A True Global Sisterhood

By Devaa Haley Mitchell, co-leader of the Soulful Women program

Recently I mentioned to a friend, who I’m just getting to know better, that my husband Stephen and I were thinking of going to Hawaii for a New Year’s break.  Without any hesitation, she asked if we’d like to stay in her place there for free.  With a car.

As this was high season, rooms were high-priced, so this was quite a generous offering.  It turned out to be the perfect sanctuary for us to have some down time and really relax as a couple.

So why did she make such a generous offer?  We’re not the closest of friends, at least not yet.  It was because we are part of the same sacred sisterhood, a sisterhood that commits to support each other in all the ways we can.  We literally make a solemn pledge to make sure that none of our sisters is ever homeless or without food and to support each of us to thrive.

In a world that is often fairly ruthless and self-serving, this kind of deep bond of supportive sisterhood creates an oasis of safety.  It helps me relax in a profound and visceral way, knowing that there is a whole extended “family” who has my best interests at heart.  And I return the favor with deep commitment to my sisters.

I believe that in order for us to create a thriving planet, we need to restore this sense of sisterhood, not just with a few allies but all women.  To overcome millennia of masculine dominance and restore the feminine to a place of honor requires a lot of bold initiatives - breaking through corporate glass ceilings, becoming powerful lawyers, doctors, and politicians, creating transformational work, startup companies, and shifting the culture of dominant institutions.  

And it also requires doing the deep healing work to clear out centuries of conditioning that no longer serves. It’s vital that we step in not only as powerful women but love-filled women, just as at home in our delicious, wild, playful sides as we are in our fierce power.  That’s why a sisterhood can really supercharge us in our lifework and to do in a way that is deeply, fully feminine rather than simply competing with men in a masculine way.

I found it fascinating that in 2013, when the U.S. government shutdown was truly gridlocked, no hope in sight, it was a sisterhood of Senators from both sides of the aisles that got together, found the common ground, and built the bridges to a resolution.  In fact, this Democratic AND Republican sisterhood is one of real nourishment for the women. They participate in each other’s birthdays, celebrate each other’s successes, and help out when needed. Their bonds of sisterhood run deeper than party lines, and the world is a much better place for it since they were able to do what the polarized men were unable to do: find a more collaborative path.

I’ve been seeing the importance of a sisterhood crop up in dozens of places these days as more and more women recognize just how essential it is.  Traditionally, we had sororities in college that played that role.  Only now we need them for our adult lives and for empowering us into our real soul’s work.

That’s why I feel so blessed to be part of the global sisterhood that is our Soulful Women school, which I co-created with my beloved sister Elayne Kalila Doughty.  Each year, we take an intimate group of initiates through a seven-month program that grows into a truly sacred sisterhood in which we hold each other’s dreams together, do the healing work required to truly blossom, and activate a fuller spectrum of feminine energies in our bodies and lives.

Our global sisterhood also acts like an amplifier of intention, which means that as the group holds our vision for us, we often attract the right circumstances much more quickly.  I’m thinking, for example of one sister who was a medical executive and burned out on trying to bring change to the system.  She got clear that it was time for her to launch her own holistic consultancy.  And within one week of asking the group to share this vision for her, she got laid off - with 18 months of full-pay severance that gave her the seed money for her dream!  It was perfect timing and support to launch her soul’s dream.

If you are hungry for a sacred sisterhood - women who will stand with you no matter what - I encourage you to consider our program. The results when women feel held, seen, blessed, and unconditionally supported by other women are astonishing. Our 2014 program begins in just a few weeks, so you can go ahead and read all about it by clicking below.  And may we all find the sisterhood we need to truly blossom.

Click here for the Soulful Women Certificate Program