Look for Yourself

The Intention Experiment starting 9/11

Here is some true Monkey Business - a global intention experiment that needs some action on your part - from home or work - using meditative time each day. Said to be the biggest global intention experiment toward world peace ever attempted. See what it's all about HERE

One mind - one heart

Check it out.

Story Tellers for Good

I found this awesome website through my connection to Wiser Earth where I am a member of The Social Network for Sustainability. Wiser Earth is a global community organization and I highly promote their education, action and community.

Story Tellers for Good is a team of passionate journalists and photographers who seek to use their skills to inspire optimism and change. They aim to tell and promote stories of people and organizations making a positive difference.

Here is one of their videos from The Random Act of Kindness Foundation.  Check it out for a wonderful way to spend your day paying it forward..

Random Acts of Kindness Foundation: Kindness 101 from Storytellers For Good on Vimeo.

What are you doing today?

Astrology Points the Way if We Listen

Personal growth = planetary health


Like astrology, we are connected to more than the eye can see. Just because we can't see a blockage that stands in our way doesn't mean it isn't there (as we have learned throughout history over and over again.)

So...it is time.

Astrology Points the Way if We Listen

Hundredth Monkey Controversies

I did a recent search on "The Hundredth Monkey" to see what good things others folks are sharing.  I found all sorts of uses for the name such as a blog on lifestyle change called The Savvy Vegetarian and an art studio in Portland Oregon "Where creativity is contagious."  Wonderful!

I also found more controversy than I ever expected! You can read a well crafted repudiation of the whole effect from the Skeptical Inquirer written back in 1985 that is wonderful food for thought!  And there's lots more where that came from. 

Then along came more information from the Ken Keyes Jr. camp reiterating it as a phenomenon.

This is all great reading if you're interested in the he said - she said on the subject.

In the end, I like this quote from Elaine Myers in The Hundredth Monkey Revisited the best when she says -

"What the research does suggest... is that holding positive ideas (as important a step as this is) is not sufficient by itself to change the world. We still need direct communication between individuals, we need to translate our ideas into action, and we need to recognize the freedom of choice of those who choose alternatives different from our own."

This sounds like the road to good communication and greater peace if you ask me. Worth the controversy if this is where it goes...

May peace on Earth prevail!

Where do you weigh in?

Gael

Photo credit Bob Alba

Blessed Earth Day

Today is officially Earth Day and a wonderful mindful celebration across the globe the we are called to be respectful of our home and protective of our assets for ourselves and for generations to come.

Here's a link to EarthDay.org a website dedicated to sharing options and education and good exciting stuff you can get involved with including how you can make a pledge to do something on your own at act.EarthDay.org.

Go be the Monkey and have some fun being green!!

What does that look like for you?

Enjoy :)

Blessed Unrest

Beautiful and inspiring video from environmentalist and sustainable living advocate Paul Hawken called Blessed Unrest and WiserEarth.

"It is up to us to decide how will we be,

who will we be..

It is about solutions.

Humankind knows what to do..."

Click here to view the video of Paul's speech and here to join the web community Wiser Earth.

I'd be honored if you joined me there as well - let's see what we can do. Gael Chiarella Alba

Blessings today.

Healing the Waters of Japan

Do you know the work of Dr. Masaru Emoto? You can find out more about his research and view some amazing pictures on his website Welcome to the World of Water.

Through his research into the nature of water and crystals, he has photographs documenting the difference between  a "thank you" water crystal and one that embodies "you fool."  Powerful stuff, since we ourselves are mostly ... water. 

The human body is more than 60 percent water. Blood is 92 percent water, the brain and muscles are 75 percent water, and bones are about 22 percent water.

Essentially, the capturing of water's 'expressions' is what Dr. Emoto has done. He developed a technique to photograph newly formed crystals of frozen water samples. A powerful microscope in a very cold room allowed this to be done. 

Through his work with water Dr. Emoto advises us "We have learned that our human consciousness is related to water at deeper level through water crystal technology. And this fact has resonated with different people in different countries. However, this fact has not been taught at any school. The words, “Thank you” have positive vibrations and the words “You fool” have negative vibrations and to ignore is to deny the existence itself and this will give the most negative effects."

Moving into current world events, this is a You Tube link to his frame of reference for the waters surrounding the Fukushima nuclear power plant in Japan.  Here too is a link to his blog so you can keep the action going.

He suggests the simplicity of the following prayer for the waters of Japan.

"To all people on the earth, we are water.

Let’s become one by offering love and gratitude to water...

Water is what connects everything.

(Say to yourself)
I’m sorry,
Please forgive me,
I thank you,
And I love you." 

By doing this you will be joining with people from all over the world who are doing the same thing.  Originally scheduled as a single prayer, Dr. Emoto has called for the addition of ten days of joined intention.

What an astounding thing to know how you can use the power of your mind to affect change in this situation - just as Ken Keyes suggested in his work on The Hundredth Monkey Effect.

May you always know the power of your own consciousness, and find peace for yourself and the world.

Namaste.

The Power of One

Have you seen the beautiful video "The Power of One" yet?
Take a minute and be empowered.
Take a breath and be inspired!

  You matter. They did...

The Power of One

http://www.oneearth.org

Photo credit: GCA by Bob Alba

The Address We All Need To Hear

Hello fellow Monkeys!

This is the most awe-inspiring speech I have read in a long time.  Not since Randy Pausch's Last Lecture have I been so moved to share...this is a snippet from Paul Hawken as he addressed the graduates of 2009 at The University of Portland:

"You are Brilliant, and the Earth is Hiring. The earth couldn’t afford to send recruiters or limos to your school. It sent you rain, sunsets, ripe cherries, night blooming jasmine, and that unbelievably cute person you are dating.

Take the hint. And here’s the deal:

Forget that this task of planetsaving is not possible in the time required.

Don’t be put off by people who know what is not possible.

Do what needs to be done, and check to see if it was impossible only after you are done.

When asked if I am pessimistic or optimistic about the future, my answer is always the same: If you look at the science about what is happening on earth and aren’t pessimistic, you don’t understand the data.

But if you meet the people who are working to restore this earth and the lives of the poor, and you aren’t optimistic, you haven’t got a pulse."

From The Commencement Address by Paul Hawken to the Class of 2009

Take a moment and a deep breath, or make yourself a cup of tea and click on to read the rest of his words.  An inspiring call to action.  An awesome recognition of potential.

You can also joinWiser Earth, the organization he co-founded and get in on more of the conversation.  I did.

 
The Social Network for Sustainability

Blessed be.
Gael

Photo by Bob Alba

Jack LaLanne Was One For Sure!

The Jack LaLanne Show

"Before there was power yoga and Tae-Bo, there was Jack LaLanne, who devoted his life to making Americans fit and healthy. LaLanne, who died Sunday at age 96, became the fitness conscience of the nation after his daily TV show on exercise and nutrition debuted in the 1950s. Although the show aired for more than three decades, he is a distant memory for many Americans, a quirky part of cultural history. But up to the end of his life — he died of respiratory failure from pneumonia at his home in Morro Bay, Calif. — he remained as dedicated as ever to getting the country in shape"  

This is the first paragraph of today's NPR article that highlights the man and the mission.

I remember him well - first because I used to watch his TV show with my beloved Grandma as we held the backs of her kitchen chair to maintain balance as he barked commands out at us and we giggled.  She, teasing me because I was so young - she, teasing herself because she was not so young anymore. Perhaps a memory like this (which surfaces for me again and again) helps to account for my 30-year career teaching people how to move their bodies and enjoy the process.

Second came the opportunity to see and hear him live as the closing keynote at a fitness convention in California...a spry old man who leaped upon the stage and inspired everyone in the room with his deeply authentic no-holds barred presence.  2,000 young, fit, sleek aerobic stars rose to their feet and gave the man the longest standing ovation I have ever witnessed anywhere - ever. It was awesome.

Today I salute this Hundredth Monkey.

He challenged an entire Nation to get fit and stay fit.  He followed his muse.  He shared the good news.  He lived his truth. He made a huge difference.

May you all be inspired to follow your own, and to share who you are with the rest of us.

Blessings,
Gael

Thirty Days of Gratitude

This is a most inspiring post From Rev Ken's Thirty Days Of Gratitude Blog. Take a moment to watch the all out inspirational video of the Opera Company of Philadelphia singing the "Hallelujah Chorus" in Macys. Perfect setting for sharing large.


Thirty Days of Gratitude: Twelfth Day

"Right this moment, as I remember spiritual giants I have been privileged to meet Mother Teresa, Thomas Merton, Dorothy Day, His Holiness the Dalai Lama - I can still feel the life energy they radiated.  But how did they come by this vitality? There are no lack of surprises in this world, but such radiant aliveness is rare. What I observed was that these people were all profoundly grateful, and then I understood the secret...."

Click the link to enjoy both the practice and the video.  You'll be glad you did :)

Namaste in this season of Thanksgiving!

In Praise of Twitter

I was speaking to a couple of friends the other day who insist they "hate twitter."

I'm no big tech person and I know quite well I could be "optimizing" my presence there giving it all sorts of attention.  I'm not into that yet.  What I am into is good news and inspiring people. In true Monkey fashion I find myself going to twitter to find news worth reading, and once you start filtering there is more than enough of it to go around. I love the grass roots finds that are inevitably there, and the action I see with individuals reaching out and finding their potential to affect others.

Maybe there is something in it for you too if you "give peace a chance" and check out what some folks are saying...

Here are just a few links I picked out just to get you started. Each is a person I found on twitter and decided to read up on. It took me all of 10 minutes to find out what they were up to today. Enjoy :)

Eleesha and  The Inspiration Daily featuring articles, stories, health, education and more.


The Documentary Channel featuring the film The Youngest Candidate directed by tweet master Jason Pollak.  "The Youngest Candidate is not just a film about running for office. It is the coming of age story of four idealistic young adults who dare to dream."

I have followed philanthropist Lotay Yang since my beginnings on twitter. He says "Merely a vessel. Give more, expect less. Peace is inevitable." Check out his website here.

There are also some of the biggie spiritual leaders who need no introduction like Deepak Chopra and you'll enjoy their daily bites of inspiration. You can also find your own favorites by using the search feature.

Hashtags will get you into areas of interest such as #yoga, #inspiration #green #charity and whatever else interests you.  Find your peeps and lighten your day.  The news is all good all the time once you know where to look.

You can find me there too - anytime - @Yokibics.

Be The Hundredth Monkey and share the good stuff.

Blessings galore to you today!

Community Building. It's Party Time!

I subscribe to a site called Daily OM.  Sound soulful advise.  See for yourself.

This week a post about community caught my eye and fit into the Hundredth Monkey Effect perfectly...

 

Communities thrive on the talents of their members...consider what you have to offer and find ways to bring that into your community. 

Anything we do on a small level will automatically ripple out into the larger system. If you have a special gift when it comes to bringing people together...find ways to bring that into your community.

You might agree to throw a party or event once a year that includes the whole community. Even a small open house in an apartment building can accomplish a lot in terms of making people feel more connected and comfortable with each other.

Becoming the Hundredth Monkey is joyful stuff.  Have fun with it!!  A party sure sounds good... Feel free to invite neighbors you know and more neighbors you don't and share the love :)

 Namaste 

It's Monkeytime!

This post is my invitation to you.

That's right! You you you :)

What do you see, hear, and feel connected to that improves the world?

What makes your heart sing, your energy perk, your faith in humanity grow?

There is so much!

Music - dance - activism - service - stories - community - communication - new ideas - sacred vision - the neighbor's good deed - the silent hero.  What can you bring our collective attention to? What makes your heart sing "oh oh oh I want to share!"

We totally want your perspective.  We absolutely need your contribution. The world improves one smile at a time.


Spread the love and let us know!  What's your smile about?

Award winning video on HUNGER

Monkey topics of late have been our related to our food system, from issues of soil and seeds to distribution and packaging. The challenge of our times I think. What in the name of heaven are we doing with our food??  


Today my topic is hunger. What changes are we blind to when we take no interest and choose not to see? 


To help call attention to the challenge of food insecurity, in early 2010 ShopRite teamed up with General Mills and launched a Caring Expressions of Hunger video contest.to bring awareness to the issue through song, poetry, dance, and dramatic reading.  This is a post sent in by my friend Gerry about some folks from Trentin NJ who submitted a video.. 


Here is some good stuff - grass roots and local. A group of poets that met as part of a TASK literacy project and won a national contest - and the uplifting news is that they are now on the front of Cheerios boxes where more people can see.  


More eyes. More knowing.  More healing.  More sharing. 


Check it out.


Award winning Hunger Video 


What can you do for others today? Whatever that is, do what you can.  
Follow this blog and share it with others.  Your comments are welcomed!


namaste

Do you know where food comes from?

Blue sky...children in the distance...birds singing...the land is flush with good living.  How can one actually desire to get immersed in news that will rock the foundation of your world when the world seems so at peace, and so many other things are so pressing - at least in your own neck of the woods.

I credit Steven Covey with saying we so often opt for handling the immediate in lieu of the important...

This is a deep challenge and a quandary that drives to the heart of what our resistance is all about - the resistance we so often have to rattle the cage of comfort. Such is the importance of a sense of security even when the security is false.  Will the world need your social security check when the issue at hand is global water shortage? Will your 401K matter when the evidence of Monsanto and others like them will have their way with your food?  Will we ever be able to say we have done our best when our best is hidden from view?

We will seek change when it hits home.  We will seek change when our level of discomfort is too great for the challenge of staying put.  We will seek change when it is personal.  We will seek change when we are in danger.  Any other reasons? There are many and you will know some of them for yourself if you just think for a moment...

This blog is about seeing what is good in the world and making it known.  The Hundredth Monkey shares a change in consciousness one step at a time - one person at a time.

Sometimes the need for change comes from adversity.  The monkeys who first washed their sweet potatoes (see the initial post to this blog) did so out of the adversity of being cut off from their preferred food source.

Could this be happening to us? Must we wait until we get thoroughly trounced before we vote for better ways
to handle our resourses today?

We are in a time of change now that some say can be reversed - or stayed at the least - and others would say has no turning back and we have no choice but to watch the fall...again and again and again.

The Hundredth Monkey votes for clarity - honesty - and full awareness of the choices he makes in order to thrive.

It is in the spirit of knowing that I offer you the opportunity to educate yourself as much as you can about our global actions with regard to our most intimate currencies - food and water.

Perhaps the Hundredth Monkey can then make the personal choice that will tip the scales away from such disaster.  Will it be you? 

Watch FLOW: for the Love of Water available from Twilight Earth. Click here.

Watch The World According to Monsanto. Click here.

May we all grow in abundance and caring for our planet Earth and for each other.

Namaste

Thoughts of Peace on 9/11

Theologian Mark D. Thompson of Moore Theological College said of the famous photograph of the falling man tumbling through the air taken on 9/11 "perhaps the most powerful image of despair at the beginning of the twenty-first century is not found in art, or literature, or even popular music. It is found in a single photograph."


"The Falling Man" refers to a photograph taken by Associated Press photographer Richard Drew, depicting a man falling from the North Tower of the World Trade Center at 9:41:15 a.m. during the September 11 attacks in New York City. The subject of the image — whose identity remains uncertain, although attempts have been made to identify him — was one of the people trapped on the upper floors of the skyscraper who apparently was forced to jump rather than die from the fire and smoke. (Wiki file)


Today let us take a moment to honor the single thing that embraces the momentous change that 9/11 wrought for you - whether it is a picture, a word, a comment, a memory, an ideal or a lost friend - and together may we join hearts and minds that peace on earth can still be had as we honor what was lost.  


Every thought counts.


The combined power of many thoughts create our experience.


The created space for peace is something we make real despite circumstance - despite devastation - despite heartache, loss and fear. As the tipping point of our united consciousness brings our highest vision to bare, may we all benefit from the thoughts you carry this day.


Namaste 

Could your neighbor be starving?

Today I am reading a blog called Take Part - Inspiration to Action and it stated that 49 million people in the US lack access to nutritious food. 

I've been taken with our food challenges in many different ways recently (read previous posts on GMOs and other unsavory threats to our wellbeing) but this one just got me.  I could say the topic is so depressingly sobering that rolling up in a ball and moaning is a possibility.  I also highlight the name of the blog as it includes the phrase "inspiration to ACTION!"

The article offers additional information and links, but mostly I like the simple ending advise... 


"take action - find a food bank event near you"

Simple.  Sometimes it takes a simple shift to make big headway.

Click the link.  It is what any of us can do right now.

Grab a neighbor or tell a friend...you can be one of the ones who tip the scale.

namaste

The Future of Food

I may be late to the game (can this possibly be true after 30+ years of bona fide hippie thinking, vegitarian living, yogi being, health food eating, organic shopping, health food teaching, consciousness raising living ?? ) but after viewing and agonizing over Food Inc. and the electrifying revelations that sparked my consciousness about the nature of the food industry in America, I realized that I'm no farmer.  I hadn't the slightest idea what our basic food producing industry faces each and every day - and what that means to me - to you - to our children...so my revelations over Food Inc and the challanging issues of genetically modified foods and their relevance to our survival was disturbing. 

I just now watched the documentary "The Future of Food." 

Now I'm in "no shit sherlock" land.

No newcomer to the game this documentary - but rather a beacon of light that has been shining for a decade.

Perhaps I - like you - are simply newer to it's message.

Friends - family - students - followers - ALL of you who have a vote - and use your vote - and care for your vote... watch this, I beg you.

I am coming to know with every fiber of my being that our universal presumption that in two, or three, or four years, we can just keep sashaying into our local (USA) supermarket and presume we can nourish ourselves with our purchases is likely to be an illusion beyond measure - and based solely on present moment ignorance. 

Look my dears - look.

www.thefutureoffood.com

It begs the question - who are we, really...and what are we doing?

To those of us in the USA who feel we are the "heroes" of the world...feeding the poor and sending relief to the needy, what are we contributing to the international food industry?  Are we heroes to the less industrialized??  True supporters of the less fortunate???  Watch what we are doing with our rights over food and see if this matches who you think you are, and what you represent. 

Ahhhh...we are so innocent.

I seek not to intrude on your dream state, but rather to empower you to DO what YOU can DO rather than believe that someone else is doing it for you - that you are being "taken care of" - that putting food in pretty packages means that you don't even have to think.

I encourage you  to get your Starbucks now and stay wide awake as you watch the testimony in this film.  Stay awake just long enough to feel something. 

Then act. 

You will know what to do. 

You will know what and where your choices are, and how to vote with your consumer dollars.


You will know.


Namaste

"One Radical and Tactical Shift"

Will is one of the many facebook friends I can now lean on to 

post good and valuable information so that when I scan my

news feed I am enlivened with interesting possibilities and

informative opportunities.  As I routinely selected and

eliminated the negative gripers and woe is me-ers from

my everyday interactions (yes I do indeed work my privacy

settings!) that news feed has become a source of information

 that lightens and inspires me.  I am now quite a fan of good

 and judicious sharing through social networks. 

Today I clicked on a TED video that Will posted about this

fellow who swam across a newly created lake on Mount

Everest...a lake created as the result of glacial melt.

At the end of his talk, Lewis offers a challenge to each and every one

of us - an opportunity to leave the world a better place for our children

as a result of our own choices today.

Highlighting the man, his acumen and his mission seemed

the right stuff for The Hundredth Monkey view.

Lewis Gordon Pugh loves to pioneer new swimming

routes around or between landmarks once thought unswimmable.

 In 2006, he swam the drought-stricken Thames; also that year

he became the first swimmer to do a long-distance swim in all

five oceans of the world. The following year, he made the first

long-distance swim across the North Pole -- where climate

change made the ice temporarily disappear. Heading into the

second decade of his swimming career, he's regarded as the

greatest cold-water swimmer in history. 

His swims have given him a sea-level view of our planet,

and inspired him to do his bit to help preserve it. He left a

career in maritime law to become a public speaker on

environmental issues with his group, Polar Defence Project –

and of course to plan more astonishing swims and treks.

In September 2008, Pugh and Robbie Hedgus kayaked

across the Arctic Ocean into the polar ice pack, to raise

awareness of the thinning sea ice and the dangers of

climate change in the Arctic and across the world. And at t

he end of May 2010 he swam 1 kilometer across Pumori,

a meltwater lake situated next to the Khumbu Glacier on Mount

Everest, at an altitude of 5300 meters, to draw attention to the

melting of the Asian glaciers. He completed the swim -- the

highest any person has undertaken -- in less than 23 minutes. He says:

 "Glaciers are not just ice:

they are a lifeline, 

they provide water to 2 billion people,

and we need to protect them" 

Here's a link to the talk - an inspiring time out for you to view and ponder.

Lewis Pugh Mind Shifting Everest Swim

What did you come up with that you can commit to?

May it be a blessing to all,

namaste

Being known, heard and loved. Does it matter?

My friend Tracey had a bright idea and she is acting on it by creating a business model around the topic of compassionate listening.  She initiates her blog on the topic with this story:

"Known, Heard and Loved got its start when I was a twenty-three year old college grad working at my first job in health care public relations. I was in my windowless office having a down day when, no kidding, a clown walked into the room. You know, the red nose, white face paint, yarn-mop of hair and wacky clothing ensemble that looked as if it had been made from a melange of Mrs. Roper's muumuu castoffs (please tell me you're old enough to remember Three's Company? "Oh, Stanley...").

Do you happen to know anyone who is a fan of clowns besides clowns themselves (that is, if you actually know a real clown)? I don't, and I'm not a fan - but I am terribly polite. So I braced myself for the clown's unfunny antics and the laughter I'd force myself to muster.

The clown got my attention alright, but in the most subtle of ways: Silently, she pulled a tiny, folded piece of paper out of her huge straw basket, put it on my desk, smiled, bowed and left. 

I opened this tiny scrap of paper, which was only about two inches long and two centimeters wide. In neat script, it said:

"You are known, heard and loved."

Check out her blog at Known, Heard and Loved to see where she is going with an experience that shaped her life.

Hundredth Monkey stuff for sure.

Namaste

Where's the monkey?

Just a question or two for you today...

• Where do you go to get your "good news?" To be fed by what you see and hear?
• Where do you go to see reflections that the World is a positive place in a sea of negative press?
• Where do you go to learn new things? Old dogs and new tricks are required.  The Hundredth Monkey is about evolving into new and better ways of being.
• Where do you go to feed your soul? Are you well nourished this day?

For myself, I go to different and unlikely places these days as I have grown my technology muscle. No longer the news on TV but the choice-filled sharing on you tubes, among my facebook family, public broadcasting and newsworthy blogs. 

Independent films draw me more than ever.  I go to my neighbors - the ones that uplift me - and talk about what they are doing to improve.  I find my yoga mat and have a chat with God.  That's always interesting.  I visit with my favorite authors - the ones who inspire me with innovative ideas and tales of societies that thrive.  I go to the history books that I might know of mistakes that were made by those that did not - and seek to beware of the thinking that preceeded the fall.

Where do you go?

The Hundredth Monkey will rely less on complaining about world affairs and more on changing what no longer serves.

What does that look like for you today? 

ahhhhh...may we all be blessed by your answers.

namaste

Watch The Girl

I found this video called A GIRL on elephant journal posted by the wonderful Waylon Lewis.  Check out this inspiring journal - always a great read that will give you plenty of monkey ideas.

This video is short and sweet and truly inspires us to know what one person can become once The Hundredth Monkey shows up.


Enjoy!

Do Animal Rights Matter?

A Hundredth Monkey will see what is going on around him and speak out for peace.

It is often said that a society is ultimately judged by how it treats its most vulnerable members. If we were to extend that maxim to include the animals that rely on us for their care, we'd face a harsh judgment.

I took this clip from the Change.org Newsletter:

This week an undercover video was released showing employees at Conklin Dairy, a dairy farm in Ohio, beating cows with crowbars, stabbing them with pitchforks, and violently punching, throwing and kicking young calves. Then the workers bragged about torturing the helpless animals.

After watching the video, Dr. Bernard Rollin, professor of animal science at Colorado State University, said "This is probably the most gratuitous, sustained, sadistic animal abuse I have ever seen."

The agriculture industry wants you to believe this is an isolated incident. But it's not.

On factory farms, animals regularly live out their short lives in confinement so extreme that they can't stand up, turn around, stretch their limbs, or lie down comfortably. It's an industry where abuse has become normal.

Sometimes it takes an extreme example of abuse for a critical mass of society to acknowledge a chronic problem that is otherwise easy to ignore. For the welfare of animals raised in factory farms, we hope that time is now.

You don't have to be an animal advocate, much less a vegetarian, to want to reform the way we raise our farm animals. 

All it takes is a modicum of compassion and the acknowledgment that animals should not endure unnecessary trauma or abuse while in our care.

If you would also like more information about how to get involved in the movement for broad-based reform of our animal welfare laws, we welcome you to visit the Animals community on Change.org.

   Namaste