Welcome to my weekly column, I share cloth handmade doll making diys and tutorials.This includes free fabric and textile doll patterns, and cloth doll cloths, shoes, and accessories and DIY projects from my Authentik Beauty Handmade Doll Crafts YouTube channel. Additionally, you will find articles about beauty, aging, spirituality, and life lessons.
1. Some dolls were never given to children
because they were believed to have magical powers. Doll were created to perform
various types of spells and used as charms.
2. Some dolls were used were created for
education purposes only to teach children about their heritage and culture.
They are also used by social workers, therapists, and doctors for practical
purposes when working with patients.
3. Some dolls were view as messengers from the
gods and goddesses.
4. Some dolls were used to communicate with
ancestors.
5. Dolls were created for protection.
6. Many dolls were created for the purpose
of religious ritual.
7. Researchers believe that dolls are the
oldest toy invention.
8. Fear of dolls is called “pediophobia”
9. “Uncanny Valley” is a term coined termed by
Masahiro Mori in 1970 which explain why people are repulsed by certain human
like features that have an uncanny resemblance to humans, yet not human enough.
This condition is described as humans natural avoidance of corpse or unbalanced
facial or body features that may be indicative of something unhealthy or other
worldly.
10. A study by Psychologist, Frank McAndrew and
Sara Koehnke to define what creepy means to the average person by asking
participants what creeped them out—the survey found that many people view doll collectors
as having the creepiest hobby.
This article discusses 7 Beauty Secrets and Beauty Hacks for women over fifty on how to age gracefully that includes
acknowledging the loss of youth, spending quality time with yourself; learning
what your body needs; changing your dress style; spring cleaning your life; and
finding a hobby to bring joy to your life.
~~~
When I was younger, life was about fitting in to the demands of society. I
wanted people to like me, love me, marry me, befriend me… validate me. When I
turned 45-years-old I stopped caring what people thought about me. I cared more
about what I thought about myself. I started speaking up for myself more. I
realized that a glass of red wine and lunch by myself is a lovely and peaceful
rendezvous.
When we are in our youth, we live our lives from the outside in. Our lives
are structured around meeting the expectations of society, our children, our
parents, our mates, clients, customers, employers, bosses, supervisors… you get
the picture. When you approach middle age, you realize at an unconscious level,
that you should live your life from the inside out.
You learn that in order for you to psychologically evolve, age gracefully,
and enjoy the next half of your life you must shape the outside world to fit
into your life… your biological needs, sleep patterns, interests, desires, and
dreams. You realize that if you are lucky… the next half of your life is about
you.
Every person’s journey to back to the other side of human existence is
different. Now that I am fifty-years-old, I can look back at my mid-life crisis
with a more spiritual and grounded perspective. In this article, I am going to
share with you 7 ways to age gracefully that saved my life.
How to age Gracefully
Tip # 1
Give yourself a few years to grieve the loss of your youth
We live in an anti-aging society. We are supposed to fight wrinkles, age
spots, and gray hair at all cost. When my hairline started to turn white, I
became obsessed with dying my hair. I didn’t have a healthy attitude about
dying my hair as part of my personal grooming repertoire. I felt that my
gray hair was an affront to my self-esteem and my physical attraction. I was
dying to dye my hair.
I noticed that my breasts weren’t as firm as they were in the past. I
started to gain weight. Noooooo God! Youthful beauty equals power, especially
for women. I felt like I was losing my self-worth as a human being. Vitamins,
exercises, anti-wrinkle creams, hair dyes—you name it—none of those things will
change the number of years you have been on earth. Every person ages
differently.
Everything in life has its ups and downs. You may not look the same as you
did when you were younger—but you shouldn’t look the same—because you are not
the same person. You are wiser, smarter, stronger and more confident than you
were back then. If you had the knowledge back then that, you have now…you
probably would have missed a lot of fun times. Smile.
Our bodies are displaying a story of valor, honor, and wisdom that only the
lines of time could write. Choosing to age gracefully is a bold act of
self-love and self-respect for your time here on earth.
So, get out that that picture book, and claim it— Say it! “Yes! I was
smoking hot in that bathing suit! I looked good in those jeans! Say it like you
mean it! Be appreciative of your body with pride and dignity.
Write a letter to your younger self and thank her for all of your
wonderful life experiences that have led you to this moment. Forgive yourself
for any and all mistakes that you made in the past because you simply did not
know any better. Forgive everyone and everything in your past because we all
are doing the best we can.
Be grateful for your health. Be grateful that you are still here on earth to
share your gifts and talents. Don’t focus on what’s wrong, or how your body
used to look in the past—focus on all of the gifts and lessons your current
body has blessed you with.
Give yourself a few years to settle into your aging body with ease and
grace.
How to age Gracefully Tip #
2
Date Yourself—Get to Know Yourself
The first half of your life is dedicated to pleasing your parents,
teachers, children, employers, friends, neighbors, and mates. We want to fit
into society and we want people to like us. Accept us. Adore us. We ask questions
like, “Do I look fat in these jeans?; Do you like my new hairstyle? “What would
you like for dinner?” “What movie do you want to see?”; and so forth. Many of
us are constantly asking other people what do YOU think of ME and what can I do
to be more desirable.
The second half of your life should be dedicated to pursuing, wooing,
loving, cherishing, admiring, and adoring—Yourself; in a way that you never
have before. Go on a vacation by yourself. Go out to dinner and to the movies
with by yourself. Make up your face, put on your matching bra and panties, and
that red hoochie-momma-dress you have been saving for a special occasion. The
special occasion is has arrived. It’s you getting to know and develop a
relationship with yourself like you have never done before.
Cook a magnificent dinner for you. Burn the candles; use the gold
dinnerware, the good dishes, and pour yourself a glass of the best wine you can
find in the gorgeous wine glasses you save for company. You are the special
guess that you have been waiting for. Don’t make dating yourself a special
occasion. Celebrate and date yourself as often as possible. The body you are in
will never exist again. Love it up—with all you got! Spending quality time with
yourself is the greatest honor that you can give your soul. Fun time spent
alone is when the gods, goddesses, and muses come out to play with you.
How to age Gracefully Tip #
3
Ask Your Body What it Needs—and Listen to How it Feels
The mass media saturates us daily with promises of eternal youth if we
purchase new exercise equipment, diets, pills, surgeries, and magic
slim-down-no-stomach potions. And if you don’t want to lose weight, surely you
want to get rid of wrinkles, grow new hair, and/ or remove age-spots. These
commercials are followed by why you should increase your insurance policies and
plan your funeral. Society forbade you to age gracefully.
I use to ride an exercise bike that was destroying my knees. I didn’t
want to admit it to myself that I could barely walk up and downstairs. One day
I just got super honest with myself and said, “Hey you, if you are around
another 30 to 50-years if you are lucky—you will be in a wheel chair. If you
want to be able to use those knees…and I know you do… you need to find another
type of exercise.”
Not only have I have come to the conclusion, that certain exercises
are not good for my body at this juncture in my life; I have also learned that
there are several foods that no longer agree with my digestive system. Additionally,
I have discovered that I can’t eat before I go to bed because it affects my
sleep. When I was younger, I could eat whatever I wanted-- whenever I wanted to
eat with no negative consequences.
Now that I am fifty, my body demands being pampered. She wants enough
sleep, breakfast, and vitamins. My body enjoys hula-hooping, yoga for
beginners, and naps. She insists on reading not just self-help, non-fiction,
and current events like in the past—she indulges in fiction erotic romance
novels and suspense thrillers.
Don’t listen to what other people are telling you to do to be
healthier—what they did worked for their body type. Every person’s body is
different. It has a different DNA design and history of usage. Listen carefully
and respectfully to your body and it will tell you what it needs to be healthy
and vibrant.
How to age Gracefully Tip # 4 Ask Your Soul what it would
like to experience. What is missing in your life?
It’s never too late to change jobs, go back to school, start your own
business, join a club, or try out for a team. Look within your heart and ask
yourself, what would I like to do that I haven’t done before—before I leave
this body?
Aging gracefully is not about the quantity of how long we have lived on this
planet; aging gracefully is about the quality of the life that we have lived
unabashedly, without shame, and without regret.
You don’t have to quit your job. Start small. I think that the “all or
nothing” and “go big or go home” philosophy has stopped so many people from
living their dream life. Whatever it is that you want to do, my unsolicited
advice to you is to first—google what you want to do. Read about it. Learn how
other people got started. Look at pictures. After you are finished looking at
images, reading articles, watching YouTube videos and taking meticulous
notes—do one small act towards your dream.
Let’s say you want to write a book. If you write one sentence a
night—you will still be much further along than you were last year.
Last thing, I want to say about getting started on completing
unfulfilled goals and dreams—please don’t tell anyone. I don’t know why…I don’t
know what the spiritual law is… but I have found that when I want to achieve a
goal it works best when I keep it to myself and share the completed results
with others.
How to age Gracefully Tip #
5
Dress to Express Your Divine Diva Soul
When we are younger, we dress for success, to impress some boyfriend,
girlfriend, potential employers, parents, and society’s latest fashion fad. I
believe that as we age our fashion focus should not be about impressing other
people—our sense of fashion should be about expressing our own unique
personality.
The hot flashes that I endure have completely changed the way I dress. I
can’t stand long sleeves or having anything around my neck. My body needs to
breathe. Sometimes people look at me strange when it’s cold outside because I
am wearing a sleeveless dress or blouse. In the past, I unconsciously sought
the approval of my colleagues by trying to dress appropriate to their standards
even though I was hot and miserable.
I don’t care about what other people think any more. It’s none of my
business. I wear clothes that make me feel beautiful. My soul is obsessed with
wearing bright rich colors like red, magenta, and teal. I didn’t realize how
being conditioned to wear neutral colors like beige, black, navy, browns, and
gray for many… many… many… years washed out my individuality and connection to
my authentic self.
Buy clothes with vibrant colors, lace pantyhose, and bold colorful
jewelry. Wear comfortable shoes that respect your feet. When you are
eighty-five you want to be able to go for a morning hike with those feet. Yes,
this is why I stopped wearing high heels; they are not the right shoes for my
journey to self-love.
How to age Gracefully Tip #
6
Spring Clean Your Life
If you haven’t already, (if you are reading this article—you are
probably well along this journey) remove people, things, practices, habits, and
beliefs that no longer serve who you are.
Don’t complain, whine, or rationalize to yourself or others why you continue
to associate with people whom you know do not honor the highest version of
yourself. I have had friends where I knew that the only conversations that we
could discuss were based on gossip, politics, and unrequited love affairs of
the pasts. If I brought up the subject of a new book idea or doll that I was
working on their eyes would glaze over.
You can’t spiritually bring a person to where you are. You must accept them
where they are. And if you find that you have nothing in common with old
friends that bring you pleasure spend less time with them with ease and grace.
You don’t need to expend energy on belittling them or telling them how they
should act or feel. Love them with all your heart for who they are. You are not
required to spend time with people who no longer resonate with the real you.
You know that dress and those jeans that you have been trying to lose
weight in order to fit into them again? Throw that shit out! The psychic energy
that is attached to trying to re-live the past is toxic. Lovingly remove items
from your life that you no longer like or use in order to prepare space for
something new and amazing to come into your life.
How to age Gracefully Tip #
7
Nurture a Talent, Gift, or Hobby
Sometimes in our lives, if feels like we are surviving and not
thriving. In other words, it feels like our life is on automatic. You go to
work to pay the bills. When you come home from work, you make dinner, help the
children with their homework, wash dishes, do laundry, and go to bed—to start
all over again.
One day the children (if you have any) will move away from home, the
monotony of your job will numb your senses and you will wonder, “Is this really
what life is all about?... bills and work?
I can truly say that the Jungle Beauty Goddesses saved my life. I started
making dolls at the age of 45. I realized that the dolls that I was making had
a story and I started writing fantasy fiction at 47-years-old. My children are
in their mid-twenties, I have been on my job for 15 years, and the only people
who need me to survive are the Jungle Beauty Goddesses. They are the reason
that I rush home for work, get up early, stay up late. I fantasize about them
when I am waiting in traffic.
I don’t care if anyone else love them—because I do and I am writing the
story that I want to read. I have learned so much about sewing, making YouTube
videos, and writing. I feel like I am 18-years-old because I am so very excited
about the artistic world that I have created for myself. The Jungle Beauty
Goddesses fill my life with magic and wonder.
Find something to do that brings you pleasures in a way that money,
relationships with others, and social status could never satisfy. Find that
project that needs you to breathe life into it. I guarantee you that the life
you save will be your own. You will know when you find it because you are
creating is built from joy and every ounce of your mind, body, and soul will be
utterly engaged. And you will feel like a timeless being.
When asked the question, “Do you believe in yourself” can
you answer affirmatively, ‘Yes!’without hesitation? If not, what do you think
is holding you back from believing in yourself? If you keep a daily journal of
your thoughts and actions you may find that the person who is holding you back
from reaching your full potential and making your dreams come true is the image
of the person who is reflected back to you each time you look in the mirror.
While meditating I asked my higher self, if there was one
thing that I needed to change about myself in order to reach my highest
potential, what would that one thing be. A quiet voice inside of my head,
softly said, “Believe in yourself.” Believe in myself? I pondered out loud, I
have always believed in myself, I need more practical advice, like go to bed at
9 pm, read this book, or do 10 jumping jacks; but suggesting that I believe in
myself is a difficult task because it is a vague, abstract concept that is
difficult to apply to my life.
After journaling for a few moments, I will call it my
spirit—said to me, “You don’t pray for assistance, you pray for permission. You
don’t ask for strength, wisdom, and insight to help you accomplish your dream,
instead you pray, ‘Lord, if you don’t want me to have this, please take the
desire out of my heart. If this is not your will show me another way. What is
my divine purpose? Please give me sign that my life is moving in the right
direction.'
What if I told you that the treasures of life-- lie in the desires
of your heart? Your will is my will. I gave those gifts to you—use them. You
want the world to validate you first, so that you will have the courage to
believe in yourself. The world will see you through your own eyes. How do you
see yourself? What do you want?”
I wrote in my journal, that I am a writer. The soft voice in
my head responded, “How often do you write? How often are you lulled into
complacency by watching television, texting nonsense, or reading gossip
magazines? Are you a writer because of your actions or do you want me to force
you to write? I can meet you at the computer, but I will never drag you there.”
After completing this journaling exercise, I started
monitoring my behavior and thought patterns. I found myself constantly playing
a tape in my head in my own voice telling myself that, “writing is hard. Nobody
cares if I write. I wish I was born with a natural talent.” I also found myself
hypnotized by reality shows and long meaningless conversations about world
affairs that I don’t have the time, interest, or resources to fix. Observing my
own behavior was an indicator to me that I don’t really believe in myself
because if I did, I would spend more time doing what I really enjoy.
I have learned that believing in yourself is an endeavor
that requires you to take a cold, hard, honest look at your life to determine
if your thoughts, actions, and words are aligned with your proclaimed goal.
Believing in yourself is manifesting your thoughts into reality by keeping
promises to yourself. A great golfer becomes great by practicing every day. A
great musician first plays for herself simply because she loves the sound of
her own music before playing for an audience. A great dancer dance even when no one is
looking.
Pretend that you are your audience. What painting would you
like to see? Don’t buy it this time, pick up a paint brush and paint it
yourself. What story do you desperately want to read? Try writing it. Do you
know how many people who gave up on their dream because some well meaning
person told them to grow up, wake up and join the real world? There are so many
people who believe that the reason they gave up on their dream is because no
one believed in them.
But the saddest truth to face is that they did not have
the courage or self-discipline to pursue their dream anyway—because they did
not believe in themselves. The beauty
that is missing from the world is the authentic expression of you that is hidden inside of your body and soul
that is dying to manifest itself through your daily actions.
By, Cassandra George Sturges, Psy. D, MA, MA
I am a handmade cloth doll maker and artist and my dolls
talk to me. In this episode, meet my Authentik Beauty handmade cloth doll, Maybelline.
In this YouTube video, she shares her marriage secrets lifehacks
For Handmade Doll Stories, life
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