I’ve had the idea of abundance on the brain quite a bit lately. (Hence the current half-price sale on spaces in the July session of Invincible Summer, which you can read up on here if you’re short on time).

There are a lot of “us” out there right now–and when I say “us,” I mean solo-preneurs, people who are taking their own view of the current state of the economy, and turning it into (as Tara Gentile puts it) the “you-economy.”

My article in this month’s issue of Wild Sister Magazine is all about cultivating a mindset of abundance: living life in a way that assumes that there is enough to go around.

When we live with faith in abundance, when we stop believing in scarcity and competition (i.e. believing that there never is, and never will be, enough, and if we don’t get what we need while the getting is good, then somebody else will get it, and our game is up), we open up and blossom with generosity.

Last week I wrote a bit about Leonie Dawson’s Goddess Circle, and how her Business Goddess ecourse taught me about how earning money can be–and is–sacred; that there is nothing wrong with offering something of value to the universe and asking for value in return.

Sometimes that means raising your prices, upping the ante.

Sometimes, the heart nudges us in another direction.

Last week, in a newsletter, I asked my subscribers if joining the next session of Invincible Summer would be easier for them if they could pay the tuition in a two-part payment plan.

The answers were nearly unanimous, and their content essentially boiled down to a couple of key facts:

1. Women want/need to take this course–because they need to write, they have something to say, and they need a safe and supportive setting in which to make that happen.

2. The one thing stopping them from joining the course was, indeed, cost. Moms who want to write from the comfort of their own homes have to pay tuition for their kids’ summer activities; college students who want to write through the summer have to pay … well, college tuition.

In short–I wanted to make the course more accessible and affordable. So, with my little arsenal of technological know-how in tow, I attempted to set up a payment plan function with my paypal account.

This end of business frustrates me to no end. In short, I spent about two hours trying to set up something as simple as a payment plan, and couldn’t quite get it.

That’s when I realized the simple solution that was staring me in the face:

Let them make the one payment. Offer the course at 50% to those who need it. Let the second half, the other 50%, go free, as a gift into the universe, and let it be, and see what happens.

So that, my friends, is why Invincible Summer is open for registration at half the original price from now until this Friday (the 13th!) at 8:00 p.m. EST.

Because I want to live with a belief in abundance; because I want to see women invest what they can afford and see incredible returns for what they’ve paid.

I’ll leave this post there–this half-priced offer is available through Friday, and I invite you to join us. Make your summer invincible. I want you to be part of this. (Truly, I do).

How completely blissful it is, to wake up to an inbox filled with the work of talented writers, blossoming together on their own terms.

Yes, I’m talking about the women of Invincible Summer, the first-ever course session, the first-ever tribe gathering. I’m basking in the light of seeing women writing together, bouncing off of each others’ energy, supporting one another with vision and insight and encouragement and love.

My favorite thing about being a teacher (of writing, of yoga, of language–anything) is watching people bloom.

And I believe, firmly, that they do it themselves. The teacher is an instigator, if she’s good–but it’s these women who are doing the work, and I’ve never felt so proud of any group I have led or taught. I don’t take credit for this beauty, but I feel pride in these women because I’ve been watching them grow.

With the first session (yep, that’s right, it’s only the first–we’ll do another starting in mid-July) of Invincible Summer well underway, I’ve gotten permission from some of these journeyers to share links to their creations over the past week.

Watch them bloom (all of these ladies gave me permission to share):

Nancy Lennon took a quote I had emailed to the group and turned it not only into a gorgeous free-write, but also into a blog post lush with photography that made me drool with jealousy. (Oh, how I need to get outside with a camera more often.)

Gaelach, our resident spiritual outlaw, wrote of character, courage, and jumping off cliffs. Bravo, brava!

Michelle Halpern wrote this week about her big “aha!” moment–realizing the importance of writing in your own style, cause good writing is good writing, regardless of genre.

The lovely Elisa has been on fire, writing all week & putting together an ecourse of her own. I can’t wait to see her work blossom even more.

Patti learned that she is a writer.

And that’s not all we have … I’m going to be featuring more of these shining talents as the weeks go on. I don’t even feel quite right saying that I’m “proud,” because they are doing the work, creating the beauty, putting their own spin and sparkle on each prompt.

Nevertheless, pride is what I feel. Pride, chills, and deepest gratitude.

p.s. There’s still time to sign up for the course–I’m closing registration tonight, but as of now, there are still seats on the bus.

One might say I experienced a “teachable moment” today.

Some remarks were made on Twitter regarding the fact that the Invincible Summer course is geared toward & designed for women who write. The remarks were mildly inflammatory and indicated that the course, as well as another blog who featured my content today, was exclusionary.

Before I go any further, I’d like to mention that if a male wanted to sign up and participate in Invincible Summer, that male would be welcome.

Some stuff might come up in the course material that might make him feel marginalized, because the material does assume a female reader. But no, there is no rule (nor has there ever been one, real or implied) against men participating in the course. 

The major reason that Invincible Summer is designed as a women’s writing circle is because in my experience of large numbers of writing workshops, there is a very specific energy to the community when a workshop is all-female.

Do I think all writing workshops should be just for women? Absolutely not.

But the particular bonding experience and sense of sisterhood that happens in a women’s writing class/workshop is the experience I intend to create with this course.

I can also be up-front and own that my decisions are influenced by my personal beliefs–I think that’s true of all of us.

I’m all too aware of the politics of silencing and speaking; the many lessons learned from more than 2 years of full-time advocacy work for female crime victims who were terrified to open their mouths and tell the truth;  the socialization of girls and women to hold back our voices; and the marginalization of minority groups.

Those issues were and are catalysts for me in the creation of content for women who write.

However, this isn’t a blog about politics, sociology, or gender studies. So I’m not trying to argue or defend my beliefs; I’m just being honest about my awareness of women’s issues.

But the issues I just named above are a part of the reason for websites, circles, and communities for women–online and off.

The vast (beyond-vast) majority of people on my subscriber’s list are female. Like other blogs I admire, Invincible Summer tends to draw a more female audience than it does male. Men are welcome to read and subscribe, and some do, and I love that.

To simplify this: think of your vast panorama of writing ecourses (because there are many) like the magazine shelves in a book store. There are your (stereo)typical “women’s magazines” (like Glamour or Cosmo), and there are your “men’s magazines” (GQ, for example, and I apologize if these are horrible examples).

Then there are dozens of other, more specialized magazines, that are not geared so much toward one gender.

Do guys read Cosmo? Of course some do! Are there women who read GQ? Of course.

Do I welcome men as readers of this blog and participants in the course? Absolutely I do.

But I’m also going to be up-front about the content of an ecourse that you’ll be paying money for and dedicating time to.

It probably won’t be every guy’s cup of tea, and for me to sell you a spot in the course without making sure you know what you’re dedicating your time and money to, would be unethical of me.

I’ll end by thanking any readers or subscribers, male or female, for being here; apologizing to anyone who may have felt excluded; and inviting you to bring those concerns to me, in the comments here, or over email.

And to be perfectly clear, once again, anyone is welcome to sign up for the class. But I’m not gonna let you pay for something without being totally up front about what you’re getting.

I’ve never had to write a post like this before, so I’m not sure how to end it, but I’ll end it:

with love (really!),

Jess