Buddha Chick™ ~ Update!

Today I am happy to announce the names of the 5 women who will be special guests in the upcoming Buddha Chick™10 week course.

If you missed the announcement for the course which begins September 27 and goes through Dec. 5, click here to read all about it. 

Each one has a very special message for us about living as our most calm, clear, and wise self. Each will have her own podcast during the course. Drum-roll please!


Daphne Rose Kingma ...
is an undisputed expert on matters of the heart. She is the author of 12 books related to love and relationships, including: The Future of Love: The Power of Soul in Intimate Relationships; Finding True Love; and the classic on the  journey of ending a relationship, Coming Apart. Her newest book is The 10 Things to Do When Your Life Falls Apart: An Emotional and Spiritual Handbook. Daphne has been a six-time guest on "Oprah." She lives in Santa Barbara, CA.

Her topic? What to do when your life falls apart, including the importance of paying attention ("Listen up!"), the use of spiritual practices, having a relationship with beauty, living simply, and gratitude.

Sue Patton Thoele ...

is a psychotherapist and the author of 12 books, including The Courage to Be Yourself, The Woman’s Book of Soul. Her newest books are The Mindful Woman: Gentle Practices for Restoring Calm, Finding Balance and Opening Your Heart and Excellent as You Are. Sue's motto and life work is based on the principle: "Live gently with yourself and others." She lives in Colorado. With her trademark humor, Sue has already nicknamed herself our Buddha Chick™ Crone. I love it!

Her topic? Living mindfully, with humor, when you are prone to overcommitment, obsessive worrying, resentment, or trying to solve the woes of the world.

Caroline Hobbs ...

has taught thousands of people to say "yes!" to life as it is, using the same three-step process she brings in Joy No Matter What, her first book. She is a licensed marriage and family therapist. She has taught at Naropa and Spirit Rock. She is also a Body-Centered Therapist; Psycho-Spiritual Therapist; Meditation Student for 30 years. She lives in Durango, CO.

Her topic? 
Working with strong emotions—including loneliness, grief, anger, fear, depression or shame—through her trademark three-step process—to access more joy.

Mari Gayatri Stein ...

is a meditation and yoga teacher, author, and whimsical artist whose work has delighted tens of thousands of readers in The Buddha Smiles and Unleashing Your Inner Dog: Your Best Friend's Guide to Life. She is the illustrator of Buddy's Candle by Bernie Siegel, MD. Her words and drawings give us permission to be happy without conditions or judgment. They help us to be present, and take joy in the real world—here and now. She lives in Oregon. Mari is the official artist for Buddha Chick™.


Her Topic? Living with spaciousness and equanimity. Welcoming everything. Working with pain. Opening the heart.

Diana Lang ...
Diana Lang is a spiritual teacher and counselor who has been teaching meditation and yoga since 1980 and conducts seminars in the United States and internationally on meditation, body awareness, stress reduction, and relationship development. She is the author of Opening to Meditation: A Gentle Guided Approach. She lives in Los Angeles, CA. 

Her topic? 
Living with "One Heart," living our love in the world. 

Isn't this an amazing line up of the chickiest, wisest women ever?

Stay tuned to this site and your e-mail (if you are a member of my preferred mailing list) for the BIG ANNOUNCEMENT, Thursday, Sept. 9:

Another drum-roll please! 

The price and registration dates for Buddha Chick™.

I think you are going to be very happy!

Our Beauty Lies Within, Even the Dalai Lama Says So

The past few days we have been having a dialogue about the sacredness of our physical selves—our bodies—and our struggles with that. The common thread that appears to run through each person's response here has been one of deep intention to mend the rift between body, mind, heart and soul; to heal any woundedness we may carry about our physical form. I bow to us all ... Thank you for your transparency.

This journey into our truest selves is one of self-acceptance and, in time, deep embrace. And just last night, as I sat down to thumb through the newest edition of Snow Lion, I came across His Holiness the Dalai Lama inviting us (as women) to do this very thing.

In an article entitled, "Dalai Lama Emphasizes Women's Role in Society," he said:

"Women have more compassion and can recognize the pain of other people more quickly and better than men. For this reason, women should be involved more often in important decisions and should hold important posts ..."

The article goes on to say that His Holiness showed little sympathy for an obsession with outward appearances:

  

"Whoever is at one with themselves, doesn't need to undergo operations to their physical features. Whoever is beautiful on the inside, exudes that and will automatically be beautiful for others." 

I like that. I like that a lot. Yep, The Dalai Lama, he's my guy. ;-)

Reminds me a bit of something actress Rosalind Russell said many years ago:

"Taking joy in living is a woman's best cosmetic."

I like that, too.

As always, I welcome your thoughts ...

And may you take joy in life this weekend ...

~~~~~

Weekend Book Giveaway!

Make a comment this weekend to win a copy of Your Truest Self  , as I am giving another one away. Remember, it's birthday time and I'm gifting books all month, so keep commenting!

Congratulations to Joy (She Who Basks) because she was randomly picked from all commentators on Wednesday's post to win a copy of Your Trust Self. Kudos, Joy!

And congratulations to Twila (Whimsical Mystic) who was selected by Mari Gayatri Stein to win a copy of her new CD, "Toward Wholeness." Cheers, Twila! Enjoy with our blessings.

(Photo of woman in mirror by Andrew Crowley for www.telegraph.co.uk.
Photo of HH Dalai Lama courtesy of www.dalailama.com)

Hanging On and Letting Go: Some Wise Advice from a Whimsical Guest

Please welcome my dear friend, Mari Gayatri Stein. She's a remarkable human being—full of love, light, and laughter. Always laughter!

I "met" Mari when my husband and I were publishing Healing Garden Journal. I was looking for a cartoonist, someone who could lend a bit of whimsy to our life journeys. Since she lived in Oregon, we corresponded by e-mail. Her first e-mails were hysterical. They were full of loving "woofs" and "wags." And between the doggie language, were huge waves of love sent through the ethers. She certainly piqued my curiosity. I later learned Mari was a "dog person," at one point mommying 6 border collies.

Until Mari, I'd never experienced love through the airwaves. How was it even possible that words, heartfully penned in an e-mail, could blast open your heart? Well, it did mine. She modeled for me how to live with unconditional friendliness, openheartedness, and spaciousness—so there is room in your heart for everyone.

Mari is one of the "Holy Women" featured in Your Truest Self. She became a powerful mentor for me and many others. She represents the twelfth Transformational Truth: "I Open My Heart and Celebrate Our Oneness." I am honored to have her here with me today. I hope you enjoy this short story she's penned about hanging on and letting go ... And enjoy her drawings, too!

Be sure to make a comment, as there is a CD Giveaway happenin' here! See details below.

A HAPPY ENDING

Yesterday, while I was swimming my daily laps in the warm delicious water, I spotted a butterfly floating and flapping in my path. My heart picked up speed as I slowed my approach. I watched this magical creature glimmering yellow against the aqua liquid. With the attention of someone preparing to defuse a bomb, I cupped my hands and ever so gently managed to lift her up without damaging her wings. (I’ve tried this in the past only to end up dunking the fragile little being.) Tenderly and in slow motion, I set the tremulous body on the brown tile at the pool’s edge. (Fortunately, we were on the shallow end.) Perilously she perched there, her gauzy lemon-colored wings looked ephemeral against the brick tile. One mindless deep breath and she would tumble back into the drink. A breeze or a bird fluttering by innocently would bring her gossamery demise.

Time was suspended. I stood still, barely breathing. My lower body was ensconced in the warm womb of water; my shoulders shuddered in the thin spring sunlight. I positioned my hands underneath her. If she fell, I would be poised for the rescue, but this time I would deposit her further from danger — maybe on a bamboo leaf or a blade of zebra grass where her quivering wings would be fully exposed to the healing air. I considered trying to ease her up a little higher to stabilize her position, but knew that interference would not be to her advantage. Her wing might tear as a result of my good intentions. I have learned that trying to help is only beneficial when right effort is balanced with discrimination, patience and wise restraint, however awkward it may feel at the time. So I just stood there watching her hang on for life, while she fluttered her papery wings so subtly they seemed to brush the air with kisses. I shifted my feet and shivered but held the safety net of my hands steady.

Ten minutes passed, and again I had to resist the urge to reposition her, this time with the use of a dry bamboo leaf I spied within grasp. A short debate, and I decided in this case, less was more. I would leave it to nature. So with a pang of guilt, I resumed my laps, moving away from her before immersing.

On my return, I reluctantly lifted my head to see if she was back in the water or had flown away. I surveyed the water’s surface, submerged to my eyeballs like a crocodile to improve my line of vision. No lemon-colored wings in sight. She was free. Hurrah! A little victory bien sur. A warm swell of satisfaction flowed through me as I cut across the water picking up speed and kicking with abandon.
I was thinking: Even though letting go is the flavor of the month and the fashionable thing to do, sometimes in order to survive, we just have to hang on. The trick is to hang on while you let your wings delicately flutter and caress the breeze. Another reminder that I must continue to commit to life on a daily basis, and at the same time be secure enough in my faith to ease my grip, again and again.


Mari and I welcome your thoughts ...


Make a comment on today's post and you will be entered into a drawing to win her new CD, "Toward Wholeness." 60-minutes of guided meditation, relaxation tecniques, breathing exercises, positive energy, serene music. Read a review by Yoga Journal. 

Learn more about Mari at gypsydogpress.com. 

Mari Gayatri Stein's insightful words and drawings have delighted readers for over twenty years. Her whimsical illustrations and articles have been published in numerous collaborative book efforts, magazines, newspapers and journals. Seven of her highly acclaimed books were both written and illustrated by Mari. Her latest books, Unleashing Your Inner Dog: Your Best Friend's Guide to Life and The Buddha Smiles are stories about love, spirit and heart, doused with humor, irony and hope. Most recently she provided the illustrations for the children's book, Buddy's Candle, written by Dr. Bernie Siegel. Mari lives with her husband and their two canine companions on an organic farm and bamboo sanctuary in southern Oregon. She has a new line of whimsical greeting cards from Gypsy Dog Press and is currently working on a mystical memoir. Look for her new children's book Puddle Moon, soon to be released.