LL: What life experiences have contributed to your desire and ability to develop your work and art?

GC: This is a hard question to answer, other than to say simply, all of my life experiences through the lens of being a woman have contributed. If I had to pick one specific thing, I would say it was my menstrual cycle. At 14, when I got my first one, it was the most amazing, magical thing to me and it never ceased to be, even to this day. Seeing that no one, and I mean NO ONE around me was sharing my feelings on this subject, I got curious as to why. When I began W.O.M.A.N., it was called The Sacred Cycle, because our menstrual cycle was the point of entry for my work with women. Viewing it as our compass, I wanted to share and teach other women how to as well. And thus it all formally began!

LL: Was there a point in your life that you'd call a crossroads, when you realized that it was truly time to jump in and live your passion?

GC: Yes!!! Two simultaneously actually. One was having had my daughter, she inspired me to just jump in and get it all going. What was I waiting for? I wanted the world to be different for her. And I was also taking a powerful 6-month workshop that was helping me obliterate all the excuses about why I wasn’t ready yet to DO my work. With that one-two punch in my gut, I leapt into the void. That was in 1999.

LL: What were you like as a child?

GC: LOL! I should let my mom answer that one. I was ALWAYS rebellious, always wanting to know why things were the way that people said they were, or why they had to be that way. The answer “because” to my “why” questions, always sparked argument in my house, because I was like a dog with a bone, seeing the other side and arguing for it. And many times, seeing the other SIDES, plural, as I could always see many ways of looking at something. I was constantly in motion. My mom recently told me I was a lot of fun to have around because I always looked at things differently. I loved dance and when I see home movies I was always dancing, or moving, or eating. I was so skinny but always eating. People used to say I had hollow legs because I ate so much but was so thin. I was also always interested in spirituality. Astrology was my first serious study and that began when I was a teenager. What’s also very funny for me to reflect on is that my dad was very traditional and quite chauvinistic in his attitudes towards women, so there were these elaborate discussions and passionate arguments with him about women being equally capable. Who knew, right??

LL: Are there any qualities about yourself that you once viewed as a weakness and now cherish as an asset?

GC: Hmmmmmmm. Good one. Probably my stubbornness. When I was young, I was a rebel just for the sake of being one, but now I’m a rebel with a cause. Or a revolutionary as I prefer to see myself now. It’s that same quality of stubbornness in my youth that has translated into determination in my maturity. So there’s been a transmutation of that quality into one that is very useful to me now. I don’t give up or quit and I am determined to find a way to my destination and I don’t take no for an answer. I just find another way. Was it Mark Twain that said “youth is wasted on the young”? Now when I see my daughter being stubborn, I just tell myself, hey, that’s determination in the making. But it’s like having to deal with myself the way my mom probably had to deal with me. It does come back around to haunt you. LOL!

LL: How has becoming a mother affected your commitment to your work and art?

GC: I think I partially answered this one above as she inspired me to get the ball rolling. But additionally, having her in my life and seeing the stages of our lives as females unfold through her has allowed me to evolve other elements of my work that I hadn’t conceived of before. For instance, the workshop that you can see on my website, “The Sacred Facts of Life,” probably wouldn’t exist but for having a daughter. As she exposes me all over again to the childhood of girls, I’m given the opportunity to make a difference by creating and teaching them in a way that is not done in our world. Or done by very few. I’m certainly not the only woman out there trying to change things for girls. But I do feel my approach is very unique, and this is echoed by the mothers who bring their daughters to me.

Also, seeing how dishonored women are in our world and seeing how much fear this over sexualization provokes in our young girls, drives me to really find a way to change elements of the media that create this, but more importantly to teach our girls (and women, too, as it’s all connected) how to honor and value themselves, so that ultimately they are unaffected by the media and the part of our world that devalues them. When we love and value and respect ourselves, we do not tolerate the opposite of that in our lives. That’s what I’m trying to give them.

Ultimately my daughter is my beacon, showing me the way.

LL: Why is it important for you to reach out to men about feminine issues?

GC: Because we are all interconnected. I’ve acquired quite a following of men in the last 2 years. A lot of them find me through my radio show and honestly become addicted. They tell me that they are learning things about women they never knew. Also, more than half of my book reviews on Amazon are by men now. They are telling me that the book is causing them to feel more empathetic and compassionate towards women AND teaching them things about themselves. I just LOVE that. Without male support, I always say this mission of mine will just take me longer. I believe they have as much misinformation about us as we do about them. The men that connect with me and my work ALWAYS want to know how they can help and really embrace wholeheartedly what I’m attempting to bring to women. I believe what I’m doing can help restore their sense of masculinity. And this is a concept that many of them are confused about. But this is a complex subject. I do talk about it in my book.

LL: How long have you offered your seminar “Is Pornography Ruining Your Life”?

GC: That’s brand new, actually and I haven’t even done it yet. A lot of times I get ahead of myself in my vision, but I’m also looking at tackling that issue in other ways. Men really would like an alternative. They write to me about this often, so I know it’s something many of them don’t want to use in their lives, they just don’t know there are other way. Mostly because of the insidious media tactics that drive us all like cattle to their destination products

LL: What is your creative process like?

GC: I love this question because the answer lies in the root of the feminine. My creative process is chaotic and immensely unpredictable. It’s inspiration-driven, and my follow through is pure intention and intuition. I often say that W.O.M.A.N. is my hypnotist. If she says, “Gina, turn right,” I do. If she says, “Gina, turn left,” I do. If she says, “Gina, walk into that wall,” I do. And when I slam into that wall, I can guarantee you that there was a reason for it. Listening lies at the root of it for me. This work is divine inspiration and I’m the messenger and the channel. It’s not about me, Gina, it’s about the mission, and the information and wisdom that moves through me. It’s not unlike having a baby. When that baby is coming, you have contractions that cause you to be so present, and then, voila! The beautiful gift arrives. So when I am ‘told” to do something, I truly don’t question it. I say, “okay,” show me how. And the right people, place, opportunities, all start showing up. It’s really pure magic and I believe this is why so many people are drawn to my work and what I do, is because it is pure and rooted in a kind of integrity and authenticity for me that I can’t quite explain in words. But people feel it in their hearts, and there is nothing more powerful than that.

LL: How do you set and achieve goals?

GC: Once I have my directives, I make a list and then I just work with focusing on no more than 2 at a time. I have WAY too many ideas usually and it’s easy to get excited about all of them at once, but then there is very little movement because it all becomes diluted by virtue of the volume. So I’ve learned to prioritize and pace myself. It also took me a long time to respect, value and USE structure. I’ve always been so creative and love the chaos of the unknown that I’ve rebelled against structure. But I’ve learned without it, there is no place to give form to the creative. So now, the Virgo in me has kicked in to help support me in getting things into form. Once I have a clear sense of the how-to, I’m pretty unstoppable in accomplishing my goals. But I’m also not so attached to them. I have also learned that sometimes as I’m on my way to a particular goal, W.O.M.A.N. changes her mind (as we are prone to anyway!!) and redirects me. Because I’m so committed to the listening and follow through, I just flow with it and shift directions. She just knows things I don’t, so I trust her implicitly. This is erratic and non linear, but way more effective than the masculine, linearity.

LL: What things can a person look for in their own life that will indicate that they are living their life on purpose?

GC: This is so important. The word “joy” is the first thing that came to me. If you are living on purpose, you will feel alive, joyful, inspired and radiant. You won’t care about where you’re going, but you’ll be very much where you are. If you are depressed, don’t like going to work, don’t feel good about your relationships, where you live, etc, it’s time to go within and find out what you love. Living with passion is the key to a happy life. And for me, making a difference in people’s lives lights me up from within. I think ultimately we are all here to contribute to each other. When you are doing that, you know you are living on purpose.

LL: Who or what inspires you?

GC: My answer here is so simple: anyone who is passionate about their life. I love coming in contact with other people so alive and radiant and joyful. It’s pure inspiration when I do. Everyday people are heroes to me. One is a good friend of mine, Marie DaSilva, and she was literally awarded the CNN Everyday Heroes Award in 2008. 50% of my book proceeds are going to her school in Malawi Africa for AIDS orphaned children. It’s called the Jacaranda Foundation. You can read about her on my website under the book tab.

When someone dares to stand up for what they believe in, when they put their heart out their and they are willing to risk disapproval or rejection by others, that’s inspiring to me. I love people who are willing to LOVE, to LIVE, and to RISK.

LL:  How do you see yourself in 10 years?

GC: How do I see Gina or W.O.M.A.N.? We are both really the same, I suppose. I see my work all over the world, which is already happening. I’ve written more books and I’m feeling a deep joy in knowing that I’m making a difference in people’s lives, millions of them. I see myself doing philanthropic work for girls and women. I see myself living somewhere in Europe near the Mediterranean, dancing, painting, writing, and inspiring people by sharing my life with them. And I see my daughter out there living her truth, and so proud of her. That’s what I think now, but like I said, when that wild W.O.M.A.N. changes her mind, who knows where she’ll lead me. I can only promise you that she’ll be the wind beneath my wings.