Born Again American...

Don't let the name fool you; Born Again American (.org) is sure to be an inspiring site for all of us! Watch the video, listen to the lyrics, and take the pledge. I did!

Welcome, President Obama!

Today we celebrate the strides made since the world-forming speech Doctor Martin Luther King gave 46 years ago at the Washington Monument.

In the same place where Dr. King uttered the iconic words, "I have a dream," that same dream is coming true. We, as a nation, have found our way to the mountain top.

May President Obama bring us finally into the new millennium, and shine a light of understanding on this land, from sea to shining sea. May this nation be redeemed.

God bless our country, and God bless the President. God bless the world. Peace in our time. The time is now. Let freedom ring.

Join my Gratitude Games Inauguration Day Give-Away! In the comment box below, write what you are most grateful for about Obama's inauguration. I will choose a winner from the comments on Wednesday morning, and post her or his name by 10 AM Pacific time. Please come back and see if your comment won!

In Honor of Doctor King

In Honor of Doctor King

on the eve of the inauguration of President Barack Obama - May All Dreams as Bold and Beautiful Come to Fruition

Racism has not come to an end, but today we can celebrate the strides made since the speech at the Washington Monument.

Tomorrow, in the same place where Dr. King uttered the iconic words, "I have a dream," the dream is coming true.

May these words by Dr. King, and songs that shape them into a contemporary tapestry, inspire you, and bring a moment of pure reflection. We, as a nation, have found our way to the mountain top. The time is now. Let freedom ring.

Mr Fingers - Can You Feel It (Martin Luther King mix).

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Happy New Year!

Happy New Year's Eve!

I'm part of an amazing group of women called the Mom Entrepreneur Support Group Check it out, and tell them I sent you.

Yesterday someone on the group put a shout out for New Year's Resolutions. I got into the spirit of it and jotted some intentions down. I want to share them with you, and hope they might inspire you to do the same.

My Intentions for 2009:

to live into ease.
to meet pleasure gently, right where it is - not try to chase it, or coerce it into coming to me.
to make goals that stretch me, but don't tear or break anything.
to find the level that is right in any moment, even if it means bringing it down a notch or two.
to invest in love, because it always has a great roi.
to breathe in gratitude, walk in gratitude, sleep in gratitude, sit in gratitude, plan in gratitude, dream in gratitude, play in gratitude, work in gratitude, relate in gratitude, love in gratitude, live in gratitude.

I call these intentions because they aren't exactly goals. They don't have a start date and an end date, but are a commitment to practice of my personal values and ideals.

In this, I remind myself that every day is new, and that every moment is an opportunity to create positive change.

If you take up this "challenge" and write out your own intentions for 2009, I invite you to send them to me, and I will share them out, anonymously or with full credit, in my next newsletter.

As part of my personal gratitude practice, I do a gratitude shout out on Twitter daily. Others have joined me in practicing gratitude, and we have all found the collective witnessing to be powerful.

Thank you for witnessing my intentions. I'd love to witness yours in return. Together we will build new worlds.

May the coming year be filled with joy, presence, ease, and abundance for us all. Here's to a grateful 2009!

-LaSara
http://www.lasarafirefox.com ~ http://www.gratitudegames.com

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The Ecstatic Presence Project * 705 N. State St. #205, Ukiah, CA, 95482 * 707-293-5153 * firefox@lasara.us * www.lasarafirefox.com

Win Some, Lose Some - An Election End-Note from Yoga Mama

Win Some:
I truly believe I have experienced what may be THE definative political event of my lifetime; the first black American president has been elected. By a landslide, in fact.

Not only that, he's the first president who is more Gen-X than Baby Boom. And, as advertised, as much as Obama is proof of change, he's harbinger of change. Don't quite buy it yet? Check out the new President-Elect's website: www.change.gov. Seriously! Change dot Gov. And it is a change - Obama and his team are ready to drag this country, perhaps kicking and screaming, into the new millennium. (Hey, we're only eight years late, right?)

Web 2.0 savvy was part of what delivered this heroic victory. And, Obama has been nothing but generous with the praise for a country that heard a message of hope, and went for. Motivated to achieve it.

I look forward to seeing what the country looks like in a year's time, four year's. We have an opportunity to take a lead from an honorable man, and embrace change. This is only the beginning. We are the change that elected this president, and we can be the change that rises this country from the ashes to fly strong again.

Lose Some:
In California, widely considered at least one of the most liberal states in the union, the citizens voted in Proposition 8, the nefariously worded "Protect Marriage Act." It's is a proposition that "protects traditional marriage" by disallowing anyone but one man and one woman the rights that marriage affords.

However, the fight goes on. As I write, people all over the state are demonstrating against Prop 8.

To paraphrase a facebook friend's update the day after the elections; I never thought I'd see the day when I was proud to be an American, and ashamed to be a Californian. Well, here it is. (can't recall who that was from, or I'd give you a link...)

And, an end comment on the election from Yoga Mama:

So, the struggle for rights - equal rights for everyone, regardless of color of skin, sexual orientation, sex or gender - continues unabated. But still, I have hope.

Hope possessed of a leader. Hope for, and trust in, the country that elected him. Hope that a day will come when the changes that are coming have come and gone, leaving a sweeter memory behind. To quote a great man;

"Today we begin in earnest the work of making sure that the world we leave our children is...better than the one we inhabit today."
-President-Elect Barack Hussein Obama

Peace, and hope.
-LaSara
http://www.lasarafirefox.com

Barack the Vote!

In the news: This Blog Wins Placement as a Best in A Mommy's Carnival of Bloggers. VOTE for me. * It's VOTING DAY. Do you know where YOUR vote is? * An Empowerment for Presence: Change Your Mind, Change the World.

So, I'm participating in a Mommy Carnival of Bloggers. And, my post, Yoga Mama's Guide to Compassionate Citizenry, won placement in the first round. If you like that post, I would LOVE your vote as one of the "best of the best." Visit A Modern Mother to cast your vote.

More importantly, but still about voting...it's the day we've all been counting down to for months! Some in the hope that the conversation will be winding in directions other than the elections (Don't count on it! Whoever wins, this Presidential election will be one for the history books, for sure. The conversation will not end tomorrow, or next week. We'll be in the throes of ti for a while yet.) Some in the hope that this day will cement a positive Change in direction for our country.

ELECTION DAY IS HERE! Did you vote yet? If not, go and vote. If so, can you volunteer to get others out to vote? You can probably do it from the HQ of your favorite candidate if you want to be part of the excitement. You can call your neighbors and friends and ask if they've voted. You can volunteer to call voters from home through MoveOn.org or Obama's site. You can give rides to the polls, watch babies, watch parents.

Point is; do what's needed. Barack the vote!

An Empowerment for Presence: Change Your Mind, Change the World
The world is what you make it. The Buddha is credited with this quote: " We are what we think. All that we are arises with our thoughts. With our thoughts, we make the world." Consider how you are making your world - what thoughts are building what outcomes in your life?

If you can change how you think, you can change what you experience. There are any number of possible realities available in any given moment. Vantage, your position within and in relation to the rest of existence, counts for a lot.

What if you were to stand in a different position, look in a new direction? We are limited, grounded, by our perspective. On a physiological level, we can only see what's in our field of vision. And even then, we only truly see parts of the picture. Much of what we "see" is generated by what our mind thinks should fill in the blanks.

The same things happens with our minds. We see what we're looking at. So, change your perspective. Change your frame. Change your mind. And watch the world change with you.

Yours, in peace, hope, and CHANGE!
-LaSara
http://www.lasarafirefox.com

Yoga Mama's Guide to Compassionate Citizenry, Ecstatic Presence Newsletter

In this newsletter: Note from LaSara: Yoga Mama's Guide to Compassionate Citizenry * Empowerment for Presence: There Is No Other * LaSara Recommends...*

As the election nears, there are questions on everyone's lips. Whether it's okay to talk about politics is one of this big ones. My opinion; it's not just alright, it's your responsibility to do so! This is a democracy, and as citizens, we are empowered to participate in the governance of our country.

Yoga Mama's Guide to Compassionate Citizenry:

1. Assume positive intent.

Just because politics tends to get dirty doesn't mean that I should add my own mud to the slinging. It can be a challenge to hold back, but doing so is good form. I want to hear your point of view, and I want you to hear mine. Let's keep it clean as we are able.

2. Generate Bodhicitta.

Bodhcitta means wisdom-consciousness, or awakened-consciousness. Engage in the political conversation from a place of wisdom and compassion. This allows you to recognize your own wounding, while allowing yourself not to react from the wounded place. It also allows you remember that everyone is doing what they think best for the world.

You don't have to agree with their methods (and you won't in many cases), but trust that everyone is doing their best. In addition to contributing to the process of your own potential awakening to the enlightened mind, it makes it easier to have a civilized conversation.

3. Don't take it personally.

While it is easy to get caught in the fervor of fear, hurt, power and probabilities, and while the outcome of election day is very important, remember that comments made about your candidate are not comments made about you. Political disagreements don't need to become personal ones.

As a business person, I know I am taking a risk by being public with my political views. But it is a risk I willingly take on, in order to be the best citizen, of this country and the world as a whole, that I can be. I respect your right and duty to do the same.

The place where politics and spirit meet is addressed in this issue's Empowerment for Presence; There Is No Other. Read on, and have an ecstatic day.

peace.

-LaSara

www.lasarafirefox.com

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Ready to give coaching a try? Contact me for a pre-coaching evaluation NOW! Drop a note to: firefox@lasarafirefox.com, or call 707-293-5153 to schedule.

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Empowerment for Presence: There Is No Other

by LaSara Firefox, www.lasarafirefox.com

I have a lot going on in my life right now, and all of it is the opportunity to achieve a more constant state (or station) of awakening to compassion. One of the largest of my personal challenges to living in my compassionate heart is Sarah Palin.

Why? To begin with, she's the iconic proof that we haven't "come a long way, baby!" at all. Palin represents the dumbing-down of America, but more painfully to me, she is the "answer" to senator Clinton's "ball-busting" demeanor. Palin is hailed by some as the perfect feminine candidate; MILF-esque, down-to-earth (folksy), and seemingly, dumb as a doornail. Ouch.

So here's the practice I am sitting with in accepting Palin as part of the undifferentiated all-that-is: three steps to cultivating compassion.

1. I recognize Palin, and my feelings for her, as my own shadow, my own wounded self seeking the light of acceptance, my own wounded femininity aspiring to recognition in a "patriarchal" world, my own fear and my own failing.

2. I awaken my "witness self", the one who easily sees my own broken parts, and loves me into wholeness, even when I feel unlovable, or unloving.

3. I allow my heart to open and grow, and visualize Palin held securely in my own heart, or enveloped in my heart-energy. I breath into this love, and allow myself to heal in, and through, it.

I undertake this practice for the benefit of all beings, pervading space and time.In the process, I heal my own heart. I address my own shadow, and in moving through the pain of it, I become more awakened to the process of integration.

In the healing of my own heart, and the growth and expansion of it, I come to have more faith in the possibility of healing. Anger is a poisoned blade that harms the one that holds it. I am only capable of healing myself. But, perhaps in healing myself, I heal the world.

Consider yourself empowered.

LaSara Recommends...

Book:

Meeting the Shadow: The Hidden Power of the Dark Side of Human Nature

Edited by Connie Zweig and Jeremiah Abrams, Tarcher, 1990

Meeting the Shadow addresses the dark areas of the psyche from many angles and perspectives, and through numerous lenses. It's helpful both as a cautionary measure, and as a doorway to cultivating understanding of the shadow and how it functions and manifests. Even-handed, honest, and engaging, essays from scholars, spiritual seekers and leaders, pundits, parents and more.

TV Show:

Grey's Anatomy is a really, really good show. My husband and I watch it together, and are equally moved by it. Grey's Anatomy deals with epic themes with a light hand. And, as a fan of moral ambivalence that's true to life, the show offers opportunities for viewers to arrive at our own conclusions about right and wrong.

As a comment on women in culture, the show makes up for my heart-ache regarding Palin. (See above!) Grey's posse is sexually empowered, though wounded - like most of us; hard-working, yet sometimes over-extended; invested in image, though often pissed-off when objectified. In other words, I know these women. They're me. And you. And my sisters. And my peers.

So glad to have another year of growing up with this crew.

The Ecstatic Presence Project * 705 N. State St. #205, Ukiah, CA, 95482 * 707-293-5153 * firefox@lasara.us * www.lasarafirefox.com

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