2010: On Births, Deaths and Brilliance

As I witnessed the death of my pool pump today, I couldn’t help but reflect on 2010: the year of births and deaths.  Truly, a year with such magnificence, aliveness, heartache and brilliance deserves a year-end reflection to bookmark it.

My dear friend and business partner, Laura Pitari, and I kicked off 2010 at a party that would truly set the tone for the year: a year to be remembered (for better or worse).  As I gazed around the Chateau Marmont and partied with people like Tom Cruise, I had to ponder…How does a girl from the bluegrass of Kentucky wind up surrounded by actors at a Golden Globes party sponsored by Dom Perignon?  It certainly was a surreal experience, and I am grateful for the memory.

Women in Black, New York City 2010

From February to June, I would mostly sit by my Mother’s bedside as I watched her suffer and die from Stage IV cancer that had spread from her lungs to her brain and everywhere else.  While this experience was easily the most heart-wrenching one of my life, it was also the most meaningful, if not, beautiful. As I sat holding her hand the moment she died on Wednesday, June 2 at 4:20 a.m. (9 days before my 40th birthday), I came to understand the importance of two things: presence and moments.  Being present with someone, I mean truly present as in giving him or her your undivided attention, is a gift. During that last night with my Mom, each moment became precious, full, an eternity. We take so much for granted in life. Each individual breath is a gift. And we are rarely even aware of our breath—let alone the plethora of blessings and miracles that surround us everyday.

With every death comes a new beginning.  This year, my friend Ann Marie, gave birth to a sweet son, Luc, whose name means “light.”  And a publishing company was born in 2010.  I am full of gratitude to be part of a powerful new Santa Barbara-based publishing company, Publishing by the Seas, Inc. who publishes the works of people making a difference in our world.  A country was also born this year: The island of Curacao became an independent nation.

Another new beginning: my 53-year old brother got married to his high school sweetheart.  This gives me hope and inspiration that anything is possible. It reminds me of a quote from Saint Teresa of Avila that my friend Sarah keeps on her kitchen counter…Love is always stirring and thinking about what it will do. It cannot contain itself…

Patricia Selbert's novel, The House of Six Doors

 

As Laura, Lisa, and I were in the trenches of running our PR firm, LightBox, with offices in Los Angeles and Scottsdale, we got to experience The Oprah Effect, when one of our clients, DOCS (Doctors Offering Charitable Services), wound up on The Oprah Winfrey Show. This was yet another of those defining moments that brings out the best and worst in each of us.

The highest highs and lowest lows are all the same – moments — fleeting moments to be savored and then released.  In Buddhism, it’s called “suchness.” Moments are just moments, or energy flowing…this is the true nature of reality.  It’s our human perception that clouds experience and deems these moments as good or bad and tries to hold onto them, attach to them, accumulate them.  My friend, Marty, quotes one of his wise teachers who said, “It’s all energy, movement. We just think we have something to do with it.” Life is certainly good when we go with the flow and do not tamper with what emerges.

My affinity for Santa Barbara kept pulling me back, and we were blessed to spend the summer there at Nancy and Isaac’s lovely abode. Daniel does so love the Santa Barbara Zoo Camp!  And Mommy loves the Goleta beach, hikes to Inspiration Point, Saturday morning farmer’s markets, Central Coast wine and olive oil. (Okay and Jill Frandsen’s flower essences, and Lazy Acres and Nancy’s salmon, Butterfly Park and San Ysidro Ranch…)

My dear friend and meditation instructor, Sarah McLean, starred in her first movie, Tapping the Source, this Fall. And I was most honored and grateful to be able to attend the premiere with her and Marty in Los Angeles.   Sarah has been a true teacher and mentor in my life.  I highly recommend her work to anyone who is looking to experience brilliance and personal transformation: sedonameditation.com.

Sarah and Jeanna, Tapping the Source Premiere

And Q4 brought me an amazing opportunity to work for an exceptional firm whose talent, knowledge and reach I have yet to fully comprehend. As I embark on my latest adventure of marketing for a (as one of our clients put it), “world class and cutting edge technology consultant,” I could not be more grateful. While on the surface, The Sextant Group, Inc. is an innovative technology firm, the depth and soul of their people is awe-inspiring. As I have always said, anyone can do good business; but it’s the heart and soul of the people that make a company truly extraordinary.  And this group has it all figured out: thesextantgroup.com.

I was blessed to spend a week in Sedona at the Enchantment Resort for Deepak Chopra’s Seduction of Spirit course.  This is one of the utterly cool parts of getting my yoga certification.  I get to attend these courses that are so personally transforming.

Looking ahead to the new year, my friend and client, Patricia Selbert’s, amazing book, The House of Six Doors, launches February 22 in Santa Barbara. Inspired by her incredible life’s journey, the book has gotten fabulous early reviews and has already caught the attention of the BBC and MORE Magazine.  I am truly honored to be a part of this amazing team of esteemed professionals and friends.  Check it out here: http://thehouseofsixdoors.com/.

Dhargya, The Incredible Tibetan Monk

And three more people (and things) I just love and have to share before the year ends.  For those of you into energy healing, I highly recommend my new favorite energy healer.  Check him out.  John of God has nothing on this Tibetan monk: http://www.buddhawalk.net/.  And Deepak Chopra’s new book is out this week.  It is based on the leadership course he teaches at Kellogg School of Management called The Soul of Leadership.  Get it here: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/030740806X/deepakchcom07-20.  And finally, I give many kudos and thanks to the most amazing photographer on the planet.  His work inspires me to be a better person and learn more about ways we can all help save our planet: isaachernandez.com.

All in all, 2010 was a brilliant journey.  The end of many dear people and things and the beginning of even more.  The cycle of life.  I leave you with a quote from my friend Isaac’s Facebook page: In the end, only three things matter: how fully you have lived, how deeply you have loved, and how well you have learned to let go of the things not meant for you. ~Buddhist proverb.

Here’s to a new year full of spectacular moments.  My wish is for wellbeing, peace, joy and love for all of us.

Deepak Chopra’s Seduction of Spirit Retreat: Journey to Well being

Deepak Chopra and Patrick Flannagan

What do you get when you put 350 of your closest meditating friends in an awe-inspiring setting called The Enchantment Resort in Sedona? Add in daily hikes and outdoor yoga sessions amidst the majestic red rocks and wise teachings by Deepak Chopra. The Chopra Center calls this “Seduction of Spirit,” one of their signature meditation retreats. I had the privilege of attending this spiritual retreat a couple of weeks ago and found the experience to be renewing and simply divine.

We started each day with a sunrise group meditation followed by a yoga session or hike through Boynton Canyon. The days activities included instruction by Deepak Chopra on the Spiritual Laws of Success. Each day’s lunch was Ayurvedic. We’d wind the day down with another yoga session or hike and then the evening finished with optional activities or time to process it all.

I was doubly blessed because I also got to spend some of the week with my favorite meditation instructor, Sarah McLean, and her husband Marty.  They are my true teachers and dear friends.  In addition, I was able to see Sarah’s friend Brent BecVar who is an incredible Vedic astrologer who I adore and highly recommend.  Here are their sites: http://sedonameditation.com/ and http://www.brentbecvar.com/.

The key points I took away from the week, which I have affectionately been calling “The Journey to Well being” include:

1. Meditation and yoga are valuable tools for quieting the mind. And once your mind is quiet, creativity arises (among other things such as innate wisdom about your life).
2. Ayurveda, the Science of Life, as it’s called in India, is a practical and insightful tool for living a better life.
3. Awareness, presence and consciousness (Iiving in the present moment) are portals to magical events, serendipity, synchronicity and the perfect unfolding of life.
4. Nature is healing.
5. Deepak Chopra is a physician and an instrument who is conveying ancient Vedic Wisdom.  (And we love him because he is really a sweet, Kapha Grandfather:)

As we all get busy with our everyday lives, we forget that simple shifts can help us realign with the source of our being. Taking time to meditate or spend in nature allows us to simply be and enjoy our nature as human beings not human do-ings.  The more we align with our true nature, the more we experience well being or bliss, our real selves.

Here’s to our Journey to Well being.  May we all choose bliss.

We’re in Travel + Leisure!

Check out writer Caroline Kinneberg’s latest story in Travel + Leisure: http://www.travelandleisure.com/articles/americas-most-beautiful-coastal-views/1

Thank you Caroline for your mention of http://retreatsbythesea.com/!

How to Pitch a News Story: The Associated Press

People are always asking me how to pitch a story to the press. Should they send press releases, pitches, books, marketing materials? Through the years, my reporter friends have taught me to ask two simple questions: 1) What’s the story? 2) Is it newsworthy?

Here is the Associated Press planning editor Jon Resnick and Associated Press Editor Donna Cassata on how to pitch a news story:

New Book Launching February 2011

It’s been a lovely last few weeks here in Santa Barbara.  The scenery is beautiful (think abundant flora and fauna), the farmer’s markets are to die for and my four-year old son is in summer camp at The Santa Barbara Zoo.  And the beaches…ahhh, it’s been such a treat to be here.  And to top it off, I am working on a most inspiring project which of course makes it all worthwhile.

In February 2011, Publishing by the Seas will launch The House of Six Doors, a fascinating novel by Patricia Selbert.  Check out the web site at: http://thehouseofsixdoors.com/.  I am so excited for this book to hit the shelves.  More on this later.  I will just give you a sneak peak of the book cover.  Let’s just say that Curacao will be your next vacation destination, and Patricia Selbert will be one author you’ll want to follow for years to come.  With a generous spirit and heart of gold, Patricia’s work will inspire and delight you.

The House of Six Doors

Daily OM – July 15, 2010

I love today’s Daily OM.  It really resonates with me!
To Rise Above
Achieving a High Vibration

We reach a high vibrational level when we are whole, healthy, and fulfilling our potential.

All matter is made up of energy, and that energy is in motion continually. Everything in the universe, from the smallest molecules to the most complex living beings, has an optimal rate of vibration to keep it healthy. We reach this high vibrational level when we are whole, healthy, and fulfilling our potential. Human beings are able to consciously control these vibrations within themselves using a variety of techniques. We know when we have reached a high vibrational state because we feel good and can sense that we are aligned with all that is. We find we are capable of healing and have good intuition and perception that are a result of our resonating closer and closer to our ideal frequencies.

Thoughts, emotions, intentions, choices, and actions contribute to our vibrational state, as do the environments we inhabit. Affirmative activities that leave us feeling joyous, appreciative, loving, and peaceful raise our vibration. Constructive, creative, and expansive thoughts do the same. When we cultivate habits that contribute to our physical health and strength, our vibration is likewise raised. Certain mantra meditations, breathing exercises, and chants are designed to increase vibration. But simply practicing gratitude and forgiveness, surrounding ourselves with loving high-vibration people, eating whole foods, and spending time in nature can also help us transcend our current vibrational limitations.

When your desire for change is strong enough, you will find yourself gravitating toward what can help you achieve and maintain a high vibrational state. A positive outlook will then become the most important tool you possess, and this outlook will sustain you when the path leading toward transformation is wide and winding. As you evolve, your vibrational frequency will also evolve, aiding you in the creation of an even higher reality. Consciously and unconsciously, you will attract auspicious circumstances and positive people that will help you continue exploring the scope of your higher self until you move beyond the earthly plane.

Learn to Meditate This Weekend!

Check out the fabulous meditation events in Phoenix this weekend: http://www.sedonameditation.com/06.html

Yoga of Writing Retreat

Check out my friend, Sarah McLean’s upcoming Yoga of Writing Retreat: http://www.pitchengine.com/zelincomm/yoga-of-writing-retreat-makes-portland-debut/75226/

Gulf Oil Spill Clean-Up Solution?

My friend, Nancy Black’s friend, says their company, Ecomerit, has a solution for the Gulf Oil Spill.  Here it is and please let me know what you think!

The Thermal Taming Chamber designed by deep sea current, wind and wave  energy company Ecomerit

First published in El Mundo, Thursday, June 16, 2010

When Jim Dehlsen, chairman of Ecomerit Technologies, heard about the explosion of the Deepwater Horizon in the Gulf, he set his top engineers to dedicate themselves to a plan to avoid a huge scale disaster. In less than a month, the wind and wave turbine development company had a solution on paper (see an animated version here). Once approved, the invention, baptized as a Thermal Taming Chamber (TTC), would intend to have construction completed before August, when the relief wells are scheduled to be delivered.

The system would capture oil and natural gas by means of a containment chamber to drive the crude up a flexible tube around ten feet in diameter, with propulsors and a heating element in each joining segment of the conduit.

The TTC is relatively simple, utilizing a Venturi tube, a constricted cylinder. This tube causes an increase in the velocity of the flow of a fluid and a corresponding decrease in the liquid pressure that is used to create suction, as in a vacuum pump.

The Venturi is used together with a high-powered heating element, and with the injection of hot water and methanol, to prevent the formation of hydrates that freeze the system, which was the main challenge with the other systems used previously.

The containment chamber lowers first to 500 feet above the sea floor, to avoid the turbulence of the gusher. From there, it lowers a tripod of legs surrounding the hole, thanks to onboard jet propulsors that direct them with precision, aided by remotely-operated vehicles (ROVs).

“We send down a chamber with a Venturi inside, which goes down over the leak that’s releasing oil and natural gas, and it injects methanol, which acts as antifreeze,” explains Dehlsen. “At this depth, the water’s very cold. The natural gas has an underground pressure of 10,000 pounds, until it reaches the ocean floor, which is 2000 pounds; this makes it expand rapidly, freeing energy and causing a great cooling effect. For this we inject heated water and methanol, before lowering the inner proboscis with a five-megawatt heating element.”

As it comes out the natural gas changes from being almost liquid to gas. The Venturi directs bubbles of gas vertically to the chamber and later directly to the surface, by means of the conduit. With those bubbles the crude also rises, now in an organized manner, rather than chaotically.”

The process to organize the flow is slow, but necessary. Once this column of bubbles and crude has been created, a cylindrical curtain slowly lowers in three stages from the chamber to the sea floor as a barrier to keep water out, which reduces the quantity of water such that it’s easier to separate the oil from natural gas and water at the surface.

“It works by a natural convection of bubbles pushing the oil to the surface, where the natural gas recovered is used to generate the energy to feed the heating elements,” explains Dehlsen.

The heavily-credentialled Ecomerit team, already recipients of grant awards from the US Department of Energy for wave and undersea current energy projects, gets advice from Dr. Ira Leifer, a researcher at the University of California Santa Barbara’s Marine Institute and specialist in bubble dynamics. He also forms part of the government committee to measure and analyze the spill. “This is the worst oil spill in history, by a large measure,” said Leifer.

Let’s see if their idea can begin to reduce the impact. Push it around to your circles to grow it as a possibility.

Finding the Deep River Within

In a fun twist of fate, I won a book on Sonja Haller’s blog: http://blog.sonjahaller.com/.  The book is Finding the Deep River Within by Abby Sexias.

First off, I love Sonja Haller’s work.  She writes about things that are important to me like: how to balance work, Motherhood and life, meditation, yoga, self-awareness, self-discovery, etc.  So it would figure that I would win a book on her blog (like attracts like…I was reading about stuff I liked so …).  You get the Law of Attraction picture.  And to further that end, I was at a spa at The Phoenician when the drawing actually occurred…conclusion: do what you love and good things will happen effortlessly.

Anyway, about the book.  I found Finding the Deep River Within to be a good read about how to get beyond the “busyness” of everyday life and into the deep, meaningful landscape that we all desire.  Abby’s style is warm and inviting.  She is comforting, real, down to earth, authentic.  And given that she’s a practicing psychotherapist whose worked miracles on working mothers up and down the Eastern Seaboard, she truly feels like an expert in life balance.

In particular, my favorite chapter was Chapter Eight: Practice Presence.  As I go about my everyday tasks and chores, this is what I aim for: to actually be doing what I am doing when I am doing it.  How many times are we multitasking and not really doing any (fully) of the activities in which we’re engaged?  We’re planning dinner while doing yoga.  Planning tomorrow’s workload while reading to our kids.  I find this mind-boggling that our brains can actually be involved in something as technical as reading a book yet clever enough to solve whole other problems simultaneously.

So check out Abby and her book: http://www.deepriverwithin.com/.  Here’s one of my favorite excerpts to peak your interest:

In order to slow down and experience life with more balance, depth and satisfaction, we need to address both the outer and inner dimensions of how we live.  The practice of presence addresses internal busyness, the constant stream of mental chatter that can fill even the most spacious times our calendar has to offer.  This habit of mental busyness effectively blocks us from the one place where we can experience life fully and deeply: the present moment.  It is in the here and now that life really happens: we engage with what matters, open to ourselves and others, experience joy.  All of these are also hallmarks of living with access to the waters of the Deep River.