Women.Spirit.Connection

I organized this new meetup for women who want to connect on a deeper,more
spiritual level. We've had two meetups so far and i can really sense the need even more now...meaning...these women, most women, if not all women, need more connection than they believe. All of us live this "rush rush" lifestyle (varies depending on where you live) and are constantly trying "to do" for others. It's exhausting! And in the meantime, we leave little to no time for ourselves. Sometimes you gotta just sit in quietude, meditate on peace, and let the "to do" list waver off to the side a bit. We can't always be on our toes being pleasers all of the time. Can we?

So I created this meetup to allow women to just "be" with themselves, sit in stillness, meditate, etc...and then give them the simple chance to share what's going on inside, the mind, mostly.

So if you're out there and you can't join us twice a month, please give yourself the time to just "be".

Other quotes from Ghandi

All the religions of the world, while they may differ in other respects, unitedly proclaim that nothing lives in this world but Truth.

Always aim at complete harmony of thought and word and deed. Always aim at purifying your thoughts and everything will be well.

Looking up to Ghandi

Here is one (there are several) quotes from Mahatma Gandhi I aspire to follow:

Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony.

I adore Gandhi and everything he stood for. I have read a few books about his incredible life and am looking forward to reading more of his own works at some point. To me, Gandhi is the absolute spiritual guru, the teacher of teachers. I look up to his thoughts on an individual's right to choose his or her own spiritual path. Although Gandhi was Hindu, he understood the rights of all religious and spiritual freedoms, after all, he was constantly incarcerated and frowned upon for having these strong beliefs. In the end, he was assassinated for his non-judging, understanding, amazing self.

This quote pretty much sums up my goals in life. I'm definitely not happy all of the time but I am obsessed with having "this kind" of authenticity with myself and with those ones around me. Although I am not even close to "living" this quote, I definitely believe in its power. Which might be why I get sad a lot. I have very high expectations of others but I have higher expectations for myself.

HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND EVERYONE!!

What is your power animal?

My power animal: Kangaroo

Kangaroo's Wisdom Includes:

Leaping away from bad situations
Creating a safe home environment
Ability to adapt to new situations
Protection of the young

There are lots of fun websites out there that discuss power animals but here's one that
I enjoy: http://www.animalspirits.com/index25.html

I have found tons of info on the web about shamanism...it's a real interesting yet healthy way to understand "self" a bit more. But most of all, it's fun!!

Why are we afraid of the WORD God.

I know a lot of people feel uncomfortable with the word GOD. I don't. I know God is tied to
many, if not all religions in our world, but I happen to find all of the connotations of GOD interesting. I mean, after all, it's only a word, three letters. If I used the phrase "higher power" or "the Divine" would people have the same reaction, probably not. I believe that GOD has a negative push for some because it is predominately associated with the Christian way of life, not that I'm going to write verse from the Bible (not even close) but a belief is a belief is a belief and weather you made it for yourself or were pushed to a particular belief, it can change at any moment. We either believe or we don't believe and I don't see any harm either way.Why are some superior and/or inferior because of their belief in God? Whether you are Christian, Buddhist, Hindu, Unitarian, agnostic, atheist, muslim, or a shaman, we all just want to feel connected, not alone in this world. And if we can acheive this...the ability to feel connected with ourselves, others, and the world around us, why do we have to put a definition on it. Why must there be an academic explanation? Why doesn't anyone talk about how they feel opposed to what they think? Isn't bliss and togetherness what most of us want anyhow?

I guess what I'm saying is this: I don't feel like I can really talk to anyone about my belief in God or else they freak out! I'm afraid I'll be labeled as "one of thooose people". And I'm not only talking about non-believers here, I'm talking about hypocritical and non-hypocritical believers too. No one wants to talk about it, not really. Not to mention, it's always been an awkward conversation amongst friends, especially during drinks and dinner, ha!

I could write forever on this topic but I'm tired and want to go to bed...have to work early tomorrow morning. I'm going to finish with this though...want to talk more about my generation specifically and why I feel a lot of us are falling off the band wagon as far as church and religious practice is concerned...actually about all spirituality!!after all, the connection I was talking about earlier has to do with spiritual fulfilment more than the church or any other religious affiliation. I just like to discuss the religious stuff too because people have such opinions!!

Fall and Spring Lineup

I'll be changing up my schedule this year a bit. I've decided that academia and me may not
fit so well after all. I'm more of a creator type, opposed to a "this should go here" and "that's not correct" type of girl. The whole black and white way of thinking gets under my skin and settles there until I explode!!!!Of course, I acknowledge the purpose of academia, GPA's, standardized tests, etc...but to me it's all a waste of time if you know you want to create things. Whether it be photography, paintings, music, films, or simply creating a space of peace and harmony,etc...if you want to be a creator just do it, it's that simple. Put your pessimistic thoughts aside and reach outside of your safe little box so you can reach those goals you've been dreaming of since you were a kid.
Like I said, my schedules been changed a bit. I'll be teaching creative writing for kids and adults for my park district this fall and for the spring,I'll be instructing screenwriting and creating writing courses for Joliet Junior College! I have a lot more work ahead of me but at least I'm finally going in a direction that I believe in...breath in...breath out, finally.

pics..of the trip...and a bit of a mind ramble

Here I've posted several pics of my trip to Greece and wonder how much importance they hold for the universe...or to put it milder, how much importance they hold for those following my blog.

I have but a few followers to my blog and wonder why my life or my writing is worthy? Is creating a blog just another self indulgence that us humans are partaking in? Or do we really need to be heard so much that we've resulted to a web-like virtual world where faceless comments are what we look forward too?

There's so many of us just trying to be heard; wanting others to understand our stories, what we're up to, where we've traveled to, what novel we've just finished reading, what popular tv show we can't stand!.....is this so-called universal outlet guiding us to our better selves, or are we just going to realize that the words we type on the page are merely just that, words. Words that travel locally,only. Either way, I'll keep on typing away in hopes that I reach someone.

Meteora...with a few more pics of other fun stuff!

1) Meteora 2) Ancient Agora (area) with Acropolis in the backdrop.

Meteora was one of our favorite places in Greece that we visited. It's located in North Central Greece near the village of Kastraki and the town of Kalambaka. Meteora is a set of monastaries situated on huge precipitous rocks that rise abruptly from the towns nearby. It's a sort of strange landscape in that the rocks seem to appear out of nowhere. The Pindos Mountain range is nearby but not nearly close enough to be a part of these rock foramations. For the nearby residents, along with the monks and nuns of the monastaries, these rock formations are thought to be sacred. The exact construction dates of these monastaries are unknown although many of them are thought to have been built in the early part of the 11th century. Many of the monastaries have been destroyed but 10 still remain, six of which can still be visited by

civilians. We only visited four but were quite surprised as to the differences between the four.

Some had an extremely peaceful atmosphere, transcendant if you will, while others seemed quite staged and spiritually inadequate, if you will. Of course, all in all, they were all extremely tranquil and sacred;however, some just stood out more than others...

3) Theatre--Acropolis(Athens)

Xylocastro, Greece (area)---This was one of the first stops on my trip. A few family members have homes in this area and it was great catching up and just chillin everyday by the sea. I ate great food, read,talked about life, etc...I have lots of great memories from this place, beginning when I was around the age of 13 years old! It's a nice feeling to have a place in the world where every single memory is a positive one.

Ellas Travels

it's amazing the mood change in me as soon as I arrived in Greece.
It's been too long since I've been and it's allowed me to understand, a bit more,
my connection to this beautiful place. Ted and I will try to make yearly trips back here now, as
we realized our innate love for this country, especially during the summer!!

The sea is nearly perfect, it is actually, and I've read more here in a few days than I have back home in the past few months, why is this? I'm currently reading Eat, Pray, Love and it has definitely inspired me to take advantage of my 24 day stay here in Ellatha, Ellada, Ellas,
Greece, etc...

Ted and I may be heading to the island of Tinos in a few days or Northern Greece, I'm indecisive about our plans so will leave it up to fate and go with the flow instead. We will inevitably end up in Crete but have a few days to play with before our final stop. Wish our fates well....
Eat, pray, love...yes!

Authenticity, depth, realism and kindess...

I had one hell of a day yesterday. It's simple, actually, the reasoning behind my
"hell of a day" that is. And just for your knowledge (or my knowledge, whichever) in this instance "hell of a day" means Fabulous Day.

I decided that on my only "real" day off this week I would spend some time with three people who really mean a lot to me. The order of the day doesn't matter, or the intricacies of our doings, only that good conversation evolved and I felt authentic, as myself.
I've decided that this is when I feel my best, when I'm genuine, vulnerable, the real me, I suppose. It's simple for me: authenticity, depth, realism, and kindness, these meanings encompass my happiness. The ideas that appear to make me happy, writing, traveling, spending time with family, music, festivals, etc...are not the true summaries of my smile, only authenticity, depth, realism, and kindness. These definitions, these so-called adverbs/adjectives/nouns are what I've been looking for.

Race for the Cure

http://ww5.komen.org/

My mom and I participated in this breast caner race in the QC this morning and
we both feel pretty great about it. Despite the rain there was a
very good turnout and lots of fast runners! We walked 5km in about 57 minutes which is pretty good for walking, I think. Then, of course, we had to stop at Starbucks after and get our breve and soy lattes. Anyhow, good weekend so far.
Yiayia's year memorial is tomorrow so the rest of the family is coming in tonight and tomorrow morning. I can't believe it's already been a year!

Take care everyone!

A pretty useful week.

Getting lots of stuff accomplished this week. You know: paying bills, scheduling appointments, connecting with friends, watering flowers, etc....I feel a bit caught up this week which feels so great but I still have a few more checkmarks to check off on my "to do" list today before I hang out with my mom and niece tonight.

Have a good weekend everybody!

Bridging the Gap Between Fear and Love...

Well...I survived the retreat this weekend. It was an amazing time and
I pushed through some obstacles (literally) that I never thought were possible. I must admit I thought the weekend would turn out a bit differently but it ultimately ended up being exactly what I needed both physically and emotionally. Please visit the link on my blog--forgetting2remember.com---for more information.

Namaste,

Georgjean

Forgetting to Remember Seminar.

I am going to a seminar this weekend;I am leaving in about 15 minutes.
It's a pilot workshop so I'm not sure what to expect but I'm still
extremely excited about it. What I've gathered from the workshop's website is this: the weekend will be about letting go of fears and, instead of holding on to these fears, letting them go. Upon letting go, a part of your true nature should be left...
Furthermore, I was supposed to journal on where I "stop" in my life. I haven't yet, of course, but I have thought about it for awhile now.

We'll see where everything ends up! Hopefully the weekend will inspire me to continue working on my future career dreams/goals.

My mind is full of thoughts today, instead of my normal 26,000 thoughts a day, my thoughts have increased to 50,ooo! I need to relax, sit back, enjoy the beautiful day, forget about anything that might or might not have happened at work, and most importantly, I need to remember that not all of us get along...(unfortunately)

Just breathe....

HAPPY EARTH DAY!!

We all need to treat the earth a little better, right? The earth grounds us and we need to respect it, indefinitely...I could use a push every now and again to get my "earthy" side up and running!

Go outside and enjoy!

Samaria Gorge

Samaria Gorge

Ted belongs to the South side Cretan Society and I'm trying to post a pic on their facebook
page of the Samaria Gorge in Crete. Well, I'm having difficulties doing this but I did manage to send the link to my blog (figures). I haven't been to the Samaria Gorge but if Teddy and I go to Crete this summer hopefully will put the gorge on our schedule.

More of Sante Fe...

I was able to grab some fav pics from my mom's collection.

Here is a Chakra diagram-

have some fun with it!!

At Home With the fam...

I came back home this weekend for my mom's birthday. This afternoon, my mom and I took a ride to Davenport,IA so we could check out Greatest Grains. If you've never been, you need to go: it's a neat little organic grocery store with tons of pleasant products, including a great variety of lotions and soaps. It also has its own deli so if you have a taste for a delicious homemade sandwich, this is just the place for you! Here's the website if you want to scope it out:

http://www.greatestgrains.com/

Here are some other spirited related sites I recommend:

http://www.spiritualityhealth.com/NMagazine/current.php

http://www.innerpeacehealthcare.com/page/page/2250432.htm

http://www.peaceplace.net/medicine_for_the_earth.htm

http://www.adbusters.org/( a bit more political, this one)

I need to go for a walk right now. I'm a bit tired. Cooper (our dog) has been feeling extremely under the weather; he's been keeping Ted and I up by puking throughout the night. I'm hoping he feels better soon because I feel so helpless! I still need to go for my walk. I've dedicated myself to walking everyday. I'm up to 45 minute walks now. Whoohoo!

Panama

I didn't know what to expect from Panama. We went down there for a wedding and came back full of interesting memories. Panama City was larger than I expected, but pretty typical of a third world metropolitan city. It was definitely full of life: bold colors, segregated neighborhoods, blocked roads, a lively ghetto, contaminated oceans, grateful Panamanians, colorful animals, and lots of fish and eclectic restaurants! I loved the weediness of the country; the manner in which its forests grew wild and yards weren't pristine like they are here in the states. I found this to be quite refreshing. What was a bit difficult to swallow was the remarkable slow service. Now, I'm usually not one to judge slower service because I'm greek, and when in Greece, things move at a pretty slow pace (esp. on vacation); however, Panama introduced me to a new concept of slow service.

The wedding was a livelihood of Panamanian culture! Dancing, dancing, and more dancing!

The music was a gracious earful. I've always had an interest in latin-like music but the chaotic sound of the brass band in Panama was fascinating and contagious.

Aside from losing our luggage and spending most of our money on new clothes, I would say I learned a lot about myself and the world a little more after this trip.