Awakening 360: 101

Awakening the Bay has now fully transformed into Awakening360 (we warned you!)--so what does that mean to YOU?!  It means now you can not only find like-minded people, conscious community, holistic practitioners, mind-body-spirit events and workshops in (or near) YOUR town (not just the Bay Area!), but you can connect to the larger global Awakening Community!   

So, we encourage holistic practioners and agents of change across the country to start posting their events, classes, workshops, as well as share your visual and audio arts, eco-wares, arts and crafts, and most importantly, knowledge and skills on Awakening 360 starting now—just in time to promote all your juicy activities for the new year!

We have a bouquet of new features which include:

A new user profile—go check out yours now!  We are no longer using the “friends” format, but “followers”, so that your friends and clients can “follow” your blog, your events, etc.

A new homepage page which is totally personalized, based on your location.   *And in the event that you travel, you can change the location to your desired destination!  And at the bottom of the page, it will show you what YOUR friends are up to.

Holistic Search!  Yes, now you can search for specific events and workshops, holistic services, articles, professional members in your neighborhood, and whatnot—no matter where you go!  (Phone apps coming soon!)

A new events platform!  You can now sign up and buy tickets to all posted holistic events, workshops, retreats, etc. through our website, using paypal!  (Think of a “holistic” eventbrite!)  And our site will automatically show you all events within a 50 mile radius of your location.

For Professional Members:  Check out our new directory, also localized!

A whole new community page:  You can follow friends, favorite teachers/healers, events, workshops, or if you prefer, follow the feed for the entire Awakening 360 community.

Coming Soon:  The MarketPlace (formerly known as Karma Deals)—here we will start featuring products and services from our Awakening 360 community professionals, artists, and holistic practitioners! 

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?

Kelly's answer to "What do you do?"

I have to admit whenever someone asks me, “What do you do?”-- I cringe because I do not have a simple answer, or a common noun to give them.  My answer requires a power point presentation and usually a glossary.  And it is always an American asking me this question, I might add—because the rest of the world finds this to be one of the rudest questions you could possibly ask a stranger….the East Africans even have a joke about it:  “How do Americans greet one another?”  Answer:  “What do you do?”

This joke makes Africans laugh so hard they snort, because it is the “cultural” equivalent of asking, “Do you like anal sex with a kudu?”  Anyway, to address what I am doing NOW, as opposed to my early 20’s, early 30’s, and even my most recent work in Costa Rica (Bien de Mujer and Wise Heart Books)…as always, it is a mixed bag of projects (some paid and some not)—but all with the common theme, my MISSION:  to change the world and have a GREAT time doing it!

So, when I am not writing articles about “Alternative Recreation” for both the SF and DC Examiner—which covers non-mainstream edu-taining events/parties/activities; fundraisers for valuable causes (hopefully increasing awareness of certain issues); and mind-body-spirit recreation—I am working as the Awakening the Bay Community Manager—which means a lot of writing; attending holistic events/workshops/etc.; introducing/connecting people to Awakening the Bay—which is subversive-- in that it seeks to economically empower, connect and educate holistic practitioners and social entrepreneurial businesses/projects, but ultimately to convert everyone to better model of capitalism and more holistic living, working and just being. 

And this is not to mention, the several dozen other projects, on multiple continents, that I have my hands in... hoping that they will succeed because their contribution to the world is so valuable.   So, now ask yourself…what do you do? 

And better yet, “If you could have any job in the world, what would it be?”  If you are not doing your "dream job", then perhaps, this is exactly what you need to be looking at right now.  (Just a suggestion, my inner-hippie made me say that!)

Playing with your “spirdar” (Scientific Experiment #9867)

I am suggesting that just for one day, as an experiment, to follow your “spirdar” and see what happens.  I am confident someone more clever than I has thought of a better term for this phenomenon, but for the purposes of this exercise, I am going to call it your “spirdar.”  Yes, think Gaydar (the phenomenon of detecting the sexuality of another) --only this is some kind of internal system for detecting the presence, direction, or frequency of another spirit.  This exercise requires that you be fully present and aware of others around you, even on the bus or waiting in line, and see to whom your attention draws.

And for the sake of pseudo-scientific experimentation, you are supposed to initiate conversation with the person who has drawn your attention.  Because in my experience, and I highly suspect yours as well, you will be pleasantly surprised to find either a “bizarre”, inexplicable connection with that person, or that you have something they need (or vice versa, they have something you need.)  And yes, I am going to give you a lot of examples of my own experimentation playing with my “spirdar” the other day, but the point is to see if this phenomenon holds true for everyone (and I suspect it does.)

Some days we are more “aware” than others, and this past Sunday, I was feeling fully aware, so I thought I would test out my “spirdar”, as a “true” scientist.  My experiment started before I even got on the bus to ecstatic dance (Sweet’s/Mass Transit), when a homeless woman asked me for some money for she and her family. 

My universal policy on begging:  I will give away food (if I have some on me) but never money.  I told her, “No, sorry, I do not have any money, only exact change for the bus. “ Then, I combed my purse for any food items and all I had was a bag of blow-pops, which I was going to share with my ecstatic dance friends—I mean, who does not like blow-pops?!!!  She started to walk away.

“Did you say you have kids? Because all I got is some lollipops—not the healthiest choice, but who doesn’t like blow-pops?”

She gleamed, “Well, actually, I can use them because I am diabetic and when my blood sugar gets low…”  So we started talking about diabetes and about how the food bank rarely gives out sweets for diabetics, and while we are talking about food banks, they also pass out food that needs to be cooked, and if you are homeless, well, you have nothing to cook with! 

That’s funny, I KNOW someone who works at the Food Bank.  Note to self:  Make sure to tell Sasha that the Food Bank needs to be aware that giving out food items that need to be cooked to homeless people is not only not helping them, but frustrating for them—the food banks have to pass out ready-to-eat food stuffs and make sure they have emergency sweets in stock for diabetics.

I get to ecstatic dance at Sweet’s and the ballroom is packed, I mean PACKED, with well, ecstatic dancing people.  I find that, using my spirdar, grazing over the moving crowd, I can easily pick out my friends because they kind of “glowed”…oh, there is Joceyln, Catherine, Gail, etc.  While I am dancing, (well, really, I am doing Qi Gong to music), my attention keeps getting drawn to this one particular woman and I am thinking:  She is probably another FaceBook friend that I have had many conversations with, but never met in person—what is her name?

It just so happens this woman and I run into one another in the bathroom.  I ask her, “Have we met?  Are we FaceBook friends?”  No, we have never met and no, she is not a FaceBook friend, however, without a word from me, she starts to tell me she just finished her public health nursing degree and wants to work in Africa, Mali, to be specific.  Ahhh…there it is!  (I shouldn’t have to explain this connection!)

At circle time, I discover I am holding hands with Lisa, with whom I (forgot but) met at the last FEM Talks.  Ahh.. there it is.  Then on my way back home, an old woman asks me for directions to the Art and Soul Festival, I send her on her way and as she goes, she says, “You should go!”  But I did not follow my spirdar, instead I went home to wrestle with my computer for hours (in the end, I won the wrestling match but it was not pretty)…I should have listened to her, no doubt I would have had a much better time at the Art and Soul Festival.

I could give you a dozen other examples, but by now, I hope you get my point, and this will inspire you to “test” out your spirdar and see where it takes you!  And remember, to quote Kurt Vonnegut, “peculiar travel suggestions are dancing lessons from God.” And from the Desiderata: “Listen to others, even the dull and the ignorant; they too have their story” because there may just be a message there for you. 

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 

Attention travel writers, travel writer-wanna-be’s, and travel whores—Meet HearPlanet!

Question:  Who are you going to trust more, Lonely Planet’s opinion of a particular hostel in Budapest, or your good friend, Al’s opinion? 

Welcome to 2011, when travelers no longer need to lug around a 5-pound, outdated travel guide made of tree organs, just to decide where they are going to eat, sleep or visit next.  Meet HearPlanet: your geo-audio directory of the WORLD. 

Think Yelp meets National Geographic meets Pandora—all on your phone, on your GPS system, in your ears…think of how much room in your luggage you will save (not to mention the exorbitant cost of overweight luggage on your flights!)  You are free to travel and tour, at your own pace, in your own language, solo or with friends, whatever frosts your pumpkins….no longer part of the tourist caravan, and with insights about local hotspots, restaurants, hotels, parks, etc. from locals, friends and professional tour guides and agencies alike (whatever you prefer!) And of course, you are welcome and encouraged to add your own perspective on places as well!

Imagine the planet as one mammoth museum, and HearPlanet is your audio guide to everything!  And the best part?!  Well, a la wikipedia-style, this geo-directory, from your favorite watering hole to famous landmarks to entire cities, is written by people just like you (or if you prefer an “expert” opinion, there are expert travel and tour channels such as America YouthHostels Channel and other big names in the travel industry.)

Of course the best way to really grasp this whole concept is to check it out for yourself.  HearPlanet is ALWAYS seeking more content and for travel writers, history buffs, writer-wanna-be’s, and travel whores, this is the perfect opportunity to share your knowledge and experience with the world (as well as add to your writing resume!)

Essentially, in tech-speak, HearPlanet’s platform aggregates and organizes location-based information on points of interest, including landmarks, restaurants, hotels, and recreation spots, and delivers it to people, on-the-go via their mobile devices, and this is your opportunity to be part of the audio travel guide revolution.  It is not just your “story” but literally, your “voice!”

To sample current HearPlanet material, to contribute, and all just click here.  Know that submittingcontent is user-friendly (if I can figure it out, and I am blonde-- you sure as hell can!) and recording your own voice is all part of the submission process and can be done from your laptop, and then broadcast to the world!

Questions?  Feel free to contact me at kelly@hearplanet.com, because I am the new HearPlanet “Ambassador-at-Large”    

The Get Goofy Movement (a brain-fart by Kelly N Patterson)

For those people that know me, they know I get immense pleasure on being goofy in public; my mantra:  “I will never see these people again!” (NOTE:  Not exactly true, but neither are most things labeled as “organic”.) 

And through my very un-official, un-scientific experiments, in several countries: ranging from the Middle East and Sub-Saharan Africa to NE Asia (yes, even China); throughout Central America and the Caribbean, as well as all over the States, I have discovered that 95% of the time (yes, there is always THAT guy, or gal, who has no sense of humor and is REALLY that miserable) my goofy antics, not only give me a instant dose of joy, energy, and general warm-fuzzy feelings, but I also watch my “prey” literally transform right in front of me—and usually, even start spreading their own goofiness. 

Simple example:  Walking down the street, I pass a visibly stressed-out Mom with her unhappy child—so, I cross my eyes at the kid (with a goofy smile) and the kid instantly starts laughing.  Mother says, “What is so funny?” 

The child responds, “She just did this (and crosses her eyes and makes a goofy smile.)”  Well, the mother laughs at her daughter.  In this second, already 3 people are feeling better—myself, the child, and the mother…and who knows how this may have changed the entire tone of their day.

Laughing deeply is living deeply (stolen from Milan Kundera.)  And laughter, next to math, is an international language.  Therefore, I am hoping to start a Goofy Pandemic--changing the world, one chuckle, giggle, snort at a time.

Therefore, the mission of the Get Goofy Movement is to spread general goofiness, giggles, smiles, and laughter-- to EVERYONE we meet; everyone we pass by on the streets (just cross your eyes or pick your nose!  It is that simple! (NOTE: In some cultures, nose picking is socially acceptable/normal, so this will not work) but everyone we sit next to on the metro; while sitting in traffic; and especially, when we are waiting in a long, long line or any other uncomfortable situation. 

Besides being good for the heart, body, mind, and soul (do your homework, there has been several dozens of scientific studies to confirm this!), Humor has the ability to disarm people instantly, ignite conversations, and well, it is just fun. 

In addition, as soon as we can laugh at something, we no longer fear it--and though we may not be able to achieve world peace and solve all of the world's issues in an instant (or even a few lifetimes)--we do have the power to make someone laugh, which is instant joy and therapy for all involved, and like Herpes, highly contagious (in a good way!)

 So start today.  Make someone laugh (or smile) and see how you feel afterwards, and then notice how they react, because people are taking things way too seriously for our own personal well-being, not to mention the well-being of the planet.

Just imagine if everyone, everywhere you went, were practicing Goofiness on a regular basis?!!!  This would make running errands an adventure!  This would make your morning commute to work more pleasant (perhaps, reducing Road Rage!)  This would transform normally unpleasant experiences such as traffic, waiting in a long line at the Department of Motor Vehicles, sitting in a doctor’s office, poor customer service, or a car breakdown on the side of the road, during rush hour traffic, bearable!  And if everyone got goofy, then on those days, when you are having a “rough” day, you could count on someone, a complete stranger, to make you chuckle.

Therefore, I have started a FaceBook Fanpage.  I am hoping people will share ideas, plans, post photos and whatnot, inspiring others to GET GOOFY.  And let’s just see what happens…I mean, historically, we have tried everything, right?  Bloody revolutions, civil disobedience (thanks Gandhi and MLK, Jr!!!!), letter campaigns (a la Amnesty International), media propaganda (umm, the US is the MASTER of this!), graffiti (thanks Banksy!), martyrdom (ouch!), to mass prayer and whatnot…but have we ever tried by LAUGHTER?!!!!! I mean, why else would we have the ability to laugh if it did not serve some evolutionary or biological function?!!!

Anyway, start now.  Start today.  Visit the FaceBook page and share your experiences, share your brilliant goofy ideas…and most important of all, get goofy at home. 

(Sorry, my inner-Hippie made me do this!!

Kelly N Patterson