Speak with kindness

Thank you to Caitlin for this beautiful Sufi quote…
Before you speak let your words pass through three gates.
At the first gate ask yourself, “Is it true?”
At the second gate ask, “Is it necessary?”
And at the third gate ask, “Is it kind?”

Read Full Post »

Out of my comfort zone

Yesterday I spent the day at a workshop with the mystic and founder of the Institute of Sacred Activism, Andrew Harvey...he is mesmerising, confronting, funny and demanding… Initially I was lulled into thinking it was an interesting workshop (his language is colourful and his voice soothing) but had heard much of it before in different guises… he spoke of humility and trust… wisdom and freedom… and provided simple practices to develop and strengthen our spiritual practices…and then he managed to punch us collectively right between the eyes… the gentleness of the morning replaced by what he calls the wisdom of the serpent which is effectively profound shadow work. Now I do love work with the shadow because I believe so deeply this is where the magic happens and of course this where we constantly stumble and struggle… WOW …but he takes no prisoners… he stands unashamedly in his truth… so by the end of the afternoon myself and I think my fellow participants felt battle-weary and certainly for me this rising anxiety about my own shadow and the shadow of the wider world… huge stuff for a Saturday… He is truly extraordinary… if only to shake you off your perch.

Read Full Post »

Purpose is not a straight line

I have been walking a lot recently and listening to podcasts from astronomy to creativity as I step out… yesterday I listened to a Bluegrass singer, Abigail Washburn… aside from an astonishing and haunting voice, her story had a deep resonance for me… that your purpose doesn’t always have a linear progression and you have to trust that the “how” of what you feel deeply passionate about, will show up in unlikely or unimagined ways… so for me I know I want to work with women and leadership and incorporate mental agility and emotional awareness and soulfulness and of course the power of physical presence… but I endlessly wrestle with trying to squash this into a linear format that I am not sure serves my purpose best… so back to her story… she was intent on making a difference to Sino-US relations by moving to China and becoming a lawyer… fate intervened and she ended up at a Bluegrass festival with banjo in hand… was discovered by a Nashville scout and has been a beautiful Bluegrass singer since and travels the world… the twist is she sings not only in English but also in Mandarin using a genre that is so specifically American… and travels to places like China and brings her gift and of course her purpose about making a positive difference to Chinese/American relations… only the “how’ comes through music and not law… much more heartfelt and yet the purpose is so beautifully served…

Read Full Post »

Boot&Soul Camp… come join us

Boot&Soul Camp is on again at the end of June… We are hoping to get a fabulous group of women together…Interested in joining us…pick up a brochure on the website

Read Full Post »

Proud of NZ

Watching the hideous footage of the Boston marathon and then the debacle with the gun debate, there’s this rare moment when the news delivers something we can be proud of… NZ – congratulations on being the first country in the Asia Pacific area to legalise same-sex marriage… It’s worth watching what has been described as an “epic” speech by a member of NZ parliament, Maurice Williamson…

Read Full Post »

Boot&Soul Camp… number 3

Woohoo…we’re onto our third Boot&Soul Camp … Mel and I are very excited about our upcoming winter event at the end of June… Much easier to promote ourselves through the eyes of others… this from an attendee from last Boot&Soul camp: ” I doubt a weekend could have been more nourishing than Boot&Soul camp. It ticked every box. I left inspired and invigorated.” Let me know if you want more information or check out the brochure online.

Read Full Post »

And then there is someone who inspires you deeply.

Leymah Gbowee

Yesterday I attended “All About Women” at the Opera House – no huge shock that it was 95% women… happily loads of young women wanting to listen to the many fascinating conversations that were on offer… none better than the extraordinary Leymah Gbowee, the Nobel prize winner from Liberia… Magnificent in many ways this woman set up the “Women of Liberia Mass Action for Peace” by working at grassroots level with women and children with calls to action like: “We are tired! We are tired of our children being killed! We are tired of being raped! Women, wake up – you have a voice in the peace process!” Their work eventually ending the 14-year bloody war that had strangled Liberia and electing the first female President in Africa, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf… Leymah Gbowee is mesmerising – authentic, funny, clever and passionate… I loved her response about fearless leaders – no leader is fearless she said, they just have the courage to dismiss the fear and continue with what they are passionate about… a lesson for all of us.

Read Full Post »

An Inspiring Night

A friend is the CEO of the Funding Network… It’s a new way of looking at philanthropy and supporting innovative social change projects… It’s based on the premise that we do many things together, but we don’t donate and celebrate together and philanthropy is not limited to the wealthy but that for as little as $100 each of us can make a significant difference…Last night she launched their first event in Australia – what an amazing achievement… about 150 people listening to the stories of 4 compelling projects that are making a tangible and meaningful difference – each of the projects got 6 minutes to pitch and the we got 6 minutes to ask questions…The aim to raise 10K for each of the 4 projects… My favourite and the one I supported was Food Within: Wings 2 Carry U…simple concept: allowing families to be able to pay what they can afford for healthy food… the founder built the social enterprise based on the challenges her family had faced when they were unable to feed themselves… Well done Lisa on an extremely successful launch and on raising more than 20K for each of these extraordinary grassroots programs!

Read Full Post »

exploring an idea

have you ever just felt an idea needs to be explored… in my case my intuitive sense is that the idea has enormous merit but at the moment feels a little uncontained and am trying to break my thinking into bite-sized chunks… there is this magnetic pull to at least review and take a look at the business implications. It matter less to me as to whether it comes to fruition and more about the research and the examination in a thoughtful and methodical manner… an invigorating change for me. Interestingly it involves technology and of course incorporates what I am passionate about – women and leadership and developing that holy grail of senior women in organisations… Any ideas on a what makes a compelling and stand-out business plan will be most welcome

Read Full Post »

A beautiful prayer

As a friend sat in synagogue on Saturday he found this prayer…for anyone who has wondered why they’ve picked a less than easy, simple path…
Once or twice in a lifetime,
a man or woman may choose
a radical leaving, having heard
Lech l’cha – Go forth.
God disturbs us toward our destiny
by hard events
and by freedom’s now urgent voice
which explode and confirm who we are.
We don’t like leaving,
but God loves becoming.

Read Full Post »