the girl, the woman, the world

If you educate a man, you educate an individual, but if you educate a woman, you educate a family. ~African Proverb

 

the girl

 

Educate a girl and you educate a family...and so much more, as this simple but profound video from The Girl Effect illustrates, backed up with statistics like these:

  • When women earn income, they reinvest 90% in their families. Men reinvest an average of 30-40% in their families.
  • 1 in 7 girls in the developing world marries before age 15. Girls who marry early are more likely to be physically abused, and giving birth is one of the leading causes of death for teenage girls in the developing world.
  • Each additional year of school boosts a girl’s eventual wages by 10-15%. When girls have 7+ years of schooling, they marry 4 years later and have 2.2 fewer children. But today, 25% of girls in the developing world are not in school.

Today, in an attempt to focus some collective attention on the pain and the power contained in these statistics, Tara Sophia Mohr has gathered together a number of bloggers for The Girl Effect Blogging Campaign.   Even though I am part of this one day focus, I want to express how deeply meaningful this is to me, how I see it as integrally related to my work in the world, today and everyday for the past 20 years. I believe the future of the world lies in the woman, and the future of the woman lies in the girl.

I would like to share with you how I first became aware and involved in educating girls.

 

the woman

In 1989, my first year as a fresh, young teacher  I was lucky enough to be mentored into the British Columbia Teacher's Federation Status of Women Committee. One of the women I met through this committee was the spirited Lorrie Williams who had spent some years teaching in Africa. I still remember when she shared with me her experience being the principal of a school there.

First, you have to know that in schools in Canada, the US, and I imagine those of other developed countries, a great deal of the principal's time is spent dealing with students who are not showing up to school - who are skipping. Tracking them down, calling their parents, arranging meetings, drawing up action plans to get them to school.  In contrast, what Lorrie found in Africa was that most of her time there was spent having to turn away young girls who desperately wanted to be there but who had no money for the tuition. Instead of trying to sneak out, they were trying to sneak in. As principal, Lorrie had to make the rounds every morning into all the classrooms (each one was a separate hut) checking to see that no unpaid students were present. Having to tell them to leave broke her heart. Sometimes, to Lorrie's surprise, they would return with money to pay the tuition. The tuition money had often been earned through prostitution, so powerful was their thirst for education. Hearing that pierced my soul.

Lucky for the girls and lucky for me, Lorrie is the kind of woman who can't see that and do nothing. When she returned to Canada she started up a non-profit group, The Canadian Harambee Education Society, to pay the tuition for girls like the ones she had to turn away. The CHES is now over 25 years old and Lorrie has received a Governor General's Meritorious Service Medal for her work building it.

I love donating to this group because 100% of my money goes to providing an education to young girls in Africa who would otherwise be denied.  All the staff is volunteer, mainly retired teachers who pay their own expenses and receive no salary. This is truly a grassroots effort.

 

the world

We can all be a part of the continued spread of this movement. Let's change the world for the better. 

- Consider donating to The Girl Effect or CHES (they take PayPal).

- I know more than a few teachers read my blog - if you are one of them, showing The Girl Effect videos to your classes is powerful and opens up rich discussion. I have used them many times. 

- Write about this on your own blog and leave a link in the comments - I would love to read it.

 

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books I love for coaches

Giftoftherapy   The Gift of Therapy by Irvin Yalom

 Not every one of the 85 succinct, stand-alone chapters in this book are applicable to coaches, but the ones that are really are a gift.

 

 

 

 

 

Mindfultherapist   The Mindful Therapist by Daniel Siegel

 Excellent on it's own or as a follow-up to Mindsight. Dense in certain parts - take your time with it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Soulscode   The Soul's Code by James Hillman

  A classic - you've already read it, right?

 

 

 

 

 

 

Presence   Presence by Peter Senge et al.

 The original subtitle still says it all: An Exploration of Profound Change in People, Organizations and Society.

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books I love for educators

   Couragetoteach The Courage to Teach by Parker Palmer

This is the first book I recommend to student teachers I work with - it is a beautiful, soulful exploration of the heart of teaching that will keep you connected to yourself when the system and the institutions become trying.

You can also buy an accompanying study guide with a short but valuable DVD in which Parker Palmer is interviewed and distills some of his wisdom to it's essence. Perfect for quick soul calls.

 

Soulofeducation   The Soul of Education by Rachael Kessler

No surprise the foreward is by Parker Palmer.  This book's focus is less on the teacher and more on honouring students' spiritual yearnings and making a place for the soul in our curriculums and in our schools.

 

 

 

Lettersrunning water   Like Letters in Running Water: A Mythopoetics of Curriculum by Mary Aswell Doll

Especially relevant to teachers of the Humanities, Doll's theory of curriculum is so engaging that most teachers will find something to take away here.  If you find your teaching has become all about the practical and is missing the poetic - Doll is the antidote.


 

Walkonwater   Walking on Water: Reading, Writing and Revolution by Derrick Jensen


Radical and inspiring, Jensen is who I turn to when I feel alone in my attempts to encourage my students to question and challenge the system and to re-discover their creative and passionate selves after years of often soul-sucking education.

 

 

 

Radireflections   Radical Reflections: Passionate Opinions on Teaching, Learning and Living by Mem Fox

Though her opinions are focussed around ideas of teaching reading and writing, Mem Fox's words are encouraging for any teacher who needs to be reminded to trust their heart more than any textbook, no matter what they teach.

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A Declaration of Dependance

 

Preamble

For the last little while I have been contemplating, journalling and even occasionally blogging about what I have been calling, for lack of more refined terminology, a culture of detachment.  I was heartened to find that I was not alone in these contemplations and am honoured to be co-blogging today with Heather Plett and Tara-Sophia Mohr as we explore the topic of location dependence. I invite you to also read their thoughts on this topic: Tara's Prana, Location Independence, and Getting High and Heather's Feels Like Home To Me.

I have written before about how I believe we are witnessing the last breaths of the patriarchical paradigm. And we are still uncovering and creating what the new paradigm will look like. Right now it seems we are transitioning through what Robert Bly indentified in his book as the "Sibling Society". He likened it to being in adolescence - a very spirited time. We are in a time of rapid technological progess, high ambitions, fast moving, full of change and excitement. All things full of masculine energy (which isn't the sole purview of men, by the way).  And those of us who spend any amount of time perusing the internet world can see this energy magnified through our computer screens. It shows up in language like dominating, crushing and epic. And it shows up in a whole parcel of "lifestyle design" movements sprung from ideas like those in Tim Feriss' Four Hour Work Week. Life can be large and exciting and expansive. And of course, you will make a lot of money, too!

Nothing wrong with this, but it's not the full story. Often characteristic of these movements is the seeking of superficial experience acquisition over deeper experiential wisdom, projects instead of processes, individualism over collectivism. The soulful, feminine aspects of life such as home, relationships, intimacy, nurturing, memories and stories, are at best ignored and neglected and at worst are treated with contempt. It puts me in mind of a woman I know who just went to visit her son after his first couple months in his first year of college. When they met up he wouldn't hug her and she had to be content with shaking his hand. Other mothers commiserated with her when she told the story - we seem to have accepted as a society that as the young seek to find their independence they will hold their mothers in contempt. It doesn't have to be this way. In many cultures it is not. I hope that as more of us give voice to the feminine we will restore a healthier balance. I believe this will be essential to heal what is hurting and move into the new paradigm.

Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing
and rightdoing there is a field.

 ~ Rumi

The part where I get to the point

One of the most popular of these trends right now is the Location Independent movement. The idea is that you can have a career that allows you to work anywhere in the world you choose.  Inherent in the promotion of this idea is this view:

"Are you fed up with having to live by the rules?The rules which say you have to work really hard, make lots of money just so you can buy a house with a big mortgage. And then work even harder to pay off that mortgage, until you can retire with a nice little nest egg pension…and finally start enjoying your life?"

If you believe that that is your only other option, then you are as much a slave to the idea as the people with big mortgages. You are shaping your life as a reaction to something instead of seeing it as a creation.  Much like the clutter/declutter duality, this is another one that just leaves us stuck on one side of the fence or another, and often just as alienated. Like one of my uncles, who was either drinking his face off and sleeping it off on our couch as we tried to watch Saturday morning cartoons over his snoring, or was on one of his pious sober kicks where he had "absolutely and don't you doubt it" conquered the demon liquor - until his next drunk phase. My uncle's life was only ever either/or. And it was a sad life.

As some are finding, when they let fear of something be the driving force in their lives, it shows up:

"In addition, staying a year, but knowing you are leaving is tough.  We’ve done it the last two years in different spots.  You want to join a church, but know you will be leaving.  You want to deepen relationship with local friends, but know you’ll be ditching them in less than a year.  There are countless activities where you say…  well, this would be nice to do if we weren’t leaving.

So you end up living a half-assed, gimped life, because you are scared of entering into an experience that will keep you tied down.  Too much thirst for not being tied down, means you suddenly find yourself living with single-serving friends, in single-serving social settings, pursuing single-serving passions."

 

Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing
and rightdoing there is a field.
I'll meet you there.

 ~ Rumi

 

An Invitation to a Deepened-dance

I know I have always been deeply attached to the few places I've lived. From the prairies where I grew up, to the northern coast of BC where two Ravens escorted me on my bike ride to work everyday, to my first home which I lovingly said good bye to not that long ago.

In each place I made deep, long-lasting friendships that I have come to depend on through the hills and valleys of my life.

In each place I came to know the land I lived on, to be able to read the language of nature and to depend on the tides, the seasons, the rain and the sun to grow my garden, the land to provide me with food, the rivers with fish.

In each place I was able to depend on storeowners to point me to a book they knew I would love, able to depend on the letter carrier to leave my parcel in the special spot behind the garage, and able to depend on the neighbours to watch my house while I was away.

I was not waiting to enjoy life, I have enjoyed all along the way. I have danced with my community, I have held hands with them and grooved to the rhythm and found a deepened - dance that filled my days with love and connection and meaning.

I invite you, whether you are living in your current location for 3 months or 30 years, to foster some dependence, to enter into a deepened-dance with the land and the buildings and the people who live there. To find a spot of nature and return to it often - observe it as if you were Mary Oliver "a bride married to amazement". Really be there. Involve yourself.

It isn't your circumstances that will determine your happiness, it is your engagement and your sense of purpose and meaning.  Don't end up simply visiting this world. As much as we all depend on it, it's depending on us.

Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing
and rightdoing there is a field.
I'll meet you there.
When the soul lies down in that grass
the world is too full to talk about.

 ~ Rumi

Read more on this topic from Tara:

Web_tara-sophia-mohr_crop Prana, Location Independence, and Getting High

 

 

 

 

and Heather: Feels Like Home To Me

Heatherplett

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red winkle picker regret and the dark side of decluttering

Get rid of your stuff.  It's all the rage.  Has been for at least the last 10 years - and it's only growing. There are books, magazines, blogs, professions devoted to it. Maybe you jumped on the bandwagon because all the cool kids are doing it. 


I have decluttering DNA. I've been doing it since long before our culture began worshiping at the church of the purge. Long before there were books, magazines, blogs, and Oprah shows devoted to it. Growing up, decluttering and organizing the hallway closet (my family's chosen junk repository) was one of my favourite stress-busters. When I was done - ah! I had restored control and order to one tiny little spot of the world.

I have no doubt I inherited this from my dad – who so loves to declutter that we have numerous family stories about him throwing out something valuable or treasured in one of his decluttering frenzies. Like one Christmas when he was so quick to clean up the wrapping remnants that he tossed out a present I bought for my sister that she hadn’t even opened yet. And then there was the Bay City Roller records incident - I still can't go there.

Now decluttering has gone mega mainstream. It's almost religious. It's rarely questioned. There are gurus and gospels to follow. Salvation shall be yours through decluttering.

It's something my clients often want to work on - and no surprise that it is often an essential part of many coaching programs. Now, I have nothing against decluttering in and of itself.  I just think when anything becomes unquestioned, it's time to start asking questions. When I started questioning, I noticed something - The Religion of Decluttering is the kissing cousin of The Religion of Thinness.

Both have at their core the original sin of too-much-ness.  Both have congregations that are filled with a large majority of women (no surprise since the teachings are largely directed at women). Both have their morality tales (Hoarders, Clean Sweep, Biggest Loser). Both have had me as a devoted member.

And, I will audaciously claim, both of them have a well-hidden shadow side that is about pathologizing the feminine in favour of celebrating the masculine. Think about it - bodyfat is inherently feminine because of it's necessity for pregnancy and childbirth. Yet women with uber-low body fat percentages are admired (even though many of them stop menstruating).  Gathering beauty, making a cozy home, aka nesting- no matter whether it's done by a man or a woman - is an activity flavoured with the feminine. Yet shelter porn makes us think that a lived in house is unattractive. Think of the energy of throwing out and discarding compared to the energy of taking in and welcoming.

I call this the attack on the breasts and nests - part of a subtle backlash against the re-balancing of the feminine and masculine. It asks us to detach from our inner feminine knowing and give in to a higher authority.  Many of us (me included) buy into this without even realizing what that we are giving away a part of ourselves. It feels so easy to think somebody has the answer.

There are some other really obvious reasons why the declutter cult has taken off -

1. Control - In a world that seems out of control, decluttering and organizing can provide an illusion of control. (This is my hall closet).

2. Guilt - as the world continues to shrink, we can more and more see how our unconscious consumption is linked with developing world living conditions and climate change. To purge our possessions can feel like a cleansing confession. (Go in peace and sin no more - and throw in three Hail Marys for good measure.)

3. Perfection/Salvation - all my problems will be solved, my life will be perfect and I will find eternal happiness when I get rid of all my clutter and get organized. (This is a variation on "I will be happy when I am skinny.")

4. Freedom - getting rid of stuff can give us a temporary hit of feeling free. When our lives feel full of obligation, this is alluring.


When you dig deeper into any of these, you will likely find fear.  And if you do have a lot of junk in your life and dig into why you ended up with it in the first place - guess who's coming to dinner? - fear.  So if you are purging from the same mindset that you had while procuring - well, that's just the other side of the same coin, honey.

As a depth coach, I'm not interested in surface changes that aren't accompanied by an inner shift. If you don't look at the underlying thoughts beneath the desire to declutter - then you may just end up a serial declutterer like I was (I also have a great history as a yo-yo dieter).

My invitation to you if you want lasting change is to let go of the declutter mindset - a variation on the diet mindset. Both are just hollow pursuits of something we think will make us happy. Both ask us to embrace a masculine paradigm based in external control.  Move to a place of letting go consciously.  Be aware of the shadow side.  Take the time to reflect and do it from a place of loving creation, not fear. Letting go is part of the conscious creation of the life you want, not a scramble for salvation or perfection.  My experience is that when you are living from the place of loving, conscious creation you will naturally and effortlessly begin to let go of that which is no longer serving you - it will be a process, not a project.  And you will discover what is worth keeping and what is worth adding to your life in the first place.

A story. When M and I left the prairies for the coast we put all out belongings into our little blue Dodge Colt hatchback. A perfect opportunity for me to go on one of my crazy fling-fests. Not conscious, not thoughtful, not self-aware.  In the process I gave away a pair of red patent leather winkle pickers to the little girl across the street to put in her tickle trunk.

The shoes were one of the few things I had that belonged to my dead mother.  As I grew up without her, I would occasionally pull them out and stand in them - my way of feeling connected to her. I would imagine she was there in my bedroom with me, smiling down at me. Bending over and kissing me on the cheek. I would imagine her wearing them as she rocked me as a baby. It helped me feel less alone. As the years passed, I grew into the shoes - they fit me perfectly when I gave them away. And that scared me a little. Like Annie Gallup's song about her mother's blue dress:

And I'm not sure I ever meant to grow into this dress for real
As much as I rehearsed it I still don't know how to feel
In your blue dress on a summer night when I turn the page
And step into a photograph of you when you were my age
For all the time gone by and everything I've grown into
Sometimes being me feels like pretending to be you
In your blue dress

I used to like your blue dress and I still do, but in a different way
I like the inkstain on the skirt and how the hem is frayed
I see it on a different scale and from a different angle now
Than when I'd look up at you looking down
In your blue dress on a summer night, going out for the evening
Well, I still cry sometimes when I think about you leaving
Me
Your blue dress


I miss those shoes.  Of course, I've done okay without them, but many times I have yearned to slip my feet into them again. I gave them away thoughtlessly, carelessly. At the time, there was no practical reason to keep them.

But I know this about myself, now - I cannot live with practical alone, my life needs poetry.  I am sensual - having things to touch and feel makes me feel connected. I am nostalgic - it is important to me to have some articles from the past, to feel a sense of the history of my life. Some of my belongings bring me great joy. I don't fear that attachment. Knowing this, I am able to temper my urge to purge. Now when I let go, it is a letting go from a place of self-knowledge and love, not a place of fear and false belief.

The point is to know yourself well enough so that whatever you do, it is right for you.  Follow your intuition. Learn from others, but live from your own heart.

Just after hitting publish on this, Tara pointed me to the this post by Natalie Baker on Bindu Wiles' site - which I love, love, Iove and expresses so eloquently some of what I was trying to convey here.

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Back to school blues: how to lessen the pain of separation
Many of my clients have young children who are returning to school or pre-school after a summer with their parents. This is a big time of separation for children and I see so many well-meaning parents stifling their children's emotions (as well as their own!!) as they deal with their children's responses to that separation.  I hear them telling their children not to cry, to be brave, to be a "big boy" or a "big girl".  Partly because they feel it is what they should be doing, and partly because it is too difficult for *them* to see their children's emotions.  I feel so much for both the parents and the children and I am hoping the suggestions below can help lessen the heartbreak and stress of separation for both children and parents. 


1) Acknowledge the child's feelings.

Empathize with them. "I know, it's hard to be apart, isn't it?" And normalize their feelings. "Everybody feels a little bit scared when they go to a new place."  Let their attachment to you be a place they can rest in love in the midst of their anxiety.

Do not minimize the child's feelings or ask them to change how they feel. "Can you be a brave big boy for mummy?" Do not exploit their attachment to you by trying to  manipulate their feelings and behaviour. Don't make them work for your love.

2) If the child is going to school or childcare, let them see you interact with the teacher or the caregiver in a positive way.

Children are naturally wired to be wary of strangers - for good reason. They will, however, take cues from those they love as to who is worthy of their trust.  If they see you interacting with the teacher with smiles, nods, laughter and even a hug, if possible, they will be able to feel safer with that person. Not that they will bond immediately, the relationship will still need to be developed, but this provides a good footing.

3) Give the child an object through which they can feel connected to you while you are apart.

A scarf that smells like your favourite perfume.  A locket with a picture of you and them inside. Matching bracelets that you both wear - these can be a simple as a coloured string - hey it works for Kabbalah peeps! Imbue the object with some magic powers, "When you open the locket invisible magic dust will come out and you will be able to see Mummy in your head and mummy will be able to see you in her head, and it will be just like we were together."  "There is an invisible string connecting our two bracelets and when you tug on your bracelet it will travel along the invisible string until it gets to me."

4) Focus on the return

Don't talk details about the separation, but give details about the reunion.

"Oh, it's going to be so wonderful when I come to pick you up.  I'm going to give you the biggest hug and smother you in kisses and we can cuddle on the couch. I'm going to be so happy to see you!"

5) Don't avoid the goodbye

It is very common for parents to try to sneak out of the house or away from the school and avoid dealing with the feelings of separation altogether. While understandable, it is much better to focus on developing emotionally healthy separation rituals then to leave the child feeling abandoned.


These suggestions are rooted in the work of developmental psychologist, Dr. Gordon Neufeld, whose paradigm of human development has had a major influence on my teaching, my coaching and my personal life. If you would like to understand more about his approach, he is offering a online seminar on the evening of September 9: Raising Resilient Children: how to equip children for what lies ahead. It is one of his most popular seminars and is a bargain at $35. You can register at his website.

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becalmed instead of stuck; drawn instead of driven
My friend, Kelly, was just lamenting about being stuck. In fact, we hear this often from creatives or from people who feel they aren't making enough progress on their goals or their life lists.  I think the idea of being stuck is wrapped up in a faulty metaphor that we buy into without even knowing it.
"Everyone in the modern West has taken up Freud’s vocabulary, even if they’ve never studied psychology. We ask, “what is driving me to do this?”—usually not realizing that the origin of this way of explaining things is the Viennese originator of psychoanalysis, who said that we had within us certain drives (for example, a sexual drive) that maneuver us around. We claim, with this question, that there are these forces within us, both known and unknown, that are having us take action (or in some cases refraining from taking it).

Yet no one has ever seen “a drive.” That’s okay because no one has ever seen “happiness” either. We grew up learning these words in a particular culture, and when we observe certain behaviors, including how people speak and describe their experience, we say that a “drive” or “happiness” is present. The trouble begins when we forget that these words are descriptors and are not pointing to freestanding phenomena such as a mountain, a river, or a tree."

~ James Flaherty

Why did Freud use the word drive?  Because the definition fit his theory - drive means "to push from behind" as in a team of horses; as in a car.  We are immersed in the metphors of a car culture.  We sing about life being a highway, we talk about running out of gas and putting the pedal to the metal, we publish amazing books on the importance of intrinsic motivation and erroneously title them Drive. (yes, I'm looking at you, Dan Pink.) And this is why we think we get stuck. We think there is some unknowable force that needs to push us. Or that we need to push ourselves.

Stuck is an extension of our metaphorical drive thinking, it implies a linear process. Imagine a car stuck in the snow or mud - what do you do?  You spin your wheels, you try to force it out by pushing from behind. You gun it, pressing down on the gas pedal as fast and as far as you can.

There is power in the words we use - the way we talk can bring us freedom and open us up, or it can close us down. To quote James Flaherty again, "Please start to notice when you begin speaking in a way that ties you up in knots, that leaves you with few options for action, that leaves you estranged from others [or from yourself- L], that leaves you distraught."  I think that's what happens when we talk about being stuck.

I'm proposing an alternate metaphor to describe this state/process. In sailing the term used when the wind dies down such that the boat stops moving is becalmed. Becalmed. Be. Calmed. Whoa, how cool is that? That's a world away from stuck. Completely different energy in that word.

And what do sailors do when their boat is becalmed?  Well, first of all they recognize that it's a partnership - the boat is not completely under their control - it moves due to a partnership between the wind and the sailor.They have techniques for ensuring they can make the most of any light wind that comes up, for allowing themselves to be drawn, rather than driven.

1. Lighten the weight - the heavier the boat, the more drag.  What's weighing you down?

2. Move towards the centre of the boat.  How can you move closer to that which moves you?

3. Seek the ripples - little ripples on the water tell you where the slightest wind is. What is making your heart flutter?
4. Minimize unnecessary movements - they rob you of momentum. Rest.

5. Use the current.  Where is the deeper flow that you can tap into? Create rituals and routines that can act as your  current.

6. Keep all movements slow and steady - quick, jerky movements keep your boat from gliding. Small steps.

7. Remember that even on the calmest days, a slight breeze always comes up as the sun begins to go down.  Don't panic.

Tell me where I'm wrong.

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An International Women's Day Gift - What is Dying to be Born?

If there's a book you really want to read but it hasn't been written yet, then you must write it.

~ Toni Morrison

I am beyond excited to share with you today a juicy project that I have been working on all year!  Though I didn't write this book, I did compile it because it was a book I really wanted to read.  I'm guessing most of you will feel the same way when you dig into this collection of wisdom, poetry and art from these intelligent, open hearted women. This was a labour of love for me and all the women involved. It is a celebration of the imagination and vision of women.  The ideas in this book are important and my dream is that they will be shared widely and freely, with love, so that they can make a difference.

Here is a list of the amazing women who contributed to this book:

Kelly Diels

Martha Beck

Jan Phillips

Leah-Piken Kolidas

Kelly McGonigal

Anne Jackson

Brené Brown

Flora Bowley

Laura Berman Fortgang

Deanna Zandt

Colleen Wainwright

Shilo Shiv Suleman

Linda Stone

Melvina Johnson Young

Patti Digh

Melanie Schambach

Maya Stein

Tara Hunt

Andrea Learned

Margaret Wheatley

Kyra D. Gaunt

Susan Wooldridge

Anne Mai Bertelsen

Pamela Tanner Boll

Cheryl Sorg

Dori J. Maynard

Pamela Slim

Danielle LaPorte

Jane Fulton Alt

Marlene Schiwy

Tiny

Download What is Dying to be Born

(note this is a large file - 43MB. If you have trouble downloading it, here is  a smaller version  of 1.4MB but with less resolution)



As part of this celebration of women I will also be having a give-away every week for the rest of Women's History Month. Each week's give away will be the work of one of the contributors to the book.

Randi Nervig won Jan Phillips' CD set Creating Every Day. Congratulations to Randi on winning that.

Joy Tanksley is the winner of a copy of Martha Beck's Steering by Starlight & a copy of Seth Godin's Linchpin - a double whammy. 

Keep the comments coming - one last giveaway this week.

THIS WEEK'S GIVEAWAY: Contributer Kelly McGonigal's latest book - Yoga for Pain Relief: Simple Practices to Calm Your Mind and Heal Your Chronic Pain.  I love this book and found the exercises wonderful even for someone like me with no chronic pain issues.  If you're into yoga at all, you'll get a lot out of this book. Leave your comment by midnight Saturday, March 27th. Winner will be announced on Sunday.

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