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I was reading one of my astro forecast and it said my theme for this year is FREEDOM. Freedom is one of those words that can have so many connotations. As I read through the description it talked about it being my time to step up to the plate and fulfill my passion/destiny/purpose. It talked about how in past I have pushed to a point and then let it go because of uncertainty. The truth is, this is true. I have achieved things in my life but I have also limited myself by my own fears. I am now ready to push through that — particularly with the great support system I have in place (thank you) and having released many of my fears that have brought me to a place of knowing who I am, my worth and my purpose in life.

The releasing is still happening and I welcome that for I have held so many beliefs that did not serve me well. I am loving myself and forgiving myself at the same time. I have shifted my paradigms around certain core beliefs and have developed new ones. I am so excited for this year.

Freedom for me means breaking the chains that have held me for so long: uncertainty to a place of knowing and certainty. Interestingly I have just completed a financial phase with my ex-husband. It was scary and daunting until I realized that the universe is telling me I no longer need him and I can do this on my own. I know I can do it! I am ready for it. I am nearly finished my book and starting to think of different programs that I can implement along with the handbook for the youth.

I feel free from the trappings of what I thought I needed – the material things. I still love to travel, eat well and live well however I do not need to have a certain brand names to feel good about myself.

You can take a look at your astro forecast if you choose:
Yearly Astro Predictions for 2012

As we are just beginning 2012, take time to sit down and decide what kind of life you want to live. Is there something or someone holding you back- is it you?? Set your intentions of what you want for this year. Keep in mind that the intentions are the larger picture. For example, you want to be healthier not just skinnier. With health comes a good weight but also good choices and action steps. Make your goals the action steps that bring you toward good health: eating better, drinking more water, sleeping better, more yoga (for some), more family time and downtime for yourself. This is the year you will love and honour yourself.

Start this weekend – begin to dream – set your intentions, write them down, read them aloud and let it go. Then decide what actions do you need to do to make the intentions come true. Take baby steps and enjoy the ride.

I want to wish everyone again a year full of laughter, joy, peace and calm; it all begins within.

All my love,

Sandra

Tags: 2012 astro forecast, living life on purpose, moving to 2012, Sarah-Jane Grace, setting intentions and goals, setting resolutions

As we leave 2011 and move towards 2012 there are a range of feelings out there. Some are fearful because they have been told the world is ending. Others welcome the move away from the Mayan calendar and Age of Capricorn towards the Age of Aquarias; a time of peace and calm.

Most cannot imagine this time of peace and calm when the world around us seems crazier than ever – uprisings, floods, unpredictable financial markets and more. All I can say is that we are in a time of clearing and cleansing. In order to build what you want you need to rid of what you do not want. We are ridding some things that have been ingrained for decades if not centuries. It is a time for being in the moment, being in gratitude and loving and honouring yourself.

In order to create the world we want, especially one of peace and calm, this must begin within. This year, 2012, I encourage you to create your intention to love and honour yourself in all ways; not from an ego place but a place of listening to your heart and acting from that place. You must first learn to be in peace and calm within before you can bring it to the world. If each of us came frome this place, we can change the world one person at a time.

Your intention for 2012 can sound something like:

I wake each day with gratitude for all the wonderful relationships in my life starting with myself. I listen to my heart and make decisions that are in my best interest and for my higher self. I am in peace and calm.

I want to wish everyone a happy and healthy New Year. May you find your inner greatness and follow this path, even if only in your mind to start. All dreams do come true; begin walking in the path of your truth and see the most wonderful things unfold.

All my love,

Sandra

This is a festive time with many celebrations going on. I want to wish everyone a happy and healthy holiday. May it be full of laughter, joy, and peace. It is a time to show love and be love. I want to share something that was sent to me about love:

Remember LOVE

Call moments of love to you by being the first to demonstrate LOVE through generous thoughts and actions.

Feel LOVE’s nature, feel its generosity, feel its grace touch you.

In the moments of love your heart is open to receive but also to demonstrate freely what love can bring to the lives of others. Choose to express love freely without holding it back, without needing it returned in a precise way.

LOVE IS the most powerful thing.

Namaste !

I have spent the last year facing and acknowledging my fears, letting them go and opening myself up to love – giving and receiving. These words remind me that sometimes I need to be the one to show love first even if it is not returned. This holiday give the gift of love, if even from a distance. Break those barriers… maybe you had a fight with a family member and are not talking – do you even remember what the fight was about? Can you forgive and move past this? If this is too hard to do physically, in the person’s presence, then find it in your heart to send love from your a distance: your heart to their heart — telepathically. Energy travels.

From my family to yours we want to wish people celebrating… a happy Chanukah, Merry Christmas, happy Kwanzaa and if I missed anything, that too!

Enjoy this time, be in the moment, go with the flow and slow down. Many of us are always in the doing stage… now is the time to BE.

All my love,

Sandra

Tags: happy chanukah, happy kwanzaa, how to enjoy the holidays, Merry Christmas

My bestfriend was over yesterday before she left for her winter vacation. We were talking and she said she received a call to attend an open-forum discussion that was happening the next night to discuss “specialty” schools with specific focuses like arts and sports. Her friend had called her because she was considering the sports school, Bill Crothers Secondary School, for her son plays high level tennis and she wants a school that will accommodate his schedule. She is not here but he told her what was going on.

These schools I am talking about are publicly funded and part of the York Region schools. Baythorn Junior school (up to grade which has an arts program-based school physically runs out of Baythorn Junior school, the regular public school. If you live in the area you attend the regular public school and for the arts program-based school you have to audition. Not everyone gets in. This is true for the sports school, Bill Crothers Secondary School. There are two streams, the regular high school program and the sports program.

It appears that some adults have come together because they are upset their children did not get into these programs and they do not feel it is fair. They also feel that the school is exclusive and does not include the other kids from the regular program. Let’s say this is not entirely the whole case for these parents of the kids that did not get in to their desired schools. There may be more to this. What concerns me is that they want to close down these “specialty” schools. I am astonished. I feel for the parent whose child did not get into a program however what are we teaching our children by shutting down the school where other kids benefit, learn and grow. Perhaps there needs to be a review of the entrance process or some changes to the system. Why close down the whole school?

Part of the problem for me, is that we have forgotten the benefit of failure – it’s almost taboo in our society. We don’t want to let our children fall, fail or get hurt. Why???? Failure is the only option to learning and growing. Why does failure have to be a bad thing. If you want something bad enough and perhaps you do not have what it takes to get into an exclusive program, is it not better to support our children by guiding them and teaching them how to look at their failure, what worked and what didn’t, and to make changes that will alter the outcome. Then encourage them to TRY AGAIN.

I know a man who wrote his LSAT 8 times because he desperately wanted to be a lawyer. His parents didn’t try and close all of the law schools across the country. Instead they encouraged him to go back and do his best until he got what he wanted.

After my friend relayed this information I turned to her and said, the irony is that it is these same baby boomer parents that complain that the young kids today are so entitled, lazy and don’t want to work hard for anything and expect everything. HUM, are these adults not part of the problem if not the whole problem?!

My son has failed to make certain teams that he wanted to play on and I hugged him and said next year if you want to try again we can make some changes in what you are doing and you can go for it again. Like a baby learning to walk, I will be the parent who stands beside him and when he falls I will help him up and encourage him to take those next few steps. If he decides to quit trying that will be his choice however I will remind him that not everything we want comes to us first try or in the way we desire. We need to stay open to the possibilities.

My son wants to go on scholarship for football to LSU, in the US. I don’t want to tell him that there are very few if at all, scholarships for Canadians to play football in the US. What I did tell him is that I will help him create a vision board and so he can lay his dream down on paper for him to see. I will also ask him to stay open to possibilities.

I hope you have a wonderful weekend. We all love our children and want the best for them. Rather than trying to fix everything let your child explore, learn, fall, fail and grow. There is nothing wrong with supporting them along the way.

Enjoy your weekend.

All my love,

Sandra

Tags: Bill Crothers Secondary School, Challenging the systems, failure, how to learn from failure, parents responsibility

I have taken on some pretty heavy topics in the last few weeks so today I want to lighten it up and shift the energy.

Today I want to focus on reconnecting. I received an email from someone who I haven’t really spoken to in a long time. He lives in New York and we developed a friendship after attending a workshop together many years ago. He helped me begin and launch my work on empowerment and for that I am grateful. He introduced me to some really wonderful people, who, as I connect my dots backwards, are playing a part in my forthcoming book for youth: So What’s Your Point, a youth handbook and tools for lifeskills, mentoring, guidance and more.

He sent me a note the other day to inform me of a mutual friend of ours who is struggling with breast cancer. She did not have coverage and decided to do her treatments in Mexico with specialized doctors. She called me when she returned to the US and we spoke for a bit. I am really glad she shared with me what she is going through so I can support her in any way that I can. When he sent me the note recently he was not aware that we had reconnected. He let me know she had been rushed to the hospital and now she is out. I will reach out to her.

I sat back when I got the email and thought about all the people in my life that I am reconnecting with. It has been weird for a while for people are popping back into my life, even if for only briefly to allow me to either look at that friendship and decide if I want to bring it back in or happy with where it is at. I been contacted by people who want to present business ideas, a friend from university days that I lost touch with, and yesterday I spoke to a woman who I was connected with out of California and I told her that I am putting her in my book as a reference to our work that was done. She was grateful.

It is the feeling I am getting while writing my book, that all the choices and decisions that I made over the last 14 years are coming forward as I connect the dots; All the courses I took, the workshops I led, the personal work and the people I have worked with for my own journey and growth, the books and articles I have read and articles I have written– all this is coming forward and somehow being brought into my work. As for the people I am reconnecting with, I am stepping back and just being in the moment. With the business opportunities that I am presented with, I feel good that these people see me as someone worthy of working with, MLM or traditional. With my friend from university she is going through a divorce and I am guiding her the best I can. I did tell her that this is her learning and journey and I can only guide her for she must do the work.

As we approach the holiday season to spend time with family and friends, think about who you may want to reconnect with. A friend of mine just lost her father to alzheimers after a 13 year battle with it. She said that her father’s best friend came up to her after the funeral and said he was upset that he didn’t get a chance to say goodbye. He was not told in the last two weeks prior to his friend’s death that something had changed. I hope that this man finds forgiveness for himself and can find his way to say goodbye. As for you, take time to think about who in your life would you like to reconnect with. I am not talking about the past boyfriend or girlfriend that in your mind you have created an illusion that you will see each other and everything will be the same. No, that is setting yourself up for failure. I hope that at this point in your life you are happy with your choices and if not than go within and see why YOU are not happy. I am talking about the frienships that were so strong at one point in your life and for some reason just dissolved for no apparent reason – maybe distance, maybe time. Connect. Use this time to reach out and say hi, sorry, how are you?, I missed you.

I went to a party last week to celebrate the birthday of this woman who turned 95 years old. She now lives in a retirement home and when she moved in she was unaware that one of her good friends from years past was living right across the hall from her. I spoke to the friend and she said, we reconnected like old friends as if no time had passed. I loved hearing that.

I want to wish everyone a wonderful weekend. Connect and reconnect.

All my love,

Sandra

Tags: friends, reaching out to people, reconnecting people

Some of you are interested in the affairs of the world and want to know what is going on and others just want to know what’s going on in their own lives. We all have issues and concerns to deal with. Sometimes, though, you need to become aware of things that are impacting you, maybe not readily seen today, however being seen and subtly impacting, more and more.

What I am referring to is the Kyoto Protocol. I can no longer sit back and watch the leaders (that’s what they call themselves) of the world behave like feet stamping children. At dinner the other night I was sitting with my older son, Isaac (turning 12 years old) and my boyfriend. I like to sit down and talk about our day, even if this lasts for only 15-20 minutes. Just prior to dinner I received a call from an irate friend who told me she is so angry that Canada may pull out of the Kyoto Protocol and take other countries with it. She goes on to say that no one cares about this earth and we always wait until a big catastrophe to respond. She is right. I said, rather than complaining to me DO something. Start a movement! She had to go and of course I am now feeling the remnants of this conversation. So when I sat at dinner and was talking to Isaac about life, school, I turned to him and said that I want you to know that you and Alec and all of your friends are inheriting a crappy earth from us. We are ruining your earth and not doing anything about it. I am not sure if you will have clean running water to drink, clean air to breathe, green land to grow food and so on. He asked me why? I explained a little about the Kyoto Protocol and all these countries came together to set targets to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. He did not look happy and said what can we do. I challenged him to send a petition around to his friends and have them pass it on to other friends, in other schools and begin reaching all the kids in Vaughan and York region. Together, I said, you can create a voice, let the “leaders” know you are mad and want change. So he did. Here is the petition that my son, Isaac, sent around to his friends. I too sent it to hundreds of people I know.

Isaac Finkelstein’s Petition:

THEY’RE RUINING OUR WORLD!!!

ok guys im starting a petition to save our world, starting with canada. did you know that canada is considering dropping out of the kyoto agreement and influencing other countries to do the same!! that’s the agreement to lower greenhouse emissions in the world and stop climate change. do you care? say we dont do anything about this, in less that a decade you will be seeing even more dramatic weather changes, example: floods/tsunamies that can wipe out cities and maybe even countries, frequent tornados/hurricanes. if you dont care no one will. we are the future voters and leaders of canada, but we can have a voice now. do we really want us and our families living in a destructive environment. i hope everybody else will care as much as i do. send this around to everyone you know and have them sign their first name and school or work. please dont comment unless you’re adding to the petition.

I received so many people who signed this petition and agree with him. I also received a call from a close friend, Mary, and her boyfriend, Gerry who brought to my attention that Canada has some concerns over the Kyoto Protocol and does not want to commit to the second leg, starting in 2012. I thanked them, for I do know there are always two sides. Isaac also sent this to his principal and she asked if he will join the eco team and put something together to present to them and then the school. Feeling a little bad because I have now committed my son to a new task, I said I will help him. Last night I spent 1 1/2 hours researching the Kyoto Protocol and read some of the more recent articles about this topic. When I was finished I was even more mad that the supposed leaders of this world are failing us, and our children.

I decided to take all of this new found knowledge and write a letter to my boys, Isaac and Alec, and let them know what exactly is going on. I hope this inspires them to lead and get others to lead in this fight to save their world.

Dear Isaac and Alec,

It is with sadness and anger that I write this letter to you to tell you that the leaders of Canada, both present and past, have let you down and failed you. In 1997, before I was even married, and you were born, Canada along with 36 other countries committed itself to being part of a group that agreed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions (GHG). This agreement is known as the Kyoto Protocol and was adopted in Dec. 1997, Kyotoy, Japan, implemented in Marrakesh in 2001 and entered into force on Feb. 16, 2005.

Canada agreed to reduce our GHG by 5% to bring us to 1990 levels. This would be done over a 5 year period between 2008 and 2012. All the countries at the time agreed that it was the developed countries, the HAVE countries (Canada, Japan, Europe, eastern Europe, New Zealand, Australia, Iceland and so on) that were bigger contributors and primarily responsible for the high levels of GHG. It is due to the result of 150 years of industrialized activity – mining, coal, gasoline and wood burning.

With everyone committing, the goal was to truly put our attention to global emission reduction.

In the Kyoto Protocol agreement they asked for each country, known as Parties, to be accountable and responsible. This would be done through various measures- every year Canada and the other countries had to register in an international log book their GHG levels, show we are meeting our commitments, show if we are helping other countries meet theirs, develop and create programs that would help reduce GHG in Canada and abroad, and of course, help those countries who are not as well equipped as us, to deal with the adverse effects of climate change – floods, tsunamis, hurricanes, and so on. They even put a fund together to help give money to these programs.

Sounds good so far, right. The first phase is to finish in 2012 and the countries are meeting once again in Durban, South Africa, to talk about the next leg of commitment. Well, how did we do in the first round?? I cannot speak for other countries, but what I can say about Canada is that we failed to meet our commitment. Not only have we not reduced our GHG, we have increased it by anywhere from 17% to 30% – (depending on what article I read). Climate change continues to be a huge problem. Of course, Canada is not the only one to fail, so many of the largest contributors of GHG, with the largest populations (US, Pakistan, Bangladesh, India and China) are doing nothing to prevent global warming and reduce their GHG and will not be part of the new accord.

Isaac and Alec, some people out there say that there is no science behind global warming and climate change. Here is the truth, the global temperature has been rising consistently at an alarming rate and as we’ve talked about there is more ice melting in the Arctic, more devastating weather catastrophes being seen around the world and it is predicted that the global temperature will rise more than 2% by the end of the century. At this point I will be dead and you will have your own families. What does this mean? Some scientists say this is a tipping point for climate and the planet will not reduce its temperature for perhaps another 1000 years. This increase in temperature is creating real problems in the Arctic. Not only is the ice melting, the ground is melting as well and shorelines are changing. Buildings and pipelines are sinking, trees are leaning at odd angels and animals and plants that have been frozen for 1000s of years are thawing out. The decay of this organic matter (you learned this in school!) is causing an increase in methane release – which is one of the six GHG we are trying to reduce.

Since Canada wasn’t going to meet its target of reducing GHG below 1990 levels, it then said it will reduce GHG to 2000 levels by 2020. How are we going to do this when we are considering pulling out of the Kyoto Protocol. Do we have another plan of action? I took a greater look into this. Why would Canada want to pull out of Kyoto? It turns out that in the Kyoto Protocol there are the Have/wealthier countries, like Canada, and the Have NOT/poorer countries. These are countries which they consider to be less developed and not as wealthy, sometimes called the emerging countries. This includes China, India, Brazil and Russia. Some of these countries are not in the original Kyoto agreement and today they need to be. Even the United States, our biggest trading partner, does not want to be part of it. These are countries with huge populations of over 100 million. Canada does not even come close. Canada’s leader tells the Kyoto Protocol that these countries are some of the biggest contributors to GHG, have the largest populations and are wealthy. China is today, one of the wealthiest countries in the world, also one of the largest. They have increased their GHG levels 180% since 1990 yet they refuse to be part of the Kyoto agreement because China says that it wants to see more of the developed countries, like Canada, act first and honour their commitment.

This is where I get angry. Isaac and Alec there are leaders who hold position of power and then there are those who lead and inspire us. What we have in this world right now is the leader of power, the one full of ego and manipulation and greed. These are NOT leaders who inspire us. These men and women, who say they represent the best interest of our people and country, sit there and like children point fingers, blame, take no accountability and responsibility. Rather than coming together, evaluating what part of the original Kyoto Protocol worked (if anything), how can they make changes and bring in the countries which were not part of the original agreement yet are some of the biggest contributors, to join hands and work together in a collaborative way to make this world cleaner, healthier and safer for our children and their children, instead, they “stamp their feet” and say I’m not going to do this. Alec what happens when you decide to not do your art work or a writing assignment – I get a call from the teacher saying that you are not listening and behaving. You are 9 years old. Here we have grown men and women who cannot put their egos aside and come together for the best interest of the world.

You will hear that the environment is not really such a big issue, we need to put more attention to jobs and growing the economy – make sure we have money to pay for things. Your question needs to be, why can we not do both? What does one have to do with the other? You do have a voice and you, all the children, need to make those adults who make our decisions listen – they work for you and I. Canada doesn’t want to be a part of the next round of the Kyoto agreement then what is it going to do instead? How is it going to reduce GHG? We don’t want to hear any more lies and lip service – How are we going to stop our excessive use of fossil fuels, over fishing and extreme deforestation? Do our leaders have the guts to stand up to the oil and gas companies and start to give money to people and companies that are willing and capable of designing and creating alternative sources of energy like solar and nuclear power? Will you demand that we stop burning gasoline, coal and wood which contributes to GHG?

This letter comes from love and I hope that I have inspired you to action. You are the future leaders and perhaps it will be up to you and all the children of the world to show the adults how it is done – collaboration, compassion, concern for all peoples – and develope the alternative sources that we need so desperately in our world.

For now, keep asking questions, demand answers and action that is accountable and measurable. The leadership groups that have been formed to date are ineffective and mean nothing because the leaders of the countries, including our own, sign agreements with no intention of keeping them. Do not learn from this rather, you be the leaders who inspire, walk your talk, be authentic, be accountable and responsible and you can bring about the changes you want to see in this world.

I love you,

mom
xo

For those reading this I hope I have given you food for thought. Some of you will agree and others will disagree. I am ok with both. We need to begin to make changes, work together and put aside our differences for the greater good of all people. I want my children to have a green world, that is safe to exist in.

I want to wish everyone a wonderful weekend.

With all my love,

Sandra

Tags: canada and kyoto, climate change, environment, kyoto protocol, save our planet earth, suzuki

I know that this is one of the most important holidays in the US Children return home to their families when possible and it’s a great time to gather with those that you love and care about. In light of what you are seeing in the world right now: the breakdown of systems, the feeling of potential collapse of countries and financial markets, sit ins (Occupy Wall Street), tyrannical leaders being deposed and replaced, and political and economic unrest, be assured and know that this is good and that we are clearing out that which has brought destruction, separation, greed and manipulation.

We, as the people of this world, have a choice as to the direction this world takes. We can continue to choose the world of duality, separation, fear, all about me, and destroying our natural resources OR we can choose to put aside our differences (because in truth we all want the same thing), begin to collaborate and work together to create solutions that benefit ALL, be innovative and create sustainable and executable things like alternative energy sources (move away from being oil dependent), replenish our resources, and come from love, acceptance and peace. Some of you might say, she’s crazy. NO, I say, everything is possible and that we can choose to become what we want.

It will mean looking at what is working and what is not and then taking baby steps to create and change what we do know already and then collaborate and create something totally new and different to what is out there, but will make a difference. If people like me didn’t exist then we wouldn’t have the airplane, the light bulb, the cellphone, the computer, and so on.

As you sit down with your families tonight and over the weekend, take the time to really be in gratitude. Be grateful for the food on your table – look at it for many people in the world are starving; when you drink water – know that the people of Sudan would do anything for a glass of fresh, clean water that brings health and not disease; when you go to leave – know that there are many people out there who cannot just walk out their door for fear of being fired at, have missiles shot at them, or just because they are a woman. I say all of this because I know that the US is dealing with its own struggles. Know that your struggles are our struggles and whether you are in Europe, Canada, China, or the US one hand feeds the other and conversely, one hand impacts the other.

Have a wonderful weekend wherever you are in this world. Let’s all be in gratitude.

Again, Happy Thanksgiving to all!

All my love,

Sandra

Tags: be in gratitude, being with family and friend, giving back, happy thanksgiving, saying thank you, U.S. thanksgiving

I am so beside myself I cannot even tell you. I am not sure what people are thinking. There is so much fear in our world right now and while there is a shift in energy there are some people who are still buying into and allowing fear to rule their lives.

Our children hear so much NO, it is no wonder that they want to “check out” of school, not interested, bored and so on. Both my sons do well in school but neither one of them likes school, it’s boring. Yes, even when I went to elementary school I am sure that I was bored at times however what allowed us to get through the day was the fun parts – playing with your friends, running around and having fun. We put so much focus on learning and knowledge that we have taken away from the arts and creative side of school. Even my children’s music class is so technical that they hate it. This is coming from my child that has been playing the guitar and now electric guitar for 6 years and self taught himself notes by clapping.

Kids today are NOT allowed to have fun and just be kids. It is crazy. I came across an article yesterday about an elementary school in Toronto that decided to ban balls in their playground. A note was sent home saying that they are no longer allowed to soccer balls, basketballs, baseballs, footballs, and volleyballs to school. Oh wait they can bring NERF material balls to school – all other balls will be confiscated. Why did they make this decision? It appears that the playground area is small and balls have become a problem. Two weeks ago a mother came to pick up her child at daycare and was struck in the head with a soccer ball – had to go to the hospital with a concussion.

I do feel for the mother and yes there is obviously a problem – with flow and direction of how things are set up in the school. The children, especially the boys need this time to run around and get out some of their energy. It is bad enough that they have cut down on phys-ed time and free time is being monopolized by practice schedule for music (my kids have to go in 1 or 2 times per week during their recess to practice their instrument so they technically know their stuff – they can’t do it during class time and there are not enough of them to go around to take home – oh wait I could have spent $500 to rent one!). So we take an issue and go to the extreme rather than coming up with a solution that will make sense for everyone: safe place for adults to pick up their kids at daycare, room for the other children to play and create a safe environment.

What are we teaching our kids?? We push critical thinking (I prefer the term constructive thinking) where we ask kids to expand their thoughts and ideas. This is a perfect example of how we are failing our kids. So instead of looking at alternatives and really exploring this or consider asking the kids to come up with a solution – you know- engage them to be part of the solution – NO we just make a hard, fast decision to ban all hard balls. But of course, NERFS are ok and they won’t hurt someone, or will they? Oops we may need to ban NERF balls as well.

This is where we need to create a voice and challenge the systems – we need to learn to co-exist with one another and work together, collaborate. We have done our children no favour by PROTECTING THEM – from what, life lessons, learning, failing? We need to guide them to make better choices. How about, when a parent is walking to pick up their child or there is a small child in harms way, you stop playing ball and let them pass or move to another part of the field. Simple, yes!

I watched a great TED Talks video on this – large problems do not necessarily need large solutions, sometimes it’s the small changes that bring about larger results.

As the adults we need to stop this behaviour and belief that we need to protect our children. How are we equipping them for life when we do not allow them to experience life lessons, failure and learning. Rather than teaching them that they need to be perfect, tell them they are perfect with their imperfections. Be there to support and guide them not rule with an iron fist. I want my boys to be able to walk out the door each day and know they have the skills to make good or better decisions. I cannot control what happens in their lives every moment of every day however I can feel confident that I have done my best to equip them with the necessary life skills.

I want you to ponder this and really think about this, this weekend.

I want to wish everyone a wonderful weekend.

All my love,

Sandra

Tags: banning balls at school, decision making, how to make a decision, national post article on banning balls, school safety

It seems like so much is happening yet very little. I am not sure that this makes any sense. I have had so much awareness in the last few weeks that it is astounding. I recognize that we are all at where we need and choose to be and that is ok. For me, I have been working “so hard” to strip away the layers of the story I have bought into for so long. I am creating the story and life that I want and choose to live. Sometimes my “work” goes against the grain and it is a matter of just trusting and beleiving as I do my work.

I have learned a new term that is relevant for 11 11 11 & 2012+ and that is existing as multidimensional beings. This is about the ability to live in many dimensions simultaneously. From my understanding we exist in many realities at the same time. In fact, if we are currently working on something or looking to create something or become truer to ourselves and be that person, we actually already exist as that person and/or have already created the work now. This is pronounced now more than ever.

For the younger kids, this does not seem to phase them, almost like it is second nature. I look at kids on their computers and they have 5 screens open at one time and somehow can devote their time and energy to all 5 without compromising one. When I am speaking to the older generations, I try and explain it and give them the visual picture that I just described. That the holograms that we exist in are like screens and there may be 3 or 5 open at one time and depending on our thoughts and feelings at that moment and time (are we being negative and questioning or being open and trusting and positive) will determine the path that we go down.

Understanding what I know now is that for me to create the Youth development and mentor program for anyone but me would be handing it away and not honouring me nor my worth. I am grateful for the “awakening” that allowed me to realize that I have great ideas and just need to expand on them. When I couple this with my new found knowledge and understanding of multi-dimensional existence, I realize that my work already exists in another dimension and that I just need to tap into it. This excites me. I have opened up the channels, the creativity, and intuition to begin bringing my work to fruition – in this existence.

I finished 2 youth programs that I put forward to our school curriculum and am waiting to hear their interest and thoughts. I feel that the time is right for both of them. I have put it out to the universe and it will come to the market one way or another. If this is not the right connection then I will find the person/group/institution who beleives what I believe and bring it forward through them.

I began my youth handbook that provides the tools to bring about change in this world. I am excited about this for I see it coinciding with my youth development program I am developing. I have spoken to some of the youth about the concept and their interest is great. I am working on this as we speak. From this work will come my corporate and business program/workshops to bridge the gap between the baby boomers that run the corporate world and the millennials. I know my work exists and I am tapping into this as well!

The time is right for you to create the world you want. Just think, feel and know that the world you want already exists in another dimension. SLow down and listen to your heart energy, not your head, and let it guide you to greater awareness, choices — all that bring you closer to who you are and the life you want to live.

I want to wish everyone a wonderful weekend. Between 11 11 11 and 2012 – Jan. 20th (somewhere around there) is a tremendous time for energy shifts, paragdim shifts, and awareness. Embrace this time.

I saw a woman at the gym today and she is a bit older than me, suffered a stroke and has recovered so well. She said to me she is so grateful to be alive and doing so well. Fill up your “happiness/grateful bank account” and draw from it every day and more than once a day! Know that the life you want already exists and go for it.

All my love,

Sandra

Tags: 11 11 11, being true to yourself, different dimension, moving to 2012, multidimensional, portal opening up, source code activation

Here is a letter I found in a site on Charity Village.com. I have thoroughly enjoyed each and every artcle. This is one I wanted to share. For all the fear that exists and breakdown of systems our youth still dare to dream and thank goodness for that. This letter has every possibility of coming true. I wanted to share it with you. I will be part of making this happen. You have a choice to continue to buy into the old stories and/or ways or be part of ushering in something new and wonderful.

Here is the letter one millennial youth wrote to herself:

Dear Millennials: A Letter to My Younger Self

By Tara Mahoney
May 2, 2011
May 2, 2041
Dear Millennials of 2011:

“I know of no other advice than this: Go within and scale the depths of your being from which your very life springs forth.”

- Rainer Maria Rilke
February 1903, Paris

This quote reminded me of our generation back in 2011 — young and on the edge of a new world. I smile when I look back at us, vibrating with excitement, trying to shape the society that was emerging. Those days were precious. Hard. The best times of life.

For the 50 years leading up to 2011, scientists warned of nuclear proliferation, an exploding population, runaway corporate power, species loss, deforestation, economic and ecological collapse, and widespread famine. For the most part, our society ignored them. We razed our forests, over-fished our oceans, over-cultivated our land, and poisoned our fresh water with toxins, oil, sewage. Global warming brought floods, fires, hurricanes, heat waves, droughts, disease, rising sea levels. The population grew, emitting more effluent, slowed only by frequent, unjustified war. Corporate greed devastated our economy and the growth of state surveillance eroded our civil liberties.

Many of our brightest thinkers questioned whether our species would survive the century.

Quick, radical, peaceful change was vital. Humanity turned to a younger generation to drive that change. We were the largest, most connected, most informed, most diverse generation in history. We were the spawn of globalization, rapid technology change, connectivity, environmental destruction and global crisis. We had more questions than the authorities (or their systems) could answer. We were old enough to vote and young enough to be idealistic. We were digital natives. We came from all countries, and we were ready to create mass social and cultural change.

It all started with media. We were connecting to each other — constantly. Through our social networks, we began making media that reflected our values. The Internet and technology democratized the means of production and we used media to generate an inclusive culture of independent thinking, cultural alternatives, progressive politics, racial integration, art, music, creativity, intelligence and peace.

As the years went by, our interconnectivity fostered new, powerful collaborative forms of thinking. Back then, crowdsourcing and the instantaneous cross-fertilization of ideas was a new phenomenon. Decentralized, horizontal social organization was just beginning to be discovered and explored. The internet was not simply an innovation in information technology and communication; it sparked a profound cultural shift similar to the cultural revolutions of the Renaissance and the Age of Enlightenment.

Activism was redefined and widely adopted as a common social practice. With the help of technology and social media, democracy was galvanized. Thanks to online and mobile voting, 95% of the voter population participated in elections. Citizen-led decisions making groups were formed, fostering widespread collaboration between the government and the people. Top-down, hierarchical government gave way to lateral, self-policing communities — built and maintained by the people who live in them. Economies and food production were localized, folk culture invigorated.

When widespread sharing and online community organizing took hold, we collectively realized we had been making a false assumption about human nature. The neoclassical presumption that people were selfish — and acted strictly on personal and financial motivation — was wrong. The social, economic and political structures we built based on this assumption created systems that provided individual freedom but not a lot of resources for the greater public good. Collectively we broke those beliefs and ushered in a global, civic culture that changed the way of life on our planet. We created new systems that assumed people would act in ways that created public value.

Our global community has changed much since those youthful days of fleeting exuberance and passionate toil. Our deep inclinations that a better world was within our reach — they were true. As a generation, we were given opportunities to start behaving in a new way, and we did. The global youth came together with a sense of membership, belonging, duty and purpose. We had much to gain and little to lose from experimentation so we began to positively deviate from the norm of civic passivity. We woke up and, perhaps for the first time in human history, we had the collective power to steer our planetary destiny towards something better, healthier, kinder and more peaceful.

Looking back now, our most difficult problems were social, political, personal. What brought about the transformation of our generation from a civic audience into an active public was our ability to, individually and collectively, imagine a new story. You have a profound and enormous opportunity before you, and so I offer you this advice:

Create. Participate. Share.

Love each other and manifest the dream.

Forever yours,

Tara Mahoney

Editor’s Note: For more stories about Millennials featured in our special issue of Village Vibes, click here.

Tara Mahoney (@genwhymedia) is the Creative Director of the Gen Why Media Project, a peer produced, collaborative, interdisciplinary community building project that seeks to characterize the underrepresented zeitgeist of youth culture. She has worked as a documentary filmmaker and campaigner for Greenpeace and the Sierra Club of Canada. She currently works as Community Outreach Coordinator for Pull Focus Film School, a nonprofit film school based out of Vancouver, BC.
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I hope you enjoyed this letter as much as I did. I know that we all have a part to play. Even just imagining this coming true is a start- shifting the collective consciousness.

We can make this happen – in fact in another dimension it already does.

Have a wonderful weekend.

All my love,

Sandra

Tags: charity village on line paper, millenials, tara mahoney, the future of millennials, the future of the world

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