Workshop Description:
Sex, Power and The Shadow
The Witch, The Bitch, The Dyke and The Whore*
The Villain,The Prick, The Fag and The C**t
What do these marginalized archetypes mean to you? Have any or all of these labels been used against you negatively? Have you ever been accused, judged, shamed or vilified for expressing your sexual power? Or maybe you have rejected these parts of yourself and others as being bad, unacceptable or too dangerous; fearful of being torn down if and when you stand in your power.
In this workshop we will dive in deep to address these torn down parts, through a two hour journey into your shadow, into your sexual self. Exploring what the ‘dark side’ means for each of us, including provocative and evocative exercises to find our deep expression, our voice. We will use ritual, evocative music, myth and meaning, as a means of bringing home the explosive, rich and powerful archetypes, including the disowned, ridiculed or feared parts, that keep us locked in, locked up and ultimately separate. For the catch is that what we do not own, ends up owning us. By owning our deepest desires we empower ourselves, and in turn invite more room for real and meaningful connection with ourselves and others, embracing a juicier, more satisfying and genuine lifestyle of our own choosing. This workshop may be scary, it may be fun, it may be outrageous; it will definitely be confronting. I can’t wait!
This workshop is open to all genders; embracing all sexual and gender diversity, beyond the male/female binary, removing the belief that only two genders can exist and that feminine energy only comes from women and masculine energy only comes from men.
*A big, hearty thank you to Barbara Carrellas for introducing and encouraging me to work with these four Archetypes.
Presenter Bio:
Cath Carter
From Hells Angels bikie chick to Sex and Relationship Counsellor, I have been a promoter and educator of conscious sexuality, sensuality and feminine energy work for over 20 years. My journey started as a turbulent initiation into the psyche, both dark and light, where I sometimes unwittingly and other times consciously explored my bottomless and sometimes murky pit of riches, creativity, demons, wisdom, insight, despair, rage, passion, madness, desire, intensity, lust, compassion, deep pleasure and pain, all to bring the delectable, wild woman within back home.
In the 80’s my love of acting and drama took me into improvisational performance, including Theatre Sports, as well as a stint as Night Manager of The Last Laugh.
My journey took me to studies and qualifications in Transpersonal Counselling, Traditional Tao, Urban Tantra, Total Touch Therapy, Deep Tissue Massage, Humanistic Astrology and Mythology. I am a Registered Body Awakening Therapist, Self declared Ritual Queen, and an Enrolment Counsellor and Consultant for the Hoffman Quadrinity Process. I had the privilege of meeting and working with Barbara Carrellas and Chester Mainard, two of the worlds most experienced and enlightened sexual healing pioneers, in Australia and with Chester at the Body Electric School in California. They have been my most dear teachers, mentors and partners in crime ever since.
In 1991 I founded ‘Creative Harmony; Sacred Journeys for Women’ followed by ‘Sensual Harmony workshops’, ‘Sexuality and Soul’, and ‘Relationship Renewal’ – the last two being offered to men and women. I also became a co-facilitator of ‘The Dark Side’ one day workshops exploring the Shadow, along with running ongoing groups on conscious relating and sexuality.
I have co-written articles on sexuality in The Age and appeared as guest speaker for numerous seminars and have been interviewed on sexuality issues on Love TV, 3RRR and 3BPS.
After years of deep sea diving, I have come up for air and often spend time lying on a rock, soaking up the warmth of the sun, contemplating, integrating, before diving down again for more buried treasure. In this work I am always reminded of the magnificent power and beauty that exists in all of us when we choose to look beyond our conditioning. Deep pleasure and deep gratitude abound.
Workshop Description:
Genital Show and Tell (Women only)
A female only workshop based on one component of Betty Dodson’s BodySex groups. Many women struggle with negative feelings towards their vulva, even those who are enjoying an active and vigorous sex life. Many women fear they have deformities and abnormalities simply because they have never seen other women’s vulvas or have only seen the surgically altered and bleached vulvas from mainstream pornography. This component of the workshop focuses on this common area of distress and acquaints women with the many beautiful and varied appearances of adult female vulvas. In this workshop there will be a group share where participants will discuss with the group how they feel about their bodies and their sexualities. This share will then be followed by a genital show and tell where participants will show and see the vulvas with the group and will discuss their clitoris both internal and external, inner and outer labia, pelvic muscles, urethra and vaginal opening.
Presenter Bio:
Liandra Dahl
Liandra Dahl began working within the field of sexuality in 2004 when she participated in an online project ifeelmyself.com explori
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