about us

Affirmations with attitude.
Mantras with moxie.
Statements with soul.

All shining just beneath the surface.

Every single day.

•••••

This is us. Elissa and Gretchen. Co-creators, co-conspirators, co-queens in the making of an idea ... BuddhyCall.

Like many great stories, it all started one evening at the pub.

"What if," life-coach Gretchen said, "there was a line of coaching underwear?" "Hee, hee, hee," giggled Elissa over her pint of Guinness. Then, "Hee, hee--wait, that's a good idea."

Hence, the naming-game began and––many pints later––BuddhyCall was born. All to highlight your assets. All to help you return to your seat of power.  All to remind you: this wisdom is already within you ... now, it's just time to get it out there.

Be the queen you are. [Remember her? She rocks.] 

Cheers!

- Us

ps) Questions? Comments? buddhycall.us! Elissa • Gretchen

Comments

[Meagan]

I have a lot of thoughts that have been streaming through my mind about this "buddhycall" idea. But, I know you two ladies are an ever evolving group, so I feel comfortable in sharing/asking.

First off, I'm curious about the image of Buddha next to a pair of sheer, thong underwear as your logo/brand. That seems, in my opinion, to be "sexploiting" Buddha. No?

I'm curious how Buddha + what appears to me as "Girls Gone Wild" type underwear, relate?

I found this definition of Buddha from Wikipedia:
Buddha is a guide and teacher who points the way to nirvana.

Are you suggesting then, that "nirvana" is no longer a spiritual quest, but rather one of a sexual nature?

Also, I notice in your description of how this all came to be that these underwear are made to "highlight your assets"...are you suggesting that a persons assets are their genitals and ass? No more the enlightened one to have my assets represented by spirit, heart or mind?

I'm just curious your thoughts?

[gretchen]

'Grr-attitude' is one of my favorite Buddhycall phrases--coming soon to a pair of underwear near you. Thanks, Meagan, for opening a door to conversation.

Another one of my favorites is 'Have you loved yourself today?' Once you've enjoyed the joke about a self-serve orgasm, the question is still there pressing for a response. Have you loved yourself today? Have you loved yourself--ever? Or, have you been sending yourself messages of a different sort: I'm not good/smart/rich/beautiful/courageous/sexy/talented/etc./Etc./ETC.? Messages not of self-love, but self-loathing. Messages that diminish. Messages that do not appreciate. Messages of love, by contrast, allow your beauty to shine through. There are definitely days when I could have used a reminder to love and appreciate myself.

And that's what Buddhycall is about. These are your own personal reminders to bring you--in all your glory--to the world. What do you want to encourage yourself to show? 'Grace', 'Walk Tall', 'Never Hide'? What do you want to remind yourself of? 'I Choose', 'Be the Change', 'Rise Above'? And, yes definitely, which assets do you want to highlight? You can submit your own.

I guess that is exploitation, if by exploitation you mean 'to promote' or 'to employ to the greatest possible advantage' (Thank you dictionary.com). And, there are certainly cleverly crafted double-entendres thrown in here and there. Because humor is powerful--and it's a powerful space opener and truth-teller (think of all the things the court jester could say to the queen/king without being beheaded).

People's best, highest, and most authentic selves are accessed/uncovered/developed through many routes: religion, the arts, astrology, yoga, psychology, philosophy, coaching, meditation, etc. And people choose all sorts of means to keep that pursuit close to them as a way of remembering who they are and the path that they are on: daily rituals, mantras, jewelry, tattoos, amulets, attire, etc. Buddhycall is one more way to do that. It infuses the mundane (your underwear) with the sacred (your Buddha nature).

Here's a pretty simple way of bottom-lining it...when I was a kid, I had a pair of Wonder Woman Underoos. I loved them. And, I felt like a superhero--invincible and awesome--when wearing them.

Buddhycall = Adult Underoos

[auntie frank]

What a great discussion ... As I come off an intense weekend with the eldest – and very diverse -- women in my family, it’s fun to talk and think about all the different ways each of us gets inspired and manifests a peaceful world within our inner being... Creating even more ways to share/spread positive affirmations to do this is what excited me about BuddhyCall. As did the sense of humor. When Gretchen + I first started talking about it, the conversations were always filled with such laughter. To me, these things are the core here.

To comment, I’d echo Gretchen’s entry and I’d also love to dive in to your questions because I think they are great ... First, it’s fascinating to hear the different perspectives ... like the logo? While everything here is a work in progress (including the underwear themselves -- right now we only have thongs as that’s all CafePress—our distributor—now offers ... this will soon become a campaign to urge CafePress to create more options... Or: we find a different distributor all together!) ... Anyway, as I was saying: as everything (life!) is a work in progress, it’s cool to dig deeper into the parts that are making up this whole. I particularly found the ‘girls gone wild’ reference interesting ... If an inanimate object alone can rouse up that imagery (as opposed to what someone DOES in sheer undies) then I say: let’s lean in and turn that inside out! Girls gone wild? OK! Idea: How about BuddhyCall undies -- in all their designs -- as a NEW way for girls to go wild: wild about caring for themselves, wild about finding/acknowledging/recognizing their inner beauty, wild about having an inside joke with themselves, wild about being able to laugh/play with sexuality as opposed to being polarized into the age-old madonna/whore complex... (Idea: if sheer undies only mean sluts or whores, could this polarize women into having no option of recreating them for themselves?) Next, I love what you’re questioning with exploiting Buddha... For me? As we created this, I remember the tongue-in-cheek name made me feel proud to make fun of “booty” as opposed to Buddha. To me, the Buddha elevated the idea of the original “booty call” into a space of focusing on and loving/respecting one’s own being through the mantras on the undies – again, as a reminder of one’s own power “underneath it all” (just as undies are found underneath clothes, our spirits and souls are found ‘underneath’ the material plane: in spirit, aura, etc.)... This was in opposition to the debatable amount of respect usually present during a traditional ‘booty call’ and another way to turn an old idea inside out and find new possibilities! (Another idea? How about a “BuddhyCall” with oneself as a time for inner reflection, play, fun and laughter. It’s this confidence that I hope to build in women – this BuddhyCall within themselves... I should note, however, this doesn’t mean that we -- or the community – won't create undies that have ‘come hither’ messages ... I for one don’t want to create a ‘never’ situation with this ... As emotions are fluid, as sexuality is fluid, as being human is a fluid condition, so with this idea.) Finally, the ‘assets’ question: that line was a play on words intending people wear theses undies to highlight their confidence in themselves – their real assets. A double entendre and another example of play comes in here – another tongue-in-cheek reference, in my view.

To end? This idea is definitely meant to be light and fun and playful and a vehicle to create conversation around a still-apparent taboo, polarized topic: women’s empowerment, what that means and how she as an individual chooses to find it for herself. In short, in that complex web of ideas and options, I hope BuddhyCall is to be a daily reminder of a woman’s value and humor and depth – a great saying or a funny quip for her to see a few times a day in the ladies room ... for her to share with her friends ... for her to even share with her sexual partner as a message of her respect for herself, her being or sexuality as a whole ... And on the biggest picture? I would love to elevate the idea of being a woman –– having our own thoughts, feelings, emotions, vaginas, orgasms, life-giving power, incredible humor, all of it –– into the spiritual realm of play and contemplation and positivity and possibility... This is what Buddha (nirvana) represents to me ... and this is my intention with BuddhyCall ...

(p.s. Thank you for opening the conversation, Meagan. As The Dixie Chicks say: “Answers only make more questions,” so I’d love to continue this conversation ... And, others out there: what do you think? I am thrilled to find even more possibilities here! For one, this helps me hone this message, learn more about myself and others and truly stay open to all women’s viewpoints of their evolution, their inner truth, their minds, their sexuality, their EXISTENCE! How do you express your inner goddess externally?)

[JP]

Oooooh! I can't resist diving in here! What a great conversation! Love the Wikipedia definiton that 'Buddha is a guide and teacher who points the way to nirvana'. Perfect for BuddyCall!

If you believe in the David Hawkins Map of Consciousness (and I do) then 'Joy' calibrates at 500 (with 700 to 1,000 being Christ or Buddha-level consciousness). Humor is joyous. BuddhyCall is joyous. It celebrates life. It offers ONE way (not THE way, but A way) to nirvana, or at least to raised consciousness.

BuddhyCall's humor, in part, celebrates our sexuality as women. Again, a spiritual quest: celebrating ALL of what it means to be a woman. Not hiding our sexuality, which is only one part - but an important part - of who we all are. To me sex is about celebration / love / joy / connection. So it fits naturally with BuddhyCall, which is all about the same things - with self and perhaps others. Talk about raising the vibration! (No pun intended. Really.)

What I get from the whole BuddhyCall concept is that it offers women a chance to be playful, to find joy in mundane moments (even in the bathroom).

No one else needs to know that I have an empowering or amusing slogan on my undies - I can just enjoy the joke throughout my day. What fun!

Bottom line? BuddhyCall is about humor, joy, energy, celebration. And what can be wrong with that?

Love the energy and the conversation.....too fun!