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MOTHERBIRTH: RECLAIMING THE POWER OF WOMEN FOR A PEACEFUL WORLD by Sandy Taylor “Once thought to be infertile myself, I had a experience so powerful, it reversed the physical and emotional block that kept me from conceiving. In touch with my body, I then discovered a little known secret, how to transform what potentially would be pain during childbirth into pleasure. Along with my personal story and photographs documenting some of my discoveries, I share what I’ve learned about the roots of violence and how our lives can be affected negatively and permanently by fear-based thoughts and feelings from conception through the first nine months of life. The good news is healing is possible.” - Sandy Taylor Our ability to be peaceful, compassionate, empathetic and fully empowered human beings, and our ability to create peaceful and cooperative societies is largely dependent upon a start in life that is truly welcoming. When people are wanted right from the beginning of life, when they are carried and born to women who are conscious of the power they carry and at ease in their body and mind, when they are fully bonded and their needs are met…then they have the greatest likelihood for reaching their full potential. Mothers hold the key. Project Description It is not the norm for women to have a pain-free childbirth, nor do most women ever imagine that childbirth can be the source of ecstatic sexual pleasure. MOTHERBIRTH demonstrates both possibilities through the author/photographer’s own story, in her words, and through the eye of her camera lens. The book and presentations document one woman’s journey to consciousness and an increased sense of freedom and well-being, beginning with her spontaneous memories of experiences that occurred in her mother’s womb, continuing through her shocking experiences of being born, her fear of getting pregnant relating back to her own birth, overcoming apparent infertility by moving the physical-emotional block she carried – without medical assistance, her pregnancy that followed almost immediately upon that healing, and her experience of orgasmic childbirth. It is the story of birth and rebirth, healing and making whole. The author’s personal story is wrapped around, and infused, by a much larger and more significant story for the reader. That story is about why we must, and how we can, directly create a more peaceful world by making pregnancy, birth, and the in-arms period less disconnected and alienating and more truly welcoming. The candor and vulnerability of the author’s story and images, invite readers into the real possibility of seeing their lives in a new light. It also invites them to draw the connection between the personal and the social which has been understood by many ancient societies but forgotten by modern industrial societies. When our beginnings are fraught with fear, we grow up with the pattern of distrust and alienation, loneliness and self-pity. This underlying sense of unworthiness, of not being welcomed, or having a sense we belong, erodes society perhaps as much as direct violence and self-abuse. The question is: must we be locked in perpetual suffering or denial of our feelings and numbing ourselves to avoid the pain? Can we break the patterns of dysfunction in one generation instead of passing them down from one generation to another? MOTHERBIRTH is like a hero’s journey, with terrifying demons that are internal. It treads on territory that would be familiar to all if we were living in a thriving community or tribe where our stories, dreams and group myths were taken seriously. In modern society this journey is given little value, outside of the subculture of self-growth groups. Hidden deep within the unconscious, and not given honor and dignity, this hero’s journey is lonely and full of fear. The ugly results of repressed psychological pain rise to the surface to direct and wreck havoc with our lives. Paradoxically, our uninvited inner monsters, when released therapeutically, naturally give rise to healing separation and powerlessness, the roots of all fear, hatred and suffering. Where does this healing lead us? Back to the beginning, to an awareness of our connection to ourselves, one another, the universe and the Divine. That is the possibility of birth and rebirth. The author shares her vulnerability with the hope of awakening others to the incapacitating systems of birthing and parenting that have given rise to so many of society’s problems. Human rape, assault, murder, poverty, physical and sexual abuse, addictions, environmental rape, environmental pollution, predatory capitalism, all have their roots in feelings of rejection, abandonment, powerlessness and fear that often begin during gestation, birth and during the in-arms period. Dr. Frederick Wirth, author of Prenatal Parenting and the Director of the Institute of Perinatal Education says, “Our personalities are completely molded from the time of conception up to two years.” If we can effectively change the quality of those years allowing for a natural, non-violent continuum as expressed in MotherBirth, we can begin to recreate ourselves in an image of love and kindness. The idea for MOTHERBIRTH was conceived during a photo assignment at the Center for the Whole Person in Mays Landing, NJ, directed by Dr. Bill Swartley. Over a period of three years, under the mentorship of Dr. Swartley, Taylor studied the trauma of birth, participated in therapy sessions and at other times, photographed clients at the Center for the Whole Person. Following are reviews of the upcoming book, MOTHERBIRTH: RECLAIMING THE POWER OF WOMEN FOR A PEACEFUL WORLD “I was enormously pleased with the work!” Joseph Chilton Pearce, author of THE MAGICAL CHILD, THE MAGICAL MATURES and BIOLOGY OF TRANSCENDENCE “This book helps bring us back to our roots: personally, as in Ms. Taylor’s self-described psycho-spiritual journey, and biologically, in bringing to light how unnatural birth routines in our culture endanger babies, mothers, families, and quite possibly society as a whole. It should be read by anyone wanting to understand the complex issues between mind, body and spirit as they intertwine in the continuum of creation, birth, growth and development, and the sexual reproductive cycle.” Peggy Stone, CNM, Director of Clinical Services, The Birth Center, Bryn Mawr, PA “Sandy Taylor was ahead of her time thirty years ago when she conceived the idea for MOTHERBIRTH. And, she is still ahead of her time, but her work and personal story is a bridge for the rest of us to palpably understand that the mind set, stories, and experiences consciously and unconsciously collected around the birth process affects conception and giving birth. For women who wish to conceive, this book could be life altering.” Susan Karol Martel, Psychotherapist, writer and co-author of THE FORTH TRIMESTER: ON BECOMING A MOTHER “The collected photographs in MOTHERBIRTH, emotionally depict the importance of a peaceful pregnancy that give the child the marvelous gift of a peaceful mind. Changing the birth culture, as suggested here, can change our society. Peace on the earth begins before birth.” Fred Wirth, M.D., founder of the Institute for Prenatal Education and author of PRENATAL PARENTING "Sandy Taylor has an understanding of the process of healing and transformation as few women writers do. While this book is on the surface about the journey of healing birth, it is also much more than that. I believe it holds some important keys for women about the feminine and becoming whole in our selves. Of course, for woman on the journey into pregnancy, birth, motherhood, or adoption, this book is a treasure. And all the more profound because of the author's fine photographic heart and eye." Suzanne Arms, Author of IMMACULATE DECEPTION, filmmaker, International speaker, and Founder of Birthing The Future “I found MotherBirth both provocative and profound. It had me think of my experiences both as a child and as a mother. Your observations have a resonance with everyone with the mother/child in us all. When you have a child, in a way it's like raising yourself. The light that you hold your son in as a 'child of God' is what all of us are longing for, to be new, to be perfect. The book powerfully captures the part of all of us that we have to evaluate when we have children.” Donna Smith, Events Coordinator Jefferson Myrna Brind Center of Integrative Medicine at Thomas Jefferson and Center for the Advancement of Cancer Education, Philadelphia, PA “This is a remarkable and important book.” Alfred A. Knopf’s editor of BIRTH WITHOUT VIOLENCE by Dr. Frederick LeBoyer and THE CONTINUUM CONCEPT by Jean Leidloff “This work really is an epiphany on childbirth and self-transformation.” John E. Graham, Acquisitions Editor, Inner Traditions, Bear & Co. Publishers
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