Children are courageous teachers and encourage on so many levels. I find this video refreshing and inspirational. Yoga Bubble jvg music album was released March 17th, 2011. Thanks to yoga music teacher Jason Victor Gubbay for the magical music. The video was shot live at Bondi Junction in Sydney Austalia. Yoga instructor Suzanna helps guide the children in fun hatha yoga postures/asanas and savasana. Watch the baby on the sidelines trying to follow the poses!

A dear friend, Caroline Reynolds recently passed away.  Caroline lived in courage, and was a special light to many people around the world.  One of her longtime friends Michele Knight wrote the words below on Caroline’s website.  I could not have said it better, so I am sharing Michele’s words with you. Michele  is creating a foundation, and plans to continue Caroline’s work – Spiritual Fitness.  I love you Caroline, and know your work is just beginning.  I am grateful to have met you, as well as many of your wonderful friends – you were and are, a blessing in my life.

Michele’s Message

After a long dance with her health our darling Caroline passed away on Tuesday, 23rd March 2010.

She was one of those very rare, dazzling spirits who knew the value of each and every second.  Having been told that she was dying some months ago, Caroline declared that she wanted to drink the juice of the last drops of life and to be in joy and give joy in those final days.  When anyone expressed shock or sympathy when they found out her condition, she always gently reminded them, “But we are all dying and the importance is to live with love and be love.”

True to her word, Caroline lived those last few months as she always had. She had the word ‘Joy’ emblazoned on her hospital door.  She radiated love, smiles and was a phenomenal inspiration to all those around her. Her unconditional love touched every soul that crossed her path.

In her book, Spiritual Fitness, she wrote, ‘Ask not what life can do for you but what you can do for life. Enjoy your life and you may be blessed on every step of your sacred and eternal journey.’ She embodied this sentence right until the end. When a doctor said to her, “I am so sorry you have been this unlucky”, she replied, “Doctor can’t you see how lucky I am? Look at the love around me. Make sure you tell people how lucky I am if they ask!”

Two days before she died she was recognized for the special, spiritual soul she is and was ordained as a Buddhist nun. Life was still giving wonderful surprises and she was fully present and delighted by the miracle of it all. She glowed with joy and peace. Caroline died as she lived; beautifully and elegantly, sharing her expansive love. She slipped away peacefully, surrounded by those who loved her.

She was a profound blessing in all our lives. I know that the next part of her journey will be done with her usual enthusiasm and relish. She saw death not as an ending, but the next part of an exciting adventure and she leaves behind an incredible legacy of love and wisdom for the art of living.

All of us who met her will remember her in a thousand fond and wonderful ways. She was an amazing influence on us all. And fortunately for us all, Caroline’s voice will remain – not just in memory, but also with fresh inspiration. During her final months, she was writing a book, intent on sharing some of the miracles of her journey with her.  This is not a goodbye.  This is a joyful, excited message to watch this space.

Link to Caroline’s blog – http://www.carolinereynolds.com/

What sings to your soul?  What is your passion?  I talk to people every day, who are reaching into their hearts, to find the joy, the passion that they know lives inside of them. Giving up is easy. Anyone and everyone can do that, and most do. Check in with yourself for some honest answers. Listen to your heart. Be brave, live courageously by living the life you came here to live.

“The potential hidden within each of us is staggering. Shed the old layers. Devote yourself to something of value that sings to the passion in your soul. Now you become the master of your destiny.”
-Debra Oakland

People want to be happy.  It’s that simple.  It all starts with you, not “out there” in the world.  There is nothing that will make you happy for long, or satisfy you, if you are not happy inside. Take some time to connect with what brings you joy. Happiness is infectious, joy expands only when you are ready to embrace it. Be a willing participant. Become the master of your destiny.

Debra Oakland @ Living in Courage Online

Jamie Oliver’s TED prize talk, makes the case for an all-out assault on our ignorance of food. Jamie spoke at TED2010 this February in Long Beach, CA for 22 minutes, about the state of world health, or rather the lack of it. Jamie is reaching out globally, with courage and passion.

Remember the shaggy-haired “Naked Chef” of late-’90s? One of my favorite cooking shows back then.  Jamie was courageous, raw, and was passionate about food. I became a fan. He has built a worldwide media conglomerate of TV shows, books, cookware and magazines. His idea of sharing unpretentious food with friends and family, was refreshing to me. Everyone gets to play in the kitchen.

Jamie now has Fifteen Foundation’s. He has trained young chefs from challenged backgrounds to run four of his restaurants.  He visits schools to teach children to grow organic gardens of their own, and for their school time meals. Jamie’s School Dinner, Ministry of Food and Food Revolution USA combine Oliver’s culinary tools, cookbooks and television, with serious activism and community organizing — to create change on both the individual and governmental level.

When you tap into your Inner Power Source, you will find courage at the center.  This “source” of who you truly are, fears nothing.  The less evolved self, or the little “I” can live in fear and doubt.  It really is time to stop this bondage of our spirit, by living from the inside out.  Living from the outside in, is an old game most of us are tired playing.  It has been exhausting.  No one ever wins, and the game never ends.  Let’s create a new game.  One in which we all win by supporting each other.  When one wins, we all win. Games are supposed to be fun!

If you are of a mind set that someone has to lose, in order for someone to win, open your mind to a new way of thinking.  Courage speaks the language of “I Can – I Will.” Say “Yes to Life” and you will find life saying yes to you.  Doubt and fear must be removed from the game of life, before courage can act in it’s full empowerment.  What will you replace fear and doubt with?

Love and Light

Courage and Hope

Joy and Harmony

Wisdom and Confidence

Unity and Grace

Peace and Joy

Abundance and Opulence

Health and Wellbeing

Single Minded Purpose and Clarity

Make your own list.  Everyone has different dreams and goals.  Really think about what you want.  Why do you fear what you fear?  Is what you fear true? What steps can you take to release the fear or doubt? Ask yourself some powerful questions.  Use courage when looking into the face of fear.  Fear is a weakling, and only holds the power you give it.  By living from the inside out, you are not giving your power away.  By choosing to create a miraculous life, you will expand.

Work with the principles of life that are your true nature.  Play the game of life to win.  Courageously maneuver yourself into a power position.  As you become an expert at playing the game of life, become a messenger, a teacher to others.  When you bring people into your game, they will learn that no one needs to lose.  That is one of the purposes of the game.  You will be able to provide your fellow players with insight, and encouragement.  They will receive invaluable wisdom into how to play the game of life, where everyone wins.  Inspire greatness in yourself, share it, and people will pass it on.

Debra Oakland @ Living in Courage Online

If you love to live your truth, tell your story, feel your pain, express your joy, take what you need, and give what you will – You will love Owning Pink.  This is an amazing online community, that supports, offers guidance, inspiration and ideas.  This is done through posts, workshops, and the Pink Posse forum.  This is a safe place, free of facades.  Owning Pink allows you to reclaim your mojo, and tap into your most authentic you. Owning Pink roars courage to me.

Lissa Rankin created this space for you.  Here is some information about Lissa from her blog – Lissa Rankin is an OB/GYN physician, author of the forthcoming What’s Up Down There? Questions You’d Only Ask Your Gynecologist If She Was Your Best Friend (St. Martin’s Press, 2010) and Encaustic: A Guide To Creating Fine Art With Wax (Random House, 2010), a nationally-represented professional artist, a mother, and founder of Owning Pink, a website and series of workshops committed to building authentic community and empowering women to get their mojo back. She is also a dog walker, a spiritual seeker, a wife, a yogini, a chauffeur, a cook, and a music fanatic. First and foremost, she is a woman, and like many women, she once thought she had to put herself into a box and choose who to be. She now accepts that, while she is all these things, no single identity defines her. She is more than what she does. She strives to be authentic, in all aspects of her life, and she encourages others to do the same.
Lissa practices holistic women’s health at Clear Center of Health in Mill Valley, California. Her nationally-recognized abstract encaustic paintings and sculptures are represented by galleries in San Francisco, Santa Fe, Boston, Atlanta, Laguna Beach, Houston,and Bethesda. She currently resides in Northern California with her husband and fellow artist, Matt Klein, and their daughter, Siena.

Here are some links for you to connect with Lissa, Owning Pink and The Pink Posse:

www.owningpink.com
www.lissarankin.com
www.lissarankinart.com
www.clearcenterofhealth.com
Owning Pink Community: http://www.owningpink.com/forum
Twitter ID: lissarankin
Facebook: Owning Pink http://www.facebook.com/owningpink
Facebook: Lissa Rankin http://www.facebook.com/lissarankin

And introducing The Pink Effect:
www.pinkeffect.ning.com

I hope you visit Lissa and the Pink Posse, you will be thrilled you did.

Debra Oakland @ Living in Courage Online

Today I am in the mood for some courage quotes to kick start the day.  Here are a few by people I consider courageous.  Courage is required to reattempt a task after initial failure, and to continue on until success is reached.  Reading quotes of courage, fills me with confidence and a sense of inner power. Quotes are like condensed life lessons – to be shared with the world.

Have the courage to love your humanity free as it seeks to balance the mind and heart.  In this balance you will find your freedom. Debra Oakland

Courage is what it takes to stand up and speak; courage is also what it takes to sit down and listen. Winston Churchill

You gain strength, courage, and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You must do the thing which you think you cannot do.  Eleanor Roosevelt

Do the thing you fear to do and keep on doing it… that is the quickest and surest way ever yet discovered to conquer fear.  Dale Carnegie

One of the most courageous things you can do is identify yourself, know who you are, what you believe in, and where you want to go.  Sheila Murray Bethel

One man with courage makes a majority.  Andrew Jackson

Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one’s courage. Anais Nin

All our dreams can come true – if we have the courage to pursue them. Walt Disney

Pain nourishes courage. You can’t be brave if you’ve only had wonderful things happen to you.  Mary Tyler Moore

Thanks for visiting, and make it a great day – Debra Oakland @ Living in Courage Online

Karen Armstrong’s book “The Case For God” is a tour de force.  A brilliantly written and passionate book about God.  Karen is one of the most interesting religion writers of her day.  We all have many names for God, to fit our comfort levels.  Karen Armstrong explores those names, and our deep inner beliefs about God, in a way that opens up our minds to expand, not contract.

I view Karen Armstrong as a most courageous woman, who explores a very sensitive subject with great sensitivity.

Here are some editorial reviews from Amazon:

“Karen Armstrong’s book is simply superb. Wide-ranging, detailed, well researched meticulously argued and beautifully written, it is a definitive analysis of the role of religious belief and transcendence in our history and our life.”
—Dr Robert Buckman, author of Can We Be Good without God?

“Karen Armstrong, in writing The Case for God, provides the reader with one of the very best theological works of our time. It brings a new understanding to the complex relationship between human existence and the transcendent nature of God. This is a book that is so well researched and so deep with insight and soaring scholarship that only Karen Armstrong could have written it. The Case for God should be required reading for anyone who claims to be a believer, an agnostic or an atheist.”
—The Right Reverend John Bryson Chane, D.D., Episcopal Bishop of the Diocese of Washington, D.C.

“No one is better qualified or more needed than Karen Armstrong to enter the hot public debate between believers and non–believers over the existence of God.  Her latest book, eagerly awaited and received, rings out with the qualities she brings to all of her work—The Case for God is lucid, learned, provocative, and illuminating.  Indeed, Armstrong once again does what she always does best by shining a clear light on the deepest mysteries of the religious imagination.”
—Jonathan Kirsch, author of The Harlot by the Side of the Road

Debra Oakland @ Living in Courage Online

A Global Climate Wake Up Call went out on Monday, Sept 21 2009.  Members of Avaaz and TckTckTck Campaign sent out a wake-up call to world leaders.  Courageous people gathered together in 134 countries.  There were over 2,600 events from Australia to Europe which reached heads of state and cabinet ministers.  The amount of phone calls to government officials, crashed many phone lines.  For photos and maps of the event, go to the Avaaz link above, and view “The World in Action.”