Aretha Franklin, my favorite female singer of all time had a huge hit with the song R.E.S.P.E.C.T. by Otis Redding.  Their combined talent is off the charts.  And you just know that if Aretha were still alive we’d be hearing her sing Respect every where we went right now.

This song is a huge hit for so many reasons.  Yes, there’s Otis Redding’s words and music.  Yes, there’s Aretha’s powerhouse voice.  But there’s more.

Asking for respect in a relationship is liberation.

Respect is a liberation song.

AND it was released in 1967, during the civil rights movement.

AND the women’s liberation movement.

Talk about perfect timing!!

Respect is particularly powerful because you can tell the song is written by a man.  It has a man’s sensibility.  But coming at the time of women’s lib, it became a liberation song for ALL women, and particularly for women of color.

In 1967 she was 25 years old.  It was a bold move on her part to sing such a song and she had the voice to be that bold.  THANK YOU, ARETHA!

I wish we could hear Aretha singing live to us now.  Her voice can calm the stormy seas AND it can also move us to rise up into our loving hearts.

And she would remind us of our personal power because that’s what the purity of her voice does.

Now is the time for us to truly respect each other.  If that seems hard, let’s respect God in each other.

We can respect our differences and agree to disagree with those who seem to have a difference of perspective, while respectfully working towards our goals of unity and nonviolent transformation.

We must respect ourselves, honor our body temple and our heart temple, now more than ever because our full attention is needed to hold the vision of unity and world peace.

“R.E.S.P.E.C.T. find out what it means to me.

R.E.S.P.E.C.T. take of T.C.B.”

T.C.B. = Taking care of business.  We, as spiritual leaders, because that’s what we are, we must take care of T.C.B. because our business is God’s business.

We work for God, Inc. now and that’s where we can keep our focus whether we’re with our family, on our job, or at a political demonstration.

We are here to represent the one who sent us.  That’s our business now.  Let’s focus.

You can see Aretha lip synch to the original version of RESPECT in the movie Blues Brothers and it’s worth it.  SO GOOD!

BTW – my second favorite female singer of all time – who is such a close second that she probably is breathing down Aretha’s neck is Dinah Washington.    “Ask me how do I feel … if I were a bell I’d be ringing.”  It just doesn’t get any better than that! It’s the WAY that she sings it.  Good gosh almighty!  The quality of their voices is just unbelievable.  What a gift to be able to hear them.  If you ever wonder what good this world has, listen to them sing!

Would you like some support to bring on a breakthrough?  

If you feel like you might be playing small and hiding your light under a bushel because of your beliefs about yourself, if you think maybe those beliefs are false and could be eliminated, and if you have a willingness to do some inner work to make a real and lasting change then please consider joining me and some other folks just like you who are SO DONE WITH PLAYING SMALL and ready to let those patterns go.  I’m cooking up a great early-bird special for you!

Let’s remove the blocks to Love, intelligence, Wisdom, clarity and inspiration!  Forgiveness is the cure for all of it.  It worked for me – so well – I feel compelled to share.  That’s why we offer Forgiveness Workshops on a regular basis – they’re FREE.  The next one is this Sunday, June 9.  All are welcome.

I was sick for a number of days and my voice is not quite back to full power, so I’ve needed to save it for the classes I’ve had, but a new episode is coming soon  – in the meantime: