The Wise Woman Tradition and the Universal Mother Principles

Welcome to the second season of the Wise Birth Radio! I wanted to talk a bit today about some of the philosophical underpinnings of our work and philosophy here at Catskills Birth Collective. Sara and I feel really resonant with the Wise Woman model of care, as outlined by Susun Weed. I feel that wholly embodying it will be a lifelong process, but I am already grateful for the words that Susun Weed has put to this invisible, ancient tradition, to my teachers at Indie Birth and Sacred Window Studies who put this tradition in action through their work, and to the women I walk beside who are also practicing and stepping into this tradition. 

You'll hear about:

• A brief overview of the Wise Women model of care. Super important: This model of care is not specific to a certain practitioner, method, or tool. It is a philosophy, a way of thinking, that anyone can tap into at any moment.

• Commonalities between this model of care and the Tao te Ching

• “Deficiencies, not disease” - What I’ve been delving into recently with Morley Robbins and the RCP

• How this will impact the way I show up/will show up as a midwife in the future:

  • Not having a formula, or a checklist for the women I work with but instead laying out the options for women to allow them to choose what they know they need.

  • The way we offer consultations from a foundation of holding space for transformation and personal responsibility. We don’t offer consultations necessary to guide or inform, but to allow you to step into your own leadership.

  • This foundational principle of nourishment - this is what we need more of in the postpartum time! (Well, in all of life.) This is why offering postpartum cooking services for our local community feels so important to me.

• The Universal Mother Principles

  • Simplicity

  • Flexibility

  • Compassion

  • Listening

  • Intuition

  • Grounding

  • Non Judgement

• A bit of discussion of what it ACTUALLY means to listen to your intuition. It can be so frustrating to hear “oh, just listen to your intuition”, when sometimes it can be so quiet and hard to hear! I encourage you to practice turning that dial to tune inwards and temporarily remove the outside noise.

• What it truly looks like to truly feel yourself at the center of your own spiral, and everyone else at the center of theirs. The spiral is the symbol for the Wise Woman Tradition, and locating yourself there is such a deep practice. It takes both radical responsibility, and radical acceptance.

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Mentioned in the show:

Spirit and Practice of the Wise Woman Tradition by Susun Weed

Tao Te Ching (I love the audio book)

Morley Robbins and the RCP

Our Episode on Receiving in the Postpartum Time

Sacred Window Studies Website and Instagram

My new Postpartum Cooking offering

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Thanks for listening!

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If you have anything you want to hear more about, or any questions you'd like us to address, please reach out at catskillsbirthcollective@gmail.com. We welcome your feedback. 

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