Women in the LEAD

WOMEN: The Power of Silence

Sometimes the best gifts we receive and give come in silence.

GIFTS RECEIVED
"I have learned silence from the talkative, toleration from the intolerent, and kindness from the unkind; yet strange I am ungrateful to those teachers."
---Kahlil Gibran, painter and poet

GIFTS WE GIVE
"There is a silence that matches our best possibilities when we have learned to listen to others. We can master the art of being quiet in order to be able to hear clearly what others are saying...We need to cut off the garbled static of our own preoccupations to give to people who want our quiet attention." 
---Eugene Kennedy, philosopher

What will you give and receive in the silence today?  One gift is that we have connected in this silence across time and distance.  Hello. Namaste.

Debbe Kennedy

Come for a visit.

Love is a State of Being

"Love is a state of being.  Your love is not outside; it is deep within you. You can never lose it, and it can never leave you.  It is not dependent on some other body, some external form".

Eckhardt Tolle

If love is a state of being, how can we choose to live our lives in this state.  If love is deep within us, we have the ability to create every action, thought and intention from this place deep within us.  How can we live daily from this great place of love?

I am beginning to ask these questions in dense traffic jams, when I watch the news and look closely at the state we have allowed the world to fall into, and when I see children's needs ignored and neglected - universally.  In life I am a true optimist, but it has become clear to me that it is up to me to consciously choose my state of being and to create my world not from a place of harsh response and reaction, but from clear thought, intention and from "the state of being" love.

Maureen Simon

To Live and Know Life

"We are not here just to survive and live long ... we are here to live and know life in its multi-dimensions.  To know life in in its richness, in all its variety.   And when a man lives multi-dimensionally, explores all possibilities available, never shrinks back from any challenge, goes, rushes to it, welcomes it, rises to the occasion, then life becomes a flame, life blooms." 

Bhagwan Shree Ragneesh

Have you ever asked yourself if: 

• you are living to know life, its richness and its variety?
• if you are living multi-dimensionally, exploring all possibilities?
• if you are inviting challenge and rising to the occasion?

We reach our potential when we explore this deep level of aliveness.

Maureen Simon

The Gods Bestowed Wisdom

Once, only the Gods had Wisdom
This Wisdom they bestowed on man
In man it became knowledge

Now man possesses knowledge
Knowledge will evolve to wisdom
Man will sacrifice this wisdom
And bestow it onto the Gods as Love           Robbert Van Santan

It will be a fine day when we all realize that the knowledge that we hold and the knowledge that we are gaining each day of our lives is the wisdom of tomorrow. I truly believe that we are all accumulating very important sacred knowledge each day of our lives. My late friend Robbert (quoted above) deeply understood this fact. He lived each day with this in mind as he lit each life he touched. My wish is that we will all be grateful for and value the great knowledge that each day brings with it and that we too will light each live that we touch.

To knowledge and wisdom....

Maureen Simon

What Pattern Is Running Through Your Life?

Be at peace and see a clear pattern running through your lives. Nothing is by chance.....

Eileen Caddy

Part of the joy of life that I have been experiencing these days has been fed by my strong love of "mystery--of not knowing. I am realizing that I am apart of a much larger picture and that the uncertainty in my life is a gift. I am also learning that  I can live with uncertainty and still experience peace. I have been thinking about the pattern that is running through my life a great deal this summer and noticing that the work, learning and experience of my past is being carried forth and used in my life a great deal these days. I guess you could say I am noticing continuity. I have been taking an inventory of strenghts and attributes and questioning how can these gifts be put to best use as I work exclusively to support women to understand and claim the "essential role" that I believe they must step forth and hold in the leadership of the world today.

I really do believe that if we look back and evaluate our life history,  take an inventory of our greatest gifts and talents and begin to listen to what we love to do most we can begin to see a pattern. The pattern can give us a great deal of understanding about why we are here and can also lead us to great peace.

Maureen Simon

LIFE COLORS: What kind of person are you?

Once in a while a little self-test comes into my path. I always enjoy them and find it fascinating how just answering a few questions can result in offering you a perspective of yourself that comes pretty close. Do you like them too? Yesterday, a special friend posted the Life Colors Online survey.

When I took it, I found out I am a SKY-FIRE. The first line of the personal description I received after answering 15 questions said, "This "yellow" quadrant highlights the fire sign of your personality and your tendency to blaze across the sky like a comet, taking new ideas and concepts and trying to push them into action." I must admit, I loved imagining myself "blazing across the sky". It gave new meaning to the very busy week I just experienced! A friend also tried it. She was a FIRE-EARTH. Her description also seemed perfect. The first line described "her tendency to act in the heat of the moment, dealing with practical 'down-to-earth' matters that concern her---an action-oriented person."

Here is the url to Life Colors Online, so you can try it. What are your life-colors?
Come back and tell us what you learned about yourself, so we can compare notes.
To leave a comment, click on "comment" below this post.

Debbe Kennedy

Visit Women in the LEAD at the Global Dialogue Center.

What Do You Have?

What are your greatest gifts?

For many of us it is a challenge to claim our greatest gifts and strengths.  For years we have been socialized, scrutinized, trained and in development.  These years of integration are important as they help us to fit into the world and allow us to socialize and integrate. The concern comes in when we begin to hear the sound of others more loudly than the sound of our own voice. However, there comes a day when we must listen from deep within to hear "our own song" and to believe in its strength and importance.

So, how do we hear our own voice? How do we know what our strengths, gifts and talents are? How do we know what we value and what is real for us in our lives today?

I believe that we hear our own voice when we are clear enough to know what we value and hold dearest in our lives. We hear our own voice when we are ready to take the accumulative learnings that our life holds and bring them forth into the world. Once we have a sense for what we truly value, we can begin to look at our strengths, gifts and talents.

This all leads us to a significant question that we all need to answer on a regular basis:  "What do we value the most now? What is real and important for us in our lives today?' When we live our lives in alignment with what we value most, each day takes on a totally different degree of significance.  Today's world presents us with many challenges and it is more important now than ever for us to hold to a high level of personal responsibility to bring our values into the world in a meaningful way.

• Where can you show up in a more meaningful way in your life today?
• What would that look like?
• How would that be a service to you and others in the world?

Go for it!

Maureen Simon

Alive With Possibilities? The Choice Is Yours

Our lives hold so much newness each day, newness and opportunity that we may not see or notice.  Often our days are made up of situations that may feel to be or appear routine or similar to the day that just passed. This can put us in automatic pilot and make it difficult for us to tap into the magic and potential that surrounds us each moment of our lives. I remember times in my life when the magic poured through each day because I knew of no other way of being. I can clearly recall many days when I played under my favorite cherry tree and became transformed through my imagination to worlds and realms that were truly enchanted. Children have a natural ability to live in many worlds and to gain perspective and creativity from all that their lives touch.

As we mature and fit more into the "real world"... the world of activity, contribution and high levels of activity it is important to connect into the endless worlds of possibility and potential that are all around us. The world is crying out for people/leaders that can bring creativity, imagination and care for the whole to the forefront of societies. We can start by looking at how alive and awake that we are personally in the world. If we all included newness, creativity and imagination in our daily lives the world would be a very different place!

Here are a few ways to remind ourselves that life is much more than that which meets our eye at any given moment and that possibility lives everywhere:

• Look at the route that you drive or walk on the average day. Notice three new things that you have never seen or noticed before.

• Look for signs/information or messages that may be popping up on a regular basis that you, in the past, may have not noticed or have been ignoring.

• Notice any synchronicities--moments where things come together in an unbelievable way that you could have never predicted. These moments often carry very important information. What information may be useful to you at this time?

• Notice places, people and experiences that bring you great joy, excitement or peace. Be aware of where you feel light and joyful. Find more new experiences of this nature.

I commit to looking closely at where the magic and untapped possibilities lie in my life?  Are you willing do the same?

Maureen Simon

Alicia Keyes Teaches Us to Shine

Today in particular I needed a lift. Ever have those days?---the ones where you just need to be reminded of all that belongs to you for the asking?

I ran across two beautiful pictures of Alicia Keyes that I had saved from a magazine. Her face and being in the photographs reflects her message to us all:

"I want to live a BOLD LIFE----full of COLOR! It is our duty to SHINE as BRIGHTLY as possible. Everything we can be is LIMITLESS."   ---- Alicia Keyes

How wonderful it is for us to have each other to find inspiration and to tap on the shoulder when we need to remind us of all the promise ahead. Sometimes by stepping into others' perspectives we find ourselves again.

How will you shine today in your part of the world?

What are you doing today to live a BOLD LIFE ... your BEST LIFE?

Debbe Kennedy

Visit Women in the LEAD at the Global Dialogue Center

Success Is A Journey

"Success is a journey, not a destination. Half the fun is getting there."

Gita Bellin

When Gita speaks about success in the above quote as being a journey not a destination she inspires me to remember that my life is the journey, not just the end result.  When we realize that half the fun of gaining success can lie on the road that we travel, we allow ourselves to live more fully.  I think the art in really understanding Gita’s thinking lies in our ability to not be over serious and to allow ourselves joy on a daily basis.  When we lose our ability to be playful and to appreciate our lives daily, we lose our ability to live fully and we remove ourselves from our ability to achieve full success.  A couple of questions:

• What success do you wish to hold now in your life?

• How can you live your life more fully with more joy as you achieve great success?

• Where can play enter in to your life?

Maureen Simon