“A trusting relationship with a mentor can thus provide a framework in which girls acquire and refine new thinking skills. To the extent that interactions with a mentor occur within this zone [Vygotsky’s zone of proximal development] of challenging, but attainable pursuits, the mental capacities of girls may increase and improve.” (Rhodes, Davis, Prescott, Spencer, 145-146)

In the article entitled, “Caring Connection: Mentoring Relationships in the Lives of Urban Girls,” it is clear that mentoring can be a tremendously important factor in the improvement of the lives of young girls. That said, the article did underscore the many issues that mentoring cannot directly address and the complexities innately related to measuring the progress of a population like this one.

The article also presented some delightful findings like the propensity girls had over boys to be the beneficiaries of intergenerational mentoring by women (143) and that “[m]entoring relationships led to improvements in adolescents’ perceptions of their relationships with their parents (i.e., higher levels of intimacy, communication, and trust) (145). This allusion to the tribal connection between women and their ancestors leads me to reveal that although I have had several professional women mentors over the years and they have all benefited me to some extent, it wasn’t until this past February, when I received a personal Orgasmic Meditation (OM) coach (onetaste.us), that my inner life began to change. Mentorship by a woman who has been practicing OM for more than a decade has turned the world, as I know it upside down. My coach, a “turned-on woman” or “witch” as she’s called in some circles, who lives her life more by desire than fear, brilliantly challenges me to look at areas in which I have previously been unconscious. She’s not only pointed out the need to start loving my inner child, but she’s shown me how to do it. Talking about sexuality and sexual appetite with a woman in full approval of her own sexuality has been utterly transformational. Additionally, the extra electricity and more scientifically the more oxytocin and dopamine in my system thanks to this practice, have been purifying energy channels (in Yoga, the nadis) and freeing up more of my energy for creativity and self-love. I, without a doubt, feel smarter for the newfound connection I have with my own body and intuition.