Last month, I asked all of you to give me your suggestions for our next New 10 of the Month.  Instead of simply telling you who I admire, as we close out this year together and look forward to a new one, I really wanted to know who inspires you, who makes you feel proud to be a woman, who you think embodies the heart and the soul and the spirit of the New 10.

And I have to tell you all – while your choice was definitely not a surprise, it’s one I can support whole-heartedly!

“Whole-hearted” is, I think, a great place to start when describing Michelle Obama.  When I watch her in action – whether she’s talking about her life with a classroom full of school children or meeting with foreign dignitaries — she really seems to do everything she does with a truly open heart.

Do you remember when she shocked Royal-watchers around the world by going beyond the traditional curtsey and actually hugging Britain’s Queen Elizabeth?  It was a breach of protocol, but the Queen actually seemed delighted with Mrs. Obama’s warmth and openness.  And I was too.

Whatever your politics, it’s hard not to see how Michelle Obama exemplifies just about all of the qualities of a New 10.  From a physical standpoint, the way presents herself to the world shows that she is comfortable in her own skin and proud of who she is.  She is clearly not supermodel size, but she takes care of her body and admits to working hard to maintain it.  And she’s not shy about flaunting her best features – especially those toned arms! – which is something I encourage all New 10s to do.

When it comes to choosing what to wear, I really admire the First Lady’s style.  I’m impressed with how, when the occasion calls for designer duds, she gives the spotlight to up-and-coming designers instead of relying on the tried-and-true fashion world superstars that traditionally dress first ladies.  “Being worn” by the First Lady of the United States can make a designer’s career, and she has definitely boosted the profile of some very lucky young artists.

I also like how she wears clothes actual, real people without endless budgets for shopping wear.  One popular campaign dress was an off-the-rack number that cost about $150.  And she’s been known to recycle shoes, cardigans, skirts and other articles of clothing, creating a very unique and accessible signature style.

Of course, we all know New 10 beauty is more than skin deep, so I’m sure you all didn’t choose Michelle Obama because of her toned arms and great fashion sense!  I imagine you admire her for the same reasons that I admire her – because she is a modern woman who seems to have life figured out.  She appears at ease and confident with herself and other people.  You can tell she’s firm and not a person who is easily swayed.  But at the same time, she seems like a genuinely giving person.  And at the same time, she seems happy with her husband, happy with her beautiful daughters, and of course, happy with herself.

You can see it in her smile, which lights up her whole face.  You can see how proud she is to be who she is, and after coming from very humble beginnings, living in the public eye with style, grace and good humor.

So I congratulate all of you on your choice of Michelle Obama as December’s New 10 of the Month.  I have someone very special in mind for next month…but I won’t tell you who it is until next year!

Until then, have a blessed holiday season.

Okay, she’s been bringing home awards and accolades for years now, and could arguably be called currently TV’s most beloved actress. And yes, she certainly doesn’t need any more recognition than she’s already piling up. To be honest, she actually seems a bit embarrassed every time she takes to podium to claim yet another honor.
But as much as I hate to add to her embarrassment, I still can’t resist honoring Tina Fey as my New 10 for the month of November. I just think she is an inspiration for women everywhere.

What caught my attention was an interview in which she revealed that she was a virgin until the age of 24. She revealed that she was completely and totally unpopular, and something of a “geek” – a classic Plain Jane. She was also overweight for a good portion of her life.

How this classic “ugly duckling” transformed herself into a swan is what impressed me the most. With the exception of slimming down a little – but not to a typical Hollywood Size Zero – she did it without radically changing the way she looks or the person she is. Instead, Tina Fey became a woman who is currently regarded as a “thinking man’s sex symbol” simply by allowing herself to be herself.

Instead of trying to become a totally different person, into an “idea” of an ideal woman, she focused on the areas where she knew she was strong and the things she knew she was good at and parlayed them into unbelievable success. By celebrating what is beautiful and special about the woman she is, she became someone the entire world has fallen in love with.

This is why I think Tina Fey serves as such an amazing example to all women everywhere. How many of us waste our time and energy wishing we were more conventionally beautiful, or thinner, or smarter, or more athletic. How many of us try to turn ourselves into something we’re not, when we could and should be focusing our energies on the gifts we already have?

In Tina Fey’s case, her God-given gifts – the gift of the talent to write and the gift of a wicked (but still warm and forgiving…most of the time!) sense of humor changed her life. They transformed a classic Plain Jane into an internationally recognizable superstar.

The most amazing thing is, we all have the power to do the same thing for ourselves. What gifts do you have that you are overlooking, or not taking advantage of? Are you wasting your precious energy and time worrying about what you’re not, when there’s so much power and beauty in the person who you are?

I hope you will be inspired by Tina Fey and learn to honor the things that are beautiful and special about YOU. You might not turn into a TV star, but you will allow your true, inner beauty to shine through.

Remember, next month, YOU will be choosing our New 10 of the Month, so log into boldlybeautiful.com and keep those nominations coming. I’m excited to learn who inspires and touches all of you. I already know she will be a very special woman – because YOU are all special and be

Back in the days of the “Old 10,” the whole concept of the 10 wasn’t actually about women at all. It was really just about the men who were looking at the women. The whole idea of ranking members of the female sex on a scale of 1 to 10 based on their perceived “hotness” was totally and completely a male concept. All a woman had to do was appeal to the opposite sex, usually in the most superficial way, and she would be deemed a “10.”

It certainly didn’t have much to do with how appealing she was as a human being.

A New 10, however, is something very different. She is a woman who is beautiful in a way that isn’t solely about sex appeal, but about appeal in general. About how she relates to other people and the world around her. About openness, and warmth, and generosity of spirit. About making other people feel good.

That doesn’t mean a New 10 doesn’t take pride in her appearance – it’s just that it comes from a place of confidence in herself and her place in the world, rather than from her desire to please others.

That admittedly long-winded introduction is why I’ve chosen Ellen DeGeneres as this month’s New 10.

The talk show host and soon-to-be “American Idol” judge may not be a conventional choice or a conventional beauty – but she is definitely beautiful. Her smile lights up a room. Her blue eyes sparkle with intelligence and curiosity. And while her look is certainly not designed to capture the attention of men, she has great style that really reflects who she is.

But to me, what makes Ellen DeGeneres beautiful is the way she treats the people around her. On her talk show, she approaches each guest with openness and kindness – like a friend – even if what they believe in or stand for is the exact opposite of who she is and what matters to her. She is absolutely firm in her convictions and honest and confident about the person she is. Yet she manages to stand her ground without being abrasive, or angry, or mean.

Plus, she looks great for a woman over 50 – totally natural, healthy and happy in her own skin.

The New 10 Paradigm was created to honor women of all shapes, sizes and colors, so I suppose sexual orientation should also be included on my list. But the thing about Ellen is, she has managed to bridge those divisions and cut across those prejudices just because of the beautiful person she is. To people all over the world, she is simply Ellen. And I truly feel that just by being herself, she is making the world a better place for everyone.

That, to me, is what being a New 10 woman is all about – and why I am proud to name Ellen DeGeneres as my New 10 of the Month.

When I sat down to think about a woman who exemplifies the meaning of the New 10 for this month’s newsletter, one person kept leaping out at me.   I resisted her at first, because she seemed like such an obvious choice.  This is a woman who has won so many awards and accolades; she hardly needs another honor at this point in her long and illustrious life!  She’s rich, she’s famous, she likely has everything a person could ever want.

And yet, every time I see Meryl Streep, I know – not only is she the “greatest actress of her generation,” she is also the perfect example of a New 10.  Which is probably why her name seems so obvious.

Think about it.  This is a woman who, when you look at her, might prompt an exclamation of “I can’t believe she’s 60!”  But then, on the other hand, she is exactly what a 60-year-old woman can be – and is in many cases – in this day and age.  She’s beautiful, but not surgically altered.  Comfortable with her body, with her age, with herself.

I love watching her act – the way she throws herself into every character really amazes me.  But I have to admit, my favorite Meryl Streep movies aren’t the ones where she masters a really difficult accent, or goes back to a long ago time.  I really like when she plays a modern, contemporary, “normal” woman.  Maybe because I so enjoy seeing the woman she appears to be in real life.

I’ve been watching Ms. Streep make the rounds of the late night talk shows promoting her latest movie, “Julie and Julia.”  Looking at women and evaluating them is a large part of what I do.  I’m not normally swayed by celebrity – I look for something far deeper than “star quality” in a New 10.  And despite all that, I can’t get over how impressed I was with Meryl Streep.

I really enjoyed watching her interviews, because unlike so many celebrities who go on these shows just to promote their movie or their project or tell their funny story, she really seemed to enjoy the process of being interviewed.  She actually seemed to enjoy interacting with people, sharing a moment with whoever she was talking to.  She seemed to care about what they had to say, about having a real conversation, about being – for lack of a better term – a real human being.

I loved watching her laugh, which was often.  I could see that it was real.  Her eyes almost teared up.  Her face turned red.  She doubled over.   She seems to be a woman who really enjoys her life and making the most of every moment.

So, as cliché is at may be, I am proud to name Meryl Streep as my New 10 of the Month.  As celebrities go, she is one famous face who truly inspires me.

Through my work with women all over the world, I’ve developed what I call The New 10 Paradigm – a new way to define beauty that celebrates and supports the true, genuine beauty of every woman’s mind, body and spirit. The New 10 is much more than the “old 10” – the woman who may have looked perfect on the outside, but didn’t have much going on on the inside. The New 10 is different. She is a woman who radiates beauty both inside and out, no matter what size or shape or race she is.

Every month, I want to take the time to honor a woman who I feel exemplifies the true spirit of the New 10. And this month, I’m going to begin with someone who just leapt out at me from the pages of the newspaper and my TV screen. I’m talking about America’s newest Supreme Court Justice – only the third woman and the first Hispanic ever to hold the position – Sonia Sotomayor.

To some of you, this might sound like a fairly controversial choice. Not everyone supported her nomination, and to be honest, there’s probably no way I could possibly choose someone from the world of politics without ruffling a few feathers. But my choice of Sonia Sotomayor has nothing whatsoever to do with her political views. It has everything to do with her strength, her grace and her femininity – the things that make her stand out in my mind as a New 10.

Watching the soon-to-be Supreme Court Justice on TV and seeing her in the papers, her confidence, warmth and radiance really struck me. Sotomayor began her life in poverty, but rose to become one of the most respected judges in America. Yet she exhibited a real connection to her past and her roots and the people who helped her to get where she is today.

Through her hearings, Sotomayor conducted herself with grace and humor. She looked her critics in the eye was not afraid to stand firm in her own convictions. This sort of inner strength is part of the mark of a New 10 – that kind of total confidence in who you are and what you believe that can only add to your beauty.

But Sotomayor’s beauty isn’t just spiritual. This is a woman who is not a size 6, yet rather than hide herself away in shapeless, dark colors, she attended one of her hearings in a bright red suit. She is also a woman in her fifties whose face is untouched by a plastic surgeon’s knife, who proudly and beautifully shows the world the strength and wisdom she has accumulated through the years.

However, to me, the part of Sonia Sotomayor that really stands out is her smile. Almost every time I’ve seen her, in almost every photo or video clip, she is smiling. And her smile is broad and genuine and real. You can see in her eyes how much joy she feels in living, how much pride she has in her accomplishments and how good she feels just being herself.

To me, that’s exactly what the spirit of the New 10 is all about. It’s about not just accepting yourself, but loving being who you are. That’s why I am proud to call Sonia Sotomayor my New 10 of the Month.

Previously, I wrote about developing your natural psychic abilities. I firmly believe that our intuition is our sixth sense and should be our first! However, due to social conditioning, we’ve largely forgotten about our sixth sense and have turned the subject into something mysterious, illusive and even spooky. Well, I’m here to put all of that back into perspective and continue to help you develop your psychic abilities in a gentle and practical way.

One of the first things I urge people to do as they begin turning their attention toward their inner voice or intuition is to make sure they are able to hear the messages. How do you do this? By becoming a clear channel.

See, we are all made up of energy. We are constantly omitting and receiving varying frequencies or vibrations. Intuitive messages or “hits” exist at a very high frequency. So high, in fact, that many people cannot “hear” them. This can be compared to a dog whistle. The sound vibrates so rapidly, that the human ear cannot hear what a dog clearly can. Just because we can’t hear it, doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist!

Human beings were created to hear, feel or pick up intuitive messages. We were great at it as babies and children! Now after years of social conditioning, we’ve turned to external data to answer our questions. We can turn this around with a little training.

First, we must get clear. I mean this on a physical sense. Our bodies are our conduits for receiving messages. If our bodies are muddled up with excess weight and toxins it cannot be a clear channel for us to receive intuitive messages. In order to hear, we must be clear.

Our bodies are energy and are constantly working. If we tax our bodies with excessive work just to maintain daily functions for survival, it is not open to receive. To be psychically in-tune, you must have a clear body.

Here are three of my favorite things to do to have a clear body:

1.  Eat well. Avoid over processed, fatty foods. Eat clean, fresh foods, fruits and vegetables. Be mindful about what you put in your body. Before you eat or drink anything, place your hand over your heart and ask yourself out loud, “Does this food contribute to my wellness?” You’ll know. Cut back on caffeine and alcohol and eliminate sugary drinks altogether.

2.  Move your body daily. Gentle stretching and yoga are wonderful ways to really nurture your body. Take a leisurely morning stroll in the mornings to get your blood flowing. Many people are taking up dance lessons these days. What a fun and wonderful way to get your exercise!

3.  Nurture yourself. Put this at the top of your priority list. Most women are busy nurturing everyone else, they forget themselves. A depleted woman isn’t good for anybody. Take weekly baths. Pamper yourself with a manicure and pedicure. Get massages regularly.

All of this is so necessary for not only sharpening your psychic abilities, but for your overall health and wellbeing. As you clear your body, your mind will follow. Next time, I’ll talk about the art of meditation. With a clear body and a clear mind, you are a clear channel for receiving.

Have fun with this!
Dawn McIntyre
www.boldlybeautiful.com

“Thoroughly unprepared, we take this step into the afternoon of life. Worse still, we take this step with the false presupposition that our truths and our ideals will serve us as hitherto. We cannot live the afternoon of life according to the program of life’s morning. For what was great in the morning will be little at evening. And what in the morning was true, in evening will have become a lie.” Wayne Dyer

This weekend, I watched Dr. Wayne Dyer’s movie, “The Shift.” In it, Dr Dyer is being interviewed for a documentary at Asilomar Resort and Conference Center in Monterey Bay. He is surrounded by people who are experiencing this “Shift” and we get to see their stories, while being enlightened by Dr. Dyer’s spiritual and philosophical brilliance at the same time.

Dr. Dyer begins by chunking our life existence into two categories: the morning and afternoon. I found this to be quite fascinating and realized that I am in the midst of this shift myself. It’s a quite exciting and magical time that you, too, can probably relate to…

In the morning phase of our lives, we are operating from a place of societal conditioning and self-exploration. Women, especially, focus on our roles within our families and taking care of others. According to Dyer, based on a study he read, women’s top values during the mornings of their lives rank as such:

1. Family
2. Independence
3. Career
4. Fitting In
5. Being Attractive

When I first heard this, I was saddened to realize how conflicted we women are in the mornings of our lives. We sincerely strive for independence, while trying to please everyone around us, which creates much confusion and potential resentment to those closest to us.

The good news is that when we enter the afternoons of our lives, which is usually preceded by an unexpected event or trauma, our priorities shift dramatically in a very positive direction and become:

1. Personal Growth
2. Self Esteem
3. Spirituality
4. Happiness
5. Forgiveness

This set of values is much more empowering and clear about women wanting to live their authentic lives and fulfilling a sense of personal purpose. I thought “Forgiveness” was funny, yet necessary, so that we can forgive the people who conditioned us so well in our early years! It is a necessary component to let go of resentment to those who “told us how to be.” After all, they were operating from a place of love and doing the best they could with what they had. Like Oprah says, “When you know better, you do better.”

I found the shift for men to be equally interesting and discovered that I have been dating men who are clearly still in the mornings of their lives. Here are the top five values for men in their morning stages:

1. Wealth
2. Adventure
3. Achievement
4. Pleasure
5. Respect

The shift in men is quite lovely. As they grow into their authentic selves, they most value:

1. Spirituality
2. Personal Peace
3. Family
4. God’s Will or Purpose
5. Honesty

So, it is safe to say that we do indeed get better with age! I encourage you to embrace where you are on your timeline, wherever that may be and just know that change is inevitable and that the Universe is conspiring for your highest good!

Enjoy the journey!
Dawn McIntyre
www.boldlybeautiful.com

Well, you’re right! Being psychic is just a mystical way of saying that you have harnessed and developed your intuition into one of your basic six senses that you rely upon and trust. We’ve all had those moments when we knew who was calling on the phone or we walked directly to the missing keys without knowing exactly what brought us there. It certainly wasn’t conscious thought or re-tracing our footsteps. It was just a knowing.

I believe that we were all born with six basic senses: sight, sound, taste, touch, smell and intuition. We didn’t have to “develop” our senses. They were there guiding us at birth. Somewhere along the way, however, we were conditioned to turn our intuitions off and “listen to our elders.” Essentially, we were collectively raised to collect data from external sources – our parents, teachers and other authority figures. We were raised to become dependent on grown-ups and as a result, we didn’t need or use our intuitions much, so like an atrophied muscle, many people’s intuitions went into dormancy at very young ages.

Well, that’s the good news! Your intuition is still there. It’s just sleeping. It comes out on occasion, but many times we send it back down because we have become accustomed to receiving validation or information externally, not internally. Sometimes when we hear it quite clearly, we dismiss it and allow our conditioned logic to override it. Often times, later we hear ourselves saying, “I knew better! I should have listened to my gut!”

And I’m here to say to you, “Yes, you should listen to yourself… every time!” But here’s the rub. Since we have become so conditioned to drowning out our intuition and rely upon our logic, it has become difficult for us to know which voice is which, right?

That’s okay. I have a few exercises for you to help develop and strengthen your psychic abilities. As you progress in developing your intuition, you will begin to clearly identify it and differentiate it from the programmed conditioning of your logical mind.

Imagine how freeing it is when you allow your intuition to flourish! You won’t have to “think so hard” about things. Rather, you can allow the answers to come to you gracefully. Practiced psychics know that the answers are already within and that just by opening yourself to receiving, they come through with ease. When you logically deliberate a situation and come up with an answer, you say, “I think…” When you intuit an answer, you say, “I know…” The difference is palpable and undeniably empowering!

In order to awaken your psychic voice, simply tell your subconscious mind that you intend to be psychic and benefit from your intuition. The best way to communicate this message to your subconscious mind is through gently, repetitive suggestion – or affirmations. Here are a few to get you started:
• I am open to psychic guidance in my life now.
• I expect psychic guidance to help me on my path.
• I trust all guidance that I receive.
• I act on my psychic guidance without hesitation.

Repeat these four affirmations daily. This will set the stage to developing your psychic abilities by opening your mind to the possibilities. Over the next few weeks, I will give you specific exercises to help you really harness, develop and trust your psychic abilities.

Have fun with this!
Dawn McIntyre
CEO, Boldly Beautiful International
www.boldlybeautiful.com

“The intuitive mind is a sacred gift and the rational mind is a faithful servant. We have created a society that honors the servant and has forgotten the gift.”  –Albert Einstein

Intuition is an incredible resource and gift that we have been given to help us live our best lives. I like to call it my internal GPS device. Unfortunately, not many people know what it is or how to use it. The word intuition means “in to you” in Latin. Theologian, Florence Scovel Shinn, once said, “Intuition is a spiritual faculty that doesn’t explain, but simply points the way.” It is also believed that intuition is your divine Spirit talking to you. If you would stop for a moment and ponder this concept, you would begin to realize the incredible power you have—that every answer to every question is right there within you. And you don’t even have to get any special training to start using it. All you need to do is raise your awareness about it and set your intention to harness, cultivate and trust it.

Intuitive messages range from an inkling to a strong sign or message. Your inner self is persistent and consistent. It will keep trying to get your attention until you receive the message. An “inkling” is like a glimmer or fleeting thought that comes from somewhere inside that you can’t quite put your finger on. A “hunch” is a bit stronger in that you may feel a certain knowing about something. Intuitive urges are accurate information from a higher intelligence. An intuitive message ranges from hearing actual words, seeing a clear picture, or a deep inner knowing. Some people experience intuition as a feeling, others a gut reaction, some experience intuition as thoughts, others see images or have a dream, while some hear an actual message. Become familiar with how your inner self communicates with you. Then you will easily recognize it and begin trusting your intuition.

The best ways to cultivate your intuition are:

1. Be Quiet
Practice taking time out every day to experience silence. Calm your mind with traditional or active meditation. Release your need to think, analyze, and know everything. Listen.

2. Be Open
Open to the gift of intuition and accept what is has to tell you. Many times, our rational mind thinks it has it “all figured out,” and that keeps us from reaching our true potential and experiencing new opportunities.

3. Be Creative
Creativity comes in many forms: painting, writing, dancing, design, cooking. Do something that helps you get into the “flow,” that place where time seems to fly by and the work is leading you. Creativity is an expression of your spirit and goes hand-in-hand with intuitive guidance.

4. Be Curious
When you ask yourself questions, you gain additional insight and clarity. When you ask a question like, “What is the next step I need to take?” Know that you already know what you need to know and the answer will be revealed.

5. Journal
While writing, you tap into thoughts, feelings, ideas and direction that you are not consciously aware of. Writing allows the truth to come forth and is an easy way to unleash and gain insight from your inner self.

Have fun with this and trust yourself. Once you become aware of how powerful your intuition really is and trust it, it will become your sixth sense—as trustworthy and commonplace as your other five senses!

Love and Blessings,
Dawn McIntyre
www.boldlybeautiful.com

I’m sure you’ve heard the phrase, “Everything is either growing or it’s dying.” It’s a simple expression that sums up the Universal Law of Rhythm, which states that the energy in the universe is like a pendulum. When something swings to the right, then it must swing to the left. Everything in existence is involved in a dance—swaying, flowing, and swinging back and forth.

The one thing we can count on is change, as everything is energy, and energy is constantly changing form. Why is then, that we seem to have a meltdown whenever change occurs?

We experience the Law of Rhythm everywhere and in everything. We see it in our sunrises and sunsets, in the ocean’s tide, in our seasons, our growing children, our moods, bank accounts, relationships, our economy, and even in our businesses. Everything goes through cycles, yet everything has a rhythm or a pattern. What seems to be random is actually very orderly.

I believe that it is part of our divine mission to simply go with this flow- to embrace change and allow it to stretch and expand us. It is through our divine wisdom that we recognize the signs that it is time for us to change—to grow and prepare ourselves for it. Eric Hoffer says, “In times of change, the learners will inherit the earth, while the learned find themselves beautifully equipped to deal with a world that no longer exists.”

Here’s a good example for you: It’s no doubt the world has been changed by the Internet. In one instance, print publications—newspapers and magazines are being shut down right and left because most people get their information and entertainment on-line. However, there are a few newspapers that have embraced the new paradigm by offering on-line publications, and are achieving great success because of their flexibility and innovation. Instead of resisting the change, they embraced it and figured out a way to co-exist gracefully with the shift.

Wayne Dyer talks about behaving like a palm tree in times of change and refers to the flexibility of the palm, as opposed to an oak tree, in the midst of a storm. The oak tree will snap in half, while the palm tree can bend completely horizontally, only to snap back up once the storm has passed.

Once we acknowledge and accept that the Law of Rhythm is at work, not only can we learn to adapt to change, but we can also relax into our lives with grace and ease. Instead of feeling guilty for taking a few days off from work, for example, realize that the amount of energy you put into your work previously, has been exhausted. Your energy must be replenished, and it is through rest that it is. By knowing this, you can then be gentle with yourself and predict the patterns of your own behavior, and schedule time for work and time for rest.

Expect change. It is inevitable. Instead of retreating in fear, uncertainty and doubt, look to it as natural progression and divine opportunity for us to expand into our absolute brilliant selves.

Love and Blessings,
Dawn