What’s Your Feminine Archetype ~ Dana James
An interview with the powerful thinker
One of my favorite things about this site is being able to interview really incredible thinkers who are carving out new territory in our world. Having a conversation with the lovely Dana James is like entering a whole new dimension, where your mind opens up with constant aha moments. The title page on her site says Food- Mind -Functional Medicine but she is much more than a food coach. I admire the intelligent, witty and courageous way in which she wants to wake us all up. She is teaching women about how to connect with their power in so many ways. Here is a quote from her site to give you an idea of what I mean: “YOU KNOW HER…But she’s endangered. She’s a woman that oozes magnetism and playfulness, and has a heightened capacity for love. She’s also courageous, grounded and graceful. But all too often, the modern woman has been hijacked by depletion, depression and an incessant need to be busy. Her mind is filled with a nagging voice; what do I eat, why can’t I just eat what I want, and why did I just eat that? Her true feminine essence has been looted. It’s time for the modern woman to take back her nobility. It’s time for her to nourish herself with food, connection and sensuality.”
Below is an inspiring, revelatory interview with Dana a woman who quotes Anais Nin ~what could be better? Hearing about she has to say about what ‘control’ is doing to us was a huge epiphany. I booked a holiday and decided to start enjoying the moments in my every day life even more.
1) What makes your heart sing?
Graceful women. Grace is an inherent female quality that has been lost as women have pursed control and independence. But women are awakening to the presence of the feminine and with that, grace, radiance and compassion.
2) What inspired you to start exploring the archetypes in terms of our eating habits?
I’d watch very savvy woman crumble when it came to food. They knew exactly what to do, but ‘something’ would redirect their consciousness. I wanted to understand what that ‘something’ was. I realized it was where they derived their power from. This came down to four sources – achievement, beauty, creativity or giving. While all of these have positive attributes, they also have a vulnerable side. For instance, if the Femme Fatale is not feeling beautiful, this can be diabolical – she can become depressed, anti-social, jealous, seek out surgery and engage is compulsive or restrictive eating. The goal is to identify your archetype, continue with the positive attributes whilst shedding the negative, which involves restructuring your belief around your worth.
3) What are the archetypes?
Wonder Woman – her worth is based on achievement
The Ethereal – her worth is based on her creativity
Femme Fatale – her worth is based on her looks
Nurturer – her worth is based on her ability to love and give
4) What are three beauty enhancing things we should know about?
1. Kundalini kriyas – this is meditation, mantra and breath work all in one. It brings radiance to the skin like nothing else
2. Control makes you ugly – it tightens the jaw, the mouth and the body. Trust, breathe and let go.
3. My Beauti-fuel which is a high vibe, raw vegan protein powder with camu camu and other botanicals to prevent the breakdown of collagen and elastin
5) Do you have a mantra or quote you live by?
“I take pleasure in my transformations. I look quiet and consistent, but few know how many women there are in me.”
― Anaïs Nin
6) What is your go to recipe to prepare at home?
Raw vegetable salad with wild arugula, grated carrots, grated beets, sunflower sprouts, mint, basil, hemp seeds, avocado, chickpeas and sliced organic eggs
7) If someone wants to shift their eating habits what are three things they should incorporate into their diet?
1. Organic papaya – Nature’s natural exfoliant, the papaya helps to refine the skin. It has more than a day’s worth of vitamin C and a whole spectrum of carotenoids for a pretty glow. Add it to a smoothie or eat it as an afternoon snack drizzled in lime juice
2. Organic carrots – these babies are available year around and are inexpensive. Add them to salads either grated or as ribbons. They make every dish look pretty. And pretty foods are more enjoyable to eat.
3. Hemp seeds – these are the beauty seeds with the ideal ratio of omega 6:3’s for women. They also have 15g of protein per 3 tablespoon. You can add them to a salad or make cacao maca truffles with them
8) Do you have any daily rituals?
I live my life by rituals. I start my day with rose water, a probiotic and my Collagen Activator, then I do a 10-30 min kundalini set. I then go back to bed and snuggle with my man. I’m like a cat purring to wake him up. We then make coffee together or head to the Abbot Kinney for coffee. Then day continues with writing, client consultations or business strategy.
9) When can we expect your book?
It’s being published by Avery / Penguin in Dec 2017 / Jan 2018.
10) Are you a mermaid or forest fairy?
Oh…the forest fairy. She reminds me of the Greek Goddess Artemis with golden bows and arrows and wild animals, and a mind representing female strength and sovereignty.
Tags:Anais Nin, archetypes, Dana James, ethereal, femme fatale, forest fairy, Kundalini, medicine, mindfulness, nurturer, women, wonder woman
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This article is disheartening to me. To think that grace is an inherent “feminine” domain follows patriarchal definitions of what is inherently “male” or “female” in this world where we are working to blur gender definitions that hurt us. There is nothing inherently manly or girly about characters, only stereotypes. And to say that we are losing touch with grace because we are taking control only perpetuates the idea that women are supposed to be silent and quiet for the sake of social order.
I appreciate your opinion Luna. This is a good discussion for us all to have. Blessings ~
Loved this. Thank you for sharing. Maybe a similar article on valuable “male” attributes? I think the beauty of breaking gender norms is being able to choose and identify with any valuable characteristics we have or want to emulate, whether they are traditionally “male” or “female.” I think there’s something to be said about the essence of grace, which I do think is truly feminine. I think it’s extremely valuable, and oftentimes missing in this male-dominated society. Grace should be something we all aspire to, no matter how we identify gender-wise.
Yes indeed! Powerful view on Grace. Thank you
It’s sad to see us constantly cutting down anything that explores the sacredness of femininity. Ladies…we are not giving up our power by admitting men and women are different. We are MORE powerful when we have a strong feminine voice…not when we stomp anything feminine out of society!
Wow thank you Mina that is very accurate. Like Anais Nin used to say she was a feminine feminist!
Mina, that is still using stereotypes. What does “feminine” and “masculine” even mean? It is what the society says it is, and it is biological essentialism. Men and women are not THAT different.
Such an interesting discussion.
If the Divine contains all qualities, and we as humans are expressions of the Divine, then it would seem we all have within us the quality of grace, no matter how we identify, gender-wise. More and more, I see it expressed by men as often as by women, and it is a beautiful thing…choosing gentleness and grace despite this sometimes chaotic wotlld…or possibly because of it.
Thank you, Shiva.
There is much that is disturbing in this interview, and much that is surely baseless. This is not empowering for all women. Is grace truly an inherent female quality? Can we all wake up to a probiotics and collagen and slip back into bed? One need only take a visit to this woman’s saccharin website to realize the superficiality of her views, where “beauty doesn’t come from eating ugly food”. This sounds like a frail, Blanch Du Bois type and not the incredible female archetypes that exist within myth. Read Joseph Campbell or seek out Wendy Ashley, not this limited Sex-in-the-city take on femininity.
Thank you Ruby. I am a huge fan of Joseph Campbell as well. I appreciate hearing your opinion.
I apologize Shiva…my comments were perhaps harsh. I love your beautiful website. It’s just this article, with the “rebirth of feminism” of late, seems very out of place. Blessings to you
Loved this! And some people I think took it the wrong way thinking she meant that women today are no longer elegant or graceful because we as women have had to adjust to this system and world created specifically to benefit men. I personally believes she meant that women feel like they CAN’T BE elegant AND powerful at the same time in order to be taken seriously. I think she means that we need to re-teach all women that it is okay to be BOTH 🙂 Endless Love!
“Grace is an inherent female quality”?
How about “Grace is a quality of soul that humans can potentially attune to that is not only genderless but boundless’?
Accuracy is so important when one puts themselves in a position to guide, lead and teach.
If we are to truly move into living in a new age we must release limited, rigid notions of what is inherently male or female and celebrate instead the full spectrum of high vibrational living that is available to all genders.
“Control makes you ugly – it tightens the jaw, the mouth and the body. Trust, breathe and let go.”
Yes indeed. Limited dualistic thinking is a kind control that does tighten not only our hearts but constrains our mind’s ability to embrace the complexity of being that these times require so much.
It is clear that everyone involved in this conversation cares deeply about well-being of women and hopefully all people.
I can feel the truly nourishing intentions behind the work you both are doing.
Blessings to All.