It's amazing. So thank you for listening to me. I'm glad I had the chance to share. I'll put the website again in there. Somebody's asking.

And I'll, I'll share something about this town of Skala Orissos, Greece. You know, it's a town where the Amazons literally lived. And so one of the many things that people do in the town is Women get together every single morning and swim out to a big rock out in the Aegean Sea. And over time, more and more of the women start swimming topless. And my girlfriend was there. She grew up in Virginia, pretty conservative part of the US. I never would have thought she would end up taking off her— her bathing suit top. But she really tuned into her Amazon roots. I mean, this is, this is something about this concept of the sacred roots. And I think we need a whole other Zoom, Demetra and Jodi, for you to, you know, Demetra, for you to lead us through some of the movements, and Jodi, for you to show some pictures of the past trips. And yes, you know, but even for people who can't go, I highly encourage anybody who thinks you might be able to go to Greece to go on one of Jodi's trips. But just to feel into our history as women and non-binary people who choose to live outside the social norm of, you know, there's such an intense heterosexual, you know, family life construct that every single one of us in, in our own way has found our way outside of. And that was what's so amazing about being in this little town in Greece with women from all over the world who have also found their way to live outside of that paradigm, and then to connect with this history of women who have been doing that for thousands of years. And what is it that we share? You know, what is it that we're here to create on the planet? What possibilities can we sense into? and experience that are different.

So, um, I've got videos and pictures. I have videos of an ecstatic dance class that Demetra led. I have videos walking up and down the beach in Scala Aresso. So the links to the town, the links to the festival, all the resources are on the website. So don't worry about getting that now. It's all there.

Yeah. And, and just for you to— for everybody here who's new to me or to Jodi or to both of us, just for you to know that we have all kinds of cool lesbian and queer community happening online. So you can go to Jodi's groups, you can come to the Academy, you can come to the Elders group, you can go to Jodi's Deep Thinkers series. You know, you can engage even if you're not able to physically go to Greece. You can learn about this amazing village on these trips. So there is a lot of co-creation that, that we can do together in this coming year.

Yeah.

Yeah. We will definitely have a whole meeting just about Sacred Roots.

Dimitra, I would love to introduce the women into the qualities of the Greek goddesses. In an experiential and embodied way. Yeah, I would love to do that.

Okay.

It's coming.

Is there something, because we do have to end officially for today, is there like some kind of movement or something that you would like to offer us? I know this is putting you on the spot, Demetra, but anything that you feel right for a closing?

Yes. So this is the Mycenaean time of Homer and Odysseus and of the other Greek heroes at the time. So we're talking about 1200 BC. So this is the Mycenaean gesture of prayer. So I put my hand, one palm over the other. I make a circle. With my, like a wreath with my hands. And the height is at the level of my forehead. So let's breathe. Feel your spine. Close your eyes. We don't touch the forehead, but here we, we concentrate ourselves. We focus. Our energy is inside this circle. 4 deep breaths here at your pace, slowly.

1, 2, 3, 4.

And there is a Greek mantra, the word dynamai. You know the word dynamic, dynamite. Dynamite means I can. So it represents the energy that is coming from me. Goes outside and returns to me. So I have the potential. Dinamai. Please say it. Repeat it after me. Dinamai. Dinamai.

Dinamai. Dinamai.

I wonder if we want to invite people to unmute themselves and say it together.

Do you want to give people?

Inamai.

Inamai. And slowly I unfold my hands and I open them up to the sides. And this is the Greek word namaste, which means here we are in Greek. Namaste. Here we are.

Namaste.

Namaste.

Namaste. Namaste.

Namaste.

Here we are.

Thank you. I feel the connection with you all. Thank you so much. Thank you, Demetra.

Oh, thank you all. Thank you all for coming today and staying to the end. It's amazing.

We still— we have 62 people here right now.

Yes. Shall we leave the room open, Ruth? We— let's— I'll stick around a little bit if anybody has questions or wants to ask Demetra and I questions or wants to ask you questions. So we can officially close.

Officially close. Some people needed to leave already, and we honor all who need to leave. Okay, sorry about that.

I'm also gonna mute everyone again. Excuse me. Okay. Okay, go ahead. So now Unmute yourself, Ruth, if you would. Sorry to interrupt you.

I just want to say how amazing it was to be here with lesbians and queer women, queer people from various parts of the world saying, dinamai, I can. Thank you so much for that, Demetra, and Jody, for just opening this channel for all of us.

Absolutely. I wanted to do a quick shout out to Jen, who's here, who's Ruth's virtual assistant, and she's also been supporting me, um, some also. And I just wanted to do a shout out and a thank you for everything you are doing for us. So thank you, Jen. Here's Jen.

You're so welcome, everybody.

She's at the outreach email if you need anything from her. She's awesome.

Great event.

I love this. Thank you all. Yes, Jen is amazing. And for those who have questions about Conscious Girlfriend Academy and you, you want to go beyond just reading the website, you feel like, isn't there somebody I can just talk to? Jen is the person you can talk to. So, um, yeah, so her phone number is is available on the website, I believe. Or if you email us, you'll get it.

Okay, awesome. Does anybody— yeah, Sue, you have a question?

Yes, I just was wondering, Ruth, if you could state again. So I was under the impression the 12-week roadmap class is about $600, and that's, and that's for 3 months, right? But did you say, did you say something a little different a couple minutes ago?

What I said was that the 12-week class is $597, but a year-long membership in the Academy at the community level is only $697. So for an extra $100, you get to keep coming to groups for the extra 9 months. So it's really, it makes a lot of sense to become a member. I offer classes throughout the year and there's weekly groups throughout the year.

And what kind of groups?

If they're— We have groups focused on practicing relationship skills. And again, all of us are in relationships all the time. You know, we're We're in relationships 24/7 with ourselves, in case you didn't notice. Sometimes it might feel like I wish I could break up with myself, and you can't. So the only solution is to improve this relationship. Um, and yeah, we have classes and, and group skill-building sessions and connection sessions on lots of topics throughout the year.

Okay, okay. And so those— and then to— if those are Often not on Saturdays or weekdays?

No, those are— many of them are on Tuesdays.

Okay.

Tuesday, 5 to 6:30 Pacific time.

Cool.

Which is a less Europe-friendly time. I apologize. But the Saturday 10 to 12 slot, we, we did keep the Europeans in mind.

Thank you so much.

This was fabulous.

Yes. Glad you enjoyed it. Anybody else have any questions?

Hi, Jodi.

I have a question.

Robin.

I'm on mute. Great. Hi, Jodi.

Hi.

I have a question. I already made some plans to go to Greece for the festival. But your program with Dimitri?

Dimitri.

Yeah. Sounds really interesting. And I'm trying to I'm wondering, you said the week before the festival you're doing something. So maybe—

I can answer your question right now. It's 2 parts. Sign up for one or both.

Do I want to?

I can sign up for both or one.

Yes, you can do Sacred Roots and then be done and just come on your own over to Skala.

Right.

And also The— my— our role in Skala is going to be very light. We are staying at the Aeolian Village, so we're staying at a 4-star resort.

I know that well.

Yes, so we're staying there, but since our, our role will be fairly light because the festival's got so much going on, we're just, you know, we just added a little bit extra for our guiding guidance, but otherwise it's there's not that much of a, you know, an extra fee because you're with a group. But what it does give you is the group.

Right.

So, you know, it really makes a difference. I found in the last time, because I have a friend that came on her own to, um, to the festival, and it's, you know, it's the same kind of thing. It's like when you're alone, you're always walking around looking for people to meet, which is great, and you meet lots of people, but it's really different than if you're actually part of a group that has a lot of activities and ways that you're really getting to know each other. And then as a group, you're going to the different events. It's, it's, it is a different thing. Both are good. But, you know, being part of the group definitely has its advantages, but it, it does include the Aeolian.

So.

Well, just let me say this. When I first went in 2022, Went by myself. And I definitely did not leave by my— I mean, not with a girlfriend, but tons of friends that I talk to almost every day now.

Oh, yeah.

So, yeah. So never be afraid to travel by yourself, especially in a family.

Yeah, absolutely. And it's, it's, it's just the kind of thing some people feel more comfortable. Everything's booked, the transportation, the hotel, everything's kind of done. done for you and you can just step into it. Um, but definitely not essential to be part of the group. You could definitely go on your own as well.

Yeah, I know.

I'm definitely interested in the retreat. So as it—

Yeah, it's easy. Just jump from one, come on over back with us, and then you're ready to go.

Okay.

And this is on your website?

Yes. Yes.

Awesome.

Okay.

I do want to I want to show something since, since we're here right now. I want to show you something really quickly and share a big announcement. A big announcement. Here is the announcement. Can you all see this?

Yes. Okay.

This is called HARA. I'm going to show you a video. So here we are. This restaurant here is—I am half owner now of this restaurant. Wow! And this apartment up above, can you see my cursor moving around? Yes. Yeah. So this apartment here is mine. This is where I'll be living all summer. So I am starting off at the end of May. I'll keep playing this. End of May. Is the Queer Festival at Ohana Ranch. It's starting on May 27th.

Oh, wow.

So I will be— we're going to be like a featured restaurant, um, for the Queer Festival. This is the rock that everyone swims to. Um, we're going to be a featured restaurant, so I'm going to do that. Then I'm coming over to the mainland to do 2 weeks of Sacred Roots, coming back with a group. Here's— this is what it's like walking up and down the beach. This is So, um, then I'm spending the summer at the restaurant, and my, my role at the restaurant is events and activities and being in the front, making sure everybody feels welcome.

Wow.

Part of the community. It's gonna be the community spot for a restaurant, and it, it's right in the center of town. It has its own courtyard. But this is what it's like walking down the streets of Scala a Rezos. And Jodi, is that on the Isle of—

that's what island is that?

Yes, yes, Lesbos.

Oh, wow. Oh, that's awesome. And