From The Field
The Living Wellness Magazine Blog
Observations, Notes and Thoughts from Our Founding Editor, Leanne Elliott
Reclaiming Joy: The Halftime Show We Needed
There are so many layers to unpack from the halftime show, but the one that stays with me is this: in a time when a culture has been vilified and literally hunted in the streets of a country that promises freedom from tyranny, what we witnessed on Sunday was a population of people doubling down. The music was both fresh and timeless, the details representing all that we love about a culture that celebrates vibrancy and joy even in the face of oppression.
Us vs. Them: Inside the Real War We’re Waging
As humans, we often perceive ourselves solely as physical beings, defined by logic and limited notions of what it means to be human. We see ourselves as separate from our mystical and spiritual other half, reserving that identity only for people with special gifts or religious salvation.
This is the illusion: separation from a divinity that has always been there, and in turn, separation from each other. When we see ourselves in half-light, we see others the same way—separate, different, wrong, because they are “them” and not “us.”
Womanhood Beyond Caretaker: Honoring the Many Faces of Female Design
The cultural script for womanhood often narrows our identity down to one defining role: caretaker. For generations, one archetype has been centered, idealized, and burdened above all others—the Mother. She is the nurturer, the provider, the glue of families and communities. She is strong, organized, selfless—often seen as the very definition of womanhood.
But she is only part of the picture.
While mothering children is a sacred task, it is not a woman’s only role. We know this through the seven classical feminine archetypes: the impulsive Maiden, the embodied Wild Woman, the ignited Lover, the nurturing Mother, the protective Huntress, the regal Queen, and the wise Crone (or Wise Woman). Each represents a powerful facet of feminine energy—expressions of a vast and sacred terrain. These aspects don’t vanish through the seasons of life, they evolve, and so does our sense of self.
The New Face of Feminism
The feminist movements of the 60s and 70s were fueled by sacred rage — powerful, necessary, loud. The 80s said, “Fine. If we can’t change the system, give us a seat at the table.” Women entered boardrooms, proved our competence, and began building lives where marriage was no longer the ultimate prize.
But in order to survive in those systems, we had to become like men — dress like them, work like them, operate on their timelines. Men run on a 24-hour hormonal cycle. They rise, perform, rest, repeat. Women don’t. We’re wired to a 28-day cycle of ebb and flow, similar to the moon, where each week is a different phase in our need for rest or output.