Let's talk about Politics

I’m going to climb on my soapbox for a minute. Senator John McCain, who recently announced his candidacy for President in 2008, posted a question on Yahoo Answers asking for feedback on how to reduce government waste. Though there were some great, thoughtful answers, and some not so good, I was mainly appalled by the number of people who posted answers in the vein of “we elected you, it’s your job to fix it”.

Whether or not I agree with him on the issues, I thought it was awesome that the Senator posted a question on a public forum asking for our feedback. We have a representative Republic, and it IS our job to tell our representatives what we think and what we would like them to do. We are not supposed to sit back and let these folks decide everything without our input! With democracy comes responsibility.

The first part of that responsibility is to VOTE. I cannot believe how many people I have come in contact with who don’t vote. Statistics show that only around 50% of eligible American voters show up to the polls. If you don’t vote, you are letting other people decide for you. Before you cast your vote, it’s also necessary to find out about the candidates and the issues. Don’t rely on the TV media. Go to the candidates’ web sites, find other articles about them online. and if they’ve been in public office for a while, find out about their voting record on the issues you care about.

A good non-partisan resource I have found is congress.org. It’s a grassroots citizen’s forum with tools to help navigate the confusing political process. You can find out who your representatives in the House and Senate are, you can sign up to get a weekly e-mail update of upcoming legislation, and find out how your representatives voted. The e-mails will often include a form that you can fill out with a couple of clicks to write a personal e-mail to your Senators or Congressperson.

Besides Federal representatives, we also have State representatives. I have written several e-mails to my two state senators, and every time I have gotten a personal response, sometimes the same day. I believe that the best way to effect real change is from the bottom up – start with your local city council. Find out what’s going on in your neighborhood. It’s all about getting involved.

I have a real life example to share. My friend Debbie lives in an older neighborhood here in Scottsdale AZ. The city provides grants for public art projects. As my friend thought it would be a good idea, she got some of her neighbors together and they applied for an art installation in the neighborhood. The city chose an artist who proposed a fun and funky design to liven up a dirt lot at the main street leading to their enclave. They held neighborhood council meetings to get feedback from the neighbors. Not many people showed up, until the city actually started breaking ground for the project.

Then, several neighbors decided they did not like the artwork. They contacted the newspaper. They attended city hall meetings. They wrote to the Mayor. In the end, they got what they wanted. The project was cancelled. My friend is disappointed, but she realized the power of just a few voices.

We may not have a perfect system, and the current two-party political system leaves much to be desired. But we do have the power to change and influence it, IF we decide to get involved.

I'm giving away a FREE e-book

I co-wrote a very cool e-book with 12 other coaches. It's called "13 Top Coaches Share Their Extreme Self-Care Strategies". You will get some great ideas to help keep you healthy, peaceful and balanced in this crazy world.

It's yours free just for signing up for my newsletters and updates. (I promise you will enjoy my newsletters - My newsletter is published every other week, and I might send out occasional e-mails regarding events, such as teleclasses or seminars or new products. I'm not one of those pesky e-mail marketers who is going to bombard you with crap. I absolutely, positively do not rent, sell, or give my subscriber's information to anyone.

To sign up, enter your e-mail in the box on the upper right hand corner of this page.

We Are One

This movie is beautiful: http://www.weareonemovie.com/

Ironically, in December I had a very unpleasant exchange with its creator, Mary Robinson Reynolds, which turned out to be one of the most profound learning experiences of the year.

Why? I had seen several of her movies, and been getting her newsletters for a while. She's a sucessful coach, like I want to be when I grow up.
She held a free teleclass, and there were some technical difficulties and lots of noise on the line. Mary was getting kind of stressed and she started almost yelling on the call.

I had seen her as a wise and peaceful guru - so this was totally not my expectation. Impulsively I shot her a rather fussy e-mail saying basically that I was disappointed in her behavior. She e-mailed me back really letting me have it! Told me my ego was getting in the way and how could I teach her anything - she was just being human after all... She demanded an apology. She really chewed me out. I initially was thinking: "what a b****!"

But I meditated on it. I re-read my e-mail to her and yeah, I was acting like a little kid who expects her parents to be perfect, and saw how my EXPECTATIONS of people got in the way of appreciating their gifts and their light. So, I sent Mary an apology. I recognized my behavior and recognized her humanness and told her how much I appreciated her movies. She sent me a very nice e-mail back.

We all have our flaws, we all make mistakes, we all act out, get stressed, get upset, have bad days. When the people in our lives do this, it is our choice of how to react.

If the behavior is abusive, or inexcusable, we can and should walk away, but we can still recognize they are human, doing the best they know how in their limited belief system, and that they are full of pain and fear. We can and should and forgive them, for our own sake more than anything.

But if someone's behavior is just annoying, we can choose not to get annoyed. We can send love, we can look past the acting out and the flaws, and pay attention to the things we love and appreciate about them. We can allow them to have a bad day. We can see then as HUMAN, just like we are.

We really are ALL ONE. (And Mary's actually a pretty cool lady, albeit a feisty redhead :)

Article on Law of Attraction - published on my Yahoo column on 2/15

Everybody has been jumping on "The Secret" bandwagon. Alright, so it's not completely original. But this stuff works, why not use it?

"The Secret is Out"
Posted on Capessa Blog 2/15/07

Thoughts become Things. That is the central idea of the Law of Attraction. It’s been talked about in spiritual self-development circles for quite some time. Last week, I was thrilled to see Oprah talking about a very cool DVD and book called “The Secret”. It came out in the middle of 2006, and I first saw it at a workshop I attended last July. I came away from the movie feeling empowered and energized. I am so excited to see these ideas becoming more mainstream!

The premise is simple, yet extremely profound in its implications. Whatever you focus on, you attract into your life. If you are always worried about being in debt and focusing on all the bills you have to pay, doesn’t it seem to get worse? What if you focused your thoughts on abundance instead? What if you took all the energy that you use worrying about all the bad things that can happen, and turned it in a positive direction?

There are several practical exercises you can do to start that flow of positive energy in your life, no matter how bad things may seem right now.

Instead of feeling the lack of certain things, look at your life and all the great things you do have – cultivate an “Attitude of Gratitude”. I may have said this in a previous post, but start a Gratitude Journal. Every night before you go to sleep, write down 3 things that you are grateful for, perhaps focusing on a different area each night. After doing this exercise for one week, try writing a list of 50 things! You may have to stretch your mind to realize so many things we take for granted, like hot showers, your computer and even the fact that you woke up this morning!

Now, look at the things you want to change or improve. Maybe you want a better relationship with your spouse/significant other, or you are single and would like to be in a relationship. Perhaps you’d like to make more money, reduce your debts, or you want to lose weight, and have a healthier lifestyle. How about finding a career that you love AND that pays the bills?

Turn these wants and wishes into statements. State them ALWAYS in the positive, and in the present tense. These are called affirmations. Some examples might be:

• I am in a loving and caring partnership.
• I am creating abundance in every area of my life
• I am earning plenty of money
• I am getting a lean, healthy body
• I am taking the steps toward my ideal career

Work on one area at a time for at least 3 weeks. Write your chosen affirmation(s) on sticky notes, and paste them where you will see them – in your car, on your fridge, phone, computer or bathroom mirror. Say them out loud, at least 3 times every morning and evening. When negative thoughts come up, replace them with your new, positive affirmations.

Here’s a really fun exercise – create a Vision Board. Go through old magazines and cut out pictures and words that represent the things and the life you want, then paste them on a poster board. Hang it in a place where you will see it. I searched the Internet for more detailed information on how to create your board. Christine Kane has some great ideas on her blog: http://www.christinekane.com/blog

It’s your life, and it’s up to you to create it! What is stopping you?

You are Divine!

In a previous post I mentioned that I'm participating in a group coaching program with Anita Pathik-Law. She just launched a brand new set of life-affirming meditations on CD. You can watch "The Divinity Movie" for free by clicking on the banner below:

I'm a Yahoo Health Expert!

(originally posted 1/26/07)
It's amazing what can happen when you just go out there and give. I found a new women's advice forum on Yahoo Health called Capessa, and my heart went out to the women who are going through so much - abuse, ugly divorces, serious health problems. I've been through all those things and myself, and now I'm at a place where I've overcome so much, and really want to be able to give back. So I started giving these ladies simple exercises and ideas to get unstuck and improve their self-esteem and take charge of their lives. A week later, I got invited by the site administrator to do a weekly advice column. I really was floored! That's how it starts, just by putting yourself out there with no expectation. When I do things with expectation, usually it doesn't work out as well.
So, please check out my column, here: http://health.yahoo.com/experts/capessa It's been a lot of fun!

I finally decided on a home for my blog!

It's taken me a while to decide on a blog host. I tried WordPress for a while, and I was not very happy with it. So, it's back to Blogger, as it seems a bit more user friendly. The next few posts are copied from my WordPress blog, from December through February.
Enjoy!