Hello Beautiful Gaia People!

Jessica here.

Wow. It's September already! And, I know it's been too long since our last Team blog, so I thought I'd step in and give you all a few updates about the goings on in this incredible place.

I'm excited because we now have a Questions & Reflections Group so you can ask all manner of inspiring, evocative, wondrous and amusing questions and answer others. It's just like the Q&R daily questions but you get to make them up and you can do as many as you wish. Come on and explore with us ;) If you love the Q&R daily questions, you'll love the Group too!

In other Groups news, we have some particularly brilliant discussions flowing around the work of author and modern spiritual teacher Robert Augustus Masters. A huge thank you to Adastra for starting this. This Group goes deep, and I am truly impressed by its scope and the sincerity and openness of the members there. So, please stop by and visit.

Ooh, here comes my favorite part!

I want to tell you a bit about a couple of amazing members here on Gaia. I think you are all amazing, but this week I wanted to share two stories that really touched my heart. First, let me tell you a love story...gather round ;)

In August 2007 a wonderful woman named Anna (aka HummingBird) from South Africa and a compassionate Canadian called Gien began exchanging messages on Gaia. They connected and supported each other over the loss of loved ones, shared music and poetry and within the space a few months Gien flew across the Globe to meet his love in person. These two knew they were soul-mates right away and were just married this summer in June! I think Anna and Gien are two of the most beautiful and caring people. They are heroes of love. Please stop by their profiles and blogs and read their story in their own words and see their lovely wedding photos. I am so happy to know that Gaia was part of this connection and this community, all of you, helped create the place and energy for their love to bloom.

And, I'd like to tell you about one of Gaia's own, Dermot Butterfly, aka Gandhi Rollingstone. Dermot is fantastic. He's started out on a peace walk across the United States dressed as his hero (and mine!) Gandhi. He is raising funds for flood relief in India as he goes and has had some amazing experiences thus far. You can read periodic updates about his journey on his Gaia blog. And, check out this video:



I think he's an inspiration for following your dreams, striving for the extraordinary and using this blessing of life to do something meaningful, authentic and kind. Here is his website for more information.

Okay, just writing this blog has brought me near to tears because there is so much goodness and love in this community. You all amaze me. Thank you so so much.

If you have a special story or inspiring project and want to share, please let me know. Just send a little note to me here or at jessica (at) gaia (dot) com and we may include it in one of our weekly updates ;)

Hello Gaia!

It's Jessica :)

What an action-packed week it has been here at Gaia. But, then again, every week is action-packed. I guess that's what you get when you bring together some of the most inspiring and wonderful people on the planet. (That's you!) So, let me tell you a bit about the beautiful things happening here on Gaia.

This week, Siona had the pleasure of joining Abby Straus at the Coaching Commons for a conversation about Connecting in the Virtual Environment. I think everyone at Gaia knows a little about that subject ;) Siona, our fearless Director, lent her voice and shared her wisdom. It's a round-table-type discussion and they get into questions of what meaningful community really is and how it has changed over time. This conversation is especially excellent for all of you coaches and community catalysts out there. Just click here to listen.

Now, I want to introduce you all to an invaluable community resource created by Meenakshi, one of our incredible Gaia Ambassadors. Our Gaia Networking Group has been around for quite a while and it was made to help enhance experience on Gaia. It's a place to learn more about the site if you are new and to continue connecting and discovering after you're acquainted. It's also a wonderful place to reach out and meet new members and help each other. I think that's what community is all about :)

Oooh! Speaking of what community is all about, while I was exploring the site this week I came across two compassionate and courageous members, David and Bluewater. They are conscious filmmakers who have started a project dedicated to transforming the world's next generation through awareness and creativity. They remind us that every human being begins as a child. Every human being begins with an innocent heart. I think that's so beautiful, and sadly all to easy to forget. The details of their project 2SenseWorth are still unfolding, but they are beginning with an inspirational piece, calling for minute film submissions about what children (of all ages) want the world to look like when they grow up. So, keep your eyes open for David and Bluewater. They are out in the world and on Gaia, spreading positivity, hope for the future and lots of love.

And, just because I can't resist, I'm going to sneak in one last note to introduce you to a long-time member who is doing fantastic things. SixthSense has been part of this community as long as I can remember and he's always doing something amazing. He is a hip-hop artist, and his words and music are always life-affirming. He's got a new site up called PassionFull. He even interviews cool Gaia members on there! It's solely designed to inspire people to live with passion and joy. That's the pure motive. I am so happy that SixthSense is on the planet, filling each day with more love and calling on all of us to do the same.

I love learning about all the extraordinary things people are doing on Gaia. I am always in a state of awe when I think of all the collective energy we're creating. I know you are a part of it too.

Thank you for all the good you do in the world.

Jessica here.

I have so much to tell you! This week has been miraculous for Gaia and Gaiam.

I can't wait, so I'm just going to tell you the most exciting part first. On Wednesday Chris Miglino, the CEO of Conscious Enlightenment and Lime Network (both Gaiam family companies) welcomed his new little boy Osho into the big wide world. (Don't you love the name!?) Chris is a beautiful human being and I just know fantastic things are awaiting the wee fella as he begins his journey. New life is magical.

I hear babies cryin', I watch them grow. They'll learn much more then I'll ever know. And I think to myself, what a wonderful world...

Isn't he simply adorable?


Awwwwwwww..... (I couldn't resist ;)

In other news, our Gaiam Teammates in Cincinnati distribution center were hit by the aftermath of Hurricane Ike this week. The strong winds tore down trees and knocked out the power for 90% of the city. Yipes! But, they weathered the storm and are all doing fine. We know there are a lot of storms, floods and environmental upsets happening these days, so we hope everyone is safe and healthy out there in the Gaia-verse. We're sending our best wishes to everyone.

We're glad Cincinnati has it's power back up and running because we want them all to be able to check out the newly launched Gaia Illumination University! This is a place where we can all tune into tele-gatherings, take online courses and connect a group of inspired people. It was founded by Gay Hendricks, who you may remember from our first Gaia tele-gathering on relationships. At Gaia Illumination U, you can develop your understanding for relationships, parenting, and health, to name just a few :) We think it's awesome. Oh! We'll also have a very unique opportunity to participate in conversations with renowned teachers like Jack Canfield, Marianne Williamson and Gay himself. Come on by and learn with us!

I'm just amazed at all the goodness this week, and I wanted to note some brilliant site updates and changes you might notice while exploring, cuddling & connecting here on Gaia. This is what our incredible Dev Team has been working on so tirelessly for you:

• We've installed a "block feature" so members can now block other users, from the offending user's profile page - you'll see the link below the icon on the pages of people who are not your friends. This prevents offending member from seeing content and sending messages to the person who has blocked them. (The purpose of this is not to exclude good people or diminish interaction, but rather to allow for people to control their level of privacy on the site :)
• Removed the ability to see what's been Hot for longer than 30 days to keep things moving along and up-to-date.
  
• Fixed problems with editing About Me in-line on profile
• Changed button toolbar in messages area to be text only (no icons), to fit in new layout
• Additional layout fixes where new wider ads appear
• Featured members on front-page are now only the new set of Ambassadors, and only if they've visited in the last month
• Can now invite people to be friends in reply to their message!
• Lots more love, good karma, and Gaia spirit, if you can even believe it...

I can assure you the Dev Team will continue creating, bug fixing and feature polishing next week. So, stay tuned!

And last, but not least, don't forget that we're in the final running for Co-Op America's People's Choice Awards for green business. Yay! If you haven't had the chance to vote for us, please click here and spread the love ;)

Thank you all so much.