Are you AWAKE?!!!

You might have noticed bumper stickers, around the country, on the electric car in front of you, reading: “Are you Awake?!” and then, in small print, a website address-- Awakening360.com.  When you visit Awakening360.com, you find a whole bustling, voracious hybrid community of everything from eco-activists, yoga teachers, artists and musicians, farmers, social entrepreneurs, and doctors, to tarot readers and gurus.  And you wonder what in the world do all these people have in common?!  They are all part of a new “glocal” holistic hub which is powerfully connecting conscious—you know, awake--people around the globe.

It all started, just over a year ago, (previously known as “Awakening the Bay”) created as an online social network, holistic lifestyle guide, local marketplace, and community hub for “conscious people” throughout the Bay Area.  But quickly, people from other parts of the country, even other parts of the world, joined in—regardless of geography or ideology-- because this unifying, spry network has been effectively connecting and nurturing inspiring events, activities and gatherings from all disciplines which seek make the world a better, safer, happier place.

Intentionally empowering local, professional holistic practitioners and eco and socially responsible businesses, as well as inspiring all who visit the site to live, work and love in a more holistic way, Awakening360.com stands out in the self-help and holistic world for two main reasons: (1) Their mission is not just to “change the world”, but to have a damn good time while doing it, and (2) they have an equally active offline community. 

Awakening360.com is like a holistic Eventbrite, Meetup and Living Social, all rolled up in one organic nori roll—with a side of wasabi. And Awakening360.com is not just a bunch of Northern California hippies, there are scientists, medical professionals, engineers, and CEOs in this thriving community—it is like all the TEDTalks lecturers and Bioneers hanging out with local massage therapists, Northern California almond farmers, and some of your favorite DJs.  Since its inception in early 2011, membership (which is free!) has gone up 500%! 

Soon, Awakening360.com will be offering iPhone apps which can help locals and visitors alike find holistic practitioners, services and green products wherever they are, just by the touch of a phone screen. Awakening360.com’s big vision is to mainstream holistic living, working, and being by promoting and empowering local holistic practitioners, as well as educating all who visit the site on all the holistic options for individuals and families, in all aspects of their lives, and most importantly, in a fun way. Are you an Awake?  

Before the Occupy Movement, there was Awakening the Bay

Before the whole Occupy Movement manifested in the Bay Area, there was already a dedicated group of local professional holistic practitioners working to mainstream holistic living, loving/parenting, working, buying/consuming, and just being, as well as trying to promote local green and socially-responsible businesses, throughout the Bay Area, in a conscious effort to address the present (and future) socio-economic and environmental issues—meet Awakening the Bay.   

Awakening the Bay is an online local social network serving as a lifestyle guide, holistic marketplace, and community for “conscious people”, throughout the Bay Area (and beyond!), in order to nurture their holistic programs, workshops, events, businesses, and activities to become more economically, socially, and spiritually sustainable, as well as to inspire all who visit the site to live, work and love in a more holistic way.

In the past year, since its inception in early 2011, Awakening the Bay membership (which is free!) has gone up 500%!  It become the holistic “eventbrite” promoting and listing dozens of good-for-the-mind-body-spirit and nature events, classes, workshops, festivals, lectures, etc. throughout the Bay Area, while at the same time, creating an active, off-line community. 

In addition to becoming a holistic events hub and offering informative articles on all aspects of holistic living, Awakening the Bay also features Karma Deals—which are like Living Social deals, only Karma Deals are eco-friendly, socially-responsible products and services from LOCAL vendors and practitioners (thus strengthening our local economy!) 

Soon, Awakening the Bay will be offering iPhone apps which can help locals and visitors alike find holistic practitioners, services and green products throughout the Bay Area, by the touch of a phone screen. Awakening Bay’s big vision is to mainstream holistic living, working, and being by promoting and empowering local holistic practitioners, as well as educating all who visit the site on all the holistic options for individuals and families, in all aspects of their lives.


Are you an Awakener?

This is kinda on the DL…Awakening the Bay is going GLOBAL, get on board

This note is for all holistic practitioners, professionals, students, businesses, communities, organizations, groups, etc.—basically anyone working in the field of holistic living, in all its many flavors.

As you may already know, we launched Awakening the Bay, which is an online community-based, holistic network and open-source directory, earlier this year.  The BIG IDEA was to educate, enable and connect “conscious people” in order to nurture their holistic programs, workshops, events, businesses, and activities to become economically, socially, and spiritually sustainable, as well as to inspire all who visit our site to live, work and love in a more holistic way.

But then our peeps, down south, in Santa Cruz, asked, “Can we be considered part of the Bay Area?”  And our friends in Oregon whined: “Heeey, what about us?!”  And apparently there is some bizarre Bay Area cosmic connection to Costa Rica and Bali, and even India, as well.  And our neighbors to the north became vocal (“Ever heard of Vancouver?!!!”) Then of course, England and France…well, it just did not stop.  The message was clear:  “What about us over HERE?”  The bottom line is everyone is connected.

So yes, ATB is going global (soon we will be changing the name to reflect this) but we are already listing holistic practitioners, professionals, students, businesses, communities, organizations, groups, etc. in cities around the globe; it is no longer a “travel and tours” thing.  If you were to visit our Events and Workshopssection right now, you would find festivals in Oregon as well as events as far as the Orkney Islands (hint: Scotland.)

So NOW is the time to invite EVERYONE from Down Under to Norway to Mongolia as far south as South Africa to add their events/workshops/activities/classes/retreats etc. to our Eventsand Workshops Calendar (FOR FREE—just FREE dollars!) as well as list in our Holistic Directory (this costs $100 for a yearly listing in the Directory.) 

You can start promoting your IMPORTANT work NOW, for FREE—just create a profile page on our site (login—and you can do this via FaceBook) and make sure to put all your contact info, including websites, blogs, and other social media connections.  Then start adding activities directly to the site at http://www.awakeningthebay.com/addactivity  and you can also mention these events on our FaceBook page (this should be super easy to find on FB—“Awakening theBay”.) 

Also make use of the FREE community board for messages of any kind—sharing wisdom; need a ride; need someone to teach Watsu in Bali; whatever!

If you wish to be included in our Directory, contact our man Charlie Stebbins at charlie@awakeningthebay.com.

Anyway, this is an opportunity to market yourself, your important work, to your ideal audience, as well as others.  In a month’s time, according to the Google Analytics Gods, we have jumped 3,456% in visits to both our site and our FaceBook page (I do not even know how this figure is possible, but I trust the Google Analytics Gods.)

Join us – you grow; we grow; and ultimately THEY grow and then we all grow. (That's a lot of growing!)

Live your bliss,

Kelly N Patterson

ATB Community Manager 

kelly@awakeningthebay.com