It is summer, hot and horny, and I am on a roll. So I am going to continue this theme of beauty, attraction, seduction, sex, love and self-love until I run out of content — or steam, whichever comes first. By Karinna Kittles www.SacredLove.com What is your current definition of beauty. Is it 5’9, blonde hair, blue eyes, skinny and full breasts, or the male version 6 foot tall, broad shoulders, a perfect smile, perfect teeth, and a super athletic body. If there is a yes or a maybe in your mind, where do you find yourself in those definitions? How do you measure up? At the high there is about 2% of the population that meet all the above criteria and blessings to them. These physical types and other similar ones are valued more in our society than almost any other. so where does that leave the rest of us. If you find that you are always comparing yourself to these kinds of images and feeling yourself less than perfect, you are not alone. More and more women are feeling the effects of fear-based advertising. This is advertising and TV that perpetuates the age myth, the size myth, and the beauty myth. Companies that use these tactics, feed low self esteem and teach unreachable idealism, creating a society which is unsatisfied with itself and one obsessed with outer perfection. Do you find you minimize valuable parts of yourself such as health, emotions, talents and abilities for the importance of the outer physique? You can discover your answer, by how much time you spend on each of these areas during the course of your day. If you are shocked by your findings, you are awakening, I believe we have been conditioned to equate the media and beauty industries approved images with health, talent, financial freedom, love and sex. The core elements that most all of us aspire to. Placing primary importance on our outer appearance is valuing the effect over the cause, in other words appreciating the wrapping paper more than the gift. Exterior emphasis denies the whole, the truth, the soul and our uniqueness, creating feelings of fear, anger, jealousy, self hatred, judgments of inferiority and superiority, worthiness and worthlessness, depression, eating disorders, competition, entrapment, and quiet desperation. Although I had been on a spiritual quest most of my life, it wasn’t until about 5 years ago that my spirit made a dramatic choice and my ego made a semiconscious choice to begin valuing my authentic self more fully. Until then, as an adult, I had depended on my outer appearance for my livelihood, lovability and value. Still strongly in denial that the outer imagery I was participating in and witnessing was effecting me negatively, I simultaneously began to feel little desire to continue modeling or acting and overnight I became ill. My illness took me on a two-year journey that forced me to stop working, be in bed and look at myself. I began to move my attention from my outer reality to my inward reality, taking small steps to face my anger, self-hatred and unworthiness. Monday: Beauty Redefined – Part 2 * *** Donna Henes is the author of The Queen of My Self: Stepping into Sovereignty in Midlife. She offers counseling and upbeat, practical and ceremonial guidance for individual women and groups who want to enjoy the fruits of an enriching, influential, purposeful, passionate, and powerful maturity. Consult the MIDLIFE MIDWIFE™ The Queen welcomes questions concerning all issues of interest to women in their mature years. Send your inquiries to thequeenofmyself@aol.com.