December 2006 with Feistyfemales.com
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It is hard to believe the Holiday season it upon us. I hope you had a joyous Thanksgiving. We all have so much to be grateful for. It is my favorite time of year to gather good friends and family together, to celebrate the coming of winter and to count our numerous blessings.
This week I was reminded of the beautiful and generous nature of feminine spirit. Two potential students talked with me about delaying their enrollment to purchase a space for another woman in the Envision class. This altruistic act fills my heart with joy and always causes me to stop and reflect on the work I do in the world, and the ripple effect we have on one another.
This benevolent sharing between women has happened so often, that it has inspired me to look into creating The Envision Circle of Giving Scholarship Fund. My intention beginning in January 2008 is to donate 1% of my profits after taxes to this fund. The money will be used to provide a yearly scholarship to a woman who is seeking to grow her wings, but may not be in a financial position to pay for it.
My hope is that as the business grows, the Envision fund will grow, touching women's lives in many ways. Women who work with me both individually and in my workshops, can now be assured that our money is being used in part to support another woman who might otherwise not be able to afford to do this type of personal growth work. And so the circle of community will grow stronger, and stronger, one woman at a time with your help.
A committee will be formed in January, to review applications and essays and to determine guidelines that we will post on the website.
Thank you to those women who called, for reminding me of the beauty and power of giving. This leads me to my annual holiday topic re-envisioning the holidays.
Best wishes to you and yours for a peaceful and joyous Holiday! ~Sheri
Re-Envisioning the Holidays
I believe we are starting a tradition, an annual column, to remind us all to think about alternative ways to look at the idea of giving. Let?s look at some ways we might Re-Envision the holiday season. To help you on your way, this month's podcast features Bari Tessler, owner of Conscious Bookkeeping. I chose to focus this month's podcast on the concept of finances, so that we could make the topic of spending a this holiday a conscious one. As you are aware, we are already being bombarded by the print ads, television commercials, and even our children, who are melting down in the aisles of the super markets, overwhelmed by what they see, that they might not be able to have. Plastic and paraphernalia abound and the women I work with are already expressing feelings of overwhelm and exhaustion, and we are only a few days past Thanksgiving.
Are you ready for something different? What would it be like to create a picture of what YOU want the holidays to look like? As with most things, we find ourselves doing what we have always known. What we don't realize, until we start to feel the overwhelm, is that it may no longer be working for us. Take a moment and ask yourself, is this your idea of how the holidays should be, is it a familial tradition that no longer fits with your vision of celebration, is it cultural pressure that supports unconscious spending? This is the first place to start with any type of transformation. Keep what fits; let go of what doesn?t and design the new vision of what can be!
A beautiful way to begin this process is to start slow. Don't send your children or family into orbit by suggesting that there be absolutely no gift giving this year, that would be way to big a step! One of my clients this week mentioned a book called, Unplugging the Christmas Machine. I have not read the book, but I can tell you I LOVE the name! I married into a pretty large family. For years I suggested trying out the names-in-the-hat concept. I found myself resentful and angry every Chanukah/Christmas-as it is my husband?s busy season-as I was the one running ragged, shopping, wrapping, and standing in line to mail. Call me Scrooge, but I began to dread the holidays. For personal reason, they resisted the idea of simplifying the process, and I felt trapped. I can now see that I was not powerless, that it was my decision all along to say the process was not working for me and to do it differently from my end. It felt big and scary at the time, so I just went along, feeling resentful.
That all stopped September 11, 2001. I said, ?No more, I don?t care what anyone thinks, I cannot consciously do it the same way ever again. We are choosing to do this differently and find our own way with the idea of giving.? That year, I painted a card that I reproduced on a copier. I made each person a hand-made card and wrote a personal note telling them that we were donating to a charity in their name in honor of the families of 9-11. Well, it was a hit! This must have hit a cord with my family, as the following year, the names-in-the-hat was brought up by someone other than me, and a new tradition was created. It has been such a relief and I love being able to focus on one person and to put an effort into thinking about what they might appreciate.
Gather the clan together over a cup of hot cocoa one evening. Talk about the meaning of the holidays as you have come to understand them. Ask them if they would be interested in dreaming up a a new holiday custom, one that will be special and unique to your family. It could be anything you dream up. Sledding on Christmas morning, making latkes for Chanukah, decorating a gingerbread house, making Chanukah or Kwanzaa candles.
You can even begin educating your children about the value of giving to others-as well as receiving-by having them create a gift or card for another child in need. It can be as simple as a painting they have created to share with another child or a friend. Take them with you as you deliver the gift to the family, shelter, or hospital, so they can see for themselves another child's face light up when they receive the handmade item. You can even choose and elderly neighbor to help with a pre-holiday chore.
However it might take shape, you can indeed re-envision your holidays. Remember change begins at home, literally and...metaphorically.
Quick Tips
- Gather the clan together with hot cocoa for a re-envision chat
- Discuss what the holidays have come to mean for you, and open the dialogue
- Have you children create something by hand for another child or relative that they can deliver
- Invite your family to a creative night so everyone participates: cookies, card making, etc
- Help an elderly neighbor
- Purchase gifts that are necessary from conscious companies: microloan ventures, non-profits, etc
Wishing you and yours a peaceful and joyous holiday season, ~Sheri
Bari Tessler-Owner of Conscious Bookkeeping
Bari Tessler, M.A. in Somatic Psychology from Naropa University. She is a teacher, therapist, speaker and the founder of Conscious Bookkeeping ™. After many years in the Mental Health & Counseling Field, Bari jumped careers and starting her own bookkeeping business. From there, Bari created the Conscious Bookkeeping Method, a unique integration of the psycho spiritual and financial realms and a fabulous philosophy and practice that helps individuals, couples, families & organizations. Bari founded Conscious Bookkeeping in 2001 and has grown it into a wonderful organization that helps people transform their relationship with money on a practical, emotional, psychological and spiritual level. Bari resides in Santa Cruz, CA with her husband, Forest and two kitties, Finn & Lily.
Dream+Create+Leap+Succeed
We have scheduled new Free Introductory evenings at these wonderful local locations for Envision The Life of Your Dreams! Dream+Create+Leap+Succeed.
The class is now available locally in Colorado AND via teleclasses (see below for date and time).
Colorado:Free Introductory Evenings in December
- Glenwood Springs -Tuesday, December 5, 6:30-8:30pm, Valley Wellness Center
- El Jebel-Monday, December 11, 7:00-8:30pm, Aspen Health and Harmony
- Call Sheri @ 970-618-0561 to reserve your space
Teleclass: Free Introductory Evenings-Morning and Evening for your convenience!
- Wednesday, December 6 @ 10-11 am EST
- Wednesday, December 6 @ 7:45-8:45pm EST
- To register and receive the bridge line email: feistyfemales@sherigaynor.com
Private groups programs available for book clubs, corporations and girlfriend circles are also available and welcome. Please contact Sheri for information.
Conscious Gift Giving: Pay it back!
What if the gifts you do choose to purchase this year could form the perfect circle? How? By purchasing from socially conscious and responsible companies. When you spend this way, it is like you are giving two gifts. One to someone you know, and one to another woman or man, that you may never meet. Not only are you paying it forward, but you are also paying it back!
For years I have been giving friends soups made from the Womans Bean Project. It was their packaging that first caught my eye. Colorful beans showing through a plastic sleeve, tied with a ribbon and the recipe card signed with the woman?s name who helped with the packaging. There was something about feeling connected to another woman who was trying to create more for herself, that kept me asking for these items when my local market stopped supporting the company. They have expanded their line. I just recently was given their cornbread, which I made for a pre-Thanksgiving pot luck and I am embarrassed to say, it was better then my own homemade. You can find this cool company here: http://www.womansbeanproject.com
I recently read an article about Amber Chand in the current edition of Ode Magazine. I was so impressed, I contacted her to see if I could interview her for our January podcast and told her I wanted to feature her company in the December newsletter for our conscious gift giving section. I could never have predicted how incredible a woman she was by reading the article. Eloquent, bright and dynamic, this woman is going to go places.
Amber was driven out of Uganda when she was 21 years old. The incredible story of her company, The Amber Chand Collection, will be featured in our January 2008 podcast. I believe our interview next month will be filled with fantastic information about how women can begin to think about and create new business models. Models built on the feminine psyche, not the current patriarchal out-dated version. I can hardly wait to continue my conversation with Amber. I know there will be much to learn. visit Amber's website, and celebrate her vision for a feminine model of business. What a dynamic conversation that will be to start our new year!
When we spoke, Amber shared her part of her mission with me, "When you purchase in this way, you can feel good knowing that you have built a bridge, to another woman." Remember, we are all women making our way in the world. Just think how wonderful it will feel to hold an object in your hands, created by another woman half way around the world. Now that is the power of giving and receiving!
Thanks so much for your interest, we love having you in our Feisty community of women!
Sincerely,
Sheri GaynorSheri Gaynor Coaching and Consulting
Email: sheri@sherigaynor.comPhone: 970-618-0561