Sisterhood exchanging with Stephanie

It was during a particularly challenging phase when my then 9-year old daughter and I weren't getting along as well as we could that I got my bright idea. Stephi was being her usual defiant self and I was frustrated and about ready to pull my hair out; but in my gut I believed that we had the potential to do better.

One day, "out of the blue," I sensed that if we could somehow improve the quality of the energy that flowed between us, we could improve our relationship. I explained my little experiment to Stephi and she reluctantly agreed to give it a shot. I asked her to stand, face me and with our eyes closed, for a few minutes we would think good, positive, loving thoughts about each other.

And that's what we did.

I was deeply moved by the exchange and could sense that Stephi was, too. I asked her if she wanted us to share our thoughts aloud and she said 'yes.' I got to tell her what a spunky, courageous and smart girl she was and she told me that I was a wonderful, supportive mother who always "had her back." These lovely thoughts were inside of us, but as long as we were "bumping heads," they never surfaced.

I believe that a shift occurred in our relationship that day. We still had challenging moments, but overall, the way that we approached each other changed, the way that we interacted changed and the way that we listened to each other changed. It's not perfect, (what relationship is?), but, today I share an authentic relationship with my daughter, who is now 20, which I believe began on the day of our 'exchange.'

That experience in the kitchen years ago prompted me to sit and write. Although I had a hunch that what was stirring inside of me would somehow address the energy exchanged between women, I had no idea that it would result in a book. As a writer, my obligation was to open myself to the process and allow Spirit to flow. The Sisterhood Exchange is what emerged.

Purchase a copy of The Sisterhood Exchange at michellehollinger.com.