My neighborhood, Holly in East Austin, has had an increase of break-in and theft.  One of my neighbors spoke with a police man about it, and he explained that the crime is moving this way as they are cracking down hard in the area just north of here.

I’ve been feeling paranoid since I sent away a few kids who wanted to do my yard.  They offered to do the yard for very cheap.  3 people for a small $15 job? I don’t know about that… As soon as they arrived, the girlfriend asked if she could use the bathroom.  Her tone and manner immediately sparked a nervous feeling in my chest.

Something didn’t feel right, but I didn’t want to deny the restroom.  I didn’t know what to make of my intuition, so I walked her in and led her to the bathroom where I waited until she was done.  The whole time she was in there, I felt very certain that something was up.  When she walked out, she avoided me and went straight past her boyfriend toward the car.  Their subtle interaction was telling. I couldn’t deny my senses, so I told them I didn’t need my yard done after all and they left.  I’ve felt nervous ever since.

My neighbor had her brand new folding bike (and another bike) stolen from her fenced and locked backyard within days of this experience.  She also had a guy and his girlfriend trim her tiny front yard space and noticed some guys cruising their bikes through the alley way behind her house.

Realizing these violations will not be stopped by the police, I have been feeling how important it is for neighbors to be connected and look out for each other. I made a little graphic to share my silent mantra. It came to me as I was breathing out my fears of being robbed.

This understanding extends to all corners of the earth and the human family as a whole. Whether it is referring to safety against the crime in our neighborhoods, or the safety of our global population against profit driven powers. When we are connected, we are protected. Connect to protect.

My dad just bought me a new scooter and I’d like to keep it thank you!

I am connected. I am protected. Over and out!

I’m so grateful for discovering yoga at the end of 2008.  I was skeptical and reluctant to go to yoga class with my friends.  I was a runner (3 mi/day) and I knew I preferred that intensity. I enjoy hardcore, heart activating, drippy sweat workouts and the only class I had tried before (which was probably pilates) was pretty prettyy preetty lame.  I didn’ t feel much of a workout and was bored.

I took that class in Corpus Christi where even today the Athletic Club does not have a decent yoga class.  Somebody help that city! They need meditation real bad!  I should know I’m from there, and I need it real bad. hehe. Maybe I can help. Every time I visit home, I brainstorm about how I can impact the culture in a positive way.  I will work there eventually, to spread more love. <3

Anywho, my friends Brittany and Tara invited me to Yoga Groove Bikram in Oct 2008. I resisted and they persisted, so I figured what the hey.  OMG I freegin’ loved it!  I left that place screaming about Goddessness in the parking lot. Srsly! One class and I snapped right in, tapped right in to a higher feeling.  I signed up for the discounted first month deal and went at least 3x per week that month.  Then, I went to the 10 day for $10 signup at Sunstone Yoga.  Thank goodness for Sunstone, it introduced me to a deeper practice.  I appreciated having the different classes and different sequences led by teachers who had the freedom to say what they felt in the moment.  So much wisdom is gained with diversity of practice and teacher. Yoga is infinite. Bikram is finite. Bikram = Religion. No buen. Es no making sense.

I didn’t practice much while on my travels in Australia in early/spring 2009, although I did a lot of walking, running, hiking. I went to a couple of classes, one in St. Kilda in Melbourne and one in Byron Bay, right on the beach in the second story of a little building.. windows open to the ocean… ahhh. When I returned to Austin in June 2009 I signed up for monthly at Sunstone and considered going to their teacher training program for $3,000, which was a great offering and my favorite practice in town. Sunstone Triangle represent!  I didn’t commit the investment and instead decided to travel more.

2010 is when I really deepened my practice by going to class 4+ days per week for several months at Sunstone.  I advanced dramatically and learned a lot!  I also began to realize the clarity I felt after class. The blocks and clogs in my mind were cleared and answers to my troubles began to float into my consciousness without me reaching for them.  It brought energy and connectedness.  I noticed a reconnection to my body, and I hadn’t even realized I had been disconnected.

Yoga led me to tap into a higher self within me, physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. I believe EVERYONE would benefit equally from practicing regularly. It will save your life and bring you healthy happiness.  I see this practice as an opportunity for us to tap into our connection with something more magical that we can image,  something we might consider “super human”… basically yoga makes you SuperYou!  

Yoga is the union of all that exists within you, providing clarity to see that you are everything. The one as the many and the many as the one.  It unlocks the secret door to the infinite being you truly are. All comes into sight, into alignment, internally and externally.

I’ll share some intuitive yoga theories soon… hehe

Namaste bright beautiful beings!

Skipping: the hippity-hoppity gait that comes naturally to children (from Wiki)

I was skipping down the sidewalk last week, and I realized that I had waited to start skipping until I was out of view of the others at Vuka, an amazing community centered co-working space in Austin.  Sometimes I have a lot of energy and I just want to dance and skip and let it all out.  I am also aware that my high energy could be distracting or disruptive (especially where people are trying to work).  Does our civilized social construct support a well balance life?  Is child-like energy appreciated or disapproved in a work setting?

I began to think about the excitement and joy of skipping along.  I could feel happiness and fullness all through my body, wearing a big smile.  Skipping makes me feel alive and connected to my young spirit.  How wonderful would it be if we all skipped at least once a day?  Even just a short distance from your car to the door of your home, grocery store, or office will positively affect your physiology.

This movement activates and stimulates the body and mind, rooted in the pleasure center of the brain. As I write this, I found an article on Huffington Post that explains what I came to realize during my little skipping moment.

“Skipping and running are close cousins to each other. But if running generates from our fight/flight reflex in the brain, skipping originates more from our pleasure center. Running is akin to an animal intentionally moving away or toward an object; skipping is more akin to an animal frolicking in a field with unparalleled freedom and joy.”  - Jane D. Goldberg, Ph.D. , Huffington Post, Joy of Skipping

I started to wonder why I felt the need to hold back my energy and joy around others. I am a very considerate and energy sensitive person and I have noticed people retract when I express my excitement. I can be explosive with my laughter and cheers as I let them flow through me. I don’t want to disturb anyone’s peace, but it ain’t peace without joy!  Should I worry about how my expression of happiness affects those around me who seem bothered?  What about all the positive affects?

We are connected to each other through an invisible fabric, when one thread rises, the surrounding interwoven threads rise with it. Feelings/emotions can be simultaneously transferred from one person to another as they are observed.  When one shines joy and happiness, it spreads!

Perhaps one person scoffs at a skipping dancer along the sidewalk, but how many people will feel the joy and freedom that is being expressed?  How many people will be inspired to skip?  How many will feel young again when they see an “adult” skipping along the way with a smile?

That childlike joy is simply pure human happiness, no age limit!

So what’s up with the frets?  When I think deeper and connect with the fretty part inside of me, I uncover resistance.  There is resistance to letting go of worries and surrendering to the beauty of the moment.  I naturally want to share in happiness and joy, and when I am stressed, worried, or ‘too busy’, I feel disconnected from playful feelings.  This disconnection from happiness (which is my problem) extends to a feeling of disconnection from the person(s) expressing it.  My discomfort is then projected onto others in the form of irritation or resentment for reminding me how unhappy I am. What the hay?!

I understand the need for balance, calm, and peace for the sake of focus and productivity, but we must play to find that balance.  We are human animals after all… being civilized.

All of this reflection inspired me to find out if there are already initiatives to promote skipping… or an International Skipping Day… or an organized intention to skip a few times every Tuesday or Saturday.  How can I inspire the joy of skipping and infect everyone with happiness and movement of their bodies??  I didn’t find any skipping movements yet… yet, not yet!

Skip, skip, skip to my lou my darling!

An old journal entry reminded me how much I love this song. I listened to it a LOT while backpacking… to be freeee to be freeee.

Love is love and I wish to let it go wherever it may flow… never meant to do anything other than water your garden.

may you receive and feel my love

like fresh rain upon your roots

lagrimas de los angeles

supporting the growth of your precious fruits

to be shared with the world

feeding and nourishing

the heart and soul

of our human family

I’m supposed to be working on LoveATX Fest: Synco de Mayo stuff right now, but I’m too excited!  I just had a meeting with Lucia Athens, Chief Sustainability Officer for the City of Austin, and I’m so inspired!  The bridge is being built.

I am honored to be relevant enough to have this meeting because of the work I’m doing with my project, LoveATX.  I was tempted to apply for positions in the Office of Sustainability within the last couple of years, but my heart knew that my work is out in the community.  So here I am, doing my work with the community and providing a conduit for the city.

This is the beginning of a beautiful relationship.  I have also been in contact with Imagine Austin, an initiative for creating the vision of a sustainable and connected Austin led by the city.  I see how much potential there is in these partnerships.  The city is limited in who they can appeal to because they are “the city”.  That is where I come in with a different language, a different energy, and a strong voice for the people.

This is where the rubber meets the road for me! I feel supported by the right people right now, so it’s really crucial that I achieve my official non-profit status.  I believe the best route for now is to choose a non-profit as an umbrella to my organization.  This is the quickest easiest way to make it work for now.  I will go the route of my own 501c-3 status when the time and resources are right.

Here are some of the exciting things going on:

• Working with Holly neighborhood (my hood) to transform urban neighborhood into sustainable community
• East Side Garden Exchange, Holly Neighbors Coalition
• Holly Community building, educating the hood about sustainable practices and food forest permaculture (workshop every second Saturday)
• Events or gatherings in Holly hood with intention of connecting new energy with long term residents to bring voices into one clear channel -UNITY!
• The city will potentially support and fund LoveUnity, LoveATX.
• Organizing and planning the next LoveATX Fest: Synco de Mayo, Synchronization of Austin Communities
• Om the Dome St. Patty’s Day Harlem Shake!  (I’m organizing this)

I love when truth is spoken by people from the “inside”.   I’ve heard many people come forth and shamelessly blast the truth.  It seems they could go on forever, because the general population is so extensively misinformed.   This is a quick slam of inconvenient truths for the American people.  I love you all.

In other news… police departments are funding themselves with drug money… whomp whomp.  Now that’s a democracy!

How does such a massive shift as we are embarking upon take place?  How does everything change in a matter of years? Culture, habits, beliefs, government systems, food systems, communities, urban organization, global structures, transportation, economy, war, poverty…. these conditions will evolve and we are a part of how they evolve. We are the shift workers.

When I became aware of all the trouble in this world and ALL that will need to change to heal the wounds of humanity and our planet, I thought OMG how in the world can we do this?  And that is just how we do this… IN THE WORLD.  We have to get out there and do stuff.

I was afraid, depressed, overwhelmed, manic, moving with urgency and wondering how to get everyone else to see the importance of waking up to the whole reality of NOW on earth. Then I began to realize that not everyone has the time, freedom or experience to reach the same conclusions that I have.  Most of the population doesn’t have time for the luxury to think/philosophize, educate, or expand themselves.  There is rarely time for what we want to do, outside of what we need to do, which is work and pay the bills.

Basic needs must be met before anyone can care beyond themselves and their family.  This is an instinctual behavior as Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs shows.  Enlightenment or self-actualization is only attained by those who are able to meet their basic needs and then move beyond.  Alexis de Toqueville, French writer, wrote about this very characteristic of American society.  He wrote about the differences between American democracy and an aristocracy.

The aristocrats or wealthy spent time expanding and evolving themselves and the art of philosophy… able to free their minds to ponder what could be, what might have been, and what is.   In a democracy there is less leisurely time for philosophy.  Everyone is given the opportunity to earn a “free life”, but staying ever employed, busy at work, to maintain the American Dream.

Philosophy remains a gift to those whose basic needs are being met for extended periods of time.  However, I believe it is more likely for someone to express deeper philosophies if they have experienced extended periods where basic needs were not being met.  You gotta get in the trenches to pull out the treasure!

OK I went on a tangent there…  Back to the revelation about how the shift works…..

One day it became very clear to me that there are others out there, just like me, burning to make a difference.  The others who have experienced enough wrong in the world to live for making things right.  This realization and sense of knowing about the others allowed me to step out of fear and depression and into empowerment to do my part, my piece, take my role in the grand plan.

The “grand plan” is what?  I don’t know… none of us really do, but it is happening and we are moving with it. The more we do the more we connect with others who are doing and then we do more together!  Power in numbers.  This change is happening all around us, so sitting in a state of paralyzed fear or disbelief is only denying the process that IS happening.

We each have a role to play.  If we don’t know what that is, we focus on our personal evolution until our purpose becomes clear as spring waters.  Finding peace and wholeness within ourselves is the most important focus for each of us to contribute toward changing the world.

My revelation showed me that there are people in every industry, business, system, community, department, profession that are being called to create the new.  Those who “think different” and have taken what they have learned, experienced, and what they know to begin building the new version of the old broken way.

This is how shift works.  This is how shift happens.

We each do our part based on our place right here and now, based on our knowledge and understanding and circumstances right here and now, based on our belief in the shift.  We are transforming, evolving, and building anew.

May we all act as our heart calls, with trust that the whole team is holding strong in their positions. The invisible transition team is rockin’ this shift mane!

I like to make everything in my life a part of my piece for peace.

Transformation.  There is no beginning and end… it is the opening of  an ever expanding lotus.  We bud, we blossom, we bloom, we beam, just as the flora. Formlessness, acceptance, surrender is what allows transformation.  The experience of life itself is continual transformation.  When I remain open to receiving new information, experience, perspectives, I remain in a state of transformation.

If I choose to  stagnate, isolate, close myself off, I experience dysfunction. System error. I recognize my basic need to share space and love with others. I found that sometimes I open wide only to find myself falling abruptly into a closed isolation.  Sometimes that is what I need to figure out what to do next. So, I go back and I check the code and find the error on line 42.  Universe solved.

And then I run the code again. Magic happens.

I waver in waves

waves of wind

tides of ether

powerful push pull

strong air swoops

your sweet breath

blows through me

I flow with you

breathe you through

to renew anew

sunlight soaks the skin

feeling sweet again

in this moment, this very moment

I exist

as a gift to experience and observe

formulation of divine creation

grand mystery of magic

mistaken as tragic

we are here to play

written March 10 2012

Ahh it’s raining and I’m on the back porch writing my morning pages. I’m so happy about this practice. I don’t know what it does exactly but simply making and taking the time to fumble around in my head and see what comes out of my hand is fun.  It’s nice to talk to myself here. I’m working up my workshop ‘tYOUne UP’.

What does a personal tune up entail?

Reconnecting with self, with purest highest self. Rather than transforming, it’s more like unforming.  Removing form, formal conditioning and programming that paint illusions through our perception.  Illusion of limitation formed in our very own mind.  We create self imposed boxes that we unconsciously or consciously choose to crawl into.

Tuning up is tuning into self, stripping away the years of layering social conditions and pressures.  Tuning up is upgrading to the next version of self.

What do you dream? Why don’t you do it?  What do you fear? Are you allowing your conditioning, your perceptions, your self limiting beliefs to hold you back from what you truly wish for?  Will you choose to set your true self free from your ego?  Who gives you permission to be free?

Let us evolve our human consciousness.

Referring to the likeness between my conscious/spiritual work and religion.

Humans of our history have tried time and time again to spread the “good word”.  I don’t believe that something can’t work because it hasn’t in the past.  Now is NOW and anything is possible. We can’t turn down belief systems.   However, rather than pushing a belief system, I am illuminating a value system. This value system is based on natural universal laws of creation and evolution.  I am aware of it’s likeness to organized religion, as it is an expression of a deep understanding that many in our history have wanted to share with all!

When institutions of religion were born, things got hairy.  Religion is not serving a peaceful humanity, and I wish to support the conscious evolution of humanity into a harmonious path.

Here we are at the great convergence of beliefs.   A grand integration of all belief systems into one wholly serving way of being, doing, and living in gratitude for the greatest mystery of all, all of life.  Committing to a life of truth, full expression, and shared love in the highest sense.

bright lights, bright lights collide

come to find we are clumsy stars tonight, we collide

burning into each other, melting into one

bright star falls clumsy far deep into – me

already knowing everything, never really knowing anything

I know I make mistakes

I am human after all, so it is

I brighten, I break – give and take

I know I make mistakes

I am human after all, so it is

I am human after all

and for all I live

even then I break

it takes so many tears

to wash away my fears

pouring down my face

cleansing in the space

between temples – My Temple

third-eye surprise

I play as I pray for the lessons to lessen on heart ache

sweet solace of bird song

all we are is Stars

Being human after all

The days keep changing in and out of time

We’re melted in the middle

We’re flowing like the water

We’re flowing home

Back into the ocean

Where I can be one

Where You can be one

Where We can be One

Imagining what could be

and what might have been

reflections of a lost tribe

pushing through the weaving

on a walk about

headed for the hillside

Where I can be one

Where You can be one

Where We can be One

Iloveyou

Que Sera.  Whatever will be, will be. The future is not ours.

Something is happening.  At all times, always in all ways.

What is meant to be will be. I’ll stay true to me to See.

It’s my responsibility to do something for Me.  I have the key in my hand, all I have to do is find the lock…..

thought you were the One

now I see

I am the Sun

I am the One

your angel of love from above

so below

we sow the seeds

of the trees of life

of love to grow

in love

I keep loving you

thought you were the one for me

maybe there is no One to see

in this way

in love

I release the need

and choose to feed

the flow of creation through me

Gracious gift

amusing muse of mine

Emmy

I’ll love you long time

- Reflections of UTOPiAfest on Oct 2nd 2012

Release, release. Dance. Run. Skip. Jump. Laugh. Sing. Play all day in the Sun… blue skies.. bright white backlit clouds of coziness.

Cozy in this world, in the atmosphere of this planet… here we are together.

Letting go. Letting Be. The beauty of He, unknowingly.

Your phone is off the hook,

your phone is off the hook

he’s calling

she’s calling you

but your phone is off the hook

your message awaits

its waiting for you

will you take your call

please take your call

listen to the dial tone x2

goes OOOOoooommmmmm

Can you make a dial tone? No one can do it alone. Oooooommmm (together)

Go ahead, hang up the phone

He’s calling, she’s calling you

but your phone is off the hook

you’re message awaits

please take your call

You don’t have to say a word

Just listen to the voice inside of you..

just listen x5

(pause)

OOOOOOOOOOOmmmmmmy GOD!  I am God! You are God!

And We are One with everything.

Cause everything is everything that is, ever was, and ever will be.

is One is GOd is One is GOd

We’re all GOds and Goddesses

It’s true, all you have to do

Is step into the sun

And realize the One

Because this, here now, is heaven

We’re in heaven

Can you see it?

Do you feel it?

Will you believe it?

Will you be it?

Please take your call

Please take you call

I’ll do it for you will you do it for me

Take your call, pls take your call

Do it for us All

Iloveyou

This experience, this life is my own.  All I can do is live it and create from that place of acceptance of everything that is now.  Knowing that it’s just a ride.

Careful to not get too carried away in dreaming future to stay present to the now and how important this moment is to realizing greater goals.

She received light from the cosmos.

The cosmos granted light through her crown, sending ripples into the water through her toes.

I picked you early on my walk

Carried you all the way

One side sandy coarse

The other suede soft

Petted you all the way

Stroked my face with you

I love your green skin

Soft sin you were

I ended your life

To take you with

Enjoyed you all the way

Now I keep you

Here in my home

Season has changed

Though You stay

Green as the day

I carried you all the way

Deserving of preserving

Divine did through me

After all you Are

A Sacred Leaf

written November 26 2012

In 2010, I started on my path to show myself to the world. Then, at the stroke of 2011, I had my oneness awakening which threw me into a deep understanding and unity consciousness… thinking for all. Then the focus on myself seemed meaningless. I shifted into ‘this isn’t about Me, it’s about Us’.  I started my non-profit, expanded my network for community building. video about my shift

Now everything was about us. We. Helping each other, supporting each other… but eventually I realized the support I wanted wasn’t coming.  I asked ‘What am I doing wrong?’

On training wheels, I was turbocharged community activist. So new to this world, so new to awakening.   I created what I could based on my little understanding or view of all the possibility that lay before me in this work.  I got ahead of my Self.

I knew what I wanted to do, but I wasn’t factoring in the time, effort, persistence, experience, and education it takes to reach my goals, fulfill my purpose.

Patience. Now, I have a community that will continue to evolve, just as I, and I am shifting my primary focus.  It’s time to go back to me, and strengthen and develop the Me, so the Me will be ready for the We.  If I focus on my personal work, establishing my values, my philosophy, my creative spirit, I will set a solid foundation to build upon. It’s a necessary part of my path.

Ultimately, I will return to my vision of developing sustainable communities in urban spaces, but for now I will hash out the details.  Clarify my vision, my intention, get it out of my head and onto the page, articulate my message, my mission.

I must do this if I wish to succeed in reaching any of my goals.  It’s difficult to stay focused on me, but in doing so I am doing what is best for We.

I have so much love to give and share. I can do it. I must love me right now.

There are many needs I’ve been thinking about, and I haven’t written it down.  Here goes..

• New eye glasses
• Space heater
• Any and all instruments not limited to drums, keyboard, ukulele, singing bowl, native flute
• Dentist appointment
• to be continued…

Written through a foggy mirror:

Who are you?

Not what I thought.

Don’t be kind if it isn’t you. Don’t be kind to please.  Impurity will show as truth will shine.

So humble. Are you true? I don’t know.

You like to be kind outward, but You are inward.  What’s going on in there? Can you wear it on the outside?

Let it out. Be true.  Being true is higher than being kind.

You’re an actor. Where does the stage end and your life begin?

You are a Queen wearing a King.  On the outside your King is big and intimidating, but your Queen is soft and inviting.  I love your Queen, but your King I feel a sting… in the center of my heart as it bows for recognition.  Your Queen is everything.

Who are you? Not what I thought.

My mind plays tricks as my eyes soften into the illusion of you. Is it? Or is it not? what I thought.

I see what I wish to see and I saw you.  Glorious, graceful, grateful.  The Queen is alive.  Who was that I saw? Where did he go? Where does he live? And when does he come out to play?  Will he play with me?

I’ve come to accept that you are not what I thought and not what I ought to want.

You are so big to contain in that body. You know it, but don’t show it.  So hard to read, you planted the seed when you thrust your love deep in me.  Then you go. You let go.

Too busy to be. Too busy for me. Too busy to see your tree grown within me.

You get it, but you don’t.  I see you’re on a different plane, a different sane. When they call, you come out, you perform.  Then spend the rest in hiding. Closed. Small. Quiet.

Channel yourself. Can you channel your Self? Be it. Be out loud. Alignment in and out, from the inside out.

Who are you?  Not what I thought.

But I love you and I’m so in love with you, unconditionally, unbound by anything.

Thank you for this gift of love.

I’m working on publishing all of my journal entries from my travels on jennadventures.com.  It’s quite entertaining to visit with my past self. I’ve always thought I know everything until 2011 hit. (Check out this video explaining my transformation)  I enjoy observing my own thoughts and words, so that I may see my own faults and over-confidence (moving through embarrassment and shame).  All I can do is laugh and say wth?  But this…. this excerpt I feel more truly now than I could have possibly been thinking then.  So I ask myself “Do you know what you want?”.  I think I do, right now, I believe I KNOW.  Surely in another 4 years, I’ll know if I know now.

I have turned boys into loving men. I know what I want. I know what it looks like. Experience with women, certain women, helps men find love. Real love. The kind they don’t believe in until BAMM! Can’t live without her. Low tolerance is tough, but my intuition is quick to let me know. Is it yes or no? I just know, and damn it’s always no. But it doesn’t shake my confidence in finding HIM.  read more here

Excerpts from my interview with Armand Daigle of Drenched in Electricity

I started to envision what the future will need to be in order for our existence to continue.  I started dreaming those things up and thinking, ‘I must do this.  I’m gonna save everything!’

It’s just the evolution of the self.  It is sustainability, and the creative, and the free, and the love, and the expansion of consciousness.  It’s all happening now!  All of it!

It’s taken time to define what LoveATX is, because it is whatever it needs to be in order to change our culture.  So what is that?  I’ve been figuring and working it out and mostly it comes back to developing a holistic culture.

Holistic in the sense of being whole as an individual, and respecting yourself and honoring yourself, but with the understanding that the whole self is a part of the greater whole of everything.

 

Read the full interview HERE

Sometimes I can’t see the dark corners within myself.  I am unable to know what I don’t know.  What is in my blind spot?

I was listening to a recording of a conversation with a friend back in September.  He had a question.

He asked, “What energies could come into your life, that you would like to incorporate more and more into your being. How would you change your vibrational manifestation, and what would you like to attract so you can take the next step up in the material world as well as spiritual, causal world. What can you do right now to make your life more vibrant and beautiful?”

My response was ” I feel that I really experience everything that I want.”

He says, “Everything?! Really?”

My response, ” Well not everything, but mostly.”

This is comical to me today, as I can see that I had quite the blind spot for that question.  I’ll let this be a sign that if I ever feel like I’m already experiencing everything, I have reached a point of stagnation.

Soon after this conversation, I experienced a major break through in my personal evolution, which carried through as a huge break through in realizing the path to manifesting my highest visions.

In October, I went to SXSW Eco and began my reintegration into the business world. I started to see that my experience and brush with the corporate world was leading me into my successes in transforming our culture through corporations.

I wasn’t planning on going to SXSW Eco because I certainly couldn’t afford the $400+ badge.  Then, two days before, I was offered a badge from two different people. I took the opportunity!  I had no idea what to expect and was a little nervous.  I joined my friend Brad Love, who I met at a Pacha Mama Alliance retreat in the spring.  He also produces an amazing show called Symphony Awakening and is very passionate about spreading the word of sustainability for the love of humanity.  Going into it, I knew that this event was a great networking opportunity, but I had no idea what it would break loose inside of me.

The first panel that caught my attention was about “Driving Behavioral Change”.  This resonated with me because I know how critical and crucial this is right now.  I enjoyed this topic and was happy to hear the discussion.  One woman on the panel pointed out that education is one way to help drive behavioral change, but not the most effective overall.  When people learn why it is necessary to change convenient wasteful habits their perspective begins to shift.  Often this leads to a bigger conscience in being wasteful, but doesn’t result in much change, maybe a tinge of guilt.  The next point she made was the one I was looking for.  The most effective way to change behaviors is the influence of friends, family, and community.

We don’t really make permanent changes until that change is reflected around us.  When everyone is doing something, or at least the perception that it is a popular choice, we begin to really think about it.  I was so excited and happy to hear this, because it is exactly aligned with my understanding and the work I am doing with my non-profit and local project in Austin, TX.  My goal is to build community around living holistically,consciously and sustainably.  A strong community that supports and encourages each other will help provide greater exposure to the rest of the population.  The intention is to inspire others and support the shift in culture.  Let’s make it common and cool to be conscious!

As I sat in the room, my mind started to see so much possibility.  I could see that there was an understanding that culture must change in order for everyone to change their habits. Do corporations know how to shift our culture?  They showed a comical commercial about carelessly leaving the water running while brushing teeth.  It does take a lot of money to do commercials, so I’m happy for any corporate media that promotes sustainable living.

But I was wondering about the localized development (economy and community) necessary as a major part of this cultural shift.  That’s where I come in.  I could see the massive potential in working with corporations to connect employees to local resources and support local community development.  My vision grew tremendously at that point, as I began to think of the numerous ways to improve corporate culture, encourage personal transformation of employees, and support local economy.

Until this moment, I was feeling I’d reached a wall and I didn’t know how to get over it.  How can I reach the working class?   Aha! Go to them!  YES!

How did I discover my internal blind spot? I took a chance. Did something out of my norm, something that scared me. Expanded my comfort zone. I’m grateful for the opportunities I am granted to expand. I see that every moment is an opportunity if I remain present and aware.

I didn’t realize my resistance to business or the biz world until I was facing it… wow hadn’t been around biz attire in a while.. a looong while.  Here is a photo from a shoot inspired by my internal evolutionary experience.  I can play that game. I can wear those clothes… if that’s what it takes to get in yo head!

Thank you for walking.

Go for a walk…

for fresh air, appreciating the breath as it fills your lungs and opens your chest.  The air brings life and energy into your body as you deepen every inhale.
for sunshine, feeling the warmth of the sun on your skin, giving you life. Take in the light and let it shine through you.
for grounding, connecting with the earth,the grass, the trees, remembering the magical mystery that you have been granted the opportunity to witness and experience.

Thank you for walking.

To my surprise, this Angel Academy video has clips from a MedMob we did at the University of Texas in 2011. MedMob stands for meditation flash mob, and this movement sprouted out of Austin in January 2011. People have started gathering for meditation sits in hundreds of cities all around the world. I have been involved with the organizational support and advisory through the whole fun! I’m happy to be in this video. See more about medmob.org.