Good News Over Here!

Today is a GOOD day for me. I'm so grateful for all the amazing news I got today that even though I'm taking a day off, I wanted to shout it out to you all.

First, my case study is a WINNER at the Hot Mommas Project! The name of my case study is Finding Balance in the Extreme: Working with Bipolar Disorder. It's an honest and open piece of writing about why I chose, and continue to choose, to be an entrepreneur. And the things that were said about my study by the judges were to rewarding and touching, they literally brought tears to my eyes. (Follow the link above, and take a look.)

Winning the case study competition means a lot of things, but most notably, it means that Finding Balance in the Extreme: Working with Bipolar Disorder will be included in a Prentice Hall textbook. And, the case study is already being used in mentoring programs for women everywhere.

Second, my Twitter friend Sarah Bray (@SarahBray) interviewed me for her blog series, MaTweeps. The interview is all about #GRATITUDE, the Twitter meme I started back in August, and why it's become such a Twitter phenomenon. Take a read, and if you're moved, leave a comment. (While you're at it, follow me on Twitter. I'm @Yoga_Mama there.)

Third, a blog entry of mine was included in today's Mom's Carnival of Bloggers. Read, and enjoy!

Aside from all that, as I said up at the top of this post, I'm taking the day off - an accomplishment, and reward, in itself. So, signing off for now. Just had to share my good news with my peeps.

All love. And as always, peace, and gratitude.

http://www.lasarafirefox.com

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).

Join my Ecstatic Presence e-zine!

In addition to a subscription to an engaging e-zine, you'll receive my Three
Steps to Engaged Gratitude, and a link to my Super Secret Downloads page FREE!

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

WANT HELP WITH YOUR RESOLUTIONS?
Check out my super-affordable Body, Mind, and Spirit coaching package. Purchase today at the holiday rate of only $149!

GRATITUDE GAMES

It's the LAST DAY to get Gratitude Games at the low, holiday rate of $19.99! On Jan 1, the price for the Gratitude Games package goes up to $29.99. Buy now! http://www.gratitudegames.com.

ONE DAY, TAX-CONSCIOUS PRODUCT AND SERVICE SALE:

Teacher to Coach:
If you would like more tax deductions for 2008, right now is a great time to purchase Teacher to Coach - FOR $49 instead of the usual rate of $99.99!

BUSINESS AND ENTREPRENEURIAL COACHING:
And, last but not least, if you want to purchase business or entrepreneurial coaching for the coming year in advance, that can count as a deduction for this year's taxes. So, if you are thinking of getting more coaching with me, call me today and let's make it happen.

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