You are the leader you've been waiting for

".....This new take on leadership couldn't come at a better time.  In the face of public outrage at CEO failure, it offers hope that the soul of leadership lies not in a powerful position or impressive job title but in the millions of conscious acts and daily choices that grow out of the character of a leader's soul.....

YOU are the leader you always wanted to follow.  Start leading by example."

This from Megatrends 2010 by Patricia Aburdene.  This book is about the rise of conscious capitalism. Profit, People and Planet - the triple bottom line.

What I love about this book is that it's real.  She talks about practical visionaires and writes like one. The stories are about gutsy CEO's from Whole Foods and Starbucks who dare to run their companies, negotiate contracts, and treat employees different from the corporate norm that only looks at profit. It's also about the everyday manager who is making a decision based on values of what's really important.

She's not predicting anti-profit by any means. She sees the trends of a grassroots movement of everyday people saying - enough is enough and making decisions and treating people consciously while being very aware of the impact on profit long term.

One of my favorites parts, and I'm sure it's as a result of my own bias and story about corporate, is how she addresses the matrix - the system. There is a system that is set up in the world by certain rules - short term profit and don't look at what it really costs us in relationships, environment, people, and costly mistakes for the future. And, it can feel like you are trying to turn the Titanic at the last minute when you think about changing these rules. (Well, that's certainly how I used to think.)

Patricia points to the massive movement of people, mostly baby boomers, who are ready for some juicier impact in the world. They are feeling their humanity as they are getting older and are thinking about the legacy they are leaving; they are in search of meaning beyond the paycheck, house, car, and vacations.  These are the folks, you are the folks, who are creating this change. Demanding to know where and how your products are being made, what are the environmental and humanitariun philosophies of the companies you are investing in, checking out the organic aisle, and starting to add reflective practices into your lives so you even have the space to think about all these decisions.

I know it can feel overwhelming.  Sometimes it gets so overwhelming that I just want to pop my Paul Newman's microwave popcorn and veg in front of a movie and not think about it. And then I wake up early in the morning when the house is quiet, and I sense my two sons have crawled into bed with me again in the middle of the night. As I look at their little innocent faces sticking out from under the cozy covers, I am reminded of why I do what I do. One step at a time......

With fierce love,

Laura

Journey of the Wild Divine

I want to share with you a really cool computer game! Yes, a computer game.  As I may have mentioned, I am over in England visiting my partner, Marc. He has this fantastic biofeedback game called the Journey to The Wild Divine. Biofeedback, you ask?  It's just a  technical name for these gizmos that plug into your computer and on the end it has 3 sensors that you put on your finger tips.  They measure your heart beat and blood pressure, etc.

If you are familiar with Deepak Chopra, he is a major endorser of this game to help you learn how much power you have to create your reality - through being stressed or changing your breathing and changing your life.  One magazine quotes and says "In this game you get to be the Dali Lama"...curious?  It is pretty powerful!

The game takes place in this beautiful magical setting of the Sun Realm with lots of stones, trees, castle/fairy/eastern type buildings, archways, fountains, fabrics....actually it is so beautiful that I am finding it hard to describe.

Throughout your exploration you are given various tasks that include learning breathing techniques to reduce stress but you learn to do this by juggling these little balls in the air in the courtyard.  You practice being aware of your heart rate and raising it by thinking joyful thoughts (!no wonder I love this!).  You  lower the elevator (or as Marc says...the lift), by relaxing and lowering your heart rate.  It's a very fun way to learn meditation techniques vs. just sitting and doing "nothing" method, which as a busy entrepreneur & mom I find  more stressing than relaxing on most days.

It's fascinating to learn what your natural rates are and how they vary during the day.  Sometimes I can just summon the "joy" energy and the balls juggle effortlessly.  During some of the games you have to vary your heart rate - raise it and then lower it and do this over and over again to successfully accomplish the task.  There is an archery game where you use your breath to raise or lower the bow in order to aim it properly at the target.  I seem to be playing this late at night when I'm relaxed so lowering the bow is fairly easy with some focus.  Raising the bow has been challenging. What's funny is that Marc will come back into the room to check on me and as soon as he is close...my energy shoots up!  Guess that's the impact of love...

And like any other game, the more you learn the techniques and the better you get at it, the more the game unfolds new levels, new places and new tasks.

I'm finding I am at lost for words to describe how beautiful and relaxing the music and the graphics are in this....probably because I'm thinking about signing off for now and going to ride the magic carpet and figure out what I am suppose to do at the frog fountain! :)

This is a really great gift for someone you love who you wish would learn how to relax (maybe that's YOU!), or even the whole family.  Marc's boys have really enjoyed it as well. The youngest one just smiles and with no effort or much time, just has the balls juggling, the lift going up and down and the balloons soaring smoothly....for the rest of us....we're practicing our breathing......

Then again, we'll be doing that the rest of our lives...might as well have fun while we are at it!

Relax and enjoy.....!
Laura

Summer Camp & Growing Pains

My 8 year old son left for a week long summer camp adventure last night. It is his first time away for a whole week without family. And, I have to admit that I have just been emotional all day. I can so feel and see his growth from a little boy into a "boy". All summer he has been pushing the limits of his independence and showing me that "Hey Mom, it's time to redefine your role!"  I have felt the pain of letting go a little.  "Hey Mom, let me go into the QT (convenience store) and get the milk all by myself" "Hey Mom, can't I just ride my bike to the pool?  You can follow in the car"

All summer I have been very clear that it was very important for me as the mom, queen nurturer, - that I should be the one to drive him 2 hours to camp and make sure that it looked ok, he found his cabin, got his sheets on alright and sorted out his suitcase, have a private chat with the counselor that occassionally he wets the bed and to please be discrete and just limit his liquids before bedtime, etc... This would all set his week at camp in motion successfully!

What I realized last week was that he would probably enjoy riding with this friend and his brothers who have all been to the camp before.  He would hear their excitement and get clued in on what it's like even more than watching the camp video on the computer. It really hurt to let go of what I thought was what he needed. What I realized was that it was what I needed. What he needed was to be in the company of excited buddies who could tell him about camp and through their excitement he would get even more excited.

I realize that today I have been grieving. Grieving for the little boy I could just hold in my arms and kiss the boo-boo all better. He's long since been past that stage and there's something about knowing he's going to grow a lot this week. He's going to make his own decisions, he'll be meeting new people and having new experiences and he'll be free to be a kid - to be silly and to just be an 8 year kid and I am sure he'll probably have contests with all sorts of bodily functions I can only imagine (if I would want to).   

Last year I went through a leadership program where we flew out to a retreat center 4 times during the year.  We slept in bunk beds. We were in community with 20 other folks that we came to know quite intimately. We made new friends. We stretched and we grew and watched each other do so. We laughed and shared our pain. I imagine he'll be doing a bit of that. It has given me comfort to know that he's sleeping in a bunk bed and like his mom he prefers the lower bunk - all cozy, nestled and safe. A perfect counter balance to the stretching and growing that takes place in the awake hours.

So, I am going to pick him up from camp instead. I will get embraced as the first sight of loving family when the week is over (yes, I know, you can hear the Sound of Music theme playing in the background of my dream image).  What I do know is that he will like me picking him up and he'll get to tell me about the camp and show me what an expert his is at where everything is at and how the whole thing works. And, I'll get to hear his real stories when he's ready to share them - probably sometime later in the week when he'll be getting into bed and asking me to "snuggle" with him.

My question for you is - where in your relationship with someone do you need to let go a bit to let them and you grow?  What is possible for you both when this happens?  Watch and capture the moments of change and growth and take the time to appreciate the nuances of this part of the journey. And don't forget to find those moments to "snuggle" and enjoy the intimacy!

Now I need to go and finish packing a care package to send to him at camp - full of his favorite treats, brain teaser games and a Yu-Gi-Oh magazine!

Warmly,

Laura - A Joyful Mom (as much as possible)