Love your body because you only have one…

Hey beautiful people,

I have been a bit quiet over here at naked central. Awhile back I put out a poll on Twitter asking what topics people would like me to explore on a deeper level. The one that seems to be coming up over and over is Body Confidence. Before I unearth my feelings on this topic, I’d like to explore the definition. According to the National Eating Disorders Collaboration, body image is:

“A person’s perception of their physical self and the thoughts and feelings, positive, negative or both, which result from that perception.”

The generally accepted definition of confidence is:

“A feeling of self-assurance arising from one’s appreciation of one’s own abilities or qualities.”

Example: “She’s brimming with confidence”
synonyms: self-assurance, self-confidence, self-reliance, belief in oneself, faith in oneself, positiveness, assertiveness, self-possession, nerve, poise, aplomb, presence of mind, phlegm, level-headedness, coolheadedness, firmness, courage, boldness, mettle, fortitude
So if we pull the meaning of these two profound concepts together, from my perspective Body Confidence is:

A person’s positive feelings of self assurance in their body, arising from appreciation of one’s physical attributes and qualities.

Because I freely and publicly post fully naked or partially nude photos of myself online, the majority of people who respond to my posts seem to witness a deep level of body confidence in my self expression. Here are just a few of the thousands of related comments I’ve received from blog readers and people who follow me on social media:

“Joy, you are an inspiration to us all, please keep up the good (naked) work.”

“Damn girl, you’re one brave woman!”

“I love how direct and honest she is. We should all hope to find the courage to be this true to ourselves.”

Sometimes, when I read these comments, it’s hard to believe the author is speaking about me. I haven’t really explored this on an introspective level until recently. What I’ve come to is this; my body has carried me on this earth for over forty years. She’s been wounded, she’s been used and abused, she’s been starved (during my teenage anorexic phase). She’s given birth, breastfed, she’s felt immense pain but also immense, Mind. Blowing. Pleasure. She’s felt love so deep she felt like she’d reached nirvana. She’s had her heart broken on such a surreal level that she wasn’t sure she’d ever feel love coursing through her veins and beating through her heart again.

Healing and transformation are a lifelong journey and require continual focus and loving attention to self. Beyond my inner journey, for me, the power of letting go of what society thinks about me, my mind, my body or my spirit has been liberating on a life altering level. I recently posted a shower rant about Naturism and labels on Twitter. Last I saw that little video of me showering while venting passionately had nearly 20,000 views. My silly little snow angel challenge video has had even more views. The idea of that many people watching my videos is honestly kind of daunting. When I take my self portraits, or prop my iPhone up somewhere and take a video I’m just in the moment being me.

I try not to think about the public posting part, lol. So it’s just me and my phone. I’m not performing, or acting. I’m just being myself. Some of my photos are a tad more sensually expressive. That’s because I am an innately sensual woman. I have a higher than average libido (if I do say so myself) and I enjoy tapping into that energy and capturing the essence of my sensuality.

A quote comes to mind:

“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It’s not just in some of us; it’s in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.” -Marianne Williamson

I am here on this blog expressing all aspects of my nakedness. Expressing all aspects of my being. Sharing myself and my path with you. The last few weeks I’ve been focused on creating The 21 Day Body Confidence Challenge (which will be free for my patrons who literally make this blog possible). Not sure when it will be complete, but working on it has been illuminating to say the least. I’m hoping to have it launched this month.

My hope for you is that you realize that you are powerful beyond measure.

From my heart to yours,

Joy