Here’s what Brandi had to share with us.  Enjoy!

On your website it mentions that you were called to heal from a young age.  How old were you and how were you able to recognize the calling?  Were your family members supportive?  Were there other family members who had been called in a similar way? How did they either support, or influence your decision and journey, and was it all positive?

I was around sixteen when I knew that spirituality would be my way of life.  My clairvoyant and clairaudient skills I’ve had as long as I can remember. I didn’t start paying attention to it until I was ten years old or so. I started noticing that the things I was dreaming about were coming to pass. And then I started keeping a journal to keep track of all the times I heard a voice, or saw a spirit, etc. I remember telling my mother about a ghost in my room – some creepy old mean smelly dead dude – and she said, “Yeah, that happens sometimes. Just tell it to go away.” She said it so matter of fact that it didn’t occur to me that there was anything unusual about experiencing these types of things. But that’s as far as those types of conversations went.

Everyone in my immediate family is intuitive in some way, but when I was a child it was something we didn’t talk about. We all could just do what we did – see spirits, heard voices, foresight, that kind of thing. It wasn’t until my mother and sister became born-again Christians that any type of spiritual or religious conversation really happened. I was a teenager around that time, and by that point I had already become a regular at metaphysical stores, reading tarot cards and learning energy work.

There was a lot of friction in my family for awhile because of the different paths.  I was all about paganism and they were all about Jesus – so saying we didn’t get along is putting it mildly. But the older I got and the more we all grew in our spiritual wisdom, eventually my mother and sister came to understand that I wasn’t a devil worshipper, or doomed to Hell. We we’re all worshipping the same principles of God, just under a different name. My mother and sister both are now ministers and we interchange information a lot. My mother is a brilliant teacher and amazing at prayer, and my sister is a gifted empath and counselor.  We are all headed to the same point, just taking a different path to get there.

Did you ever have any doubts about your path, and if you did, how did you deal with your fears.  What were the fears? (I only ask this to clarify for other women who are either afraid of success, afraid of being alone, not being able to define themselves by a man, failing etc.)

I had plenty of doubts and fears – I still do. I call it “the voice in my head that’s trying to kill me.” We all know that voice, that whisper in the back of your mind that tells you how much you suck at everything. I shut that voice down by reminding myself of all the things I’ve accomplished – the big and small.

When I first started out, mainly I doubted my abilities. I mean, who the hell was I? Who cared what I had to say about anything? I was scared I would be doing nothing but making a fool of myself, that I would alienate friends and family by doing what I felt in my heart was right for me. I was terrified of failure, of success, of being financially destitute and of being romantically alone. I was afraid I would be too strange, too offbeat for anyone to like or love. I guess that changed when I realized I was miserable trying to be what other people expected. I figured I could please everyone else and continue to pray for death daily, or I could be myself and follow my dreams and be happy – even if it meant no one would ever understand me, or that I would be alone. I honestly just weighed the options, and to me, the risk of falling flat on my face was worth it. I may fail, but at least my life wouldn’t be wasted trying to be something I wasnt.

My motto became “What’s the worst that can happen?” And for every situation, I answered that question. By assessing the situation honestly, I realized that all the fears I had were based off my own feelings of inadequacy. So I went for it, embraced the spiritual artist lifestyle. And though there were rough patches, I found work, success, and friends and lovers who accept me for who I am, who support instead of demean. Most importantly, I’m happy with myself, and I know I’ve made a difference in people’s lives. I think the key is remembering everybody is afraid of something. Everyone doubts themselves at one point or another. But the brave, the successful are the ones who were afraid and did it anyway.

In your varied practices, what are the biggest problems you see women struggling with today, especially in this very Patriarchal Society we live in, and here specifically in Los Angeles – the land where we only appreciate youth.

The problem I see most often is fear. Generally speaking, many women have this overwhelming fear of being themselves, of being honest about what they want from their life. Maybe because if they are honest about how they feel, that means they have to do something about it. A lot of women think they have to fit into society’s idea of femininity, that they have to look, act and live a certain way in order to be loved and appreciated. If what they desire doesn’t fit that role, they ignore it. And then they wonder why they are so unhappy.

I don’t run across the youth issue too much – other than some women feeling like they are too old to start life anew, to do the things they always dreamed of.  But I say it’s not over until it’s over! If you’ve always dreamed about being a dancer, get out there and dance. What difference does it make how old you are? Do the things that make your heart sing, the outrageous stuff that makes you smile. At the end of my life, I’d rather have a ton of cool stories to tell than a list of ‘coulda shoulda woulda.’

If you could snap your fingers and give back to women the biggest thing you think they have lost – what would it be?

I think women have lost their sense of Self. We have no idea who we are or what we are capable of, and we look to the media to tell us. Youth is key, white is alright, if you’re thin you’re in are just an example of the negative ideas that are pumped into our brains on a daily basis, and we buy into it. But it’s simply not true. Women need to remember their history, or their herstory as the case may be.

So, I would snap my fingers and give women a different foundation. I would give women their stories back. Every woman in the world would have a mental movie of every woman that came before them. Kind of like a visual timeline implanted in her brain. Then she would be able to literally see the strength, the love, the wisdom she is derived from, that authority that pulses in her blood. She would see the success and the failures, the sacrifices and the triumphs of her ancestors and know she is made from that power. And hopefully she would realize that everything she has ever wanted to be, she already is; everything she has ever admired and loved was just a reflection of herself.

In this day and age, what do you think is the most important thing we can give to our children?

I think it’s important to teach a child how to express themselves, and give them room to grow, to mess up, to trip and to fall. But the second part of giving them the freedom to discover who they are is teaching them how to fail gracefully. I don’t think children today are being taught how to properly deal with rejection and failure because everyone is too concerned with hurting someone’s feelings. When I was growing up if you had a problem with somebody, you met them afterschool and everybody watched while you pinwheeled fists at each other; then the fight was over and the next day you and your mortal enemy were best friends again. If you asked someone to the dance and she said no, you asked somebody else – you didn’t shoot yourself. This generation, with the suicides, the shootings, the bullying, all the violence… it’s just doesn’t make sense to me. I don’t know, maybe the most important thing we can teach children is common sense.

What is the most important practice, something you do every day, to stay as open to all and true to yourself and your journey as you are?

There are a few things I do daily to stay aligned with Spirit and my truth. I have a morning ritual, customized for me, by me.

The first is I journal every morning, as soon as I wake up, for a minimum of three pages. It’s a practice I picked up from reading “The Artist Way” by Julia Cameron – which is an amazing book that every creative person should invest in.  Journaling daily not only clears out the clutter in the mind, but establishes good author habits. You learn to write regardless of your mood.  And a journal is the one place where I feel I can be completely honest about my experience because no one is going to see the pages but me. Within that honesty, I find the solution to whatever problem or issue it is I may be facing.

Next is coffee. If I haven’t had my coffee, just stay the hell away from me. For your own safety.

And finally, meditation. I spend at least twenty minutes in meditation every morning, giving myself the opportunity to commune with Spirit.  I follow different techniques, depending on the day; sometimes it’s visualizations, other times its transcendental, etc.  As of late, I’m focusing on the Buddhist tradition – sitting in silence, letting things flow as they may. But a minimum of 20 minutes, every morning. It’s vital for spiritual people to keep a daily connection with the Universe/Goddess/etc., because the more you talk/commune to God, the more It talks/communes with you.  This connection is the basis of my creativity, and my life’s purpose. So I make sure to honor that connection to life and love every day.

The image I am referring to can be viewed here:  http://shine.yahoo.com/channel/beauty/glee-star-latest-fashion-victim-in-offensive-shoot-black-and-blue-is-not-the-new-black-2539137/ .  Please take a look at the link above and let us know your thoughts and feelings… we would love to start a conversation.

Putting an end to domestic violence is a cause that we support.  As a matter of fact, Forgotten Goddess artist and partner Russelle Marcato Westbrook did a piece specifically about domestic violence.  Yes, it is meant to shock and even offend… that was the point… that domestic violence against any woman (or child or man) is unacceptable, offensive, shocking.

You can read more on our Madonna with the black eye here:

http://theforgottengoddess.com/cause/

The Forgotten Goddess supports the safety and empowerment of all women as the Goddesses they are! Join us in ending domestic violence!

Blessings,

Jenni

In her own words:

I am a self taught artist currently living in Kentucky.  I loved to draw ladies in medieval clothing when I was young.  I was also completely fascinated with the natural world and my connection to it even when I was very young.  I have always felt that this connection to nature was somehow a mystical one.  I have a deep passion for mythology and history, and have been reading myths for as long as I can remember.  I studied Antiquities and Anthropology in college.  I spent some time working as a massage therapist and became a Reiki Master after college.  It was through this combination of working as a healer and then becoming a mother that I reconnected with my urge to create, to draw, and to paint.

I am always developing my skills as an artist, and find inspiration in every minute of my existence. I work mainly with acrylic paint, but sometimes break out the soft pastels. I like to combine elements of fantasy, remodernism, and even some Pop Surrealism in my paintings. The biggest theme within my work is the sacred feminine. We are all in need of massive healing within our feminine psyche. I try to work with strong feminine archetypal symbols. I use bright colors and pastels to invoke our feminine consciousness.

I believe how we treat nature is truly a reflection of how women are treated and respected. In this current time of ecological crisis, I want to reconnect this relationship of women and nature in our conscious minds through my art. I want my work to rattle our memories of our ancestors and of times long forgotten in history. I am always painting some archetype or another of the goddess, even if it isn’t immediately apparent in the work. Sometimes my work contains layers of symbolism, and other times I keep it simple; relying on the soul of the subject to speak to the viewer.

Please feel free to check out more of my paintings at www.moonspiralart.com.

We will be featuring new artists’ Goddess inspired art by women all over the world on our site.  Please send us your work and help us spread the word – We are all Goddesses!  We would love to see representations of Goddesses from all over the world, The Orisha’s from Africa, Sumerian, Greek, Asian, Hindi, Polynesian… Let us help you showcase your work!

Students from my alma mater’s Parsons School of Design www.newschool.edu/parsons and Otis College of Art & Design www.otis.edu and of course CSUN who helped with our branding and web design!!  www.csun.edu we want to see your art in our galleries!

Let us know what you think about Tammy’s art, we always love your comments!

Best,

Russelle

Our motto is: Inspire*Empower*Transform and we hope that the women that come to us, whether as customers, supporters or artists that will be featured on our site, will continue to grow with us and feel Inspired, Empowered and Transformed in the process!

The Forgotten Goddess is a fully branded company based on the concept of empowering women to embrace themselves as goddesses.  We offer art, posters/prints, apparel, jewelery, stationery, decor, furniture etc.  We will feature a guest gallery for women artists to show their Goddess inspired artwork, and also offer a venue for artists to submit designs that can be licensed for merchandise sold on The Forgotten Goddess.  We also support a cause – to end domestic violence, and a percentage of certain items will be donated towards that cause.

The Forgotten Goddess started with Russelle, who’s artwork you can see featured in our gallery and on many of our products.  Here’s where the name and concept for our new company came to be:

‘I got the idea for the name of my business when I was doing mostly portraits. I would deliver a portrait to a woman and she would invariably say “but you made me so beautiful.”  I would ask if it looked like her. “Well, yes” she would have to reply. On the way home one day I thought about how terrible it is that women in our culture have forgotten how beautiful they are. “The Forgotten Goddess,” I thought.’

In December Russelle called Jenni and said, I have a vision for The Forgotten Goddess to become a fully branded company and a venue for other women to grow through, but I need a business partner that can make it all happen, that can help me realize and manifest this idea… let’s build an empire! And so we put our heads together, and discussed all that we wanted The Forgotten Goddess to be, and got to work.

So, here we are 6 months later.  Welcome to our growing empire!  We’ll be adding items to our store; handcrafted jewelery, home decor items, custom furniture to create your own goddess sanctuaries, etc… as we grow.  We invite you to check out the site, help us work through any bugs, and most importantly inspire us with your suggestions, partner with us to grow together, and join us in this transformation!

Bright Solstice Blessings,

Jenni & Russelle