APPRECIATION

The best way I know to show my appreciation is to express gratitude. As I say it OUT LOUD and share it, my attitude of gratitude grows. As I express my gratitude more often, I find more things in my life to appreciate.

This weekend was an OMazing series of events - one even better than the next and for that, I am truly grateful.   

ThaHAhank you Universe for naps with my meows, walks with GingerMama, green juices, starfruit juices, chalk art festivals, nieces and nephews, people watching, hats that protect our heads from the hot sun, lemonade in pint containers, free parking.

ThaHAhank you Universe for dates nights with LoverBoy, raw pasta, last minute decisions, Cirque du Soleil, amazingly fit bodies, fabulous music, great scenery, superb outfits, inspiration to make my body stronger.

ThaHAhank you Universe for our weekly jaunt to Glaser Farms for yummy raw salads and treats and organic produce, our drive to Coconut Grove, traffic and the opportunity to be patient and make an adventure of it, new neighborhoods, fabulous painted houses and time  in the car with LoverBoy.

ThaHAhank you Universe for a radio in the car, all of our favorite songs playing, singing together in haHAharmony and off-key, my SUV with a sunroof, a man who loves to drive, and five lane freeways.

ThaHAhank you Universe for my friends, emails full of yummy videos to INspire me and for me to shaHAhare, books from the library, my trusted computer that creates fabulous movies and word content for me, my home office, the white roses on my desk, my markers and my stickers.

ThaHAhank you Universe for the delicious weather, the sun, the wind blowing, the cloud cover, the sunrises and sunsets, the Full Moon rising, and the stars that bless our skies.

I am a lucky girl - I am I am. 

Connection

I love to dance. I find great joy in moving my body to the sound of a beat.

Music moves my soul which in turn makes my body shake and vibrate and turns off my mind.  It's a powerful meditation.

I needed a place to dance, since nightclubs are not my scene and weddings and celebrations are far and few in between.  I created and organized FlashMobs-Miami meetup.

What is a Flashmob, you ask?

It's when a group of people connect for a social event in a public place and then disperse.  In our case, we learn choreography to songs, we meet in public places, we dance together and then we disappear.  What happens is it brings great joy to the dancers as well as the observers who are totally surprised and mesmerized as it occurs.

This week, our Flashmob was part of a movement called One Billion Rising - we came together to dance as our way to raise awareness and stop the violence against women.  As the weather shifted on Valentine's Day, a courageous group of 35 people came together to rehearse and Rise.  We danced and laughed and marched.  In the pouring rain we danced - not once but twice.  As these OMazing people danced, I could feel the joy in my heart bubbling over.  Their excitement and enthusiasm was contagious and heartfelt.

There's something about dancing and flashing that makes you feel euphoric and connected to others who have the daring and chutzpah to show up and dance.  We danced for the Cause and just BEcause. We danced as others all over the world were doing the same - being connected to strangers who are all part of the same tribe.

OMazing!!!

A great big thaHAhank you to the pleasure revolutionaries who danced in the rain and did it again.  A great big thaHAhank you to the members of my tribe who connected with my heart by allowing their souls to dance and moving their bodies to the rhythm of mine.  ThaHAhank you for our connection.  

I celebrate you and me and WE. 

ACTION for Healing

SisterGoddess Jessica and ME

I met this woman a few months ago at a women's circle.  

She sat there with a baby in her arms and her mother by her side.  Her magnetism (high enerchi) and big eyes radiated peace.  As she shared her story, I felt something inside me breaking and softening.  I was so intrigued by this young woman - a SisterGoddess who is healing herself holistically from breast cancer.  

At the end of our meeting, I went right over to her and made her baby smile and laugh.  I met this brave and courageous soul and her Mom and invited them to join me for Laughter Yoga.  I was so OMazed by her strength of spirit.  She shared her yummy delicious kelp noodle salad with me.  She had my heart forever.

And then she came to Thursday night Laughter Yoga.  She brought her two boys (ages 4 and 9) and an 8 month GIRL (Goddess In Real Life) Mia - she brought her family to laugh.  As we gibberished, GIRL Mia listened - understanding and marveling that we were talking her language.  And when we raised our immune systems with our finger dancing, her fingers were dancing too.   I am so inspired by SisterGoddess Jessica, as a woman, a mother, and a human bean -that I needed to share her with my HAHA community and help her in any way we can.

This is her story:  This Aquarius Goddess who just turned 36, was diagnosed with breast cancer in May, 2011.   At the time she was working two jobs and a Mom of two young boys, her health was deteriorating rapidly.  With no health insurance and confirmation a week before that she was pregnant, life got very hectic for SisterGoddess Jessica.   

The lump started growing and became painful.  Her husband got a new job with health insurance and her first ultrasound showed 3 masses in her breast.  A needle biopsy confirmed she was Stage 4. 

Scared and unsure, with doctors advising chemotherapy and radical masectomy (removal of whole breast and lymph nodes), this Goddess did the only thing she could do - think of the baby growing inside of her and look for another way to deal with what life handed her.

She was already a vegan and aware of raw foods.  She turned to her family and they pitched in to help.  A tour of the Hippocrates Health Institute in West Palm Beach gave her a wave of peace and knowing and she canceled her breast surgery. She stayed at Hippocrates for 3 weeks - making OMazing friendships with women, meditating, attending group therapy to remind her of the self love she needed and how to make herself a priority again.   She also learned to grow her own sprouts and wheatgrass.

As her diet changed, she lost weight and the inflammation in her breast went away.  The last ultrasound before the birth of the baby showed that the lump was shifting and turning - the tumor was at 5 cm.

Due to her raw food diet, she gained no weight during her pregnancy.  Right at the end, for the baby, she added some cooked foods and gained a little weight.  She had a successful home birth and Mia was born completely healthy.

1 month after baby Mia was born, another ultrasound showed that the tumor in her breast and lymph nodes had changed shape and reduced in size.  

SisterGoddess Jessica has not succumbed to the pressures of our society for conventional treatment of her breast cancer.  She cannot as she is still breastfeeding Mia.

So she researches and tries new methods - a blood and urine analysis for cancer profile, laughter yoga, more raw foods.

She is about to stop breastfeeding and do more to obliterate this cancer from her life.  She is ready to share what has worked for her and what research and remedies she has found to date.

She needs help to do so. - help to continue treatment, help to take some time off and write and rest and relax so she can best take care of her beautiful family.

I call you to ACT this week and help SisterGoddess Jessica.  You can do so by clicking HERE and helping in any way you can so this remarkable woman can heal herself and help other women find alternative ways to deal with breast cancer.

Let's help her in any way we can

One Million Acts of Kindness

When I woke up this week and looked out my front window I had a pleasant surprise - one that made my heart sing. Bogart in the driver's seat and hundreds of messages of Peace & Love. This is the Kindness Bus and it's been rolling around Hollywood, Florida this week.

Dog God Bogart at the front seat and his friend Bob drive from city to city with a message of kindness and peace.  Since mid-October 2012 and beginning in New York City, Bob and Bogart have been riding the Kindness Bus around the perimeter of the United States. A 9,000 mile ride of one year duration will end in New York City in October 2013.  Bob and Bogart  visit schools, addressing school bullying, cyber bullying and adolescent suicide. 

Bob and Bogart live on this bus - their intention to save kids lives - to raise awareness and make this world just a wee bit happier and safer for children and women.  Their campaign - ONE MILLION ACTS OF KINDNESS

I met Bob and Bogart a few months ago when they first parked their bus on my swale under our palm trees and nested for the evening.  The next morning I woke up with GingerMama and ZekoMeow and we circled the bus, sniffing and smelling all the miles it had come from and reading all the beautiful messages of love.

 In fact, I made a movie so you can see what we saw too:

 Bob and Bogart are able to do this ride across the United States spreading the word of KINDNESS by donations.  Every penny counts in getting this message across.  Check them out here and give a little or give a lot.  Keep the Kindness bus rolling.