I've got a thing for hearts...

so I would like this pillow even if it didn't have a "sophisticated micro-computer that sends out soothing vibrations timed to a heart in deep meditation for a peaceful and relaxing experience that makes you more in tune with your own beating heart." I saw these in the Uncommon Goods catalog. They are designed by artist Yury Gitman who says "so rarely does our culture ask us to stop, pause and reflect. We use our talents to create a world of distractions and diversions for ourselves. I challenged myself to make something hi-tech and cool that calms people down and even encourages us to be more aware of our surroundings and ourselves."

It's called "my beating heart" and here's their website.

Intention Powered Products

There is another brand of bottled water on the market called "H2Om: Water with Intention." According to their website, the water is infused with three different vibrational and energetic frequencies. The first is the vibrational frequency of the label which has words such as love, perfect health, gratitude and prosperity on it as well as meaningful symbols and colors. The second is the infusion of sound and music and "the final energetic frequency is the power of thought. Your ability to connect to the water, create your own intention, and literally, 'Drink' the vibration inspired and supported by the words on the label. This not only reverberates in your body, but out into the world as well" says the company. This is all related to the work of Masaru Emoto who I wrote about in a previous post (see Water for Thought below).

Another new product on the market is "Intentional Chocolate." Their website says "Intentional Chocolate is embedded with the following intention: Whoever consumes this chocolate will manifest optimal health and functioning at physical, emotional and mental levels, and in particular will enjoy an increased sense of energy, vigor and well-being. The new "ingredient" in Intentional Chocolate is not a conventional nutrient, but rather the focused benevolent intentions of highly experienced meditators. It is the first of a new line of food products designed to provide sensory delight, exceptional nutrition, and a novel, scientifically demonstrated form of “intentional nutrition.”

The chocolate is "Hawaiian vintage chocolate" and the people adding the intention ingredient are Buddhist monks. 10% of net proceeds are being donated to the Deer Park Buddhist Center and Monastery. “We want to support the Dalai Lama’s vision of creating a center at Deer Park to facilitate dialogue between Eastern and Western disciplines" the company says.

If you're thinking this is a bunch of hooey, I'm sure you're not alone. I happen to believe in the power of intention and the influence it has on everything we experience, including food. But I also believe that I could infuse my own bottle of water with my thoughts and focused intentions. In fact, the tradition of saying grace before a meal serves a similar purpose - we bless and appreciate the food we are about to eat, relating to it in a conscious way that allows it to nourish us on many levels.

I also believe that for decades it has been easy for people to classify things like this as hokey, mystical, new agey spiritual nonsense. They can put it in a box and keep it at a safe distance. Even I am uncomfortable using much of the language and expressions of spirituality made manifest. My key motivator in designing the be line is to develop a brand that embodies the essence of a mindful lifestyle in a different way - a personal, simple modern way while being very careful not to make spirit a commodity (which it could never be). I think that we should all recognize, however, that these products are indicators of a new social and cultural movement that approaches life holistically. That means body, mind and spirit are acknowledged and nurtured. The spirit, I'm happy to believe, is coming out of the box.

The Spirit of Fashion

Yves Saint Laurent died in June firmly established as an icon in fashion design. The August issue of Vogue includes a tribute to him and quotes him as having said "Without elegance of the heart, there is no elegance."

I love this quote and I cannot deny that I love fashion. I love observing it, reading about it, shopping for it and wearing it. There, I wrote it.

The industry of fashion, at least the leading edge of it, undeniably promotes superficial beauty and glamour, extravagance, the further obsession with celebrity and "who they are wearing", unhealthy body images and a compulsion to own "it" brands and labels. It's difficult to reconcile all of that with living a spirit centered life, but I'm always looking for ways. Here are some of my current justifications, I mean, thoughts:

Fashion design is an art form and, as such, its
underlying impulse is an expression of spirit. The clothes we choose to wear are one way to represent who we are to the rest of the world. They certainly don't define us, but they can say a lot about us, how we feel about ourselves and our orientation to life. My mood and my outlook on the day can be significantly bolstered when I wear something that fits me just right, literally and figuratively. I believe, like everything else in the physical world, it comes down to how much importance we place on it. There is a big difference between appreciating something and worshiping it. Have we confused who we are with what we are wearing or carrying? If so, recognizing it and tipping the scales back in the other direction can bring us into balance and grounded in the memory that who we really are is one big happy naked spirit.

Photograph of Yves Saint Laurent

The Path to Joy

I wrote in the spring about my excited anticipation of the movie "The Love Guru," but it got so many terrible reviews that I couldn't bring myself to see it. I want to preserve my opinion of Mike Meyers as a comic genius. As I mentioned before, he is friends with Deepak Chopra and based on the previews, was doing a great impersonation of Deepak's voice for the main character of the movie. Now, Deepak has a new book out called "Why is God Laughing?", "a humorous, fictional tale of a comedian and his unlikely mentor to show the way back to hope, joy and even enlightenment." That's so nice, their friendship. Anyway, I took this article called "the Path to Joy" off of beliefnet because I'm a sucker for spiritual optimism:

10 principles for spiritual optimism adapted from Deepak Chopra's new book:

1. The Healthiest Response to Life Is Laughter.
This first principle serves as an antidote to fear and sorrow by encouraging you to experience life as joyous.

2. There Is Always a Reason to Be Grateful.
This second principle is an antidote to victimization..

3. You Belong in the Scheme of the Universe. There's Nothing to Be Afraid Of. You Are Safe.
The third principle is the antidote for insecurity.

4. Your Soul Cherishes Every Aspect of Your Life.
The fourth principle is the antidote for feeling undervalued.

5. There Is a Plan, and Your Soul Knows What It Is.
The fifth principle is the antidote to meaninglessness.

6. Ecstasy Is the Energy of Spirit. When Life Flows, Energy Is Natural.
The sixth principle is the antidote to inertia.

7. There Is a Creative Solution to Every Problem. Every Possibility Holds the Promise of Abundance.
The seventh principle is the antidote to failure.

8. Obstacles are Opportunities in Disguise.
The eighth principle is the antidote to inflexibility.

9. Evolution Leads the Way Through Desire.
The ninth principle is the antidote to hypocrisy.

10. Freedom Is Letting Go.
The tenth principle is the antidote to attachment.

Go to beliefnet for explanations of each principle.

Photo: Andy Goldsworthy

WELL PUT

I love this quote from the book I'm reading now, The Seekers Guide by Elizabeth Lesser who co-founded the Omega Institute:

"We're going to have to be serious to add enough of the feminine into the patriarchy so that what emerges is neither a patriarchy or a matriarchy, but a human-archy. And not even that. What we need is a being-archy, where all beings are granted mutual respect and where decisions are made with the whole circle of life in mind."

This is one of those books where I am highlighting some profound wisdom on almost every page. I knew it was going to be good when I read in her introduction:

"When asked about making important choices, E.B. White said ' I wake up in the morning torn between the desire to save the world and to enjoy the world. This makes it hard to plan the day.' Please don't feel torn as you read this book. You don't have to choose between loving your self and loving God, between opening your heart and illuminating your mind. If you take your time and keep your wits about you, you can create a wholesome and artful spiritual life that nourishes the whole self -- a spirituality that will help you enjoy the world, and perhaps even save it."

Tie Dyed and gone to heaven

I think of the be line as a brand for the modern mindful lifestyle. I study the evolution of spirituality and how it expresses itself in popular culture, especially fashion. I've always related to the feel and philosophy of hippie or 'new age' but not the aesthetic, so part of my approach in designing the be line is to capture that feel in a modern way. Anyway, blah, blah, blah...what I'm getting at is that I'm always looking out for things like this:

This dress is a beautiful, sophisticated, and modern use of tie dye. It is from the Marchesa Resort 2009 collection and I lifted it right off a blog I love: Coco + Kelly

and I was recently tempted to buy this necklace from Urban Outfittersbut didn't think I could pull it off. Hippie has always been cool in its way, but modern? Maybe so.

Do animals have souls?

This is the question that came in an email with this video of Christian the Lion. The video is only 2+ minutes long and worth watching despite the shamelessly sappy music. The story is of a lion who was adopted by a couple in England, raised domestically and then released into the wild in Africa and what happens when they visit him years later.

It never even occurred to me to consider that animals do NOT have souls. Of course they do. My opinion is that it would be arrogant of humans to assume that an animal's purpose for existing is any less important than a human. Since my theory of life is that it is not our actions, possessions or words that determine the value of our contribution, but who we are being, the invisible essence, vibe, energy (whatever you want to call it) that we add to the whole, then it makes sense to me that animals are also contributing. They may not be tangible contributions, but anyone who has a dog or cat in their life knows, there's a lot of love going on. My wonderful friend Alexa said "Animals may make a more important contribution than humans, because they offer unconditional love. They are often lifesavers of people who are sick, sad, or lonely."

VISITING PROFESSOR* SERIES | #1

*one who professes


from Sera Beak

“Everything…everything I am, everything I do, all that I know and breathe and share and taste and love and despise and worship and desire and delight in and am afraid of and confused by and shy about and sure of and questioning and lying about and struggling with and rejoicing in and dancing with and touching and flirting with and writing and filming and speaking about and exploding with… I offer to You. For You. I am for You. For You. All that I am, All that I can offer… is for You.”

I was, in a very strange and yet authentic way bowing, submitting, surrendering, my self to the divine, my small self to my big Self, my personality to my Buddha Nature, my life to the Universe, my freckles to the stars. I didn’t mean to. It just sort of happened. Organically. Tears mingled with sweat as my yoga mat morphed into Kali’s moist soft warm red tongue, or a thick strong strand of the Magdalene’s red hair, or a sticky red runway strip to All That Is.

My yoga instructor next asked us to sit back on our hips and move into child’s pose, with our arms still forward, hands turned up, forehead still hugging the ground and the rhythmic involuntary inner mantra continued:

“I love You, I love You, I love You…”

read the rest of this and more at Sera's blog, Spiritual Cowgirl

About Sera:

Sera Beak is a world-traveled, Harvard-trained scholar of comparative religion who's spent the last dozen years traveling the world exploring spirituality --from whirling with Sufi dervishes to meeting the Dalai Lama on her 21st birthday; from taking the host from a Croatian Catholic mystic who had the stigmata (truly) to having life-altering visions with a shaman, and just about everything in between (she now happily deems herself a “spiritual cowgirl"). The Red Book: A Deliciously Unorthodox Approach To Igniting Your Divine Spark is her first book. She has also written for the Let’s Go Travel Guide series, Bootyparlor.com and Beliefnet.com. She’s as comfortable talking about Muslim women in Iraq, the pagan history of religious traditions and the extreme need for religious tolerance in this day and age as she is about designer jeans, vibrators, and the latest celebrity beakup.

Sera is called “a woman who is hands down the freshest, boldest breath of fresh air spirituality has heard, read or seen in decades” by Maureen Moss, author, motivational speaker, and radio host of worldpuja.org

Nothing...I just love them

from Pixie Market

4th of July

God bless America. No matter what, I am always grateful that I live in this country founded on freedom, democracy and, heck yeah, the pursuit of happiness. And I am hopeful for what is to come.

My friend, Gayle Etcheverry, was inspired by listening to Wayne Dyer say he was waiting for the day when instead of saying "God Bless America," we will say "God Bless Humanity." She started the website God Bless Humanity and has been unstoppable ever since. The site is a wonderful counterbalance to the negative and scary stories reported in the media every day. It reports and shares positive and good stories, shifting our focus to the big or small beautiful ways that people around the world helping, loving and lifting each other up. God Bless Humanity.