Arielle Ford, author of the The Soulmate Secret and The Soulmate Kit, is offering a free 1/2 hour of coaching and a copy of both the book and the kit to one Gaia Soulmates member. To enter, just send me your Gaia Soulmates username (just go here to sign up) at soulmates@gaia.com. Next Friday I'll pick a winner, mail off the book and kit, and you'll get to arrange a time for your session. (I've been fortunate enough to call Arielle my own fairy godmother; whomever wins this raffle is in for SUCH a treat.) 

Hello Lovely People :)

Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?
Gaia, thou art more lovely and more temperate...

You might know that April is National Poetry Month? (Siona mentioned it in her last newsletter ;) It is a time to enjoy what is beautiful and magical. We're very excited because, as you know, we just launched our Gaia Greetings and wanted to invite you to use them to celebrate and share poetic words. You can add a favorite poem to go along with the images there or add your own poetic image from your gallery on Gaia. Then simply send the greeting on to your friend or loved one to brighten their day with beauty.

Of course there are quite a few fantastic poetry Groups on Gaia like Empowered by Poetry and Haiku. So, if you'd like to discuss anything you've read or work on your own writing, please come and soak up the creative energy there :) And, don't forget, Gaia Books has discussions and reviews for almost any book. If it isn't already there, I'd like to invite you to add your favorite poetry book and share the love.

Now, onto the Friday Five of Poetry! Answer the questions here or in your own blog.

1) Do you like poetry?

2) Who is your favorite poet(s)?

3) Have you ever written poetry?

4) Do you like rhyme?

5) Finish the sentence below! Add one word, one line, or as much as you like  ;)

Here's mine...

I wish you all poetic days and sonnet-filled evenings...

Hello Gaia Lovelies :)

It's Jessica.

This week my family is celebrating holidays all the way over on the east coast. I'm here out west in sunny California. I do have some family here. My sister moved west about a year ago and I have an incredible network of friends who are also family to me. Yet, this week I know my aunt, uncle cousins and cousins will be gathered around a table eating matzo balls and singing silly made up songs and reminiscing about Grandma's eggplant. So, in honor of this, our Friday Five is about family, which can be crazy and wonderful at the same time.

So please let us know...

1) Do you have any brother or sisters?

2) What holidays do you spend with family?

3) Which relative(s) do you talk to most?

4) Do you have any pets in your family?

5) Did you have special family traditions growing up? (vacations, games, tooth fairies?)

As for me ;)

Happy April everyone! I hope it is filled with love and joy. Of course, I am ever grateful for my Gaia family too.

Hello Beautiful People!

Jessica here.

Oh, it's lovely and sunny in Los Angeles and spring is in full force with flowers blooming and little birds singing. It's makes me want to go on lots of nice walks and enjoy the green goodness. So, I've been thinking about movement and activities I can do to get up out of the house and shake off the wintry stillness and that is just what this week's Friday Five is all about ;)

What about you eh? (Write your answers in your own blog or post them below!)

1) Do you like walks?

2) Do you enjoy dancing? (if yes, what kind?)

3) What's your favorite thing to do for exercise?

4) What activities do you like to do outdoors?

5) How does the sunshine make you feel?

As for me...

So Lovelies, I hope you get out and revel in the world today. I hope you enjoy the daylight, dance, stretch and have fun. There are many things to be grateful for and the Sun is one of them! It keep shining on us no matter how tall or short we are, no matter what we do. And, even if it's not sunny where you are, you know it's still out there :) Isn't that awesome?!

Hello Gaia!

Jessica here.

It's my pleasure to introduce our winners for the 2008 Gaia Community Scholarship! This announcement was posted in the 2008 Scholarship Group, but I wanted to let the whole community know and invite previous applicants and Gaia members to apply for our 2009 Ode & Gaia Scholarship. That's right! we're working with Ode Magazine and they are awesome :) (the application is four short-answer/ essay questions and our only requirement is that you are enrolled in an accredited program)

And without further ado, let's congratulate our 2008 winners...

Lorinda is an amazing woman who is back in school at 70 years old to get her Masters degree and become an addiction counselor for teens.

Here’s what she had to say about what she loves:
Having come from a dysfunctional home of mental illness, I was acutely aware of issues facing children at an early age. As a teenager, I was drawn to the local teenagers facing hardships that seemed to bring them in the path of drugs, as the drugs permeated the city at a rapid pace. Through a long career in finance, I found a need to volunteer in different areas in support of children; teaching remedial reading, being a big sister for the “Big Brothers/Big Sisters” organization, to starting Alateen groups in middle and high schools. Alateen are support groups for teenagers with parents and friends who are drug or alcohol addicted. After years of volunteering, I decide to obtain a bachelor’s degree in psychology. I will be starting my Master’s degree in addiction counseling. My greatest joy is working with children to help them lead the best lives they can in living with the presence of addictions and mental illnesses.

Isn’t she inspiring? Isn’t she beautiful?

Our second winner is Anthony. He’s all heart and filled with passion to understand humanity as an anthropologist and teach others. He is also returning to school at 36 to fulfill his dreams and spread his gorgeous enthusiasm for wisdom wherever he goes.

Here’s bit about Anthony’s purpose and his ideal job:
I want to TRULY learn why humans do what they do, how they think and what makes them who they REALLY are.

My ideal job would be to wake up every morning knowing I was going to have an effect on students, and even just maybe impart some of my passion to them for Psychological Anthropology. I would LOVE to get up in front of a class full of students and tell them about my passion, why I have it and why it’s important for them to have it…To teach, is the greatest calling of all and I want to be a part of that.

Deep thanks to everyone who applied. Your entries were filled with inspiration and sincerity. It was a privilege to read them all. It's so beautiful to see so many good people pursing their dreams. I am looking forward to reading the brilliant entries of 2009.

Hello Lovlies,

Jessica at your service :)

As you know, April 22nd was Earth Day, but it's still Earth Week here on Gaia. Have you been celebrating? Perhaps you've introspected with our Earthy Questions & Reflections or maybe uploaded your own green images and sent Gaia Greetings to spread the love and good will for our beautiful spinning planet. Today we're celebrating with the Friday Five on Earth :)

Before we get down to it, we have a wonderful offer for Gaia members! Have you heard of the Green Festival? It's an amazing environmental event filled with speakers, music, vendors and amazing food. They take place in five cities in the USA: Denver in May, Chicago in May, DC in October, San Francisco in November and Seattle in March. Thanks to our friends at Spiritual Cinema Circle and Earth Cinema Circle, we are giving away free admission to Gaia members. If you want to go, just leave a note in the comments here, or send an email with your Gaia username to events (at) gaia (dot) com. We're hoping to have enough Gaians there to make a little Gaia Gathering at each event! Send me a note if you want help to make that happen.

Now, onto the Friday Five of Earth! Let us know...

1) Do you like Earth Day?

2) Do you like the color green?

3) Finish this sentence: The Earth is. . . 

4) Pick two to four words to describe the ocean or how you feel about the ocean.

5) What's one thing you like to do to help the Earth? (Recycling, helping people, donating, buying organic, etc.)

And here's mine...

So, Happy Earth Week beautiful people. We are all very lucky to be part of this dynamic and unique world.