It's Jessica :)

Whew. It's been over a month since our last Team Blog entry! I can hardly believe it. The weeks have flown by so quickly, full of excitement, travels and connections with beautiful Gaia members. Ah, the wonders I have seen and the incredible people I have met...

Isn't life miraculous?

About a week and a half ago I was out in Boulder, CO – the Gaia & Gaiam headquarters. It was amazing and I just wanted to pop over here to the Team Blog and give you the skinny.  

I journeyed to Boulder to help with our Gaia Community event: An Evening with Peter Russell at the Gaia Film Festival. That in itself was inspiring. Peter Russell is such a lovely person, and what’s more, he’s a visionary. It was wonderful to sit in a theatre full of people who are searching for a deeper understanding of the spirit of now, who we are as a society and where our global  and growing consciousness is taking us. If you haven't heard of Peter Russell or the Global Brain, check it out here. It's inspiring stuff. 

Many of the attendees we part of the Gaia Community. And, I can tell you this, the entire Gaia Community is part of this global consciousness. I'm thrilled to be a part of this place. This event was really a Gaia Gathering. And, I had the great pleasure of connecting with FenixRising, Don John, Jen, Obi, Casey, Terri, Matthew, Ayako, Kelly, Manny, Dave and more fabulous members of Gaia and the Team.

In the days preceding the evening with Peter Russell, I attended a few workshops and represented the Gaia Community at the annual LOHAS conference. Wow. What an experience. In case you haven’t heard of it, LOHAS – Lifestyles of Health and Sustainability – offers a conference each year where the leaders in socially responsible business can come together, connect, learn, and teach each other. It’s a place to brainstorm and foster possibility, creativity and growth.

I met so many incredible people, all of whom are working to create something better and make a difference in the world. As you might suspect, some of your favorite green companies were there, Gaiam, Pangea Organics, Zhena’s Gypsy Tea, Organic Bouquet, and more. But there were also representative from corporations like Coca-Cola and Wal-Mart, corporations born out of traditional top-down, single bottom line based business structures who are now stretching themselves and working to become more sustainable.

Times they are a-changing.

The Gaia Film festival was a beautiful event. You can read a bit more about it and the films here. What's crazy is that I blogged about the same event a couple of years back when it was called the Inspiration Film Festival and we had no affiliation with it, not knowing that I would be a part of it in the future.

After such an incredible weekend, I visited our office in Boulder, which happens to be purple. I usually work from home in LA, but it was wonderful to be at the office because of the Team.

The Team :)

What extraordinary people. It was like visiting family. It was like no time had passed at all. I feel a connection and awe for my coworkers even when I’m not in Boulder or at the office. It spans continents ;) But, let me tell you Gaia, with a Team like this, we are in good hands. I also had the opportunity to meet some of the other Gaiam employees. I was impressed with them as well and so glad to be in partnership with those I met, knowing they are also in partnership with this beautiful community.

What makes life worthwhile? For me it’s the connections. The connections that lead us somewhere new, that help us grow, that help us evolve. I don’t know where the connections I made in Boulder will take me, but I am excited to find out.

Gaia is such a journey, such an adventure. And, you all are part of it. We are all connected, in this to grow together, that's what my trip taught me, or rather, reminded me :)

Thanks so much to you all.

This is my first contribution to the Team blog. Wow. This is so cool.

Everyone!

Jessica here :)

I'm so inspired.

The Team and I have spent the last few months reviewing entries for our Gaia Community Scholarship. We had thousands of applicants, diverse in age and area of interest, yet they shared one common trait: they all wanted to share their gifts with the world and achieve something true and beautiful. Their entries were affirmations of goodness in the world.

We offer four scholarships each year, two in the Spring and two in the Fall, to incredible students striving to make a difference and live authentically. I can barely begin to tell you how hard it was to choose just two from such brilliant and amazing people. Honestly, I wanted to give scholarships to so many of our applicants. Reading those remarkable entries made me want to start my own foundation!

The questions we ask are designed to inspire. We hope applicants will remember the power of their hopes and passions through the process. It’s our intention to encourage visions in which the heart works in concert with action and to help students realize their ability to make such dreams come true. Here are our three questions, we think they're pretty exciting:

1) What is your purpose? (25 words or less.) If you had to describe your calling in life, what would you say? What are you here to do? What gift is yours to give to the world?

2) What do you love, and how do (or will) your actions demonstrate this? (250 words or less.) We at Gaia believe that following your heart is the best way to help the whole planet. What do you care about, and what do you most enjoy doing?

3) Write your ideal job description. (250 words or less.) Forget about job titles like 'doctor' or 'artist' or 'lawyer.' If you could get paid just to live, how would you spend your time? What would you devote your life to? What would your days be like?

Wow. Seriously, we think everybody should be asking these questions! (What would your answers look like? ;)

We're extremely proud of our winners and their responses.  We were impressed with their actions and desire to make the world a brighter place. So, without further ado, it’s my great pleasure to introduce you to the recipients of our Spring Gaia Community Scholarship!

Our first winner is Jenna.



Some of you may know her because she’s also an Ambassador on Gaia. She is a beacon of bright bubbly energy, dedicated to bringing more joy to all she meets and advancing the cause for social justice. She's an activist, playwright and an awesome community builder here at Gaia.

Here's her purpose, in her own words:
To channel my kindness, determination and passion for life to bring justice, human rights and peace to marginalized and discriminated people across the world. (Read more)

Beautiful.

Our second winner is Adam Nardini.



He has a unique sense of compassion and desire to heal the sick. He was a decorated military officer, but among his heroes are Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr. He's a dedicated Presbyterian minister, but looks to both the Dalai Lama and Saint Paul for guidance. You'll find him this Fall at Duke School of Medicine, studying hard and working to bring a gentler energy and deeply human warmth to the practice of Medicine.

Here's a bit of what he loves and where he's going:
What I love is compassionate patient care; making a very real difference.  I love providing nurture, empathy, and positive energy toward those who are suffering from any of a number of different crippling ailments.  Unfortunately, I did not find too many doctors with an attitude like mine within the military hospital.  I knew in my heart I could do better.  Even in my minor support role, I was able to comfort many, many people simply by asking their name, holding their hand, reading them a favorite book or magazine, or even just caring enough to treat them like a human being.  As a physician, I plan to constantly and continually see my patients as people and not charts or figures. Compassionate care will be the motto of my daily practice and my personal goal with each and every human being I treat. (Read more)

Aren't they amazing!? Feel free to stop by their profiles and say congratulations. :)

Again, huge thanks to everyone who applied. I’m overjoyed to know there are so many people who want to live audaciously and share their strengths with the world.

You are extraordinary.

Hello Everyone! ~C4 here. I'm just stopping by to let you of some notable updates we've deployed last night.

First, we've added a "Blog" link to the drop down menu (on the upper right), making it one less click to get to your blog :)

Second, you can now search businesses by rating and by distance from a location. Try it out - http://www.gaia.com/biz/search

Third, Group admins can now to post/update a locked thread. This is useful for adding notes on discussion threads that had previously been locked. UPDATE: It was an enhancement for site admins, not Group admins. Sorry about that.

And finally, we all love quick response times, right? Cool. That's why we've added memory and tweaked our search and database servers to improve performance. We're always looking for ways on improving site performance so this would be a constant challenge for us. Thanks to our perpetually busy Dev team!

We'll post more updates as we implement them.

Thanks!

posted by: ~C4Chaos

Jessica here :)

I'm so excited! It's finally here.

Every year I look forward to announcing a particular community  event. It's a call to action, inspiring all of us to reach out to fellow Gaia members and Gather together in person. Bringing people together is my passion. So, it is with immense joy that I annouce:

August 9th as our official Global Gathering Day. We’re so passionate about you connecting with extraordinary Gaia people that we’re declaring that August is Gaia Gathering month. This means you can host and plan an event any time in August and you’ll still be tapping into the gorgeous Global Gaia Gathering energy and momentum! It is an opportunity for Gaia members to come together all over the world at the same time.

As you might know, Gaia Gatherings (formerly and sometimes referred to as Zaanghas) can be incredibly simple. It’s about doing what works for you. A Gathering happens whenever two or more Gaia members are together. It can be as easy as searching the site for members near you and inviting someone to a café! We’ve had people meet for coffee, volunteer together, attend already existing events, share dinner, watch meteor showers and more. It can be anywhere from 2 to 200 people. It's up to you :)

We believe these conversations and interactions have the potential to catalyze change. They nurture a deep sense of community locally and globally. Magic happens when Gaia members meet, people have created projects together, fallen in love, found deeply satisfying friendships and learned about the world and themselves in unexpected ways. When you choose to host a Gathering, you're facilitating this magic.

How to begin? Well, here’s a set of tips to help you use the site to invite and plan your event. And, of course, I am available for personal host coaching/ encouragement. Just send me a note at Jessica (at) gaia (dot) com. I’m even available on the phone, offering as much support as possible to all of you exceptional organizers out there.

In the past we’ve had Gatherings in over 20 cities from Singapore to Serbia to New York City and has always been amazed at how strong the connections are, just read this, and this. We already have several Gatherings in the works:

On Global Gathering Day, August 9th:

• London, England, Contact Nicole on her Gaia world tour! Really, she's visiting with Gaia members across the globe!
  
• Southern California beach party, Contact Julie
• Sacramento/ San Francisco/ Bay Area, Contact Ladybear

Other August Gatherings

• Oregon Coast, Contact Amber
• Hebden Bridge, England, Conact Nicole
• Cardiff, Wales, Contact Nicole
  

So, post about your Gaia Gathering here and in the Gathering Group and let others know. We’ll be posting updates on the Team blog so everyone can find and plan Gatherings in their area. And, don't forget to take photos and blog about your event and tag 'em with "Gathering".

Meeting people from this incredible community has changed my life in ways I couldn’t have imagined. I’ve said it many times before, but it is truer each day. I’ve made friends for life. Gaia is an unparalleled resource of amazing human beings, people who are striving to share their unique talents and strengths with the world here. I feel so fortunate to be connected to such a network of people and I can hardly wait to hear your stories about meeting each other.

Hello!

Jessica here.

I know you are all busy with your Gaia Gathering planning, and I promise I'll be updating about that soon ;) but, I wanted to take a moment and share my thoughts about the ever-growing revolutionary connection between business and social change, because it really inspires me and we are all part of it.

We’re living in such an amazing time. We’re seeing conscious capitalism and the ethics of socially responsible business truly take root in our society. One company that reminds me of this is Microsoft and it’s recent i’m initiative, as in i'm making a difference.

They’re a sponsor of Gaia, so there's a good chance know about them already. It’s simple, they donate money when you use your Windows Live Messenger to talk to your friends. All you have to do is sign-up, pick a cause and chat! We get to be altruistic just by talking online, adding a little more meaning to daily activities and giving us more reason to connect to each other in a meaningful way and nourish our deep human desire to contribute to others.

I love that. I love how they’ve created a tool that can help us remember our highest values, even when we are doing something mundane.

The i'm campaign works in partnership with a beautiful variety of inspiring organizations. You pick the cause you believe in, and the choices are fantastic. You can help refugee children with NineMillion.org, protect the Earth and it creatures with the Sierra Club and the Humane Society or aid in disaster relief with the Red Cross. Once you register and choose your cause, Microsoft donates a portion of their ad revenue.

This campaign is another example of conscious behavior sneaking into the marketplace. We all know it’s advantageous for Microsoft to care about their bottom line, but it’s also advantageous for them to care about the world. Clearly, they know it too. Businesses like Microsoft are creating socially responsible initiatives and beginning to use their economic power and cultural reach to give back to the world. Of course, there are always ways to improve, but nonetheless, we’re seeing more and more of these projects from mainstream companies and I find that to be deeply encouraging.

To me, it indicates that our cultural values have shifted enough that they are effecting the marketplace. People are asking more of business, including the people within the businesses themselves.

Corporations are tapping into the growing cultural value of social responsibility and then fostering projects that can make a difference, consumers and other companies take a cue, participating in more positive projects. It becomes an upward spiral. These kinds of campaigns show business is changing, but more importantly, they show society and culture are changing. And, that's us. WE are changing.

I must say, it leaves me with quite an optimistic feeling, though I am realist and understand there is always more to be done. I'm thrilled to see this upward trend and imagine where this kind of thinking and doing can take us into the future...