From the Heart

The Right to Life for Corporations

In 2004 three Canadians created the movie "The Corporation." It's as relevant now as it was then.

 

The movie shows how big companies dictate our lives. You see, the US government gave the right to coporations to be an entity with all the same rights that you and I have. Their purpose is to stay alive, no matter the cost....whether it's to others, or to the environment.

 

Check out the website for the movie at:

 

http://www.thecorporation.com/index.cfm?page_id=2

 

You can also see the movie chapters at YouTube:

 

http://www.thecorporation.com/index.cfm?page_id=46

 

It does remind me of the movie "Network."
We really should be mad as hell and not take it anymore.

But we do take it.

We think it's only the government that we should fear.

 

We become blind and apathetic to the notion that corporations are what really control our lives.......our money, our eating habits, the water we drink, our health, what we should buy, how we should dress. 

With all the money and lobbying that corporations contribute to government elections and officials, is it possible that corporations have much more power over us and our world than the government that we fear so much? Just a question. 

 

 

 

 

David Roth---Musician and Story Teller

Recently I had the opportunity to attend another concert by David Roth (www.davidrothmusic.com). What a treat! His mom, Gloria, was also present....she was a singer during the Big Band era. It was a joy to watch the respect and love between the son on stage and the mother in the audience.

David writes incredible songs about famous people and events (Rosa Parks and Gandhi and 911). And he writes endearing and funny songs such as the one about the joy a Down's Syndrome grocery bagger brings to customers, and the one about the embarrassment of wearing the wrong Halloween costume as a kid---you know, like those NPR driveway moments. 

He also writes of the complexity of the human experience.....love, emotions, mind chatter, relationships. Sometimes I wonder how he knows me so well.

Perhaps David's music and lyrics have more meaning to me because of our connections......growing up in Illinois near Chicago in the 50's, parents in the arts, similar beliefs in humanity.

While David Roth is an incredible writer and story teller, he is also is an incredible musician. He's also a very nice person. You won't be disappointed.

Catch this movie: The Visitor

I was thrilled that Richard Jenkins was nominated for a 2009 Best Actor Academy Award so that attention would be brought to the film "The Visitor."

This is the story of a widowed professor who is just existing from day to day. He relunctantly attends a conference in New York where he presents a paper that he co-authored in name only. When he enters his NY apartment he discovers a young illegal couple who are renting from an apartment scam.

The professor slowly becomes involved with this couple and how the world outside of ourselves can be so cruel, and yet so promising. And the experiences allow him to discover his own passion for living and life itself.

Do not miss this film.

Questions to ponder after watching:

1) Where in your life are you a "visitor?"

2) What would be so important to you that you would "get mad as hell" and "not take it anymore" and stand up for something or someone?

3) What is preventing you from doing your best work in this life?

Enjoy. And let me know what you think and feel.
Namaste, Ellen

Mother Earth sighed for me today

In all of the media news of unemployment and global recession I recently heard that the GDP (Gross Domestic Product) has fallen. We have become a very un-productive nation.

And in that moment I heard Mother Earth sigh.

Our economy has been so busy producing and creating more and more. Companies are supposed to grow and expand; they have a life of their own. (Check out the documentary "The Corporation." A corporation has the same rights and privleges as a human being.)

As a society we consume and we consume. If something breaks we replace it. The new version comes out we buy it. When we create some "thing" we don't worry about its life span or how we will dispose of it in the garbage heap. We are to create products and sell them and buy them. We live a very frenzied life.

And now everything is different. People are cutting toopaste tubes to get the very last of it. New customers are shopping at thrift stores and cutting out newspaper coupons. Life is different.

And Mother Earth is sighing. From exhaustion. We have worked her to the bone, working her overtime to support our wants. And now she gets a much deserved rest from human production and consumption and waste.

As she cycles into spring we get to enjoy her work of beauty in the budding trees and bursting flowers and singing birds. I hope you will take this moment to appreciate the very ground you walk on and the air that you breathe. Mother Earth will be so grateful. Give her the opportunity to sigh in Joy.

Namaste, Ellen

Hello from Portland

I'm here in lovely Portland, OR for a 5 day class with my teacher/mentor Donna Eden (www.innersource.net) I have been an Energy Medicine student for 5 years now and absolutely love the work. So much so that I became a certified practitioner last year. More later on this topic.

So it's Fall again. And it's my birthday today! While I do love Spring and it's opportunity to plant the garden again, it's the Fall that brings out the excitement and growth for me and in me. The rich colors, the crisp cool mornings and evenings, the last bits of warm lazy afternoons. I love it!

How are you spending your days? What are you doing today that brings joy to this moment?

Well Wishes on your journey.

Namaste, Ellen

Tapping your stress away

We live with stress daily. If it's not work, it's the traffic, or the family, or the carpooling, or our health, or.......you can easily fill in the blank.

When we were cave people we ran away from a sabertooth tiger now and then. And our flight or fight mechanism turned on. But it also had the ability to turn off and let our body and mind rest.

Now a days, our flight or fight mechansim is on all the time. And our bodies and our minds never seem to be able to come up for air.

But there are tools to help us get through the day and Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) is one of them. I have been using it on myself and teaching it to clients for five years with incredible results.

EFT is based on the idea that all negative emotions are caused by a disruption in our energy system. Just by gently tapping on specific acupressure points of the face, chest and hand one can decrease or eliminate emotions such as stress, anxiety, pain, sadness and anger. It can even be used to improve your golf game or public speaking.

You can learn more about EFT at the Gary Craig's (the founder) site at http://wwwemofree.com

And check out my website at http://energyoftheheart.com to download a FREE MP3 and instruction sheet on EFT so you too can begin tapping your stress away today.

To your wellness!

Christmas isn't always about being merry

It's the holiday season...... with shopping and decorations and parties and the busyness of life.

Yet there are those of us who aren't putting up a tree, who aren't buying presents, who are only bystanders to the lights and activities around us.

While the holiday season often brings joy and good cheer it can also be a time of sadness and grief. When a loved one dies during this time the holidays will never be the same. Even when another's death occurs during any other time of the year, that loss is deeply felt during the holidays.

Even estranged relations with family and friends can bring a somber note to this time.

So take note of the feelings of others. Listen and be where they are in the moment. Caring for each other and ourselves is the reason for the season.

And for those of you carrying grief and loss....be patient with yourself. Be with your grief. And determine what is it you feel you need right now. Define boundaries for yourself. Create new traditions.  Turn off the Christmas stress machine. Let go of the judgment of others. Be with those people that support and nourish you. Serve others in a way that brings peace and joy to you.

Honor your loved one. Write a letter to them. Hold them in your heart. Have music around you. The holidays will never be the same, only different. Your grief will come and go. Know that you are loved and cared for in this time of sadness and overwhelm and uncertainty.

No matter your religion may you bring the Christ Mind into your heart this Christmas and Hanukkah season. It's the opportunity to love others and yourself.

Namaste.......may you honor the divine in others as you honor the divine within.

Deciding to do it

As human beings aren't we truly amazing?

I marvel at how I put off doing what I think is a difficult task. Recently I had a computer project with a deadline. I had to make a decision if I even wanted to complete it. Nothing earth shattering, but it was an opportunity for some Internet exposure to my business.

Yesterday was the final day to get it done. But I kept putting it off, finding other things that "had to get done." And while I was putting it off I was thinking about it all the time........I should do it, why aren't I doing it, oh let's do something else instead, maybe I shouldn't do it, let's not do it, I will get to it, it's not that important, it could be important, I can't get it done in time anyway.......Sound familiar?

At the end of my day I sat down at the computer to give it a go and see if I could finish it. Might as well say I tried and failed anyway. So except for some trying moments with the scanner, I got the project done. And it wasn't that difficult after all.

Too often the hard part is just deciding to do it and showing up. Because if I had put all the energy that I used on putting OFF the project INTO the project........well who knows what more I could have accomplished.

Where in your life are you "putting off" and not "putting into?"

Gratitude

Thanksgiving is the gateway to gratitude as we enter this holiday season.

Isn't it a wonderment to see a black sky every night. And then one night there is a sliver of light in the eastern sky. And it become larger each night until it's yellow and glowing and shining down upon us.

What's even more amazing is that in the night it's on one side of the sky. And when we wake up in the morning it's on the other side of the sky. Where did the time go, where did the space go? What happened while we slept or worked the night away? I am grateful for the mystery.

Living in the World

Soon after Katrina struck the Gulf Coast I was driving in my car when a bright yellow car caught my eye. On the back window in large white letters were the words "SUPPORT NEW ORLEANS."

I then watched as the driver of this sporty car proceeded to cut off a car in traffic, not once, but twice. I was quite ready to be angry at this driver. Wasn't the driver aware of traffic?

And then I thought better of myself. The apparent rude behavior didn't seem directed towards the other car. Perhaps the driver was not aware of the other car. Perhaps the driver was in a hurry due to a medical problem, or lateness, or whatever. So I chose to let go of the negative thought as getting angry wasn't going to help my day or anyone else's.

Circumstances are not always as they seem. I tend to forget that my energy is colliding with the energies of so many other peole and things. And that sometimes it is all about me, and sometimes it isn't. And sometimes I can have an effect and change the world, but mostly it's about me changing me.

But I wonder........ who has "SUPPORT PAKISTAN" on the back window of their car?