Are We Ready for a Different Way to Grow?
After sharing my thoughts about capitalism and my commitment to find equitable and just financial practices, I was excited and grateful to receive positive feedback from you. Many of you contacted me to share that you too struggle with navigating an exploitative economic system and want to participate in a mastermind group for the specific purpose of finding ethical solutions to economic security. Yes! I did not think that I was alone in this desire. I appreciate each one of you who reached out to me.
Your interest and support has spurred me to delve deeper into my research and to curate a repository of resources to inform our future mastermind group. My goal is to initiate a mastermind group by early September. I also hope to develop several stand-alone workshops that reflect the conversations and learnings that we glean from the mastermind group, thus extending the reach of the information. The Shakti Support Council is fully backing this idea and is instrumental in getting this new initiative off the ground. Thank you women!
While preparations are happening, I will…
Seeking ethical and viable solutions to financial security.
One of my challenges centers around the making of money. Early on in my entrepreneurial journey, a business coach told me that my money challenge was due to not valuing myself. I sat with that analysis. Was it true that I believed that my time and my talent was invaluable?
While there were certainly instances where I underpriced my services, those instances were not rooted in a devaluation of myself but rather rooted in ignorance. I find pricing a service or an event is both an art and a science: a process that involves calculating one’s expenses as well as understanding the demands of the service.
Finding the sweet spot of pricing also involves personal ethics. Answering the question – What is enough? – is not limited to “what the market can bear.” I also want to factor…
Many answers are not a fixed choice.
In the center of the Milky Way galaxy, approximately 26,000 light years from Earth is a very massive and dense black hole called “Sagittarius A.” Sagittarius A has a mass the size of 4 million suns. Since 1958, Sagittarius A has been considered the center of the galactic universe or “point zero” from which all longitudinal and latitudinal galactic lines are measured.
Because of interstellar dust clouds, we can only view the galactic center using infrared and radio waves. Colors, based on the amount of heat emitted by the different types of stars and gases, emerge and create the beautiful spiral that we associate with the Milky Way. Using the powerful Herschel telescope, astronomers have identified a…
It is time for some summer magic.
It is time for some summer magic. Since the beginning of the year, we have been working hard – both in and out of the home. Laboring for money, taking care of dependents, engaging in activism, tending to the garden, cleaning our homes, volunteering for good causes: all of these activities may be worthwhile but they are not leisure time. They do not typically engage us in play.
We need play. We need time to explore, to be silly, to create, to imagine and to move for fun. When we engage in play, we reap mental, emotional, and physical benefits. Some of those benefits are…
Honoring a Life with Presence and Care
With absolutely no danger of frost in sight (temperatures are hovering in the high eighties), we are in full swing of the growing season. This week we put the tomato, pepper, okra, cucumber, potato, basil, and marigold plants in the ground. These plants joined the spinach, chard, kale, broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower and celery that were planted in the spring.
We have already harvested the green leafy veggies: some of which were enjoyed in a salad for the Food and Tarot Circle last week. I love witnessing the life cycle unfold right before my eyes. Watching the Shakti community directly benefit from the garden upholds my belief in the power of mutuality: a cycle in which gratitude encourages generosity, and in turn, inspires reciprocity…
Supporting Connection, Community, and New Ideas!
Next Saturday, June 20 – the day before the Summer Solstice, you are invited to gather at Shakti in the Mountains for a special event called “Group Living and Other Recipes.”
The event title comes from Lola Milholland’s memoir which details her experiences growing up in a communal home, studying abroad in Japan, spending time in an intentional community in Washington state, and her choice to live with her brother and their friends as an adult. Interspersed throughout the book are recipes from each stage and place in her life: some of which will be cooked and shared with anyone who…
Seeking Connection and Meaningful Activities
The past week at Shakti has been full of delightful surprises, sacred moments, and amazing volunteers. From receiving an unexpected fresh food donation to basking in the healing energy of the Red Tent, to working alongside committed volunteers, the past week has highlighted the breadth and depth of the Shakti community. Every day I feel gratitude for the people, both near and far, that support and nurture our work.
If you are seeking more connection and want to engage in meaningful activities, then consider participating in one of the following opportunities at Shakti…
The Gift That Keeps on Giving
I am often asked to recommend strategies for building and sustaining a regenerative community – a community that actively replenishes and restores itself. In this week’s newsletter, I explore one such strategy – the gift that keeps on giving – a trustworthy advisory board!
What do I mean by advisory board? Being the person with the vision or the plan can be a little lonely and sometimes inure you to the way your vision or plan is being received or executed. To keep you honest and attuned to reality as well as to help you grow and adapt to a constantly changing environment, it is critical to gather a small group of people whom you trust and who understand your vision.
What can you expect from an advisory board?
The Flow of Energy
With absolutely no danger of frost in sight (temperatures are hovering in the high eighties), we are in full swing of the growing season. This week we put the tomato, pepper, okra, cucumber, potato, basil, and marigold plants in the ground. These plants joined the spinach, chard, kale, broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower and celery that were planted in the spring.
We have already harvested the green leafy veggies: some of which were enjoyed in a salad for the Food and Tarot Circle last week. I love witnessing the life cycle unfold right before my eyes. Watching the Shakti community directly benefit from the garden upholds my belief in the power of mutuality: a cycle in which gratitude encourages generosity, and in turn, inspires reciprocity…
New Moon Practice
It is only the second week of May and I feel like I have already participated in a month of activities. Is anyone else having a similar experience? I suspect the busyness of the season is due in large part to May being the end of the academic year. Whether or not you have a school-age child, you probably know someone who does or you work in a school system. Either way, you may be swept up in end-of-the-school-year commitments and celebrations. (I have already attended one graduation. Shout out to my nephew, Jackson, for earning his Masters in Sport Science and Coach Education.)
I also suspect this month feels busy because we are…