Random acts. very

You know how sometimes certain memories remain crystal clear as though they are trapped in the amber of your consciousness? While I don't know nearly enough about how the brain works, I suspect that means these shards of memory that stay with us are some of the most important events of our lives to be pondered and reconsidered for all that they contain. They might be "teachable moments" for us to draw upon. While the neuroscience aspects of aspic elude me, I do know this memory is a life lesson:

My besties and I like to have a cup of tea now and again and occasionally the fancy kind with teacakes,   cupcakes, cookies that are almost too beautiful to eat. During my decade in The Lower Haight, my dear friends got together once a month, taking turns at each other's houses. I was excited to be hosting one lovely late spring day and planned everything to the tee- lemon bars with lime icing, mini-cupcakes with icing that looked like lace and my favorite black and white cookies, chocolate on one side and vanilla on the other. I even had brightly colored paper napkins with sassy wild women quotes on them.

I was working in Berkeley and living in San Francisco which meant that just getting across the Bay Bridge was going to be a an adventure. On this day, it was going to be a miracle. I was terrified my friends would be standing at the front door, stamping their nicely shod feet, waiting for me as I navigated the traffic. I surrendered to it, knowing my anxiety would not change a thing. Plus, I had my secret weapon- the nicest array of confections ever. How could they be mad at me when there were being served stunningly beautiful sugar cookies on napkins that reminded them they are fabulous?

Finally, my lane of traffic oozed off the Fremont exit into Downtown San Francisco. I was going to bust one of my special moves and drive down a one way arterial and avoid the clogged streets. To do that, I had to drive past the TransBay Terminal, one of the most desolate and derelict spots in all of the greater Bay Area. I was chugging along and feeling good about my bag of goodies and was stopped again by a Muni bus that appeared to be lumbering along at maybe 3 miles per hour. But I still had my special treats and my confidence remained intact.

I looked to my left and a mother and her toddler were standing on the raised median not two feet away from my car. She looked to be not much older than a teenager herself and had a big bruise on her cheek and a frightened look. Her little boy was hugging her knee, trying to stay warm in the arctic wind that blasts downtown SF as soon as the sun sets. I smiled at them and she smiled back and I saw she was missing at least one tooth. In this moment, I just knew she has run away from an abusive home and was getting herself and her son to safety. I also knew in that moment that they needed money and I scrabbled around in my messy purse but could only find a five dollar bill as I had spent all my cash on the sweets. I grabbed the pretty paper bag filled with boxes of delicacies and shoved it into her hands along with the wadded up bill.  The look on her face was what will stay with me a lifetime, she was surprised and the stress drained out of her face and I could see how pretty she was. The bus shot foreword and I had to drive away but I managed to shout back at her "These are the best cookies in the world so everything is going to be ok!" I looked in the rearview mirror and saw her bend down and open a box and lovingly feed her little boy one of my treasured black and whites. They were laughing and her son was even kind of dancing around. My heart lifted as I drove away.  I was especially pleased that this young women was going to be reminded about her fabulousness by sassy paper napkins.

My girlfriends and I ate microwaved popcorn that night by nobody minded. We also ended up having a much deeper and richer discussion about real things, no shop or shopping talk, no boyfriend problems. We talked about how lucky we were and ways we could give back to the world.

It is funny how I  knew those cookies were going to save the night. I guess I just didn't know whose.

The power of the human heart

When I was working on the Random Acts of Kindness campaign, it was an incredibly joy-filled work experience. I usually do love what I do but this took it to a whole new level. My work was not just about helping my company or paying my rent for the month, it suddenly really meaning something. We were making the world a better place, one act of kindness at a time. There was literally an electricity in the air and we arrived at work each day to see what miracles had happened overnight while we were sleeping.

I remember the first day we knew everything had really changed - we found out through the US mail. Usually we only had a dozen or so pieces of mail, bills mostly and a few queries, letters from readers or an order or two. One day, the mailman knocked and said, "I need help here." He had BAGS of letters from people all over the country and a TON of ones with suggestions of acts of kindness. There were laughter and tears as we sat down on the floor and tore open the envelopes reading aloud from the letters. Some were in children's big blocky letters (these usually had the best ideas of kindness) and others in elder's careful script. I treasure that memory as I saw the power of the human heart that day.

The most optimistic man in America:

David Mezzapelle will share inspiring from his new book Contagious Optimism with a broad tour of California.

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David Mezzapelle, author of Contagious Optimism

Reading Contagious Optimism will allow you to appreciate and understand the principles that people of all races, religions, and socioeconomic backgrounds live by and have exhibited during their life's adventures.

—Daniel P. Tully

(PRWEB) September 11, 2013

David Mezzapelle will tour the Bay Area and Los Angeles from September 19th to 25th, sharing inspirational stories from his newly-released bookContagious Optimism: Uplifting Stories and Motivational Advice for Positive Forward Thinking, which is newly available on Audible.

Contagious Optimism is a collection of personal success stories and advice that discusses the power of positive thinking. Mezzapelle urges readers to find the silver lining in every cloud despite trials such as personal hardship, economic downturns, and political uncertainties. Developed by the same team that wrote the bestselling Random Acts of Kindness, Contagious Optimism is written to lift hearts, open minds, and create a movement of pass-it-on hope and happiness.

Jupiter Life featured an article on David and Contagious Optimism, exploring the inspiration behind the book and giving tidbits from the inspirational stories of contributors like Mona Tippins.

Join David on his tour at these events in Northern and Southern California:

9/19 7pm, Books Inc., Alameda, CA
9/21 1-3pm, Agape Quiet Mind Bookstore, Culver City, CA
9/25 7am, The Inside Edge, Irvine, CA
9/25 4-5:30pm, Mystic Journey Bookstore, Venice, CA
9/25 7pm, Barnes and Noble 3rd St. Promenade, Santa Monica, CA

What people are saying about Contagious Optimism:

"Contagious Optimism is an inspiring invitation to change your life through a change of perspective. Mezzapelle's collection of stories and various viewpoints spurs our imagination of what's possible to create a happy and successful life. A highly persuasive book I full-heartedly recommend."
—Andrea F. Polard, PsyD

"Learn how you can experience true happiness and fulfillment despite life's greatest challenges as you read the stories of those who have chosen to see that glass half -full."
—Chloe JonPaul, author of This Business of Children

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Creating your path to inner peace:

Maggie Oman Shannon Champions the Importance of Creating  in a Busy and Often Chaotic World:

The author of Crafting Calm and interfaith minister shares her philosophical take on beauty.

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Maggie Oman Shannon, author of Crafting Calm

Ultimately, connecting to our creativity can help us connect to our spirituality. In other words, crafting can become a spiritual practice."

— Psych Central

(PRWEB) June 11, 2013

Interfaith minister Maggie Oman Shannon claims that cultivating and noticing beauty is far from frivolous. In her new book Crafting Calm, she relates personal stories and step-by-step how-to's on DIY projects that help people get in touch with their spiritual side. As she explains on Inspire Me Today, "There is always something lovely to be found, always; and the search for it or deliberate creation of it is never frivolous. John Keats was right: Beauty is Truth, Truth Beauty." When most of the world is determined to shut down creativity in favor of being "realistic" or practical, Maggie Oman Shannon's is one of the lone voices encouraging people to put busyness on pause and focus on small, simple moments of peace and beauty.

Oman Shannon has also recently appeared on the the popular podcast Tranquility du Jour with Kimberly Wilson. The two experts discuss how to make time for crafting in the midst of a busy schedule, and talk about the importance of finding a few moments for peace. As a mother with a jam-packed schedule herself, Oman Shannon knows from experience how hard scheduling time for calmness can be. But, as she so boldly states, the active and mindful focus on beauty is a "political statement" and a "spiritual practice," and the inner peace it can bring is well worth the effort.

Rev. Maggie Oman Shannon, M.A., is an interfaith minister, spiritual director, workshop and retreat facilitator, and author of five books, including Prayers for Healing and A String and a Prayer: How to Make and Use Prayer Beads. In 2000, Maggie Oman Shannon founded The New Story, a coaching and consulting business focused on helping people create deeper meaning in their lives. Shannon currently has the honor of serving as Spiritual Director of Unity Spiritual Center of San Francisco. She lives in San Francisco with her husband and nine-year-old daughter.

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A proud publishing moment for Viva Editions:

Kaufman Shares his Inspiring Story of Triumph Over Alcoholism and Trauma

Award-winning literary star Alan Kaufman celebrates the release of "Drunken Angel" in paperback with special appearances.

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Drunken Angel by Alan Kaufman

"[An] addictive memoir of self-destruction, recuperation and a literary coming-of-age."

—Kirkus Reviews

(PRWEB) April 03, 2013

Son of a French Holocaust survivor, Kaufman drank to fill the huge hole in his heart, wrecking himself and everyone in his path. His memoir Drunken Angel recounts with raw power and naked candor his descent into the hell of alcoholism while struggling to cope with his traumatic past. Alan Kaufman will share his story at the Jewish Community Center in Palo Alto on April 15th (see below for details). For those who cannot attend this special event in person, Kaufman will also be sharing his message on April 6 on KGO AM 810, from 8:05-8:30pm.

Alan Kaufman Bay Area Events:
April 15 7:30pm In Conversation at the Albert L Schultz Jewish Community Center, Palo Alto
April 11 7:30pm Books Inc., Opera Plaza, San Francisco
April 17 5:30-7:30pm "Spring into Recovery" at the Henry Ohlhoff Recovery Center, 201 Mission Street, SF

In his memoir, Drunken Angel, Alan Kaufman recounts his experiences as the son of a French-Jewish Holocaust survivor, probing the consciousness of an addict to expose the true horror of alcoholism. In no other book do addiction, PTSD and The Holocaust cross paths and combine to produce profound new questions, vistas, and insights into the seemingly intractable malaise that haunts contemporary life. This ultimately uplifting narrative of loss, addiction and redemption is one of the first memoirs by a Second Generation Holocaust writer to address how alcoholism, his Jewish lineage and the Holocaust intersect, raising haunting new questions about how deeply both the Holocaust and addiction lie at the very nexus of our contemporary world.

A literary star and award-winning author, Kaufman is the editor of such critically acclaimed books as Jew Boy (now being made into a motion picture), The Outlaw Bible of American Poetry, Matches, The Outlaw Bible of American Literature, publisher of the short-lived but zeitgeist-changing iconoclastic Jewish underground mag Davka: Jewish Cultural Revolution, and founder and acting dean of The Free University of San Francisco. His books and activism have earned the praise of everyone from David Mamet and Dave Eggars to The New York Times, The San Francisco Chronicle, Publisher’s Weekly and The Los Angeles Times. His literary works are considered classics of their kind.

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The only way to learn is to make mistakes:

Connected by compassion and curiosity

By Polly Campbell on November 26, 2012

Notes from the Book Tour:

It’s been a fast-paced few weeks since the launch ofImperfect Spirituality: Extraordinary Enlightenment for Ordinary People  Nov. 1  in Portland. I’ve been to San Francisco and throughout Marin County, Seattle, Vancouver B.C. and Los Angeles with more stops on the schedule.

I’ve met scores of people during workshops and readings. And, after all these months sitting in a quiet room to work on the book, it was a good feeling to be able to visit with people face-to-face about this idea and practice of Imperfect Spirituality, which is really a practical way of accessing your spirit in any moment.

The tour has also served as  a master class for me. I’ve learned so much from the questions the people asked. Their comments and insights. I learned a lot about myself too. I was reminded about how resourceful and creative we become when we operate from spirit – I navigated the highways throughout Marin and San Francisco Counties without even freakin’, I did however draw on the practices I talk about to stay calm and present.

Here are a few of the things I was reminded of this last week:

• I could never be a rockstar. This kind of travelling is tough and I’m not sure I’d want to go on the road for months at a time; though it is kind of funny to sling that phrase “go on the road” around.

• People are wise and kind. We are connected, not only by our imperfections, but also our compassion, and our desire to do good in the world, to uplift others and feel happier. To learn and grow and connect.

• Many folks are now realizing that the solution to any problem is within. They are learning about themselves and pulling their mind-bodies-spirits into alignment to fully experience their lives instead of looking outside of themselves and waiting for someone else to do it.

• There is a shift in how we think about spirituality. It is no longer considered whoo-whoo or “out there” it is accessible and practical and folks are looking for ways to use these practices in daily life to reduce stress and just feel better.

• We feel better when we are growing, expansive, engaged.

And another thing I was reminded of was how energizing it is to be connected to you passion and working from purpose. I drove hundreds of miles, was up early, often by 4 or 5 a.m. in order to make the commute, and usually worked into the night, and yet, when I had a chance to walk into a bookstore and  talk to others about this stuff, I felt excited and energized and ready to go.

When we are doing what matters to us, what we feel contributes positively to the planet, we become aligned with our spirit and that is an expansive and energizing place to be. Today then, play in your passion, at least a little bit, or commit to exploring just what you might be passionate about. It will not only shift the energy for you and help you feel better in the day, but the momentum will catch up the rest of us.

During a terrific service at the Unity Church of San Francisco with Rev. Maggie Shannon Oman, we talked about how easily we get caught up in the routine of our lives. We brush our teeth and make the breakfast and pack the lunch and commute to work and finish the deadline and rush to the kids’ swim meet, head home to come up with dinner, do the chores and head to bed. Every day. When we spend all of our time doing the things we think we should do or ought to do, we push out the things we are passionate about. Make it your mission this week to save a little time each day to do something that makes your heart sing.

I think you’ll find, like I did, that not only will you feel excited and happier in your life, you will also be more productive and energized when you take on the other tasks in your day

thinking about courage

who is the bravest person you know? I would love to hear the story.