As a woman, I am proud and honored to do what I may to present what it is to be a female in the World we live in today. We must remember to embrace that which makes up the essence of a woman, and bring about our full potential. As stewards of this planet we play many roles.

Every day, all over the world, women make countless choices that affect the environment. In their hands lie many decisions about the use of community resources – water for the household, land for agriculture, wood for heating and cooking, plants and animals for food and sale.

Yet women often lack the education to make responsible conservation decisions and are denied the resources and opportunities to control their own economic destinies. Without intervention, the cycle of poverty and inequality is repeated from mother to daughter.

Recognizing the different roles of women and men in natural resource management, WWF works with both groups to enhance their stewardship of the environment and improve livelihoods. Successful women’s programs include small business development, access to health services like family planning and maternal and child health, efficient and sustainable agriculture techniques and literacy programs.

WWF empowers women and girls – building a future where human needs are met in harmony with nature. Here are their stories…

~Today’s Girls – Tomorrow’s Leaders

~Biogas is Better – Jari Leads the Way

~Meet Shushma and Zahra 

Enjoy!

What is it that brings about an inner peace to bring harmony into our lives? Many people have had negative experiences which can be detrimental to our happiness as well as our health and well being. There are always those who try to influence us, through either words or actions, as to how they think we should feel or behave. Such experiences can leave emotional and spiritual scars. Finding true, lasting, good therapy can sometimes prove to be quite difficult. Not everyone is truly out for our best interests, so much as their own.

Let us look into this a bit further.

Empowering therapists maintain the belief that people can grow, heal, and transform. This hope is held no matter how intense one’s defenses and wounds are. People can heal if they want to and if they can contribute to their own growth whatever is sufficient and necessary to that end. When a therapist views a person as fundamentally flawed or incapable of change, the person is more likely to feel and become flawed. Yet, when a good therapist sees beyond a person’s wounds and defenses and holds in mind their true nature, the person is more likely to discover their own true nature for themselves. Some people may not heal in this lifetime, but let the therapist not be an additional barrier to whatever other obstacles may be presenting.

Good therapy often times needs to go deep. There seems to be a split in the mental health field between approaches that emphasize cognitive solutions and those that emphasize emotional or body oriented healing. Both are important. In many instances, the depth of our emotional traumas are buried deep within ourselves. Reaching these extreme emotional depths of hidden pain is a very delicate process, and must be approached very carefully.

If you, or someone you know, is in need of good therapy to Empower your Life, and wish to find a counselor or therapist, perhaps you may like to visit www.goodtherapy.org, and browse through their extensive selection of therapists. As always, use your good judgement and choose wisely.

As quoted from Good Therapy…

Our Purpose…
“There is a movement toward more collaborative, empowering, and nonpathological forms of psychotherapy. We promote this movement by helping people find therapists and counselors who believe “people are proficient,” capable of feeling peaceful and satisfied with life, and can, with a bit of guidance, access their own wisdom and healing potential to overcome the obstacles to health & happiness.”

~Love and Light to All

“Enlightenment consists not merely in the seeing of luminous shapes and visions, but in making the darkness visible. The latter procedure is more difficult and therefore, unpopular.” ~ Carl Jung

The Chinese word for ‘busy’ consists of two symbols: one is the human heart – the other, death. I take this to mean that when one is excessively busy, the heart is insensible, frozen. In a world where busyness is held up almost as a virtue, especially in business, I’d like to take a look at coming back into balance. It’s a big topic, and one I’ll return to over time.

We hear a lot nowadays about work/lifestyle balance; today I’m asking, what does a balanced life look like to you?

Balance… there are various definitions in dictionaries, but one that I particularly like describes it as “harmony and proportion”. Perhaps these words resonate particularly with me, but with their overtones of unity and spaciousness I feel that these are virtues that most of us could do with more of in our lives.

Balance is about feeling connected to ourselves and others, and a sense of rhythm and flow between mind, body and spirit. It’s about being flexible – having awareness about what’s going on for you at any given time, and equally important, having the ability to respond to the messages that you’re receiving, bringing you back into harmony.

If you think about it, when we balance on something, we’re always moving as we seek to remain in equilibrium: think of the tightrope walker, and how he adjusts his position on the rope continuously in order to remain upright. Likewise in nature; the universe is always seeking equilibrium: think of our bodies and homeostasis, the means by which the internal systems of the body (e.g. blood pressure, body temperature) are maintained, despite possibly extreme variations in external conditions; also the way in which as cells die in a healthy person they are replaced by exactly the same number. We don’t have to think about these bodily processes, but constant awareness of our thoughts is required to create mental and physical balance.

I would like to give you two very different time-frames in which to consider what balance means to you: one may feel more appropriate to you right now than the other.

There’s moment to moment mindfulness, where you might choose to observe your thought processes at various points during the day (perhaps using an external trigger such as when you put down the telephone after a call, or you hear the next door neighbor’s dog barking; whatever it is, make the trigger something that occurs regularly during your day). As you observe your thoughts, see if you can let them go and become aware of what is happening within your own body; you might like to incorporate this with breathing in and out slowly a few times, and saying a statement to yourself that you find calming and centering… an example might be: “I am in control of my life” or “life flows easily for me”.

Another suggestion for “in the moment” mindfulness is to choose an activity that you do on a regular basis and that you consider a chore, and see if you can, by coming into the present moment, alter your experience of it, as an active meditation. If you do not like washing up, for example, see if you can become highly aware of the heat of the water, the sound that the dishes make as you clean them, how the plates shine after they’ve been buffed… Breathe, and feel the calm and balance that comes with mindful activity.

The other method is to take the ‘big picture’ view. Balance doesn’t have to be about compartmentalizing the different areas of your life: indeed, trying to see these areas in terms of symmetry and allocation of percentage points (e.g. work life 22%, social time 15% etc) can cause more stress than it cures! There will always be times when we’re out of balance, if we’re dealing with a sick parent or child, or a deadline at work for example, but in general, some questions to ask yourself are these…

Am I feeling more contented with my life overall than I was one/two/ five years ago?

Am I heading in the right direction?

Are my talents being utilized?

Do I have things in my life that I’m passionate about, and.. Do I have more flexibility of time for these things/people/activities than I used to?

Asking yourself these questions on a regular basis is a good way to check whether you’re moving towards balance or away from it.

I am in general a very happy person, in spite of circumstances, and this truly shows to all who come in contact with me. Today I would like to share a message from a friend, which touched my heart and spirit. It reminds me why each day, I look for the good in all things…

A fleeting moment, or a way of seeing?

Ask any number of people to describe a moment of “perfect” happiness. Some will talk about moments of deep peace experienced in a harmonious natural setting, of a forest dappled in sunshine, of a mountain summit looking out across a vast horizon, of the shores of a tranquil lake, of a night walk through snow under a starry sky, and so on. Others will refer to a long-awaited event: an exam they’ve aced, a sporting victory, meeting someone they’ve longed to meet, the birth of a child. Still others will speak of a moment of peaceful intimacy with their family or a loved one, or of having made someone else happy.

The common factor to all of these experiences would seem to be the momentary disappearance of inner conflicts. The person feels in harmony with the world and with herself. Someone enjoying such an experience, such as walking through a serene wilderness, has no particular expectations beyond the simple act of walking. She simply is, here and now, free and open.

For just a few moments, thoughts of the past are suppressed, the mind is not burdened with plans for the future, and the present moment is liberated from all mental constructs. This moment of respite, from which all sense of emotional urgency has vanished, is experienced as one of profound peace. For someone who has achieved a goal, completed a task, or won a victory, the tension they have long carried with them relaxes. The ensuing sense of release is felt as a deep calm, free of all expectation and fear.

But this experience is just a passing glimpse brought on by a particular set of circumstances. We call it a magic moment, a state of grace. And yet the difference between these flashes of happiness seized on the fly and the immutable peacefulness of the sage, for instance, is as great as that between the tiny section of sky seen through the eye of a needle and the limitless expanses of outer space. The two conditions differ in dimension, duration, and depth.

Even so, we can learn something from these fleeting moments, these lulls in our ceaseless struggles; they can give us a sense of what true plenitude might be and help us to recognize the conditions that favour it.

A Way of Being

I remember one afternoon as I was sitting on the steps of our monastery in Nepal. The monsoon storms had turned the courtyard into an expanse of muddy water and we had set out a path of bricks to serve as stepping-stones. A friend of mine came to the edge of the water, surveyed the scene with a look of disgust, and complained about every single brick as she made her way across. When she got to me, she rolled her eyes and said, “Yuck! What if I’d fallen into that filthy muck? Everything’s so dirty in this country!” Since I knew her well, I prudently nodded, hoping to offer her some comfort through my mute sympathy. A few minutes later, Raphaèle, another friend of mine, came to the path through the swamp. “Hup, hup, hup!” she sang as she hopped, reaching dry land with the cry “What fun!” Her eyes sparkling with joy, she added: “The great thing about the monsoon is that there’s no dust.” Two people, two ways of looking at things; six billion human beings, six billion worlds.

Anyone who enjoys inner peace is no more broken by failure than he is inflated by success. He is able to fully live his experiences in the context of a vast and profound serenity, since he understands that experiences are ephemeral and that it is useless to cling to them. There will be no “hard fall” when things turn bad and he is confronted with adversity. He does not sink into depression, since his happiness rests on a solid foundation.

Once at an open meeting in Hong Kong, a young man rose from the audience to ask me: “Can you give me one reason why I should go on living?” This book is a humble response to that question, for happiness is above all a love of life.

__________________________
Excerpted with permission from Happiness: Developing Life’s Most Important Skill by Matthieu Ricard (Little, Brown and Company, 2006). Ricard, a former biochemist and Buddhist monk.

While this subject is not a pleasant one to contemplate and talk about, it is not something I would see ignored or shuffled off to the side. What I am referring to is an issue which has, in many places of society, reached epidemic proportions. Drug and alcohol addictions affect all of us in one way or another. The physical and emotional impact of those who are addicted can be quite devastating, to themselves and to their families and loved ones. This hits very close to home with most of us, myself included. While I have been spared an addictive nature, some very close family members have not. This has served to create much heartache throughout the years. I would like to expand a bit upon the touchy subject of drug addiction.

Research shows that more than half of the people affected by one condition (such as an addictive disorder) are also affected by at least one other condition (such as an emotional condition or mental illness), and vice versa. This diagnosis is referred to by a variety of terms including: co-occurring disorder, dual diagnosis, co-morbidity, concurrent disorders, co-morbid disorders, and dual disorder. Individuals with co-occurring disorders often face a wide range of psychosocial issues and may experience more than two interacting illnesses. When all conditions are not simultaneously treated, recovery is far more difficult. Unfortunately, because many addiction treatment and mental health programs treat only one condition, many people are under-treated or inappropriately treated. A single course of treatment is less likely to be effective than a comprehensive plan of treatment that simultaneously treats all conditions, addictions, and disorders.

Unfortunately, because many addiction treatment and mental health programs treat only one condition, many people are under-treated or inappropriately treated. A single course of treatment is less likely to be effective than a comprehensive plan of treatment that simultaneously treats all conditions, addictions, and disorders.

The treatment program at The Canyon is nationally recognized for integrative methods and evidence based practices that have produced proven results for individuals with dual and multiple addiction and mental health disorders. While many programs claim to be or dual-diagnosis, they are one of very few facilities that are truly prepared to deal effectively with co-occurring disorders.

It is good to be aware of our options when choosing a drug rehab center. Emotionally and spiritually, those who enroll in addiction treatment with an open heart and mind will be more successful in rebuilding their self esteem, personal relationships and establishing a spiritual connection. The Canyon is the premiere sanctuary of healing for individuals with co-occurring conditions. This elite center offers a complete continuum of care that includes many treatment options, services, and learning tools that allow each client to build a lasting foundation of recovery.

My prayers go out to all those who are affected by these devastating dis-eases of our physical and mental states. May each one of those precious spirits find the help to restore their health and wellbeing, and find their paths to lasting happiness, as well as a healthy balance of Mind, Body and Spirit. Give yourselves the Gift of Healing.

I have been issued a special invitation, in which I wish to share with all my friends and fellow Earth lovers. At times we are called upon to do something more than wish or pray for this beautiful Earth to be restored to health, and asking for respect to be given to all living things, all Life being Sacred. If it is within our power, we may step forth and give just a bit more. So, I hereby offer an invitation, as follows…

You are invited to join the Sovereign First Peoples of this nation evolving on Mother Earth, Come and be a part of history led by the Native’s of this land that we share and call home, as the forces of darkness threaten to enslave us all, this most Sacred People are walking and praying, talking and listening to the needs of the people that they encounter along the way during their Journey. The forces of Nature will test them and heal them as they reconnect on a very deep level to the Soul of Mother Earth, come walk with us and transform yourselves on this Sacred Journey, of the longest Peace Walk in the history of the United States. We are One People.

What is the Longest Walk?
On Feb. 11th, Longest Walk participants will embark on a 5 month journey from San Francisco to Washington, D.C. arriving on July 11th. The Longest Walk south route is being led by AIM co-founder Dennis J. Banks. It is an extraordinary grassroots effort on a national level to bring attention to the environmental disharmony of Mother Earth, sacred site issues, and to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the original longest walk.

Why are we walking?
We walk to promote harmony with the Earth. We walk for the Seventh Generation, for our Youth, for Peace, for Justice, for healing of Mother Earth, for the healing of our people suffering from diabetes, heart conditions, alcoholism, drug addictions and other diseases. We walk with the message: All Life is Sacred, Save Mother Earth. Save the Sacred Sites, for it is important for future generations.

Through the elements of the seasons, we shall walk through the rain, snow, over mountains, high winds, through the heat and cold, nothing shall deter us from completing our mission: All Life is Sacred, Protect Sacred Sites.

Let those who doubt, hear our pledge. Let those who believe, join our ranks. As we walk the final miles, by our side will be elders, families, children, people of all races, from many walks of life, the old and the new America. All Life is Sacred, Clean Up Mother Earth.

What is our Goal?
The Clean Up America Campaign is an effort to clean up our country’s highways and roads by collecting debris found along the Longest Walk route. This monumental task will engage Walkers in a global effort at a grassroots level to promote harmony with our delicate environment.

Longest Walk participants will carry specially marked trash bags to separate the collected refuse into trash bins and recycling bins. A rotating team of walkers will pick up trash along the way with trash pokers leaving a health trail of earth in their path.

How can I get involved in my Community?
Volunteer with your local state Longest Walk coordinator. Find out at www.longestwalk.org. Support the Longest Walk when they are in your Community. If you are unable to walk, perhaps you would like to sponsor a walker. All good thoughts and prayers are most welcome!

**We will present our proposal for saving the Sacred Site, for saving Mother Earth, etc. in D.C. Times, Dates and rest stops will be posted online as time draws near. Visit www.longestwalk.org today to keep updated.

When I was a child, as a rule, I was quite calm and at peace.  I did not get angry often, nor did I hold resentments. I would just let things go, knowing I had little control over my life, being that I was just a child. Most of the adults in my life treated me with kindness, as my nature was a kind one, so I now feel I was pretty lucky in this way. This was not so for my sister, who grew up in exactly the same environment. She kicked and fought every step of the way. She was not very kind or understanding, so she rebelled against most situations. This led to many difficulties, and a lot of negative emotions, to say the least. I tried to keep her out of trouble as often as possible, being her big sister, yet it did not work very often. She would ‘never’ let anything go! I just seemed to know that the easiest way to enjoying my childhood was to shrug most things off, and follow my imagination to places more interesting than the things happening in our adults world. All in all, I had a pretty good childhood.

Ah, but little did I know that being an adult did not automatically give me total control over my circumstances. I had to learn, through painful experience, how to determine that which was under my control from that which was not. And I had to learn all over again what it means to ‘just let go’. It was not easy. My nature is gentle and loving, yet I have a very strong will. I could be hurt easily, and it took a while to figure out that I had done nothing to deserve this pain, and though I could not control the actions of others, I could control my own reactions. This sometimes infuriated those choosing to inflict pain through emotions, yet I would react calmly and step back from that which was not mine to own.

I have experienced great depths of sadness, yet I choose to be happy in this moment. Those who come in contact with me react to this, and come away from the encounter with good feelings as well. It truly is contagious! Oh, I walk with my eyes wide open, and I do see all the horrors in this world. I just choose not to despair, and to do what I may to help restore the balance. The universe is composed of the Yin and the Yang. Good and bad. This is just how it is. I walk in the Light and choose to offer Love to those I may, and to help those who cannot help themselves. Ergo this blog, among other things.

When I find something that strikes a positive note in the music of my world, I like to make mention of it. I believe I may have found something of benefit. If there are folks out there that need help, and are experiencing self doubts and unhappiness, perhaps one would like to learn how “The Sedona Method” can help you become truly happy now.

Secret teacher Marci Shimoff’s new book “Happy For No Reason” reveals that Mariel Heminway avoids the depression that plagued her grandfather, Ernest Hemingway, with The Sedona Method. They are even offering a free DVD, CD and MP3 to get you started on the road to lasting happiness, peace, success and emotional well being.

Nearing the end of a recent Sedona Method Retreat held in Sedona, AZ, one of the attendees spoke about her experience. As quoted…

“I’m struck by how many of us are from different countries and different cultures, yet we came together this week. There were no cultural boundaries, no race boundaries, no religious boundaries – we all just came together as One World.”

The Sedona Method is a key to happiness and is part of a wave of happiness sweeping the planet. Perhaps we would like to jump out there and enjoy a ride on the wave of happiness!

Today I would like to share a special post as shared by a friend of mine. Our health and our lives are greatly enriched when we embrace the gifts of Nature. We are surrounded by too many man-made products which are made from harmful materials and chemicals. Decreasing these deadly objects from our homes and increasing that which is natural, will bring forth harmony and balance to our bodies as well as our Spirits. Let us love, honor, and respect our beautiful planet Earth.

Adapted from The Lost Language of Plants by Stephen Harrod Buhner (Chelsea Green, 2002)

In earlier times, when nature was perceived as alive, with intelligence and soul, people bonded with nature much as people bond with their pets or family now. This bonding process engendered a certain kind of attitude toward nature. It is an aspect of what Edward O. Wilson calls biophilia – a genetically encoded or innate emotional affinity toward all other life-forms on Earth. It means a deep fondness for, connection to, and love for life forms and living things.

We can begin to undo the cultural conditioning that teaches children that thinking defines their value, that Earth is dead, that other life-forms intrinsically possess less value. Bringing nature indoors is one way to begin bonding with life.

Here are a few ideas for welcoming the natural world into our homes.

Simple Solutions…

* Stones, rocks, pebbles. Placed in bowls or in a ring around a vase, heaped in a small cairn or put singly in a special place of honor, the infinite variety and solid beauty of stones add grounding and stability to our homes.

* Plants. Many potted plants need very little care, and they repay a minimum of effort on our part with so much benefit: plants filter the air we breathe and add vitality and good green energy to our rooms.

* Sunlight. Cheering, uplifting sunlight is such a necessity for the human body, mind, and spirit. Open the curtains and let it stream in.

* Windows to the elements. What do you see when you look out of your windows? If you are fortunate to live in a place where nature isn’t overpowered by buildings and concrete, consider opening up a wall to create a window overlooking a special scene. Annie’s bathtub is surrounded by windows: when she bathes, she soaks in the spaciousness of sky, the majesty of trees, and the freedom of wild birds in flight.

* Gifts from the animals. Some of us find special treasures when we walk in nature: a feather, a cast-off antler, a shred of snake-skin. Consider bringing these inside to honor the animals.

* Seasonal reminders. We can bring bare branches indoors, place them in water, and watch the new leaves emerge in Spring. In Summer, we can put a handful of lush grass in a vase to appreciate. A few nuts and colorful leaves connect us to the spirit of Fall, and pinecones and evergreens help us celebrate Winter. Find your own ways to mirror seasonal changes inside.

* Tabletop fountains. It isn’t difficult to create small water fountains for our home. The gentle sound of trickling water is soothing and the principles of feng shui say that fountains create good energy. For easy directions, see /greenliving/good-fortune-fountain-how-to.html.

* Tabletop gardens. Fill a pretty container with soil and use it to create a miniature garden in your home. These can be both seasonal and fanciful: in Winter, for instance, you could imagine a gnome garden with moss, evergreen twigs, and quartz crystals to evoke ice.

* Flowers. Flowers are an instant cheer-up, such lush reminders of the natural world. If you compost them when they begin to fade, you won’t waste them: they can help to nourish your garden. We like to choose organic flowers, since most commercial growers rely on harmful pesticides.

* Decorate with food. Many of us love to put a bowl of cheery oranges, lemons, or apples on the table, or heap a few pumpkins and squashes on the countertop in the autumn: food makes a lovely natural decoration, as long as it isn’t too quickly perishable, that connects us to what we eat. Be creative: there is so much beauty in food!

* Birdfeeders visible from your window. We may not be able to let the birds inside, but placing a birdfeeder where we can watch it from indoors makes it feel as if they are in the room with us.

* Fresh air. If the air in your area is fresh, open your windows as often as possible to let it in! And be sure to use all-natural cleaning products, furnishings and building materials so your air is fresh even when the windows are closed.

* Nature-themed artwork. The next best thing to being there is having a painting or photograph of a natural scene or wildlife on the wall.

* Companion animals. Sometimes we forget that pets are part of nature (as are we), but when we watch a cat stalking its favorite catnip-filled mouse toy, or a dog worrying a bone, we can see the wildness peeking through!

* Choosing natural materials. Using all-natural household products, bedding, building supplies, and furnishings all add up to a home that resonates with nature — and is more healthful for you and your family.