Come Home - Body, Self and Soul In this engaging, empowering and honest book, inspirational speaker and facilitator of women's spiritual awakening Leela Francis shares the forests, peaks, and valleys of her wild and wonderful way home. You'll also be moved by the wisdom and stories of her clients who dared to touch deeply into their own rich life tapestries to emerge stronger, more vibrant, and more vividly their true selves. If you're ready to midwife your own rebirth, release the chains of self-judgment, be in authentic dialogue with your body, and find delight in who you are, the Vividly Woman Embodiment System will map out a clear and traceable odyssey for your personal expansion. You will learn how to access your embodied wisdom as you claim your Sensual, Emotional, and Intuitive power; ignite and sustain energy radiance through the five Vividly Woman textures; and discover the gift of the three Vividly Woman lenses as tools of personal inquiry to weave your glorious way back home. "Welcome Home! Leela Francis and her story are the fuel that will launch a thousand stories. Women are hungry, longing, for authenticity. Leela provides this rare commodity in a world lacking feminine power. She will lead you home" Caroline Muir, founder of the Divine Feminine Institute for Men and Women and coauthor of the best-selling Tantra: The Art of Conscious Loving Woman's Way Home Navigating Your Path to Embodied Power By LEELA FRANCIS Balboa Press Copyright © 2013 Leela Francis All rights reserved. ISBN: 978-1-4525-7404-2 Contents PREFACE....................................................................xiFOREWORD...................................................................xvACKNOWLEDGEMENTS...........................................................xviiINTRODUCTION...............................................................xixHOW TO USE THIS BOOK.......................................................xxv1. Centers, Textures, and Lenses The Dimensions of Living Vividly.........1POWER CENTERS The Wisdom that Lives in Your Body..........................2. Sensual Power Remembering your Body as a Temple........................193. Emotional Power Mastering the Rich World of Your Emotions..............494. Intuitive Power Dancing Your Higher-Self...............................68TEXTURES Mature Energy Management.........................................5. Sense Awareness is the Foundation of Your Journey......................916. Ground Cultivate Presence and Your Earth Body..........................1097. Mobilize Meaning that Motivates and Ignites Your Life..................1278. Harness Sustain Expansion: Make More Out of Less.......................1439. Express Celebrate Truth and the Key to Intimacy........................165LENSES Portals to Wisdom..................................................10. Lenses How We Look Determines What We See.............................18511. Somatic Lens Resource Your Body's Truth...............................18912. Creative Lens Discover the Gift.......................................19713. Spiritual Lens Awaken Transpersonal Power.............................20314. Dancing the Solar System Explore with Your Body.......................208CONCLUSION.................................................................223ABOUT THE AUTHOR...........................................................225THE VIVIDLY WOMAN EXPERIENCE...............................................227SUGGESTED READING..........................................................231SUPPORT RESOURCES..........................................................235INDEX......................................................................239 CHAPTER 1 Centers, Textures, and Lenses The Dimensions of Living Vividly We are a small group of women sitting together in a sacred circle.We've gathered items that represent the four elements: earth, water,air, and fire, for a central altar that holds the space of the sacredcenter of our circle, the place where all our respective stories becomeone. We've joined together for the weekend, to share and explore oursoulful, woman-ful connection to life and deepen the meaning of ourexistence. Many of the women who sit in this circle, are here for the very firsttime. They feel nervous, hesitant; some even feel scared or terrified."Why did I come here" you can almost hear their thoughts in thesilence. "There are so many other things I could be doing this weekend.What's the point of a woman's circle anyway?" Their nervousness is practically palpable. Many of these women havedone lots of risky things in their life. They've traveled, raised families,held powerful positions in business and policy making organizations,and sought ways to grow and expand, so it's not as if they're strangersto living outside the box. But sitting in a sacred circle with a bunch ofwomen, most of them strangers, is still foreign and threatening. Maybeit's because of the many years