MOMPRENEUR-OF-THE-MONTH: BLESS YOU MOM

The "TastyMom" award signifies our Mompreneur-of-the-Month. This award is for Moms who still manage to stay tastydespite all the hustle and bustle of being a mother & owning a business.  This month, the "TastyMom" award goes to... Harmony Rose West & Elizabeth Carovillano of Bless You Mom.  Bless You Mom is a Conscious Thoughts for the Mothering Journey card deck which was birthed from a synthesis of Harmony Rose West's work as a mother, early childhood teacher, and Mother’s Circle facilitator.  From her own spiritual search, accrued understanding of human nature and the mothering process, came the desire to share her learning. She wanted to highlight and honor motherhood as a vital process for creating a generation of compassionate human beings. Her thoughts and desires delightfully culminated in the creation of the Bless You Mom deck and she has graciously decided to share her story with Tastybaby.

- Harmony Rose West, founder of Bless You Mom

For a lot of my life, I’d struggled with my own self-worth.  I never felt like I was enough.  As I nurtured my three children and told them how wonderful they were, I knew I didn’t feel the same about myself.  I wanted my children to feel stronger than I did but I longed to feel strong too. Motherhood suited me-pregnancy, birth, nursing, cooking, cleaning and tending my home…even the struggles were okay.  I settled into this identity.  It was a role I could anchor in-a place I felt safe.  As I lovingly cared for my children, over time, I felt an increasing sense of self-worth.  In the process of creating healthy children, I found that I was healing my own inner child.

My love for children brought me to teaching.  Fifteen years ago, I founded Magical Child Playschool where I still teach preschool.  My passion is to help children develop a strong sense of self. The days turned into years and, with this work, I was feeling better and better about myself; more comfortable in my own skin.

Five years ago, I began to facilitate Mother’s Circles.  These circles are loving, healing and spiritual gatherings; places mothers come together for nurturing.  We consciously leave social chatter, busyness, and ordinary reality at the door and create a space to focus on filling ourselves up.

I thought of creating a tool for mothers, maybe a thought for the day; something a wise grandmother might share.  As I looked about me at my spiritual tools, I noticed decks with daily affirmations.  That lead to the thought, what about inspirational cards for mothers?  Tarot had become a piece of my morning contemplation.  While not everyone might relate to the esoteric symbols, I was pretty sure that almost every mother could relate to inspiring daily thoughts.  For me, inspiration was a key to finding inner  touchstones of nurturance, acceptance, gratitude, love, kindness; a way to ponder, to wonder, to connect with my own truth.  

I began to dream about a deck of cards for mothers.  I kept a notebook with me to record my thoughts.  What came forth from my musings and writings were inspirations, simple prayers, affirmations, intuitions, blessings and conscious thoughts just for mothers: “May I bless my child with the warmth of kindness;  May my home be a safe, healthy and holy place to grow;  May my frustrations be transformed into useful lessons; may I wrap my child in a soothing blanket of calmness;  May I choose my words thoughtfully and deliberately;  May I actively practice forgiveness; May I feel that it is both a blessing and a privilege to be a Mother, etc.” One conscious thought at a time, the Bless You Mom cards were manifesting.

Elizabeth Carovillano, a Mother’s Circle friend, partnered with me and offered her enthusiasm and graphic design expertise.  She worked tirelessly incorporating symbols and archetypal images into the deck’s design. Elizabeth lovingly shaped each and every card into an image of feminine beauty and power.  We were so psyched we could hardly sleep!  Our idea to include photographs of mothers and children on the cards brought a flood of friends’ photos to our inboxes.  Using colors and intuition, I began incorporating my understanding of the chakra energy system into the structure of the deck. The cards were evolving more beautifully than I had dreamed.
 
Originally rectangular, the cards transformed into squares and eventually became round; a symbol of our beloved Mother’s Circles.  At an inspired business-naming session, Elizabeth blurted out “Bless You Mom!”  We knew instantly that Bless You Mom was the perfect name for our business since the words themselves were an affirmation.  Each time anyone uttered the words “Bless You Mom,” they would affirm love and blessings to mothers everywhere.  Hand-in-hand and heart-to-heart, Elizabeth and I co-birthed the Bless You Mom deck, often with her three-year-old daughter, Noelani, on our laps.  My dear friend has now moved on to a global position as the Marketing Director of Mothering Magazine.  They are very blessed to have her as part of their team.
 
Today, while I ‘work’ with children and ‘sit’ with mothers, I explore the inner worlds of spirituality, earth-based traditions and metaphysics.  I’ve come to believe that low self-worth is a lie many in our culture share.  We are all born innocent and pure.  It is a state of being we can easily see it in our children.  I know now that the present is where all our power is and that our thoughts matter.  They matter a lot.  What mothers think and say to their children is important; it impacts self-esteem.  What mothers think and say to themselves matters; it either nurtures and uplifts them or creates more inner wounds.  If I had known this earlier in my life, I would have saved myself a lot of inner wear and tear.  But, as Maya Angelou says, “When we know better, we do better.”  I am happily moving forward.

I feel content to be living in the second half of my life. My three children have grown and I am now blessed with the call of Grandmother.  Age has relaxed, mellowed and ripened me. Thoughts and feelings of acceptance and gratitude have become daily medicines. I now know that tending to my inner self is the fuel that creates my vitality, well-being and sense of worth.  

My prayer is that the Bless You Mom deck shines a soft guiding light on the powerful, healing and sacred mother and child relationship.  Mothers are blessed and privileged to birth, grow and sculpt the next generation.  As we learn to acknowledge the boundless good within us, may we share it with our children for the health and well-being of us all.

A visit to my website will give you a written and visual description of my Bless You Mom deck.  Each of the 56 colorful, circular cards is printed with an empowering affirmation to help cultivate uplifting thoughts.  They invite reflection on values ranging from self-love and acceptance to mindfulness and compassion. Holding a card in the palm of your hand feels like holding hands with a friend. The cards are imbued with my belief that we are spiritual beings.  They are built around the healing power of thought.  Most importantly, the Bless You Mom cards are intended to be blessings for mothers.

May each and every one of you be richly blessed and know the blessing that you are to your children!  Bless You Mom!