I was a vulnerable 11-year-old, already scarred from my parent’s divorce. Mother Nature had blessed me with early puberty and an overnight D cup. I looked more like a young adult than a girl latching onto innocence. I was spending the night with a family friend and was swimming in their pool when the Dad, entered the water.

“Let me lift you up and throw you, like when you were kids,” he said reaching out his hand and drawing me closer. The twist in my belly told me it was wrong, but conditioning taught me to do as I was told, and I let him throw me. As he lifted me up, he reached into my swimsuit and touched me inappropriately. In shock, I quickly swam away, got out of the pool and went inside.

The first time I spoke of this event was a few years ago, shortly after my 40th birthday- 3 decades later. The confusion I felt within, never allowed the words to come out of my mouth. The shield of shame I wore, blocked the connection I had with my own femininity and sensuality. I felt dirty, violated and hated the sexual looks men gave me. In self-preservation, I shut down a vital
part of my self and instead of accepting myself fully and feeling open, I put my guard up, especially around men.

As I read through the hundreds of #metoo posts, I am blown away by how many women have been sexually assaulted and harassed. These statistics reveal how corrupt sexual energy can be in our society- and the damage it causes. Thanks to journalist Sandra Muller, actress Alyssa Milano, and many other brave celebrities, we can now have this conversation openly. #meetoohas been posted over half a million times. Compassionate collaboration has formed a circle of sisterhood, coming together to claim back our power.

This is not a time to pass the shame onto our perpetrators, this is an opportunity to let it go- to express ourselves, to share, to send love to the millions of men and women violated. This is a time to heal, to put down our shield and release the shame. This is a time to connect back to our sensuality and magnetism because it is our place of personal power. It is the home of our creativity, charisma and vital energy source.

This inspiring campaign, pulls us all together, not in judgment, but in love to open and return to our true Essence and innocence, with far greater wisdom and inner strength. Step into the grace of forgiveness- which is not about letting them off the hook– this is about forgiving ourselves for the shame and possibly blame we may be holding onto- to free ourselves from those toxic emotions holding us back from being our most free and empowered self.

Share your stories, and give love to all the people sharing theirs, as we join in numbers to demand respect and boundaries and purify the sacredness of sexuality.

To your truth and freedom with lots of love,

Cheryne