Wow! What he said. Dewitt Jones, photographer for the National Geographic has a wonderful view of the world delivered in this video “Celebrate what’s right with the world.”

Probably the best 22 minutes of my 2010. The rest of my 523,440 minutes this year will be spent practicing to “trust my own values and vision to step out beyond my inner edges to balance between what I do and who I am.”

See for yourself at trainingABC.com - click the button for “preview full length video.” You will need to set up an account and log in to this site to preview the full length video. Well worth the effort.

Thank you Dewitt Jones - clear, insightful, inspired. You have, “given back with gratitude and grace.”

Have a happy, happy day!

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Wow, can’t believe it is almost a year since I posted the little poem, Words of Wisdom. Yet here we are.

A couple more verses have risen up:

Labels, labels everywhere,

these judgements take their toll,

Still the light of love shines through,

Cause none can hold a soul.

What or who am I judging? What if I just noticed?

Soul is grace manifest,

Within this body concealed,

Look into another’s eyes,

Lest we doubt it can be real.

How is soul revealing itself to me?

My wish for you, for 2010 - may it be a year of noticing.

Have a happy, happy day!

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What’s love got to do with it? With me? With my life? With my joy or success? With my sadness or loss?

Maybe love has a lot to do with it. ‘Loving it like it is’ - is a process of acceptance. Acceptance is not a process of non-action, rather a process of centered, grace-guided action. A process of acceptance starts with self and it starts with love. When I am in the middle of reacting to my life, i.e., not centered within my authentic self and not acting calmly I can apply L.O.V.E.^TM, the following four-step awareness process, to come back to my grounded center and then act with clarity.

The L.O.V.E.^TM process:

L ook at my reaction. Acknowledge it. Say, “I am in reaction.”

O bserve my feelings. Say, “Am I feeling Blame? Self-Pity? Resentment?”

V alue my reaction. This reaction too is loveable. Be the space in which my reaction is accepted and welcomed and loved. Say, “I accept and love me, even the me that is having _this_ reaction.”

E xperience myself from this space of compassionate awareness. Say, “I am compassionate awareness till I am not. When I am not I go back to, Look at my reaction……”

Start. Do what is next. Continue. This is the essence of practice. This is a practice.

Have a happy, happy day!

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This film was passed to me by Dena, of Reconnect Coaching.

ONE The Movie is an amateur film documentary made in 2002, that explores the concept that, ‘we are all one.’ What it lacks in glitz and box-office marketability it makes up for in truth, heart and authenticity. It is perhaps more about the film-makers’ journey, as they listen to and follow their internal guidance and their sharing of that experience with us, than it is about the completed work itself. In 2009 there is a little more glitz as you can see in the official site for ‘One The Project.’

What encouraged some of the world’s renowned spiritual leaders to participate in this film? (Thich Nhat Hanh, Father Thomas Keating, Robert Thurman, Deepak Chopra, Ram Dass….) Was it something in the energy vibration of the idea of oneness? Was it the compassion that rises up through the differences that come through the various messages? On the flip side I was intrigued to hear extraordinary wisdom being spoken by some ordinary people. As well I was fascinated to experience my reaction to various speakers as I contemplated the idea of ‘Oneness.’ With some I did not like the words of reaction and violence they spoke and at the same time I felt a human connection with them that I doubt I would have felt in a different context.

It is 80 minutes long. For me worth the time. If you take the time to watch. Let me know what about the film inspires you, or turns you off. What experience of yourself do you have as you watch?

Have a happy, happy day! If you think a friend might be interested in this article please pass on the url. If you want to be on my email list let me know (djmclean@inflowservices.com) or set up an RSS feed.

I am amazed at how even a very little quiet time, and communing with others’ work can inspire creativity in me.

Below is the short poem that came to me in the shower after trolling through We’Moon ‘09, Gaia Rhythms for Womyn,
a publication by Mother Tongue Ink. This was a lovely Christmas present from a dear friend. It is a 2009 day-journal filled with a compilation of art and writing by women of vision who are bringing the light.

Here is the poem:

Words of Wisdom everywhere,


and none to touch the soul,


till through the truth of experience,


our depths we come to know.

This really speaks to the feeling that has overtaken me repeatedly in the last five years. The feeling that everything I’ve read or experienced from different spiritual traditions has the same essence and passion, just with different language and labels. My journey of incorporating this wisdom has brought me to meditation. Specifically, Kriya Yoga Mediation (Paramahansa Yogananda lineage with Swami Shree Yogi Satyam.)

Here I have found the reason all my external searching has not manifested in great change for me, even though I have been progressing little by little. I have attended the seminars, bought the books and audios, worked through the material and the workbooks. We might say, “I am not diligent enough, I am not applying the learning correctly, I don’t have clear enough intention, I don’t want it enough, I am in some way not good enough.” But, I don’t think that is it for me - or for you. I feel deeply that I have been looking in the wrong place.

The answers are not ‘out there’, no one can tell me. No one can do it for me. I need to experience the truth of the wisdom words for myself - on my meditation seat and in my life. In my life is the deeper work of mediation. This is where my real practice is.

“What truth is my experience revealing to me?”

Coming to know our truth through our inner exploration of our depths is the turn-key to shift from being a ’seeker’ to being a ‘finder’ of truth. I don’t want to be a seekers’ guide in my coaching, I want to be a finders’ guide.

My wish for you, for 2009 - may it be a year of experience and truth-finding.

Have a happy, happy day!

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We have been taught and encouraged all our lives to strive, to reach our potential beyond where we are now, to be the best we can be, to do more, to be more, to be less - to essentially be different than what we are.

There in, to my mind, lies the seed of our dissatisfaction and stress, which are the foundation of our harried lives. The Christmas Season with all the parties, and deadlines, and ‘todo’ lists, ups anti and we feel like we are playing a losing hand. Christmas will come and go, and again we will have failed to get ‘it’ all done in time.

As we look to 2009, what if…..?

What if instead of planning to:

Grab it and grow,

Aspire to be our best selves

Set goals

Create winning strategizes

Create a life that we love…..

What if we practice accepting and loving our ’self’ just as we are in this moment? Even that ’self’ when it has lots of stories, drama, judgements and disatisfactions. What if we practice holding ourselves in love, just as we are, instead of wanting to be, do or have something we are not experiencing right now?

What if we accept this ’self’ just as we are, even for just one breath? One conscious breath.

I don’t mean do nothing, rather do with love, loyalty, and enthusiasm. Do with an open heart and acceptance of self with all our ’stuff’. Do with non-judgement. Do without labeling good or bad. Act from a place of love instead of place of fear. This centered place has a power, which we humans are just starting to comprehend.

My hypothesis is that self-love and self-acceptance, moment by moment, is the ‘rosetta stone’, the critical key to the translation of the seemingly difficult problem of human happiness. Self-love and self-acceptance appear to melt away the facade self and lets the true amazing self shine through - hence the supposed contradiction, “We are what we seek.”

Accepting ourselves without judgement, just as we are, seems to magically change our road from uphill to downhill as we begin to show up in our lives as our best selves more often.

Experiment. Be a scientist in the laboratory of your life. Practice self-acceptance and love and notice the changes. Changes in how you feel and in how you feel you are treated by others. Notice the changes in your relationships. Notice if you experience more ease, if things seem to flow. Life is change. Change is life. Hold each with love and it changes again. It is subtle. It is not what we think. It is neither more or less. It just is. Start with you. Try this:

When you find yourself - stressed, worried, anxious, frustrated, angry - in traffic, in lineups, with people and things and weather that don’t behave the way you want them to - take a breath. Then acknowledge what is happening. Say to yourself, “Although ____________ is happening and I feel ___________, I truly and deeply love and accept myself just as I am.”

What do you notice?

How is your experience of self different?

What might another breath do?

Love and acceptance. Isn’t this the message of enlightenment? Isn’t this the essence of Christmas?

Love, light and best wishes for a Very Merry Christmas and Loving 2009!

Have a happy, happy day!
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Some of you may have heard me talking about Trina and her work. That is Dr. Trina Read - sexologist, sex coach, speaker and writer. She is a lovely person, a busy mom and knows lots of stuff! ;->

Check out her site and her new book Till Sex Do Us Part: Make Your Married Sex Irresistible

She is running a great promotion - when you pre-order her from Amazon before January 7th, you’ll receive $500 (yes $500) in really great free product.

Enjoy! Happy, happy day!

As always comments are welcome. Your wisdom makes for better reading on the site.

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In his book Love Is the Killer App: How to Win Business and Influence Friends, Tim Sanders articulates what I feel about business, “Pay it forward with the intention of being in service and be alert to all the ways the Law of Attraction shows up on your doorstep with opportunities ripe for the picking.” Sanders evangelizes the value of shared knowledge, the power of personal networks, and the karma of human compassion. All this is for the purpose of helping people succeed by ‘showing love.’ In helping others we build ourselves as an outstanding brand - marketing advise that will create winners in any setting. Sanders weaves universal truth, personal observation and sound-bites from some of today’s best business thinkers. At 194 pages I found it a fast, value packed read.
As always comments are welcome. Your wisdom makes for better reading on the site.

Have a happy, happy day!

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This Upstream TV video of GoodGuide was referenced on a tweet. Awesome video and concept!

GoodGuide is a product database that rates consumer products on many factors including: Health Performance, Environmental Performance and Social Performance. GoodGuide then gives an overall rating out of 10 based on a proprietary algorithm.

Live Broadcast by Ustream.TV

Check out the GoodGuide site. Also read the TechCrunch post about GoodGuide.

I am very impressed with the idea and the huge amount of work that has gone into the data collection to date. I wandered around the site looking for some of the products I use for Kathryn (4.5 years old) to help prevent her eczema breakouts.

George’s Cream - It was not listed so I sent GoodGuide a note with the George’s website to ask them to include George’s in their research and postings.

Neutrogena Sensative Skin Sun screen - not found, but Neutorgena Sunblock Lotion, SPF 30 was. Its rating was Good-7.4 out of 10. This overall was made up from an Excellent-9.7 out of 10 for Health Performance, Good-6.2 out of 10 for Environmental Performance and Good-6.4 out of 10 for Social Performance.

Ombrelle Sunscreen Lotion, SPF 30 by L’Oreal SA - found and given Good-6.5 out of 10 rating. This rating was based on Environment and Social Performance _only_. There is _no_ Health Performance information at all.

Also I noticed when I searched the category Sun Care, I got only 10 results. None of which was Neutrogena or Ombrelle products that I clearly know are in the database. So I submitted a note to their “Found a bug? Let us know here” link.

Huggies Natural Care Baby Wipes, Unscented, by Kimberly-Clark Corporation. Its rating was Good-7.6 out of 10. This overall was made up from an Excellent-9.6 out of 10 for Health Performance, Good-7.1 out of 10 for Environmental Performance and Good-6.1 out of 10 for Social Performance. I wanted to see what made up that Excellent-9.6 out of 10 for Health Performance. It looked good as I started reading 10 out of 10 for Reproductive and Developmental Effects, Cancer Effects, Long-Term and Short-Term Health Effects. The ratings dropped to Good-7.9 out of 10 for General Health and Safety. That seemed odd to me given the glowing 10 out of 10 for the previous specific health factors.

“I wondered, how can a product get ‘Excellent-10 out of 10′ on some key specific health factors and then drop to ‘Good’ for General Health and Safety?”

Looking yet another layer deeper I found that the scores on the two “Certifications and Listings” categories were only Fair: ‘Safety Score’ was Fair-6 out of 10; and ‘Found Safe As Used’ was Fair-5.7 out of 10. Clearly there is a weighting system in play. However, the mom in me was very concerned about seeing such low scores for ‘Saftey’ sections and the product still ending up with a Excellent-9.6 out of 10 for Health Performance. I posted my concern and question to GoodGuide in a search for clarity.

OK I am a mom and the hierchy of needs for the mom in me is: #1 Is my kid safe?; #2 Are your kids safe?; #3 Are other people and the world safe?

I know this is not very spiritually enlightened of me to put my kid first. At some level of me I know all are one. I am still very ego attached to my kid. ;-> For the moment this is the way I am. I know too this will change - I will be able to learn to love unconditionally without ego attachment. (I will keep practicing my Kriya Yoga meditation.)

In the mean time:

-GoodGuide is a great idea, awesome first wave, needs even more data for consistent information between products.

-GoodGuide seems to be very customer driven, open to information and feedback.

-We can help. Go to the site search for products that are most important to you and your family and communicate with GoodGuide. Is the product listed? What level of information is available? Does it make sense to you? Tell GoodGuide your experiences. I believe it can only make this site and tool better for all of us.

I have not seen any feedback from GoodGuide to my suggestions and questions. If and when I do I will repost and let you know.

Enjoy! Happy, happy day!

As always comments are welcome. Your wisdom makes for better reading on the site.

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“Truth is in the experience not in the description.” I have heard this said many, many times by my Kriya yoga meditation teacher. I do not know if it is original or a quote. It doesn’t matter it resounds with me ever time I hear it, every time I think it. It is one of those zen things that is way deeper and multilayered than it first appears.

Love is like that - way deeper and multilayered than it first appears.

Love is:

gentle; kind, compassionate; willing; experimentation; practice; devotion; doing again, and again, and again without expectation of getting something or getting rid of something; presence to this breath; presence to this life; intent to learn; not fear; in the experience, in the experience of pain, in the experience of joy, in the experience of the moment; connection.

We humans seem to feel the deepest connection with self and with each other in our experiences of deepest joy and in our experiences of deepest pain.

I read an article recently in Glamour magazine while waiting for Kathryn to finish her clay class. It was by Eve Ensler. Do you remember her? Celebrated playwright. Creator of the Vagina Monologues.

Well she has certainly taken it to the next level. She takes us past our comfort zone. She takes us where most of us would not go alone or without guidance. She takes us to a world of deep love born of deep suffering. The article is, Women left for dead–and the man who’s saving them.

It is painful, provocative, moving. It is seeping, oozing and sticky with love.

Love is not only in beauty. It is also in the ugly. Love is everywhere. Love is in all things. The trick is can we see it. Often we can feel it way before we can see it. This is my experience. I feel before I see, then I struggle to translate those feelings into words - an ineffectual attempt to communicate to another human being. An attempt to connect.

This is my experience of love - feeling, connecting, again and again, coming to know my self more and more in the process of knowing others.

Love too, like truth, seems to be in the experience not the description. Perhaps love is truth. What’s love got to do with it? Perhaps everything. Maybe it is not the second hand emotion Tina Turner sang about in 1984. Maybe I am not as cynical as I was in 1984.

What is your experience of love?

What is your experience of truth?

Enjoy! Happy, happy day!

As always comments are welcome. Your wisdom makes for better reading on the site.

If you think a friend might be interested in this article please pass on the url. If you want to be on my email list let me know (djmclean@inflowservices.com) or set up an RSS feed.