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My Latest at Elephant Journal - 7 Things You Probably Didn’t Know About Islam, In Honor of Ramadan

My latest at elephant journal: 7 Things You Probably Didn’t Know About Islam, In Honor of Ramadan.

“In honor of Ramadan, the most holy month in Islam, I hope we can all take a moment to honor the diversity of faiths that hold the world together, as much as they might tear it apart.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Islamic and Sufi Mystical, Metaphysical, and Religious Quotes

In honor of Ramadan, 2010

In the name of Allah, most beneficent, most merciful.

“The foremost in religion is the acknowledgement of Him,
the perfection of acknowledging Him is to testify Him,
the perfection of testifying Him is to believe in His Oneness,
the perfection of believing in His Oneness is to regard Him Pure,
and the perfection of

Continue reading Islamic and Sufi Mystical, Metaphysical, and Religious Quotes

In Honor of Ramadan

Even the idea of love is separation. In claiming a beloved, earthly or divine, we put ourselves into separation. Through this separation we have the chance to seek

Continue reading In Honor of Ramadan

Sexy Witch Classes and Groups with Lasára

From time to time Lasara offers small working groups based on Sexy Witch. These groups are conducted through teleclass and/or “webinar” formats, plus a private e-group.

“LaSara Firefox is a genius! You couldn’t ask for a better guide to take you on this emboldening adventure. and engaging whether or not you consider

Continue reading Sexy Witch Classes and Groups with Lasára

The Lost Art of Masculinity - My Latest at Elephant Journal

Read my latest at elephantjournal.com. Link at bottom of excerpt:

The Lost Art of Masculinity

In the heart of the divorce boom (starting in the ‘60s, peaking in the ‘70s) a generation of women ended up parenting (mostly) solo, and a generation of boys ended up being raised (mostly) without a positive father figure,

Continue reading The Lost Art of Masculinity – My Latest at Elephant Journal

Tonglen Meditation as Self-Healing

Tonglen meditation is a simple practice of transmutation. It’s the process of breathing in “dirty” energy, thoughts, or feelings, and releasing them with compassionate non-attachment as pure light.

As opposed to the idea of breathing peace and calm into the body and mind, in tonglen we breathe in pain and suffering (dukkha) and transform it into

Continue reading Tonglen Meditation as Self-Healing

I Love You - A Daily Practice

As you move through your life today, think “I love you” to everything and everyone, ALL THE TIME! Or at least whenever you remember to. Most importantly, think “I LOVE YOU!” when you are feeling sad, angry, separate from another, or from source, or alone. Don’t forget that YOU are

Continue reading I Love You – A Daily Practice

Untitled (vortex i)

I come awake at night these days
My man sprawled sweetly next to me
Rhythmic breathing
almost lulling me
But in the quiet of night
there’s something puling me
Awake, awake

I come awake at night
the cars rush by my country home
Rhythmic roaring
nearly pulling me
In this rush of night
there’s something lulling me
Awake, awake

Virginia said
a woman should have a room of one’s own
This

Continue reading Untitled (vortex i)

18 Rules for Living

Often referred to as “Dalai Lama’s 18 rules for living”, this piece of writing does not actually originate with the Dalai Lama. Regardless, it’s a great piece of writing, with many important reminders. I needed some of them badly today, and thought you might, too. Enjoy. I hope this list provides some sweet upliftment for

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A Poem for Palestine

August, 2007

here,
in this place of unyielding hardship
the soil trembles
with subtle urgency
without moving

bodies quiver
electricity dancing on the surface of
straining skin

restraint
oppression
desire
fear
all held
in abeyance -
a sacred secret
voiced in harsh-edged whispers
in the dark of night
and lost to forgiving winds

here,
trees bend low
branches heavy hanging
with over-ripe fruit
no way to pick the figs
beyond the shadow of the wall

still,
roses grow
dawn kisses sweet-smelling earth
with

Continue reading A Poem for Palestine

The Wall

The wall coming towards Beit Jala.

Imagine you are sitting in your home. Imagine that when you look out the window, you can see a wall growing close and closer, day by day, straight toward the walls of your home. You know that the larger wall will not correct its course. You know that soon,

Continue reading The Wall

Sixty Years of Temporary - Arroub Refugee Camp, Palestine

Entry to Arroub Camp (Al Arroub).

August, 2007

Yesterday I went to Al Arroub Camp. Remember, you take the bitter with the sweet…

In 1948 the Israeli occupation of Palestinian lands began. Palestinians were driven forcibly from the homes their forefathers had built, whole villages were emptied of the Arab population. Villages that had been built of

Continue reading Sixty Years of Temporary – Arroub Refugee Camp, Palestine

Apocalypse Now…and Now…and Now…and Now

The world is ending.

The world has always been ending.

For as long as humanity has had creation myths, we’ve also had destruction myths. Old wine in a new skin, enter the destruction myth du jour. The End Times as we know them; the Apocalypse.

“An Apocalypse (Greek; “lifting of the veil” or “revelation”) is a

Continue reading Apocalypse Now…and Now…and Now…and Now

For my love, on his 45th birthday

This is the beginning
all possibility and nubile gestures
the soft, damp dawn
touched with dew and whispy, whispery fog
we live in a valley of green
hills of gold
crowning moist, damp earth

there will come a time
where we gather these days around us
an aged bounty of petals
strewn whimsically on a sturdy, well-worn floor
and, creaking with the walls
flesh earth-like and joints

Continue reading For my love, on his 45th birthday

Finding Dr. Right

Yesterday I had a first appointment with a new psych doc. Never something I look forward to, but just like the search for a good care-provider of any type – massage therapist, chiropractor, general practitioner, gynecologist – sometimes finding Doctor Right takes some time.

As with ending any relationship – getting fired from a job, losing

Continue reading Finding Dr. Right

Exercise is Not Optional

(Wanna play yoga with us? Join our Community Yoga Experience – yoga everyday, from now until the autumnal equinox – Sept. 23.)

Physical exercise for me, from asana yoga, to running, to Pilates, to dancing, is not an optional part of my self-care. Yet I still act sometimes like it is. And end up back in

Continue reading Exercise is Not Optional

Community Yoga Experience - Summer Solstice through Autumnal Equinox

Commit to doing asana (posture) yoga daily from now until September 23 — with all of US! Come to this page daily and use the comments feature to share your practice.

Let this be your forum to share your practice, ask for support, offer encouragement, and track your own practice.

Consider this an experiment in collaboration –

Continue reading Community Yoga Experience – Summer Solstice through Autumnal Equinox

On Writer's Block - From a Writer to her Reader

I didn’t write my 800 words yesterday. It wasn’t a case of too few ideas, but too many. So many possible things to write about, and so much to write about them.

On the other hand, it was a desire for a royal flush in the writing department. After a number of articles that have struck

Continue reading On Writer’s Block – From a Writer to her Reader

Sex Positive Parenting

Teaching Our Children About Sex.

(Reprinted from elephant journal, June 19, 2010.)

As a child of the ‘70s, and more-over, a child of the counter-culture, I can say there is such a thing as too much permissiveness. However, sexual positivity and sexual permissiveness are not by nature the same thing.

Conscious parenting has many focuses and aspects. But

Continue reading Sex Positive Parenting

To Hell With Chicken Little!

A while back my ten-year-old kid came home from school and said, “Mom, is the world really going to end in 2012?”

This moment was one I hadn’t even known I had a secret dread of.

I was raised as part of the Back-to-the-Land movement. If you weren’t there, you probably don’t know that a big chunk

Continue reading To Hell With Chicken Little!

A New Generation of Fathers - A Shout-Out to the New Dad

I know very few peers who were raised by both parents. I have very many peers whose fathers were at best absent, and at worst abusive. Though really, abandonment leaves scars nearly as readily as any other kind of abuse does.

Most of us lived through our parent’s divorces as kids. Divorce is as prevalent as

Continue reading A New Generation of Fathers – A Shout-Out to the New Dad

Breathing for the Liberation of All Beings

For the first day in this 21 day experiment, I am not feeling overly inspired to write. As another writer taking part in the experiment asked this morning, “where do I start?” I answered; “Start where you are! Trite, but still good advice. ”

And here I am. Stuck.

Over the past few days I have

Continue reading Breathing for the Liberation of All Beings

Confessions of a Bad Polyamorist

Polyamory (from Greek πολυ [poly, meaning many or several] and Latin amor [love]) is the practice, desire, or acceptance of having more than one intimate relationship at a time with the knowledge and consent of everyone involved.
-Wikipedia

Love is God, God is love, both are the same, and as God, love is limitless.

This

Continue reading Confessions of a Bad Polyamorist

Learning to be Human

Today I start with frustration. It’s not the topic I want to write about. I am dead-tired of self-introspective, self-indulgent, self-aggrandizing writing, yet here I am today, finding my self starting with my own self-indulgent expression of dissatisfaction.

Yesterday at therapy my (very awesome) therapist and I were talking about summer break. About how it’s easy

Continue reading Learning to be Human

The Devotion of Presence, The Presence of Devotion

Dilemmas of a Householder

There was a time in my life where I so strongly desired to be in perfect Presence all the time that my desire for Presence became the greatest pain I had ever felt.

I sought absolute ego death; annihilation of self into Self, the surrender of “I” into that which is greater than

Continue reading The Devotion of Presence, The Presence of Devotion

Fearless in the Face of God - my journey to the Holy Land, part I

God was, literally, talking to me. It (my gender-neutral pronoun – I just can’t say He!) was waking me from my dreams every night. It was giving me clear directives. It was telling me how to live my life, what to do, and how to do it.

When I wasn’t awakened by The Voice, it found

Continue reading Fearless in the Face of God – my journey to the Holy Land, part I

Arab Cawe

The Arab cawe (coffee) is thick and bitter-sweet. Dark and steaming, I take a sip, sitting in the square in Bethlehem. I love this square. The vast expanse of worn marble in front of the church, the seats of carved stone.

When seated in front of the church, you see a mosque at the other end.

Continue reading Arab Cawe

Send me the Sunset

I ask…
send me Arab coffee
but i want to ask
send
the coffee vendor
crooked teeth and gentle smile
who stands with burnished cart
at the far end of the square

I ask
send maramia
but i want you to
send me
the scent of water and wild weeds
at Solomon’s Pools

I plead
send me a
strong smelling, rosewood rosary
frankincense
and myrhh
zatar

but deeply,
I long to walk again
in the Arab markets
of

Continue reading Send me the Sunset

In Memory of Mahmoud Darwish, 13 March 1941 – 9 August 2008

I wrote this piece on the day Mahmoud Darwish, Poet Laureate of Palestine, the voice of the Palestinian people, died. It is dedicated to him.

Filistina, Ya Habibi

(Palestine, My Beloved)

I invite you
to come inside
the sitting room
of my life

to smell the scent of the dirt that holds
the roots of jasmine
to smell the flower
to smell
the coffee brewing in

Continue reading In Memory of Mahmoud Darwish, 13 March 1941 – 9 August 2008

21*5*800 - Day 5 - The Stability of Fear

(Today’s 21*5*800 post is harder to publish without serious revision. It’s deeply personal, and intimate, and may not make sense. None of those are things I love to publish without serious work, serious thought, and serious introspection.. But yesterday Bindu suggested we write on fear, so here it is. Raw and wild, as fear often

Continue reading 21*5*800 – Day 5 – The Stability of Fear

21*5*800, Day 4 - The Presence of Devotion, The Devotion of Presence

Today you will have to go over to elephant journal and read The Presence of Devotion, The Devotion of Presence for my 800 words.

I feel slightly like I cheated today, though I probably wrote (and unwrote) 800 words anyway. Somehow editing doesn’t seem to count as writing for me, which is silly, since as you

Continue reading 21*5*800, Day 4 – The Presence of Devotion, The Devotion of Presence

21*5*800 Day 3-There is a balance between dreaming and living

Here is today’s writing. It’s become the basis for my weekly column at elephant journal. Tomorrow I’ll post the edited version, titled The Presence of Devotion – Dilemas of a Householder II, at ele. But in the spirit of my commitment to post my writing for this experiment daily (or mostly daily), here is the

Continue reading 21*5*800 Day 3-There is a balance between dreaming and living

2*5*800, Day 2: This is how the world ends...

(Read about the 21*5*800 challenge here.)
Today’s exercise began as “What to do when the world is ending…” and ended up being “This is how the world ends…” It’s not finished, and never will be; a creative expression of my own overwhelm at the state of Things As They Are…and my own eternal and present solution

Continue reading 21*5*800, Day 2: This is how the world ends…

21*5*800, Day 1 - Practice Makes Presence

(Read about the 21*5*800 challenge here.)

Practice is called practice for a reason. We never reach the end of it. There is no end point to practice.

When we apply the word practice to spiritual pursuit, it can tend to gain some onerous weight, like there’s some goal to be reached. Some final gate to walk through.

Continue reading 21*5*800, Day 1 – Practice Makes Presence

21*5*800; Community Event STARTS TOMORROW, June 8.

21*5*800; 21 days, yoga five days a week, writing 800 words a day. STARTS TOMORROW, June 8.Perfect timing for me!

Join in a community endeavor designed for the writing yogi/ni, the writer who wants to do more yoga, or the yogi who wants to do more writing.

It’ll be easier than you think. Here’s the low down

Continue reading 21*5*800; Community Event STARTS TOMORROW, June 8.

My latest at Elephant Journal: Where are the Plus-Size Yoga Clothes?

My latest at Elephant Journal: Where are the Plus-Size Yoga Clothes? Click here to read!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sheikh Bukhari, man of peace, laid to rest in Jerusalem at age of 61

“Sufi sheikh who preached nonviolence laid to rest”…may his spirit guide us still.

One of the sweetest men I have ever met, a man I am grateful to have had the occasion to learn from and work with (for far too short a time), a man of peace and true heart, has passed on.

Continue reading Sheikh Bukhari, man of peace, laid to rest in Jerusalem at age of 61

REVIEW: Art, Visual and Written, Aman Mojadidi

The visual and written work of Aman Mojadidi is head and heart provoking. A bold vision and voice that brings conflict, global and personal, back home to the “I” through the transpersonal and interpersonal. May it break hearts open. Perhaps life will find hold in the fissures left behind.

If nothing else, be sure to read

Continue reading REVIEW: Art, Visual and Written, Aman Mojadidi

My 39th Birthday!

A year is a measure of time between two points. The day that anniversary marks is by nature both an ending and beginning.

Birthdays have had gravity for me for many years. My own personal “new year” – I take inventory, whether I want to or not. What have I done to better myself? What have

Continue reading My 39th Birthday!

Arise Then, Women of This Day - The Roots of Mother's Day

Did you know that Mother’s Day was created as an opportunity to stand against war?

Here is the first stanza of a piece of writing called The Mothers’ Day Proclamation written by Julia Ward Howe, a feminist and abolitionist, in 1870.

Arise, then, women of this day!
Arise, all women who have hearts,
Whether our baptism be of water

Continue reading Arise Then, Women of This Day – The Roots of Mother’s Day

Getting the Relationship You Want

1. Be yourself, and represent yourself truly and fully. If you don’t, you’ll be getting into a relationship with someone who thinks they’re getting into a relationship with someone other than the real you! Not a good start to a relationship that you may want to be a lifelong thing, right?

Show up as who you

Continue reading Getting the Relationship You Want

How to Grow a Grateful World: Three Steps to Engaged Gratitude

Do you want more gratitude in your life? If so, cultivate it! This article will give you tools that allow you to take an active part in creating a more grateful world.

As AJ Muste, a committed nonviolent peace activist said, “There is no way to peace. Peace is the way.” The more we practice peace,

Continue reading How to Grow a Grateful World: Three Steps to Engaged Gratitude

An Empowerment for Presence: Change Your Mind, Change the World

The world is what you make it. The Buddha is credited with this quote:

“We are what we think. All that we are arises with our thoughts. With our thoughts, we make the world.”

Consider how you are making your world – what thoughts are building what outcomes in your life?

If you can change how

Continue reading An Empowerment for Presence: Change Your Mind, Change the World

A Meditation on Peace, and the Prayer of Saint Francis

Prayer of Saint Francis
Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury, pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
where there is sadness, joy;

O Divine Master,
grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console;
to be understood

Continue reading A Meditation on Peace, and the Prayer of Saint Francis

Moms and Self Care; Do it For Those You Love

As a mom, sometimes the most perfect intentions for self love and self care fall short of reality. You have a very full life, and it’s often a challenge to find the “extra” time to build in those moments of self-nurturing.

Resistance may be deeper than it even looks at first, too. When you first start

Continue reading Moms and Self Care; Do it For Those You Love

Thank You Constance McMillen; A Victory for One is a Victory for All!

The good news of the week; Constance McMillen, the young woman whose request to wear a tuxedo and take her girlfriend to her senior prom was denied, has won a hearing about the violation of her First Amendment rights; the right to freedom of speech.

McMillen’s family has been amongst some of her strongest supports in

Continue reading Thank You Constance McMillen; A Victory for One is a Victory for All!

Outrageous Roots and a Bright Future; Sex and Feminism

Reprinted from Gauntlet Magazine, 1999, edited 10/2008, very partial edit, 3/2010, edit, 3/25/2010

Neo-Feminism:

I call myself a neo-feminist rather than a post-feminist. Post-feminist implies that feminism may indeed be dead, as was the cultural myth for a while (still under debate?) whereas the term neo-feminist illustrates that the movement is vital, alive, evolving.

The term post-feminist gives

Continue reading Outrageous Roots and a Bright Future; Sex and Feminism

My Grandfather's Flag - In Memoriam

This memorial day, I hope you’ll take a moment to remember, to pray for, all those who have fallen in the lines of fire – not just “our” men and boys, wives and daughters, but all of those who have fallen, everywhere around the world.

In Memoriam

Written Memorial Day, 2009

My mother grew up 
with photos 
of

Continue reading My Grandfather’s Flag – In Memoriam

Winners of the Good Medicine Bath and Beauty Products Contest/Giveaway!

Claim your prize by posting here, and then writing a personal e-mail with your contact info to: ms.allen@lasaraallen.com. (Your contact info will be used only for shipping purposes and then discarded.) Remember; if you do not come back to claim your prize by midnight pacific time on March 24th to claim your prize it will

Continue reading Winners of the Good Medicine Bath and Beauty Products Contest/Giveaway!

Manifestation in Twelve (Sort Of Complex) Steps!

Manifesting is not always easy. Here are some tips that will help you through the days where it would be way too easy to give up hope. Manifestation is not a mystery; it’s a kind of technology or tool that one must learn to harness, and sometimes it just takes some work.

1. Desire + action

Continue reading Manifestation in Twelve (Sort Of Complex) Steps!

Dress You Up in My Love Equality Prom - Everywhere!

Dress You Up In My Love is a nationwide equality celebration designed to protest the school in Mississippi that took action against Constance McMillan, the girl who wanted to take her girlfriend to the prom. Yes, it is 2010…but instead of allowing a tuxedoed young lesbian woman to attend the prom with her lovely beloved

Continue reading Dress You Up in My Love Equality Prom – Everywhere!

Your Family is a Living System

Bodies communicate, moods, good or bad, are caught and transmitted like a virus. Like ripples in a pond, what you feel radiates out. Your happiness, your ease, your joy. Or, your stress, your fear, your anger. Every moment, you are modeling the creation of the world.

And, every moment, your children are building the foundation of

Continue reading Your Family is a Living System

Media

LaSara has been featured on:

“Life and Style” (Sony Pictures Television)
“Penn and Teller” (HBO)
“Sexcetera” (Playboy Television)
Canada’s “SexTV”
“On Q Live!” (Q television)
“Sex Life LIVE”
in a documentary on an American Neo-Pagan church titled “In A Strange Land”
is a

Continue reading Media

How to be Transparent in Parenting

Modeling is always the strongest message. You want your kids to be honest? How about you be honest, too?

What is transparency? The definition I like the most is; the quality that allows light to pass through, undisturbed. As a parenting metaphor, this is a great image; we’re transparent when there’s nothing clouding our interactions with

Continue reading How to be Transparent in Parenting by Lasara Allen

Literary Coaching and Copy Writing Services

Literary Coaching:

concept editing
flow editing
book proposal development and doctoring
manuscript development and doctoring
working towards publication

Copy Writing:

blog, website, ezine copy
contract work
co-authoring
ghost writing

All literary coaching or copy writing projects considered on a case-by-case basis. Contact me at ms.allen@lasaraallen.com to begin the conversation.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sexy Witch by Lasara Allen (formerly LaSara Firefox)

“LaSara Firefox is a genius! You couldn’t ask for a better guide to take you on this emboldening adventure.  Accessible and engaging whether or not you consider yourself a ‘witch,’ Sexy Witch is a fabulous book full of serious fun.”
- Ariel Gore, author of the bestselling Bluebird: Women and the New Psychology of

Continue reading Sexy Witch by Lasara Firefox Allen (formerly LaSara Firefox)

Coaching Services

Are you ready to invite rapid and lasting change into your life?

Coaching allows you to define and reach your

Continue reading Coaching Services

Public Speaking and Seminars

Lasara is a seasoned speaker and presenter, with over 20 years experience in both public speaking and seminar development and facilitation. She is available for teleseminars, e-conferences, conferences, seminars, and speaking engagements.

Contact booking@lasaraallen.com for rates and scheduling.

Comments from participants in Lasára’s seminars:

I am walking away with some life skills that will benefit me forever.

-Mary Jo

Continue reading Public Speaking and Seminars

GIVEAWAY: Natural Good Medicine Bath & Beauty Products

Welcome to the inaugural www.LasaraAllen.com giveaway! Review of products below the giveaway prizes and rules – add comments/entries below that!

GIVEAWAY:

There will be FOUR lucky prize winners. Prizes below:

One amazing, full size travel kit like the one above, valued at $125
One set of seven Fairy Dust bath salts, valued at $32.
One container of Hydrating Eye Cream,

Continue reading GIVEAWAY: Natural Good Medicine Bath & Beauty Products

Mess or No Mess? That is the Question.

Each of us has a desired level of clean. Or in the case of my daughters and I, a desired level of comfortable mess. The desire for “comfortable mess” on the part of the ladies and the desire for an orderly point within the chaos that is life on the part of my husband sometimes

Continue reading Mess or No Mess? That is the Question.

How To Stop the Spread of a Bad Mood

It’s happened to all of us; you wake up in a great mood. The sun is shinning, and the first thought you had when you opened your eyes was, “Ah, I’m so lucky to have this life!”

You happily hum your way into the kitchen, and begin getting ready for another full and fabulous day. You’re

Continue reading How To Stop the Spread of a Bad Mood

The Question Box

Once upon a time there was a beautiful little girl. Her skin was the color of dark mocha. Her hair was joyfully bouncy, and curled like baby grapevines do. It was as black as darkest night. Her teeth gleamed white and her lips were full. Her smile shone like light breaking through clouds.

One day the

Continue reading The Question Box

Interview with My Goddess Life's Alexandra Jaye

This interview is full of authenticity, gratitude and transformation.

-Alexandra

Enjoy my interview at My Goddess Life!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Update 2.19.10

I haven’t written an update in a while. That’s because I hit a wall. And learned from it!

For two weeks, I could barely move from over training. I was tired and in pain. I decided I would reduce my miles, and started healing immediately. I’m now back to being able to run, and workout, without

Continue reading Update 2.19.10

Seven Steps to Healthy Communication with Your Kids

As conscious parents working to create a better world, we know that the work – and joy – of it begins at home. Here are seven steps that offer you a foundation for clear and healthy communication with your most precious focus; your

Continue reading Seven Steps to Healthy Communication with Your Kids

Lent – Do You Celebrate It?

Happy Mardi Gras!

Are you celebrating Lent? Lent is a period of fasting. Mardi Gras and Carnival are based on the last day of indulgence before the fast.

If so, what kind of fast are you observing?

Fasting is about giving something up. Temporarily in most cases, unless your fast is indefinite. Spiritual fasting is common in most

Continue reading Lent – Do You Celebrate It?

Rock On Mommies

Rock On Mommies – www.rockonmommies.com
A fun website that offers info on everything from how to get your kid into a private school, to how to find the right bra size. No mommy-rock left unturned!

sponsored like
Lasára Allen, MPNLP’s profile on MyLikes

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Three Simple Steps to Gratitude

Even on your darkest days you can get to gratitude in three easy steps. Here’s the low-down!

1. Take Inventory

There’s ALWAYS SOMETHING to be grateful for. It’s just true. There always is.

Every complaint is a request. Where you see a complaint (“The financial news is so bad!”) there’s a request underneath it (“I

Continue reading Three Simple Steps to Gratitude

Be a Model Twitizen: A Twitter How-To

Written Aug., 2008

(Follow me: http://www.twitter.com/Yoga_Mama)

I was skeptical at first, but now Twitter is my golden city. As a busy mom and entrepreneur, I can take a few minutes and digest a handful of posts from my favorite Twitter friends, or post a bite-sized delight about my own day –

Continue reading Be a Model Twitizen: A Twitter How-To

Origins of Halloween: Celtic New Year, Dia de los Muertos. Fun family activities!

Samhain: Celtic

The word Samhain seems to have come from the word samhraidreadh, which in the Gaelic, the language of the Celts, means “summer’s end.” The Celts divided the year up into two parts; the Winter Half, or Dark Half, and the Summer Half, or Light Half. The Celts considered the day as starting with

Continue reading Origins of Halloween: Celtic New Year, Dia de los Muertos. Fun family activities!

Generating Compassion for Sarah Palin

Election Special – Nov., 2008

I have a lot going on in my life right now, as do we all. All of it is an opportunity to achieve a more constant state (or station) of awakening to compassion. One of the largest of my personal challenges to living in my compassionate

Continue reading Generating Compassion for Sarah Palin – Election 2008 Special

A Guide to Compassionate Citizenry - Election Year Special

Oct., 2008

**This piece was written shortly before the presidential election of Barack Obama, but can easily be carried across to any election, or even to daily life.**

As the election nears, there are questions on everyone’s lips. Whether it’s okay to talk about politics is one of this big ones. My opinion;

Continue reading A Guide to Compassionate Citizenry – Election Year Special

An Awakened Heart Meditation: Cultivating Compassion

**This meditation is modeled on the loving kindness meditation from Ezra Bayda’s book, Being Zen, and further modeled on many practice for what in Buddhism is called generating bodhicitta.**

This Awakened Heart meditation is designed to encourage awakening, develop presence, and to cultivate compassion. Bring your whole self to this experience, and come fully

Continue reading An Awakened Heart Meditation: Cultivating Compassion

Update 2.7.10

Another run with Beth – Yay Beth! We clocked two miles at:

Beth: 11:09/mile

Lasara: 12:11/mile

Pretty good, I say. Forgot the Red Bull again, and my lungs paid the price. Treated post run asthma attack with Astragalus, Herbal Expectorant Cough, and Yin Chiao. And hot Ovaltine with some extra Malt. Yum. The lungs feel better now.

My shake

Continue reading Update 2.7.10

BOOK REVIEW - Do you have serious fitness goals, AND obstacles to overcome in reaching them? Here's the answer: The Real Sexy, Smart, and Strong by David Patchell-Evans - Wiley - 9/9/09

Do you have serious fitness goals, AND obstacles to overcome in reaching them? Here’s the answer: The Real Sexy, Smart, and Strong by David Patchell-Evans – Wiley – 9/9/09 – BOOK REVIEW

David Patchcell-Evans’s new book, The Real Sexy, Smart, and Strong, is another one of those messages that the universe delivered to me right on

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Heat Up the Home-Fires and Reintroduce Romance - Everyday!

From time to time the home-fires cool. Here are some sure-fire ways to raise the temperature in your personal temple of love!

Man or woman, we all love to loved. We love to be appreciated, showered in praise, listened to, noticed. We love being recognized and worshiped in little and big ways, quiet and loud ones.

Here are some simple steps to gently coaxing those glowing coals of desire to full

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A New View of Divorce; Three Simple Benefits of the Two-Family Solution

With respect, a clear understanding of the rules, and a whole lotta love for the kids, ex-spouses are redefining family.

Some call it divorce; I call it the “Two-Family Solution.” Assuming your divorce was peaceful and you and your ex have basic respect for one another, there’s no reason not to revel in the benefits the

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Sweet Valentine's Gifts that Won't Break the Bank!

Give your loved ones sweetly creative, inexpensive gifts that will make them smile the whole year round! These easy to make, creative, do it yourself Valentine’s Day gifts can be given to your lover, your child, your mother, or anyone you’re grateful for.

For even more smiles, you can make one or more of theses gifts

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Update 1.31.10

Sunday run with Beth! They say the trail is 6 miles rt, but it is FOR SURE more. Not only that, but pretty brutal up and down, too. We did it though!

Still rockin’ the minimal support shoes. We ran at the lake today (Lake Mendocino) instead of by the house, so no concrete anymore –

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Gratigories; the game that inspires you to get grateful!

Gratigories; The Game that Inspires Gratitude.

Gratigories is the game that inspires gratitude. Get Gratigories; get grateful!

DELUXE THREE DECK SET, and BASIC SINGLE SET now available!

Gratigories offers hours of fun that will help you and yours achieve a winning attitude; the attitude of gratitude! Gratigories is a fun and easy way to introduce

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Sweetly Creative D.I.Y. Valentine's Day Gifts

Give your loved ones gifts that will make them smile the whole year round! These easy to make, creative, do it yourself Valentine’s Day gifts can be given to your lover, your child, your mother, or anyone you’re grateful for.

For even more smiles, you can make one or more of theses gifts with a loved

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How to Create a Gratitude Altar or Shrine

A Gratitude Altar or Gratitude Shrine gives you and your loved ones a visible reminder of all there is to be grateful for. Creating this altar with family and/or friends can be an act that allows for bonding, as well as an opportunity to focus on the gratitude you all have for each other, and

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Update 1.28.10

Gratitude for Talib Kweli, my buddy Jamers and his pushing me on our run today, 5 MILES DOWN on a casual…, for a run on a the roads of my youth – a reminder of how miles were shorter whan I was young’un, even tho my legs were, too. The smell on my skin after

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What Women Want - The Ten Secrets Every Husband, Lover, or Partner Needs to Know!

A preface for the ladies;
Feel like you want your guy to know a few things about you? Like maybe what you want, and how you feel? If those things aren’t covered in this article, I invite you to write your own note to the man you love, and tell him about your top ten desires,

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Twitter #GRATITUDE Gathering Hosts and Co-Hosts

Feb 14, 4:30 PM Pacific

HOST:

Lasára Allen is the progenitor of the #gratitude hashtag meme, and the nexus of Twitter #GRATITUDE Gatherings.

Lasára is an author, educator, and advocate. Her writing covers a range of topics including gratitude, parenting, relationships, bipolar disorder, fitness, yoga, health & holistic well-being, compassion, and spiritual practice. As an educator and

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Yoga Mama's Guide to Compassionate Consumerism

Often my anti-consumerist, smaller footprint, “live simply” self, and my “the kids deserve the joy that materialism so easily delivers”, acquisitive, affluenza-suffering self war with each other.

Especially during birthdays, and holidays. During these special days I, like every other conscious consumer, enter the battlefield of who to buy for, what to buy, and why? And,

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Update 1/25/09

GOOD news; ran just OVER 6 miles (if the signs were accurate…)…

BAD news; I ran the OVER part because someone stole my bag I’d placed, slightly hidden by the trail. I didnt think anyone was crazy enough to be out there today besides me!

GOOD news: I left the keys in the car, not in the

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Happy, Happy Birthday Barbie! (Or, In Defense of the Doll)

In case you hadn’t heard, March 2009 was the month of the 50th birthday of the longest-standing winner of the crown of Most Ambiguous Idol of Women’s Power – BARBIE! March is also Women’s History Month, and International Women’s Day is on the 8th. Irony, or not? You decide.

In honor of the grande dame’s 50th,

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Men, Anger, and Arguments; Some Do's and Don'ts

Sometimes arguments just happen. And in those moments, anger can flare. Voices are raised. Postures are struck. Positions are held. Of course this never solves

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Seven Steps to Healthy Communication With Your Kids

by Lasára Allen, MPNLP, www.lasaraallen.com

As

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REVIEW – Day Spa, Ukiah, CA: Lillian’s Medical Spa ROCKS!!!

First, I have to say that I love Lillian. I mean, I really have a lot of love for her. She’s the sweetest, most gentle-touch, fully real, honest transparent aesthetician I’ve ever had the pleasure of sharing time with. She’s responsive to my needs and desires, generous with her time, and honest. She’s also very

Continue reading REVIEW – Day Spa, Ukiah, CA: Lillian’s Medical Spa ROCKS!!!

Lasára Allen...author, educator, advocate.

Topics: parenting, relationships, family, advice, fitness, yoga, health & holistic well-being, gratitude, compassion, and spiritual practice, gratitude games, gratitude journal, science of gratitude, health benefits of gratitude, family, parenting, communication, compassion, spirituality, health, wholism, sustainability, positive globalism, giving, health and fitness, running, fitness, exercise, yoga, Pilates. Nonfiction, self-help, how-to, advice.

Thank you for visiting my site!

Continue reading Lasára Allen…author, educator, activist, coach.

Doing Our Part to Safeguard the Heritage of Future Generations

Four Easy Reasons to Go Green with Us

Combat the waste of shipping; each mile a product travels to get to shop, or to your house, or a shop then your house,

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Why Would You Want to be a Guest Host for a Twitter #GRATITUDE Gathering?

1. Because it’s fun to help create a Twitterwave of Gratitude, and share the love.
2. It increases your visibility on Twitter, and expands your network in the nicest way – you get a whole lot of new friends who are #gratitude enthusiasts.
3. It is a way of offering service to the awakening of the

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Twitter #Gratitude Gatherings - 2nd Sunday Every Month

Spend your Sunday afternoon with a group of like minded gratitude enthusiasts, and help create a Twitterwave of gratitude with us.

If you aren’t yet aware of what some seriously engaged and playful gratitude can bring, what better time, or way, to find out?

Why?

Click HERE for The Science of Gratitude – an article that makes sense

Continue reading Twitter #Gratitude Gatherings – 2nd Sunday Every Month – Hosted by Lasára Allen, Gratitude Games, & The Gratitude Place

Bipolar Disorder: …It Sucks.

http://www.LasaraAllen.com

Okay, I admit it; we bipolar folks can be a real handful. If you have close friends who live with bipolar disorder (BD), you’ve probably had a couple – or more – not-so-easy interactions with them/us.

This is my invitation to walk a mile in their/my shoes.

But before we go further, terms; I choose to say,

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BOOK REVIEW: The Won Thing; the latest from amazing bestseller Peggy McColl

While Peggy McColl’s The Won Thing may sound like a “Rah rah!” guide to the entrepreneurial pursuit, like many of the books on the entrepreneurial life, this is a much more comprehensive guide to finding, creating and living the life you want -  the whole life.

Peggy talks about her confusion about relationships in a real

Continue reading BOOK REVIEW: The Won Thing; the latest from amazing bestseller Peggy McColl

BOOK REVIEW: Necklace of Kisses, Francesca Lia Block

Necklace of Kisses: A Novel

She healed my heart with tears.

SO good. I read this in a 3-hour time span on a Pacific – Atlantic flight, cover to cover. I laughed, I cried, I didn’t care that I was in public.

Francesca Lia Block has offered reading I lusted for since Weetzie Bat. I’m ashamed to say

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Finding Light in the Darkness

The celebration of this season has roots in the timeless, hidden promise of light and warmth that lives within the dark. Even after the longest night of the year is over, winter still holds sway. But the light does begin its ascent to grandeur and glory in the eternal procession of seasons.

With eyes open to

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Self-Care for the Holiday Season

The holidays are upon us. No matter what your spiritual persuasion, you’re probably going to be finding time within this season of cold days and long nights to gather with family and friends, sit around the feast table, and celebrate some light in the darkness. What a wonderful thing!

But even so, the most joyful season

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Lasára Allen