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1. Upcoming Events
~ Self-Love Practice
Group (season 2) – Jan 15 through Mar 26, we meet
online on Monday evenings or Tuesday mornings to learn and integrate
a new way of loving ourselves, and continue connecting with each
other throughout the week if we choose to. More information.
~ Relationship Skills Practice Group –Jan 6
through Feb 10, we meet online on Wednesday evenings 5.30-7.30pm EST,
to co-create a comfortable online community, in which we learn and practice
listening well, expressing our feelings and needs, and making
requests without assumptions, judgments or demands. It also gives us
an opportunity to connect with each other more deeply. More information.
~ Compassionate
Communication Cafe – an ongoing weekly drop-in online group
for connecting, practicing various communication scenarios through
role-plays and games, getting feedback and having fun. We shape our
communication around NVC (Non-violent communication). More information.
2. Writings
~ Ode to Impatience ~
Impatience, goddess, you are frowned
Upon by so many of us. But why?
Don't you accompany the progress
Of passionate and eager, but needing to slow-down,
guy?
...
Continue reading here.
3. Holiday Gifts
Check out our Gift Shop on Etsy, where you may be able find a holiday gift for a
loved one and assist Smiling Spaces at the same time. We offer gifts
that give you aesthetic pleasure plus inspiration or education -
always aiming at awakening smiles and raising awareness. We have
launched this shop just days ago, and are
still in the process of adding original items almost daily –
please, keep checking back!
We also have Gift
Certificates available - they can be applied towards any Smiling
Spaces events, services or products that are either available
currently or will be in the future: the balance will remain until
redeemed. If you would like to gift your loved one an opportunity to
participate in Self-Love Practice Group, or a chance to purchase
original art from our gift shop, or an individual
balanced-and-empowered-being coaching session with Aliona, or keep it
open – please let us know, and we will make it happen.
4. Middle-Burner Projects
Little did you know,
Not quite back-burner, but also not quite at the forefront of our
daily activities, here are the projects we are working on - and inviting
you to express interest, collaborate, contribute, if you like:
~ Visionary & Self-Empowerment Discussions Discussion-and-Practice groups on topics
like Self-Empowerment, Manifesting, Living outside of Fear, Healing
Fully in this Lifetime (emotional-spiritual kind of healing),
Self-Loving, Living Ever More Consciously, Choosing Joy, Thriving in
this Life, etc. Because some of these topics may feel controversial,
as feels necessary - I would be more actively facilitating these in
order to encourage and support curiosity-based respectful
discussions. Would you be interested in participating? We'd love to
know the level of interest, when & how often people would be
willing to engage in such, and the type of
structure/facilitation/expectations from them. Let us know that you are interested, and we'll keep
you posted when these begin shaping up.
~
Compassionately Connecting Opposites - Interviewing Opportunities This
project attempts to find a way, and perhaps create a template, for
connecting people who seem to have opposing views, for example, an
extreme democrat and an extreme republican. We believe, they have a
lot in common and can respectfully and joyfully co-exist, despite
their differing views on a specific subject. For this purpose, we are
seeking people to interview. If you are willing to share what
political views you have and respond respectful questions that may
arise during the interview, as I just record your story without
judgments, please reach out - or recommend this to someone you know. Initial
deliverable will be an article on communication, with excerpts from
these interviews. We are writing about how political differences
could be overcome, and we need real people to talk to about their
real perspectives. We can conduct interview over phone, zoom or
email.
~ Social
Initiatives (Community Creation Process, ILCs, etc)
Social Initiatives is a very new umbrella-type name for a number of
smaller projects. You can reach out if you want to hear more now, or await
updates in the future newletters as it
gains more clarity and form.
~ Dental Nutrition As part of our mission to foster a
balanced well-being and our insight into dentistry being key and
mirror of our physical well-being, we are continuing to do research
in bio-chemistry of nutrition and supplements in oral and intra-body
environments. Topics focus on physical consequences and bio-chemical
interactions of human body and orally-taken minimally-processed
ingredients, for example: turmeric, bentonite
clay, calcium carbonate, Himalayan salt, activated charcoal, baking
soda, diatomaceous earth, licorice root powder. If you have knowledge
or are willing to assist with researching such things, please reach out. Also, if you have any contacts in any
laboratories, that could maybe assist us in doing saliva analysis as
part of a research project – please put us in touch, we would be very grateful!
~ Other Projects There are some other ideas in the
pipeline, that are still in the gestation phase or have hardly
sprouted. They rely on skills like video and audio editing,
animation, literature editing. You will hear about these in the
future newsletters as well, but if you are eager to learn what all
that is about and engage in co-creation - shoot us an email!
5. Support and Volunteer Opportunities
Smiling Spaces is this
little baby plant right now, having just sprouted into this world and
needing warmth, water, sunlight and nourishment to grow, strengthen
and create an abundance of fruits and nourishment for others. If you have
a desire to assist us in our growth - we are very grateful, and we
can suggest various ways of doing so. You
could:
~ simply pass this email along to someone you
think may find it of interest. We are building a network of people
who care about creating and supporting a balanced well-being
within and without, and you could assist us in wideing
this network.
~ participate in our events - so that we can
learn and grow together, creating more shared experiences of joy and
connection, supporting each other in living intentionally.
~ consult us on topics of: IT and web
security, bio-chemistry, nutrition, community creation, accounting
and legal things, and more - email us if you are interested to contribute even a
small amount of your time in this way.
~ engage and help us grow as an organization
- as a Board member for our future non-profit; or a visionary buddy -
being a sounding board and a mirror for our vision meetings; or as an
assistant in organizing of notes, ideas, reserach,
projects; or maybe some other way we can't think of right now. Let us know!
~ support us financially: either by
purchasing something or making a donation. You can learn more about
donating here, which, just to
name it, at this time is not tax-deductible because we don't have
resources to organize ourselves as a non-profit yet (although that is
part of the plan).
~ any other ideas you have? Bring them -
let's talk :) We'd love to engage in a productive conversation and
find ways of mutual support.
6. Additional Resources
On our journey this
far, we have gotten support, advice, coaching, mentorship from the following
sources. We would like to thank them and hope to keep cooperating in
the future, supporting each other's growth and offerings for the
world.
~ Jonah Life Institute. JonahÕs lessons on self-empowerment,
living in joy, friendships of the heart, thriving and abundance
cultivation have been transformative in my life, prompting my
self-discovery and self-empowerment. In all honesty, Smiling Spaces
may not have shaped, if it were not for JonahÕs, HosscaÕs and TamyÕs
wisdom. ÒIntention is the building block of the outcomeÓ has been a
guiding force for me. If you feel a pull towards seeing the world
more clearly and pondering mass-supported beliefs and values, I
encourage you to hear what Jonah has to offer, and I would love to
hear from you about your impressions. Words of caution: it may feel
intense in the beginning, there is a thick accent and a loud voice,
and some things you may initially not be onboard with – suspend
your skepticism for a short bit, because chances are – they
will be addressed later, and you will probably get onboard with them
then, once a bigger picture is presented. You can find audios at JonahLifeStore.com. Even if you donÕt fully resonate with
their messages – I guarantee you will find a few bits of wisdom
that you can carry forth.
~ Red Fox Media. JohnÕs passions for wild-foods foraging,
nature connection and photography have fueled the creative force
behind sprouting Smiling Spaces. You can feed your soul with aesthetically-delicious imagery at Red-Fox.Media.
~ PARAcards. PARAlabs are
weekly get-togethers to discover and play with a topic related to
Personal and Relational Awareness. We choose a topic for the evening,
and ponder it, share about it, hear othersÕ perspectives about it,
adjust our viewpoint of it as needed, and then choose an activity to
embody this topic in a way that would benefit us. Past topics that I
deeply enjoyed, included: Helpfulness, Curiosity, Loneliness,
Playfulness, Conscious Transitions, Vulnerability, Boundaries, Desire
for Depth. PARAcardsÕ participants, gatherings and activities have
been instrumental in launching and supporting Smiling SpacesÕ vision
and offerings. Learn more about them at PARAcards.com – and I strongly encourage you to
consider participating in their upcoming individual sessions and
module: you needs for connection, depth, exploration, play and
personal growth will be met, even if your need to be away from a
computer screen may need to concede for these few hours.
~ ReTribe. Their mission being reawakening
individuals to their interconnections with themselves, the community,
and the earth, ReTribe offers
transformational programs for children, teens, and adults. Learn more
about them at ReTribe.org. ReTribe has provided
space, support and numerous learning, healing, practicing,
connecting, growing and celebrating opportunities, as an
organization, as individual people in ReTribe
and CLP family, and as land and nature stewards and caretakers.
* * *
~ BioLumina. Lance and Lyndia
have done years of personal growth work, and seem to exist to support
others on emotional, physical, spiritual levels in learning to
thrive. Their original product – BioLumina
Spirulina – is a quantum-infused
super-food that many swear by. Besides that, they offer other
products, but more so – support, listening ear, advice as
needed. If you are onboard with raising global consciousness, check
out their website NewPhoenixRising.com.
~ Quillwood
Academy. Eric, coming from
academia and knowing oh so much about where food comes from, survival
skills, emotional healing, has been a huge support in shaping some of
the concepts and philosophies of Smiling Spaces. I am excite to
participate in his upcoming course ÔFinding Sanctuary in a Changing
WorldÕ, and ÒWhere Food Comes FromÓ, which will be happening soon after
(spoiler alert!?). You can find more
info about his courses at Quillwood.org.
~ Answers From Within. I have a deep appreciation for LindaÕs
signature Òanswers from withinÓ and her supportive and wise presence
in the lives of myself and people I care
about. You can learn more about her offerings as a soul-activation
astrologer on her website LindaMasterson.com.
~ Tracey Pacelli. Tracey has written numerous novels, and
is a certified Hellenistic astrologer, teaching astrology to
beginners, making readings and appearing on astrology panel –
you can learn more about it on her website TraceyPacelli.net/. Tracey has encouraged the journey of
Smiling Spaces from a distance.
7. Amazon-free Christmas?
Perhaps perceived
initially as Amazon-demonizing declaration, our intention with this
statement is to create awareness around our choices - and an
invitation to ponder: What are we voting for with our money? How
content are we with those choices? And, if we are not completely
content, what can we do differently?
Thanks for reading!
Until next time, let us thrive the best we can.
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