Inquire Within...

On this Valentine’s Day, we wish you love.

And we wish you Balance.  Balance of male and female energies is the way of the New Era.  On December 21, 2012, the Mayan calendar did not end. A long Mayan calendar cycle of just over 5,125 years finished and on the next day a new great cycle of 5,125 years began. (You can read Jim’s entire December 21, 2012 Mayan Calendar article by clicking here).  The breathtakingly harmonic Mayan calendar works as wheels within wheels within wheels that keep turning. The great cycle that ended on Winter Solstice 2012 began in 3,114 BC and is called the Fourth Sun by the Maya. There were three Suns before the Fourth Sun and now we have entered the Fifth Sun.

The Fourth Sun was governed by male energy. On December 22, 2012 the Fifth Sun was born, a new 5,125 year era that will be governed by a balance of male and female energies. And, it’s about time. We need balance in many aspects of our lives.

This Valentine’s Day, February 14, 2013, has been chosen as a day to highlight a worldwide problem…violence against women. Playwright of “The Vagina Monologues” and author Eve Ensler created One Billion Rising because “One in three women on the planet will be raped or beaten in her lifetime and one billion women violated is an atrocity.” The One Billion Rising Mission says that “One billion women dancing is a revolution”. On 14 February 2013, One Billion Rising invites “ONE BILLION women and those who love them to WALK OUT, DANCE, RISE UP, and DEMAND an end to this violence. ONE BILLION RISING will move the earth, activating women and men across every country”. The organization V-Day wants the world to see our collective strength, our numbers, our solidarity across borders. V-Day is a global movement to end violence against women and girls.

All around the world, including our hometown of Bellingham, WA, women and men are gathering and dancing to support One Billion Rising and demand an end to violence against women. Click here for the Bellingham, WA event.

There are also feminists who do not agree with One Billion Rising and will not support the cause. Natalie Gyte’s piece on Huffington Post “Why I Won’t Support One Billion Rising” says that “The primary problem with One Billion Rising is its refusal to name the root cause of women’s inequality; its outright refusal to point the finger at a patriarchal system which cultivates masculinity and which uses the control and subjugation of women’s bodies as an outlet for that machoism.”

Review One Billion Rising’s website - http://onebillionrising.org - and read Natalie Gyte’s Huffington Post article, if you like, and come to your own conclusions. There IS a terrible problem with violence against women and children worldwide and any effort to highlight and change that is  important and needed. Patriarchal systems may certainly be part of the problem. But blame and anger against men or a system will only get you so far. Looking for differences will only get you so far.

Love…we need more of this. Balance…we need more of this too. We can learn to better love and honor the balance of male and female energies within our self. We can do a better job respecting, valuing, and loving all people just for Being…regardless of gender, race, nationality, occupation, or any other perceived difference. We can do a better job respecting, protecting, and loving animals and all of the beautiful natural elements of our Earth.

We support the message and work of One Billion Rising and thank Eve Ensler and all participating.

Happy Valentine’s Day. We wish you love and balance.

~ Lisa (and Jim)

I love this beautiful post by my friend, Cat Zavis. I agree with everything she has written. Let’s redefine 9/11 forever! Please join us by focusing on healing, transformation, and peace for a moment or two (or as long as you like) of silence at 12:00 noon Pacific time on 9/11…and beyond. Take some quiet, prayer, envisioning time for peace every day. If you can’t join us at noon Pacific, choose any time that works for you. Please feel free to share.

Peace and Blessings ~ Lisa

Update – September 21 is the International Day Peace and Gratitude Day each year. The Peace America Intention Experiment runs this Friday, Sept 21 at 1 pm Eastern US DST in honor of the International Day of Peace. Lynne McTaggart will be your host and guide you through the 20 minute experience. To join us, Register TODAY. Even if you have registered for Intention Experiments before or you are part of Lynne McTaggart’s community, you will have to register on http://www.gaiamtv.com/experiment Gaiam will then send you a link to view the experiment. www.facebook.com/lynne.mctaggart ~ www.theintentionexperiment.com

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September 6, 2012

An Act of Peace by Cat Zavis

www.parentingwithyourex.com

Peace ~ An Act, Not Simply a Practice
“When the power of love overcomes the love of power, the world will know peace.”

~ Jimi Hendrix

While many of us remember 9/11 as the bombing of the World Trade Center, I’d like to offer a different historical memory. I offer this perspective because I want us to focus on the possibility of healing and transformation rather than on terror and war.

On September 11, 1906, Mohandas K. Gandhi launched the modern nonviolence movement. On that day, at a gathering of 3,000 Indians in Johannesburg, South Africa, Gandhi called for Satyagraha – “the force that is born of truth and love.” His message of “non-cooperation” has inspired countless civil disobedience actions for justice and peace.

9/11 has always been special to me because it is my birthday. When I tell people I was born on September 11th, they always apologize (I’m not sure if they are apologizing for my birth or simply the date of my birth!). Since the infamous 9/11, I have often struggled with how to celebrate, but in 2006 I had an idea that I have repeated every year since.

This yearly ritual is my way of honoring Gandhi and all the brave women and men we know by name and those whose names we will never know who face violence with nonviolent resistance and persistence, those who are willing to speak the truth even when it is dangerous to do so, and those whose lives have been taken through violent actions.

I invite you to join me, on this day, in an act of peace. For one day, please put down your weapons of choice, whether that be your thoughts, words, your guns, your knives, you drone weapons, your bulldozers or other weapons that create destruction and suffering for any being on this planet.

Instead, try placing your focus on healing and transformation. If you are a teacher or parent, can you appreciate all that you find challenging in your students and children as an expression of their humanness? Can you imagine responding to that challenging behavior with curious compassion?

If you are divorced or have a former partner, can you put aside your anger and resentment and focus on forgiveness and healing?

If you are a soldier or freedom fighter, can you look in the eyes of your enemy and see their humanity? Can you remember that they cry just as you do, they love and care just as you do, their blood flows the same red as yours?

My birthday invitation to you is as follows:

Please join me at 12:00 pm PST (or anytime if this time doesn’t work for you) on September 11th,and stop whatever you are doing and sit in SILENCE for at least ONE full MINUTE.

Then imagine looking into the eyes of those who cause you suffering or for whom you harbor anger and resentment… and remember that they, too, are human beings on this planet, doing the very best they can, just as you are.

Breathe IN any pain, sorrow, grief, fear, anger and desire for revenge. Then Breathe OUT compassion for all beings, peace, healing and the possibility of TRANSFORMATION.

Stay present in this energy until you feel peaceful and can imagine bringing that quality of peace into the rest of your day.

It is my goal that for one minute (if not for a full day), everyone will not only envision the possibility of peace but also experience it in their hearts and bodies.
Will you join me?

It would be a huge gift to me if you passed my invitation along to others around the globe, invited your congregations to join in a moment of silence, and shared it with friends and family members. I would love to see this go viral so that everyone around the globe will experience one moment of silent prayer for peace – where no guns are drawn, now words are spoken, no hearts are closed.

The idea of many people breathing in pain and breathing out compassion gives me hope and helps me stay connected with how I want to live and how I want our world to be. I hope you will join me.

I look forward to celebrating my birthday with you wherever you find yourself at Noon (PST) on Tuesday, September 11th (or anytime that day).

Please pass this along to as many people as you imagine would enjoy joining us – the more the merrier!!

Thanks for celebrating with me in the most joyous way I can imagine.

With hope and prayer for healing and repair for all ~ Cat

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Cat J. Zavis is an Attorney, Mediator, Child Advocate and Coach for Parents co-parenting their children after divorce.  As a divorced mother of 2, she deeply understands the challenges, trauma and opportunities divorce provides. She has been practicing Nonviolent Communication^SM, Mediation and Collaborative Law for 7 years. She conducts workshops and trainings in Nonviolent Communication^SM for parents, lawyers, teachers, students, spiritual centers and professionals. In 2009, she was awarded a Peace Builder Award for her business.  Her combination of personal experience and professional expertise give Cat a unique perspective and ability to help co parents learn to communicate effectively and powerfully to transform their relationships and interactions with their former after divorce so they and their children can thrive.

She can be reached at clientcare@parentingwithyourex.com ~ www.parentingwithyourex.com

Can a band perform in a 16,000+ person arena and make it feel intimate? Yes, Coldplay did just that.  Jim and I and our dear friend Lorraine were fortunate to see Coldplay perform in Seattle at the Key Arena on April 25th. We love their music! We saw them a number of years ago at the Coachella Festival in Indio, California and were definitely looking forward to this show.

Coldplay concert in Seattle

At the start of their set, Chris Martin commented on the challenges of creating intimacy in a large venue and said that he wanted to connect with each and every one of us. And off they went…performing old and new hits like “Yellow”, “In My Place”, “God Put a Smile Upon Your Face”, “Warning Sign”, “Mylo Xyloto”, “Paradise”, “Clocks”, “Fix You”…and more. The band gave it all they had….powerful vocals and talented musicianship, positive energy and great stage presence, fun, and a sensational light and effects show!

Does it look like Lisa enjoyed Coldplay?

I have never heard so many people singing along in a concert! Singing, dancing, and waving our special computer-controlled Coldplay wrist bands around…we all had a great time. The wristbands lit up in different colors and pulsed on and off to the rhythm of certain songs and included the twitter hashtag #coldplayfilm on the wristband. It was a magical and heart-warming night of music and connection.

Coldplay show with our lit-up wristbands #coldplayfilm

Coldplay’s Chris Martin

Social media sites like twitter and Facebook are truly amazing. Used well, to build relationships and share valuable information, these sites bring people together and make our world richer and smaller…a “global village”.

One twitter follower/friend in particular really stands out…Tina Mansfield. Her twitter user name is: @KindnessRing. I am not sure who found who first on twitter but for quite a number of months we have been chatting on twitter and practicing the ultimate twitter relationship building kindnesses….mentioning and re-tweeting (RT) each others tweets and website links. She has also written a couple of lovely blog posts on her site about Jim’s new 2012 Mayan Calendar article and about our Celebrate Kindness event.

I love the idea of a Kindness Ring to remind you to be kind! By using different colored strings on Tina’s String Rings they will remind you to laugh, to be grateful, to forgive, to be respectful of the environment and more. I ordered a String Ring and have really enjoyed wearing it. I even wore it in place of my wedding ring on a recent international trip and received some great positive comments on the look and the idea behind the Kindness String Ring.

Here’s what Tina says about creating the String Ring:

I loved [volunteering with my son's] school programs. I couldn’t help but feel that the kids could really benefit from and needed a kindness program, but I wasn’t sure how to go about it.

The Idea

It seems to me as though everywhere you look, you come across rude behavior in our society. I’ve observed, through personal experience or news programming, such violent behavior as road rage, campus rampages, ugly office politics, weapons and threats in the schools, most recently cyber bullies, and simply just a basic lack of respect in our everyday interactions with those around us. I’ve asked myself, “How can we teach our children to be kind and compassionate when such aggressive behavior is exhibited everywhere you look?”

One evening, my husband asked me to critique the layout design of a jewelry website he had just built for a western jewelry designer whose work was heavy on symbolism – String-Ring started to take shape. Thinking to myself, “I could create an inspirational ring reminding people to be kind using the old custom of tying a string around your finger.”

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Kindness String-Ring

I love everything about the String-Ring. I encourage you to connect with Tina on twitter, visit her website, order a String-Ring for yourself, and then order a few to give as gifts!

www.string-ring.com

As a BraveHeart Woman, I have benefited greatly from the teachings and friendships of fabulous women from around the world; online & in person at the annual RISE event…BraveHeart Women attendees, presenters & coaches including founder Dr. Ellie Drake, author and teacher Marianne Williamson, actress and activist Francis Fisher, Kim and Robert Kiyosaki (Rich Dad books and programs), Lisa Nichols (from “The Secret”), and many others.

BraveHeart Women is social networking in online women’s groups done with purpose and passion. BraveHeart Women understand the power of collaboration rather than competition. BraveHeart Women blossom personally & professionally…and have fun!

• BraveHeart Women are or want to be “Inspiration in Action”.
• BraveHeart Women want to grow and blossom personally & professionally.
• BraveHeart Sisters understand the power of collaboration rather than competition.

BraveHeart Women is for all types of women with all types of interests. Their online community and in-person events offer great opportunities for learning, inspiration, networking, building your business, becoming more prosperous, collaboration, and friendship. www.braveheartwomen.com is free to join and meet members and free to access much of the info on the site. There are currently over 300,000 members. You can find me there as “lisaepapp”.

Dr. Ellie Drake, BraveHeart Women founder, and Lisa Papp