Are you looking to get started with yoga but don't know how to start?  Then please check out our new intro guide to the different types of yoga.

Namaste,

Jason

Hello Beauties,

So, I love cooking. I love beautiful kitchens. I adore good spatulas and croon over parchment paper. I attended at a small vegan chef training program before I began working for Gaia and have taught many cooking classes over the years. We all have to eat, some of us like to cook, and some of us like to un-cook and eat raw. Thus, this week's Friday Five is about the kitchen and eating. We're getting all ready for Thanksgiving.

Ready...

1) What is you favorite utensil?

2) Do you like non-stick pans?

3) Have you ever made your own waffles or pancakes? (or do you like a simple cereal?)

4) Do you use/ like cloth napkins, no napkins, paper, towels, or jeans? (it's okay either way ;)

5) What are you having for lunch, if you're not having lunch, then what's your favorite food? (or you can answer both)

Join in the fun and let us know :)

Posted by Jessica.

Hello Gaians of Loveliness!

I'm here to announce, not only the winners of our most recent scholarship, but our next scholarship, co-sponsored by the wonderful publication Spirituality & Health. I know a lot of you have been waiting on this announcement for a long time. We had a few delays, but we're thrilled to share our winners with you. (I promise it's worth the whole read!)

First, here's the big announcement. Our new scholarship, In partnership with Spirituality & Health is focused on making the world a better place and spirituality.

This winter, Spirituality & Health Magazine is partnering with Gaia Community to award two winners $1,000 each to put toward an accredited program, university, holistic school, self-development or spiritual retreat of their choice. If you're dreaming of going back to school--be it for yoga teacher training, a degree in massage therapy, vegan cooking classes or any other program that makes your heart sing--we'd love to support you.

Our questions are simple and profound:

• What is your purpose?
• What is your personal definition of spirituality?
• If you could have one spiritual question answered, what would it be?
• What is the role of spirituality in creating a brighter future?

Come share your dreams with us. Anyone who wants to make the world a better place and has a program they'd love to attend or are attending is welcome to apply. Old applicants are welcome too, since we're approaching the new year of 2010.

Now, the winners of our 2009 Scholarship!
All of our finalists were inspiring and it was very difficult to choose, ultimately we employ democratic method and the Gaia team votes. We try to pick unique individuals who are expressing themselves authentically in the world and want to make a difference.

Please say hello and wish them congratulations with us!

First, please meet Ratasha. She's fulfilling her passion at Berklee College for music. Here's a bit of her application:

Question: What is your wish for the world? (25 words or less.) What do you think could help the world most? If you had one wish for everyone, what would it be?
Answer: My one wish for the world is that we remember, remember who we each really are underneath the false layers of identity that we’ve accumulated.

Question: What do you plan to do next to brighten the future of the planet? (250 words.)
Answer: I have attended several meditation retreats this year. They have indeed taught me how to embody all that we truly are. For the last several years I have served humanity as a Teaching Artist, using the arts as a tool for inspiration and education. Last year I was even honored and humbled to receive a “Women Making a Powerful Difference” award from a national magazine. However, my next step is truly my biggest leap, and has taken the most time and effort to reach. At the wonderful age of 30, this September I will become a member of the freshman class of the Berklee College of Music. Over the next several years I will learn how to compose, arrange, and effectively communicate with musicians worldwide. With the universal language of music, I will sing my song of healing, transformation, and unification throughout the globe. The golden cord that ties all of humanity together is so much stronger than the little strings that we allow to unravel and pull us apart. I believe that there is so much power in not only disseminating this message, but in creating experiences that allow people internalize this fact. I know this is what I am called to do… especially as it relates to faith, religion, ethnicity, and culture. This combined with my teaching and workshop facilitation experience will allow me to serve the world in exactly the way I was designed to.

Ratasha also made Gaia a truly kind thank you video and told us a bit about what she's doing with her scholarship. It's about 13 minutes and homemade ;) but worth with time if you have it. It's amazing that we can share in making dreams come true.

Our next winner is Morgen! We had a hard time reaching her at first because she was off in Costa Rica studying Art & Ecology working with the local people there. You can also check out some of her art here. I love this one:


Here's a glimpse of what she had to share:

Question: Why is optimism intelligent? (250 words or less.) Why is it brilliant to be hopeful? What's the benefit of looking on the bright side? How has a positive outlook helped your life?

Answer: Sometimes, hope is all we have...it is something that an outside force can never take away from us...it is entirely in control by our psyche...we choose to harbor it, or ignore it...but it's always there. Most importantly, it produces the freedom for change. When people are hopeful, they energetically generate the possibility to move forward, to live differently. We can't create change if there is no space for it to flourish...staying positive gives us that space. We need the "hopers" to open that door to the other side...a brighter side...that others may have doubted. Striving to stay positive brightens the energy I show myself, and more importantly, others...this brightens their lives, and therefor brightens the world. It is a gift that keeps on giving :)

Question: What do you plan to do next to brighten the future of the planet? (250 words or less.)

Answer: Currently I am pursuing a master's degree in Transformative Arts/Art & Healing at JFK University in California. It is leading me on quite a journey...into my heart. This summer, I will continue this journey as I embark on an adventure to Costa Rica for an Art & Ecology class... With the help of several other students from my school, we will be developing and creating earth-based spiritual workshops and environmental art projects that will invite the community members to come together for a common cause. To read more click here :)

Amazing... We wish these beautiful people the very best as they go out to bring art and beauty into the world. Thank you to all who applied. We had so many brilliant entries and I wish we could have given scholarships to everyone. It was so inspiring to read about the optimism within these beautiful people.

So, come apply for this Autumn's scholarship, dream, strive, and share your passions.

Posted by Jessica.

You all remember Brian David? Here I am with him last night, recording a video... singing along with a Stuart Davis song.

Hello Wonderful People,

We've spent the past few weeks celebrating the Alchemist and we've gotten wonderful responses for our Friday Fives, book giveaways and encouragement for Matthew ;) This week I'm going to reveal a bit about one of the most important lessons the Alchemist offered me. I don't think it's too much of a spoiler, alchemy is, after-all, clearly about transformation and we know that this book is of a spiritual nature.

I have two favorite parts in the Alchemist. The first is the simple image of our hero cleaning delicate crystal in Tangiers. The second is when Santiago, the main character, has a conversation with the deep parts of his hidden heart. Sometimes the voice of our heart is feint because we have listened to other, loud voices for so long and ignored its precious whisper. There are times when I think about how easy it is to get off the right path or lose ourselves in what we "think" seems like the right idea. Our heart always knows the truth. As for me, whenever I try to ignore that little voice, it's only a matter of time until my heart once again proves itself right as the small machinated illusions and structures crumble in the face of the truth that my heart had inside it all along.

So please share with us about the heart in this week's Friday Five :)

1) Do you talk to your own "heart" (conscience, inner voice, true self)?

2) Name one thing that helps clear your mind and heart.

3) Pick three words that describe how you feel when in sync with your heart.

4) Do you think you have strong intuition?
(a simple yes or no is okay, or elaborate as you like ;)

5) Do you feel peaceful while cleanimg dishes like Santiago in the book, or annoyed or just wet?

Let us know....


Posted by Jessica.

I came to be
in this moment

I live
in this moment

and when I leave
it can only be
in this moment

the tick must die
before the tock appears

An entire life has come and gone
in this moment
but what is this entire life
except the summation of all these moments
each infinite unto itself?

What is this consciousness
that seems to think itself
capable of existing over countless moments?
Is consciousness not creating it's own illusion of existence over time?

~

~

Hello lovely Gaians!

We need your help.

Most of you beautiful beings know we're celebrating The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho. It's a fable of magic, transformation, growth, miracles and listening to your Heart. I know many of you have read it, since it's been our top book on Gaia as long as there's been a Gaia.

However, can you believe that one of our own Gaia Team members hasn't read this inspiring work?

Matthew, who we all know and love, who clearly believes in True Love, and the miraculous hasn't yet read this literary gem.

Our last Friday Five was about Alchemy, transformation and magic in the world. Matthew's answers nearly humbled me to tears with their authenticity and love. I think reading Coelho's book would inspire him even further on his path towards love and an exceptional life.

So, for those of you who have read the book, for those of you who were touched by it's simple beauty and wonder, for those of you who just think Matthew needs to read more...

Tell us right here in the comments below:

From the Team Blog

1) Do you believe in miracles?
I hope so, I think so. I'm not sure today. I pray so.

2) Name one place that you have been that has felt magical, brought you peace or comforted you?
The planetarium

3) Name one thing you treasure?
My grandmother's jewelry, clothes that I have form after her passing.

4) In one to five words, name one place, person, event or thing that has felt magical to you or cheered your heart.
In a forest in Australia, there was a ledge overlooking the trees, covered in moss. It felt like a fairy-land place.

5) In less than 10 words, if you had one wish to go to somewhere or be with someone, from any time where would it be or who would you visit? (Go with your instinct :) It would either be, to take my now-self back 18 or so years ago to my grandmother's house to visit her. Or it would be to take myself back to the end of January, this year an revel in some of the happiest days of my life. I'd tell myself to make different choices too. (I know that's more than ten ;)

And you?

‘SOULcializing’

cc Darina Joy ‘09

 

Is this luck, chance or serendipity?

When we feel the grace of destiny

Is this a flow of synchronicities?

When we know it is meant to be

 

Is this a place, a space or eternity?

When silence sings softer than poetry

Is this a touch, a caress or infinity?

When knowing seeps unendingly

 

Is this a sign, an omen or an initiation?

When things unfold with such acceleration

Is this a call, a leap or an invitation?

When it feels so open for celebration

 

Is this a door, a portal or a gateway?

When the egos happily get out of the way

Is this a trick, illusion or a great surprise?

When it opens as a blessing in disguise

 

Is this a test, a play or an unfolding?

When there are no roles, rules, nor losing

Is this a joke, a comic or a sea of laughter?

When we soul dip in an ocean of humor

 

Is this ‘in-to-me-see” or ‘soulcializing’?

When souls touch gentler than fingers

Is this dancing of desires or heARTS?

When bliss is on the verge & WE emerges…

 

Cross Posted from www.RobMcNamara.com

 

The central inquiry we must all return to again and again is the perennial inquiry of selfhood, Who am I? 

 

This inquiry is central to those of us who are interested in investigating our Excellence as we make our way through life. When you stop asking yourself this core question you are intrinsically wedded to a fundamental misconception: you know who it is that you are. This seemingly innocent presumption to know yourself actually inhibits and stunts your overall development and thus caps your capacity to enact and articulate the Greatness that your life is demanding of you right now.

 

Your most fluid, efficient and effective self development depends upon your capacity to remain open. Falling into the assumption that you know yourself stagnates your self-system into a closed system. When you assume to know yourself you fall into your habituated conditioning and loop again and again playing out your central assumptions as to who you are and thus what you do in the world. While your conditioning is an important part of yourself, left to its own ends your conditioning will never step into the Excellence that your life requires.

 

Keeping the inquiry Who am I? alive connects you with your essential curiosity. By stepping into this fundamental question you step into your recognition that you fundamentally do not know who you are. Not-knowing connects you with the dimension of yourself that is open, unconditioned and deeply creative. The more frequently you ask yourself this question, the more deeply you can hold this inquiry alive in your heart the more open your self-system becomes. What results is the setting down of your presumptions and the picking up and inhabiting of your vital creative openness. 

 

Your life is demanding your Excellence or Greatness regardless of your awareness of this call. If you look around in your life you will see a life that is calling for more of you. Picking up this fundamental question as a part of your daily practice provides you with a simple yet highly effective strategy to cut through your assumptions and your habituated way of living your life. Feeling into the uncertainty and not-knowingness opens you to an alive seat of creative openness. 

 

Step into the creative novelty that your life and heart is calling for.

 

 

Cross Posted from www.RobMcNamara.com

 

From Top 10 Hottest Guy Cities: Colorado Snags Three Spots On The List

Colorado, and more specifically Colorado men, have something to brag about.

TotalBeauty.com just ranked three Colorado cities, Boulder, Fort Collins and Denver in its Top 10 Hottest Guy Cities list.

According to the Daily Camera the list was compiled by data-crunching rather than people-watching.

They used census data and surveys on income, education and fitness levels, as well as rates of drinking, smoking and sexual activity to determine which cities had the most attractive men, at least in theory.

The list ranked Boulder's men the second hottest in the country, with Fort Collins coming in fourth and Denver seventh. Pretty impressive for the Centennial State.

Apparently Boulder's Smarts catapulted it near the top of the list:

Although the men of Boulder have plenty of qualities that make them eye candy (think: non-smokers, moderate drinkers, healthy bodies), they're also tops on our list for their cerebral attributes. It's the no. 1 smartest city, according to a Forbes survey. Simply put: they're highly educated, and few things are sexier than an intelligent man, right?

(Read More...)

From The Team Blog (with my answers):

Alchemy.

What does it mean? Is it the transformation to lead into gold is it about something more magical, like a broken spirit or lost heart in the dark rising into the sunlight full of understanding and whole. Either way alchemy is a magical process and a journey of the hopeful, of those willing to believe in the miraculous impossible.

Many of you may have read Siona's post about our book giveaway to celebrate the famous book by one of Gaia's favorite authors, Paulo Coelho. It's been on the New York Times Bestseller's list for two years and a Gaia favorite since our launch in 2006. If you haven't read the book yourself, we highly recommend it, but even if you haven't you can share in this week's Friday Five about transformation, journeying, and turning darkness into light.

Please share with us....

1) Do you believe in miracles?
I guess it depends on how you define miracles.  I believe I am alive.  I believe in Love.  I think these are miracles.

2) Name one place that you have been that has felt magical, brought you peace or comforted you?
Boulder is magical :)

3) Name one thing you treasure?
The fact that whether or not I am here able to share it in my own unique way... Love remains.

4) In one to five words, name one place, person, event or thing that has felt magical to you or cheered your heart.
My 30th Birthday Celebrations on Gaia.

5) In less than 10 words, if you had one wish to go to somewhere or be with someone, from any time where would it be or who would you visit? (Go with your instinct :)
I would choose to be with my future wife, so I could start now with telling her how much I adore her, how much I love her, how beautiful she is, how much her presence makes the world a better place, and how ten words could never even come close to adequately covering the depth and breadth of her importance to the universe.


Let's open our hearts and explore :)

Hello Beautiful Gaians,

Alchemy.

What does it mean? Is it the transformation to lead into gold is it about something more magical, like a broken spirit or lost heart in the dark rising into the sunlight full of understanding and whole. Either way alchemy is a magical process and a journey of the hopeful, of those willing to believe in the miraculous impossible.

Many of you may have read Siona's post about our book giveaway to celebrate the famous book by one of Gaia's favorite authors, Paulo Coelho. It's been on the New York Times Bestseller's list for two years and a Gaia favorite since our launch in 2006. If you haven't read the book yourself, we highly recommend it, but even if you haven't you can share in this week's Friday Five about transformation, journeying, and turning darkness into light.

Please share with us....

1) Do you believe in miracles?

2) Name one place that you have been that has felt magical, brought you peace or comforted you?

3) Name one thing you treasure?

4) In one to five words, name one place, person, event or thing that has felt magical to you or cheered your heart.

5) In less than 10 words, if you had one wish to go to somewhere or be with someone, from any time where would it be or who would you visit? (Go with your instinct :)


Let's open our hearts and explore :)


Posted by Jessica.

Cynthia Sue Larson

Fun with Future Memories

"I have been here before,
But when or how I cannot tell:
I know the grass beyond the door,
The sweet keen smell,
The sighing sound, the light around the shore"
- Dante Gabriel Rossetti

I had two fabulous future memory experiences on my visits to Santa Barbara and Los Angeles this month... and they were fascinatingly different. The first one involved my finding something wonderful in Santa Barbara that I recognized from previously future memories. While future memories and a past memories both provide me with a dreamlike mind's eye view of something, I recognized my familiarity with what ought to be a very unfamiliar piece of jewelry as having come from a prior future memory. While I may be part of the glimpse into that imaginal realm of memories, it is often not immediately clear to me which time frame the glimpse I'm receiving is from.

This wonderful something in Santa Barbara was a reversible ring... recognizable to me by its distinctive silhouette and setting with small diamonds on either side of a garnet center stone, which is my birthstone. I had felt drawn to the store where I found it, and inspired to request to view the rings kept under the counter. This ring looked so familiar to me that I knew it at first glance as being the one I knew so well... despite the fact that I had not ever before held any kind of reversible ring in hand. It fit my finger perfectly, and was priced at a remarkably affordable $30, which provided further confirmation of my feeling of knowing at once that it was mine. I felt ecstatic with a feeling of being reunited with a long-lost friend!

My second future memory experience on this trip occurred in Los Angeles and involved averting a situation I glimpsed in a future memory. While this might on the surface seem to be of a less enjoyable variety of experience, I view it now as beng entirely enjoyable, as it provided me with a warning I was able to heed. While I was talking with friends at brunch one morning, I suddenly received a gestalt awareness of seeing a possible future in which all of our luggage was stolen while we were away, because thieves came through after we left the luggage in the room. The fullness of this memory consisted of my friend cheering me up with kind words intended to lift my spirits after we had ignored our gut feelings that a theft might occur. My future memory daydream was fleeting, leaving me with a rapidly fading sense of having just peeked into a completely realistic possible future. When I described this vision to my friends, we agreed to take our luggage with us, and I was happy that no theft occurred.

Sometimes when I notice a feeling of deja vu, I recognize I have previously dreamed of exactly what is unfolding at that very moment.... noting an interweaving between the world of dreams and daily life, along with a sense that on a deep level, everyday life is constantly guided by our dreams. There is a gift both in seeing a future memory, and noting whether it points in a direction one wishes to pursue, and there is also a gift in recognizing a previous premonition when one sees something wonderful one has previously known only from dreams.

Let’s Connect

If you enjoy occasional thought-provoking, heart-warming messages, please stay in touch with me on Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube. I began posting short YouTube summaries of RealityShifters ezines beginning in May 2009, and intend to post a new videos each month.

Wishing you may discover just how good your life can be and has been,
Cynthia Sue Larson
email Cynthia at cynthia@realityshifters.com

Received from the organization Call to Action via e-mail today -- MW

------------------------------------------------

An Open Letter to our Sisters and Brothers in Christ in the Anglican Tradition

We greet you in the name of the One who unites us all. We were disappointed with the Vatican's announcement of a stream-lined process for Anglican conversion to Roman Catholicism for individuals and dioceses who do not support women's and LGBT equality.

The Anglican tradition embodies a courageous history of seeking reform in the face of church injustice. In the last decades, you have built on that history and stood strongly in support of marginalized women, lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people in your faith tradition. We have watched and supported your struggles over the years to welcome all God's people equally to ministerial leadership. You should stand proud.

The majority of Catholics in the United States also hope for a day when we might be able to say that we, too, have heeded the gospel call for justice within our own church leadership. Studies show that 83% of U.S. Catholics believe that it is morally wrong to discriminate against homosexuals (Contemporary Catholic Trends Survey) and 61% of U.S. Catholics believe that women should be priests (National Catholic Reporter Survey). We know the numbers are similar and growing in many other countries around the globe. The kin-dom is at hand.

So while a few church officials cast lots for the allegiance of a small remnant of Christians who continue to favor discrimination, we know the majority of the faithful will continue to support all God's people equally.

We pray for a time when our church officials will also come to know the blessings that come from living, not as a divided community, but as one people united with God.

With peace,


Jim FitzGerald, Executive Director of Call To Action

 
Call To Action (CTA) is a Catholic movement working for equality and justice in the Church and society. An independent national organization of over 25,000 people and 50 local chapters, CTA believes that the Spirit of God is at work in the whole church, not just its appointed leaders.

Mwahahahahahaha!!!!

That's my cryptic way of saying that I have completed 3 decades of life. 

Now dance!!

This man's 2 minutes and 35 seconds inspires me to no end. I could go on and on about how in this small amount of time, he models the perfect way to become a strong, healthy, powerful adult, even as he is faced with seemingly insurmountable pain. But I won't. Instead I will take his advice as I knock knock the door open and enter my 30's: "Walk like a God, and your Goddess will come to you!!"



Love, ~Matthew

Beautiful Gaia beings!

Audio has been posted from the discussion at the Enlightenment and Grace Intensive from North Carolina:


http://justperception.net/archives/1675

Hi Lovlely Gaians :)

We are just finishing up our week long celebration of Blog Action Day! Thank you so much to everyone who participated. If you didn't there's still time! This week we'd like to close with a Friday Five about action and world-changing in general.

Some of us like to change the world around us with a smile, some participate in campaigns or write letters to their representatives, some join organizations or support non-profits, some simply participate by creating a great family and great inspiration for their kids. All of these things make the world a better, more loving place.

Remember, everyone is special and contributes something beautiful in their own way, so there are no right or wrong answers here on Gaia ;) We believe both great and small acts create change.

So share with us...

1) Do you like to act globally, locally, or both?

2) Does a smile from a stranger make your day better?

3) What is your favorite way to cheer someone up?

4) What's one thing we can do for the environment?

5) In one to four words, what's something you'd like to see improve in our society? (education, the environment, more hugs, human rights issues, children's health, etc.)



Posted by Jessica.

This year's topic is climate change. There is so much I could write in response to this, but I think I'd rather just share a picture.

The photo below was taken from Mars. It shows the Earth and the moon.  







The original, in which you can see Jupiter, is here. Do look. It's incredible.

Hi Gaians!

It's time. Today is Blog Action Day, a virtual, global discussion about climate change and the environment.

You can write anything you like.

You can share a poem, photos or write your ideas about topics like changing weather, smog, the effects of the climate on poverty, animals, food resources, GMOs, wind power or the health of our oceans. Talk about how we can create sustainable solutions or what you think your country can do to reduce emissions.

This dude wrote a song!

The topics are wide open and we want to hear your beautiful ideas, your concerns, and your hopes. To participate, we'd love if you'd blog, but also register your blog with the Blog Action Day site. Gaia is partnering to make a difference through the many voices and wonderful thoughts that live in this online world, this community. We know that Gaians have so much to share.

Please join us and share your thoughts!



Perhaps this video may inspire you...



Please join us here on Gaia, register your blog with the Blog Action Day site, and tag a friend to do the same :)

Posted by Jessica.

Today is Blog Action Day!!  That's right, today :)

This year's topic is climate change.  It is a daunting topic.  With the way it is reported, sometimes it is hard to know what is science and what is propoganda.  But there are some things that we do know.  We do know that our planet is finite.  We know that the resources, such as oil, that we use for fuel took many years to be created, and we use them up in fractions of a fraction of that amount of time.  We know that we are dumping trillions of tons of CO2 gas into our atmosphere every year.  And we know that humans are affecting the climate.  And when I think about all this stuff, my reaction is to do what I can in my own small way to make sure I am part of a solution, whatever that solution may be.  And that means taking steps to off-set my own carbon footprint:  Bike as much as possible, instead of drive; use CFLs throughout my home; rent out rooms in my house so space isn't going to waste; if I can ever afford it, I will get solar panels for my roof; and work for a company (GAIAM) that strives for health and sustainability.

This is what I am doing.  What are you doing?  Please take a look at what blog action day is all about, register your blog, and post away!  Then check out what the rest of our community is saying by clicking here!!

Big HUGS!
~Matthew

What do almost all self-help offerings, popular spiritual paths, personal growth processes, and social clubs have in common? They all attempt to offer fulfillment, and they all fail -- for the same reason. Why? Because they fail to meet the essential needs of the human heart and soul -- and nothing else will actually DO. (Caution: contains a strong message, and strong language.)

 

 

 

 

 

Click here for audio only mp3

Transcript

David: People go to these seminars and so forth, and what's really happening is, people who can only afford an illusion are being sold an illusion, and that's really what's happening in all these things. Go to church, everybody loves you, but they're really not your friends. You see what I mean? Same with Amway. Same with Alcoholics Anonymous. Narc Anonymous. Corvette Club. Empowerment seminar. Buddhist empowerment. No matter what it is, the basic strategy is to fill a hollow leg with empty calories, for the budget-minded shopper in you.

 

In the seminar, you get to fall backwards and your partner will catch you, and you get to develop trust, and things like that. But then, when you go out in the parking lot, of course it's over. And you can tell that: all you gotta do is fall backwards right there in the parking lot. And bam! And you get a concussion. And what you found out is, your partner is gone. No one's there to catch you now. 

 

So of course, you call up somebody whose number you got, or the leader, and you say, "Look, I fell backwards and I got a concussion. Now where were you?" And the person says, "Well you know, we need to get this straight, okay? You got what you paid for. Two hundred dollars. Okay? You got your seminar, now what do you expect? You sound like you're expecting some kind of real relationship."

 

This is like a John who goes to a hooker, and then he expects her to love him or something. It's like, "What?!" The girl is offended. "We had a deal! It was a cheap deal. It was a bargain basement deal. You sound like you want a relationship. That's the Pearl of Great Price, not the pearl of great rice. You get what you pay for. And in reality, you can't get that for that.”

 

What is love? Loyalty, generosity of spirit, commitment, true recognition, participation at a very high level, surrender, vulnerability, feeling, for keeps. That's what people want. And yet they're being sold this placebo shit, this absolute vacuous shit. It's ridiculous. Synthetic love, you see? Conceptual relationships. And if anybody talks about commitment, they're out. That's insane! That's not going to fly.

 

So this is what's happening with America and with the human beings on the planet in general, is the fact that the ego is so budget-conscious that, in reality, relationship is over, because relationship is the Pearl of Great Price, and it takes all kinds of shit. All the kinds of shit that the guy who goes for the hooker doesn't want to give. And the seminar people don't want to give it, and the ass-ram (ashram) people don't want to give it, and the ass-ram leaders don't want to give it. Leo Buscaglia. Ken Wilber. Sri Sri. You're on your own, pal.

 

Or then of course, there's the guy who's looking for the steal, you know. It's like a steal! "I'm going to get a whole bunch for just about nothing!" Ninety-eight percent off. That's what people want for love. They want tremendous love, tremendous attention, and stuff like this. Bring it on! At steal pricing. Nunce in a lifetime deal. A steal. But the funny thing is, you can't steal love. That's where that's at.

 

So this whole hope about this fantastic love that's basically going to come your way for naught, it ain't there, pal. Guess again. The love you take is equal to the love you make. You get what you pay for. Nyet, nyet, nyet, nyet, nyet. So, don't look to the steal, okay?

 

(talking like a sports announcer) "There he goes, he's stealing first, he's stealing second, he's stealing third, he's stealing home." Boom! Shot him. You can't steal home. That's against the rules.

 

But the real thing is, everybody wants to gamble "on the come," as they say. Reality is no! A person who's worthy of love gives first; they don't steal first.

 

Think about it! What is love? It's not the person who takes it on the come. No. You see? You put your rabbit's foot on the table. You don't care at all if the person puts their doorknob out. That's what love does. That's what love is. The person who figures they're going to get theirs up front is nuts! They're not qualified. They don't have the right stuff. That's not it at all!

 

A lover would do it now and for a long time. They would do it. They would put their stuff on the table. Are you kidding me? That's all they do. That's all they've ever done. That's all they'll ever do. That's what they are! They're a living sacrifice, get it? That's their thing.

 

But if you want cheap, value-priced love, that's most of what's out there. There's not too many people that are into the real deal any more, anyhow. So it's not a problem. Most of the content of the things that address the value shopper in love are hype, designed to cover the cold reality of what they are with a warm fuzzy mask. You see?

 

I'm telling ya. So this is what it all has in common. And I'm not going to criticize everything individually. I'm just going to say hey, they're all the same. All they're doing is they're all doing the same riff. And that's what it is. And it's just an appeal to the third-rate romance, budget-minded shopper. All of them, I don't care which one it is. Doesn't make any difference to me. They're all the same.

 

Sittin' in a tiny table in a ritzy restaurant

She was starin' at her coffee cup

He was tryin' to keep his courage up

By applyin' booze

 

And talk was small when they talked at all

They both knew what they wanted

There was no need to talk about it

They were old enough to scope it out

And keep it loose

 

She said, "You don't look like my type

But I guess you'll do"

Third rate romance

Low rent rendezvous

 

And he said, "I'll even tell you that I love you

If you want me to"

Third rate romance

Low rent rendezvous

 

Third rate romance

Low rent rendezvous

 

I sent an email out about this last week, but wanted to post a more personal note here as well. This coming Saturday marks the first of the fourteen weekly telegatherings that will make up the Women on the Edge of Evolution Summit, an event organized by two of my great female mentors, Claire Zammit and Katherine Woodward Thomas. The event is free (you can call in or listen online, depending on your preferences) and I'd love to invite any and all of you to join.

Gaia Community (for what I hope are obvious reasons!) is helping to sponsor what I have a sense will be a historic gathering of female voices coming together to support each other in collaboration, connection, awareness and change, and I do hope that many of you will be present with us for the conversations that will unfold. I intend to write my own way through the process, and to share my reflections and experience on the calls here, and it'll be a joy to know that others of you will be following along.

I'll write more on this later--about why this topic feels so important to me, and about my own hopes and dreams for the weeks ahead--but for now, if you haven't already, please do come sign up. Saturday will be here soon.

From the Team Blog:

Thursday October 15th is Blog Action Day, but we like to spread it out and make it Blog Action Week here on Gaia. You can even see our lovely little logo marking us as participants on the main site.

Please join us and get ready to take part in this global conversation about Climate Change, one of the most important topics facing our planet today. It impacts each and everyone of us, from the air we breathe, to the water we drink, to the cars we drive. We're starting off early and making this Friday Five about climate change and the importance of taking part in this world-wide-web dialogue.

1) Do you drink bottled or filtered water?
Yes, I use a water ionizer in my house that also filters the water.

2) Have you ever used solar power? (for a calculator, your house, in a place you visited?)
Definitely for a calculator.  I would love to get solar panels for my home but can't afford them yet.  I also use solar power to create vitamin D :-)

3) Do you ever worry about polar bears?
I do get concerned about them and the sustainability of their habitat.  I hope for the happiness of all sentient beings.

4) Have you ever seen or been impacted by extreme weather? (hurricane, flood, drought, typhoon, tornado, wildfire or freeze?)
I lived in MN for the first 23 years of my life.  Enough said?

5) Do you like to recycle, save water or energy, compost, turn off the lights, etc.?
All of the above!

Let us know for this Friday Five...and get ready to share your thoughts with the world. on Thursday!

Ahhhh, Eureka!

Today while wandering around YouTubeland, I stumbled across a treasure: a recording of the Taize chant-prayer-hymn, "Veni Creator Spiritus." It's a beautifully melodic prayer of need, yearning, and gratitude. Simply exquisite . . .  it never fails to send chills down my spine. So here it is. Savor and enjoy.

More information on Taize, including podcasts and muscial selections, is available here.