the HUB way; shifting the paradigm locally and globally

My passion has always been to support local community, and my heart has searched for a way to also make a global impact that really does foster international change. I've seen the effects of poverty and limited resources first hand, and images of people living in cardboard huts and begging on the street are always with me. I have felt so abundant in my life that I've wanted to let this abundance overflow to help others less fortunate than me, but I never found what felt like the right venue.

I'm so thrilled to share that I have found a way to help people in many ways, both locally and globally. I'm writing this to share about a new organization named HUB, Humanity Unites Brilliance. When I found out about it I was so excited that I signed the Toltec Center up and even though I am crazy busy I made the commitment to share this incredible new paradigm with others who may be interested.

This is the project that really inspired me.... check it out! Scroll to the bottom to see the video. Wow.
http://toltec.hubhub.org/globalmarketplace/index.php/bracelets/bracelets-obama.html

HUB is a resource for both its members and for the people it serves globally through microloans, education, and creating ways for communities to get clean water and good food. HUB's focus is on ending poverty and creating ways to help that empowers rather than fosters dependence. The founder started HUB because he wanted to link communities together and foster independence rather than just putting a bandaid on the issues of our global brothers and sisters.

Visit the Toltec Center's HUB website:
http://toltec.hubhub.org

I love HUB because

• Each month I know that I am tithing to an organization that is dedicated to creating
not just change, but a global paradigm shift.

• Their programs are the ones I have always wanted to support: microloans, education,
and creating sustainable empowerment rather than just emergency support

• They have an awesome store that directly supports the producers

• What they offer their members is phenomenal! Teleclasses, networking opportunities,
business support, inspiration.

• Whenever I see a video of one of the HUB founders I usually cry because they are
creating a new paradigm of change, one I've dreamt of and here it is

• I can rest into knowing each month I'm supporting a great organization that is supporting
global and local change.

There is a part of HUB that works as a kind of new multi-marketing forum to support the
organizations who are involved; so if you join you will also be supporting the Toltec Center
each month, which would be a huge gift to us. The "upline" are all spiritual organizations
or individuals who are engaged in raising consciousness. Yes!

I did not get into HUB for the money potential to TCCI, but it is a nice thing! I got into HUB
because I believe in their vision and the work their founders and supporters are doing.

One of the best ways to learn more about HUB is a video:
http://www.hubhub.org/videofeed.php

Toltec Center's HUB website:
http://toltec.hubhub.org

Here is a message from the founder:

Why I Am So Passionate About Humanity Unites Brilliance

A special message from Charlie Stuart Gay,
HUB Visionary

“My life changed in February of 2007.
Perhaps yours will change today”


In 2007 questions dawned that the generations-old relied upon models of charity giving and even aid implementation may not be working.

Having been involved in high profile business around the world, I was working uniting good works in Mozambique when cyclones and floods hit, forcing a massive refugee influx into camps. Although non-profits rushed in, the situation remained dire due to lack of funds and resources. In that moment, I could not ignore my own belief that I could do something. Reaching out to my own circle of influence, I contacted my friend, Larry Jones at Feed The Children he quickly distributed over $2 million of life enriching meals. We had met the needs of the starving families in that moment.

The next day I birthed the idea for Humanity Unites Brilliance, to combine all our brilliances, yours and mine to make each of us the best we can be in our own lives; to receive the gift of service for myself and then share my gifts with you and the world. If 400,000 people do the same, the world would be a thriving, creatively inspiring and caring place to be.

The voice of the world called me and then my call has been heard by so many brilliant others today.

Inspiration led to action. Action led to HUB.

Today thousands of members have been inspired and taken action, impacting tens of thousands in their lives. HUB connects your brilliance with other like-minded, heart-centered people, social change leaders and organizations, and helps you to use your passions to change your world. We use personal development training and education, , as an economic engine to generate on-going humanitarian aid and impact in your life and in the world.

A new business model for today’s world.

When you join HUB, we actively teach you through a Wealth Center, Wisdom Center and Social Activist Center how to magnify your living and giving and how to encourage others to do the same. The worlds finest social change leaders, wealth coaches and business trainers are ready to support you with a product and a community designed both to meet your needs today and the challenge of our world.

http://toltec.hubhub.org


Big love,

Heather Ash

--
Heather Ash Amara
Spiritual Co-Director/Creative Pixie

TOLTEC CENTER OF CREATIVE INTENT
and Spiritual Integrity Coaching, Workshops, and Journeys
203 Stillwater Suite 2 Wimberley, TX 78676

Be the Artist of Your Spirit!

http://www.tolteccenter.org
http://www.spiritualintegrity.com

tolteccenter@gmail.com

Coffee and my Tattoo

My writing assignment: Write about Coffee

My tattoo came about from a cup of coffee. It was college finals week, or maybe it was the year after I graduated. I was in the coffee shop on E Street in Davis. At that time it was dingy and grey and filled with caffeinated students. The dark coffee yin-yanged nicely with the white thick cups. The place smelled of cigarette-drenched clothing, nervous energy, and layers of espressos and cappuccinos.

I carefully took the almost full mug to the make-it-lighter station--half and half, whole milk, non-fat milk, sugar. I didn't drink soy milk at the time so I didn't ask for it. Coffee is truly best with the thickest milk product available, soothed down to the color of a muddy river after a hard rain.

For weeks I had been pondering what tattoo design to have etched onto my body for all time. The soft area just above and to the left of my hip was the canvas, but no image had appeared that inspired me. Until the coffee. And the cream.

It was one of those life moments when everything stops. The talking, the blare of the espresso machine, my thoughts. As I poured the half and half I dreamily stared into the deep depths of my coffee. As whiteness touched darkness some mysterious dance caused the cream to swirl into a tiny spiral at the center of the cup and then swirl out to create four perfectly spaced wavy lines at right angles to each other. My being took a multi-dimensional snap shot--my arm holding the half and half pitcher high, the light through the windows behind me, tables and chairs and bodies and dark, roasted beans. I became all of them. Everything was sweetly connected and the world clicked into focus, not as something separate from me, but a tapestry I was woven into with the finest artistic touch. When you step back you can see the whole picture emerge from seemingly separate threads.

The cream dissolved into the darkness, changing it forever. But the sacred design coffee and cream created stayed with me--the spiral of change surrounded by the four directions. I drank the holy cup. Later I breathed through the needle that irrevokably inked dark blue cream onto my cafe au lait skin, where it continues to remind me that revelation can come in a coffee cup.

Cleansing Lense for 2009

Creating Space
A Spiritual Community Cleanse

By Heather Ash Amara
All of the emotional, physical, and mental unweaving and clearing we
do can be boiled down to one focus: by clearing out what we are not,
we create space for the Divine to enter us and remind us who we are.
The more space we have internally the easier it is to listen and tap
into Spirit's wisdom and clarity.

When I worked with don Miguel our Toltec community did a physical
cleanse once a year for Lent (about a month and 1/2 between Ash
Wednesday and Easter). This was always a sacred time for me, and a
time of huge growth.

This year we want to start a new tradition by setting intent for a
community cleansing time from Candlemas (also known as Imbolc) on
February 2nd to the Spring Equinox (also known as Eostar) on March
20th. Candlemas is a cross-quarter day that marks the mid-point
between Winter Solstice and Spring Equinox, and is a time of taking
stock. For our ancestors who lived by the cycles of the land Candlemas
was a time to feel into how much longer the winter was going to be,
and how much grain and provisions needed to be saved to get through
the final stretch. The light is returning, but we are still in winter,
waiting for the shoots and buds of spring to appear. We can use this
time of year to gently release what no longer serves us and gather our
energy and focus as we prepare for a rebirth at Spring Equinox.
There are many ways to work with the energy of this time of year to
create space and healing. The focus is to lovingly break up old
routines and remove distractions that keep you separated from Spirit.

Make sure as you form your own individual focus that the container is
one of heart and desire for more space for Spirit, rather than a
subtle punishment or creation out of frustration, judgment, or
self-punishment. This commitment is to yourself and is a prayer and
offering, a sacred gift to clean your temple to receive more of the
gracious presence of the Divine in your being.

Here are some ideas for your cleanse. Make sure to work with your
coach to come up with a solid focus that takes into account where you
are on your path. You want to make sure to not overload yourself. And
also step up! What I have experienced is that the strong energy of the
community carried me along in beautiful ways, beyond what I thought
was possible.

MENTAL CLEANSE
• Opinion fast
Refrain from sharing any opinion you have with others. This is
especially useful for controllers. Start by defining what is an
opinion, and have a focus for what you are going to do instead of
sharing your opinion. Where you are moving towards is not even having
the opinion arise in your mind.

• Silence
Partial or Full Silence: Pick one day a week to be in silence, or go
into silence for the entire time period. It is possible to continue to
work and interact in silence, it just takes creativity. Read more
about my 40 days of silence at:
http://www.spiritualintegrity.com/content/the-power-of-silence

• Mindfulness practice
Pick a place where you tend to go unconscious and create a mindfulness
practice, such as saying a prayer before eating and giving your food
your full attention, staying conscious of your breath throughout the
day, sitting quietly instead of reading or watching TV.

EMOTIONAL CLEANSE
• Repression fast
If you tend to bottle up your emotions this is a good cleanse to take
on. The fast is from any type of repression of your emotions, which
means you consciously express any emotions that arise in the moment.
• Expression fast
If you tend to cycle emotions or stories an expression fast invites
you to pick one emotion/state (anger, victim, fear) and consciously
choose not to express. You will need to give yourself a focus for what
you will do instead of expressing that emotion or story.
• Distraction fast
Pick your favorite distraction (TV, video games, alcohol, looking in
the mirror) and stop doing it! What will you replace it with….

PHYSICAL CLEANSE
• Refraining
Pick one food and stop eating it. Practice staying open-hearted and
soft around the item, not closing to it. Example: if you pick
chocolate after a week or so put yourself around chocolate or people
eating chocolate and watch what arises when you refrain. Be curious
about its purpose and effects in your life.
• Partial Cleanse
Choose a category of food to refrain from: sugar, bread, coffee, etc.
See notes above for staying open-hearted.
• Full Cleanse

Commit to a thorough cleansing program and stick to it. We recommend
Arise and Shine www.ariseandshine.com, which is the best cleansing
program we have found. For this cleanse you will probably need to
start now to get your body alkalized. For any full cleanse make sure
you start slow so the detox process is gentle. Educate yourself first!
All of these cleanses, from mental to emotional to physical, are
interwoven. When you do a mental cleanse you will also have the
opportunity to cleanse your emotional body. When you do a physical
cleanse you will get to find loving discipline with your mind.

Whichever cleanse you choose, from the most simple to the most
challenging, be conscious about how you set it into motion. Plan a
ceremony to initiate yourself into your commitment on February 2nd.
We encourage each of you to talk your commitment over with your coach
and then write to your Spiritual Integrity google group and share what
you will be cleansing; this way we will all share in each other's
commitments. And watch how you think and talk about your cleanse;
remember it is a joy to make more space, not a chore! Enjoy!

I quit

This morning I fired myself from running my life. To be fair, I've done a pretty good job up to this point. I'm in a great relationship, I love where I live, I love my work. I have great friends and a sweet dog. But I have noticed that I keep getting in my own way. I know that the universe is infinite and boundless yet I keep acting as if there were limits. I know my replacement will do a much better job of running things than I have. So, I officially offer my resignation from trying to control my life, from thinking I should be doing something different, from second-guessing my choices, from believing that I need to be perfect. I resign from worrying about the future and from any anxiety about doing it wrong. I give notice, effective immediately, that I will no longer judge myself nor use the phases "what if" or "I should" followed by fearful or out of the present thoughts.

I've decided to join another company, one that is fair to its workers and doesn't force them to work overtime and on holidays. This new company believes in equality, creativity, and collaboration. It does not use fear and judgment as the motivating force for its workers, but supports love, passion, and excitement in all actions.

This company is called many things, but I have nicknamed it "God, Inc." I've freelanced for God, Inc. on the side, always wanting to keep my independence. I wanted to work my own way, make my own rules. But I'm tired of being my own boss and feeling understaffed and unsupported. I am look forward to working full time for someone else. I'm ready to work for someone who respects me, and yet has a bigger vision and the energy and capacity to make things happen.

By joining God, Inc. I'll have so much more access to tools, information, and resources. I'm joining a huge workforce of healers, teachers, shamans, visionaries, priests and priestesses who are in service to the main boss. She is very accessible and gives good guidance, but sometimes I've noticed I have to listen very carefully to hear what she is saying. She encourages her workers to be creative and bring passion to their jobs. Ah, what a gift to rest into the guidance of a boss who I trust and resonate with who will tell me how to run my life, and to work in an organization of so many like-minded, dedicated individuals who support me unconditionally.

Melting the Ice

It is obvious that the world as we know it is being all shook up; weather-wise, financially, and structurally. Many of us are feeling this quickening, a knowing that we are in the midst of a great change, personally and collectively. I've talked to many people who are wanting to step into 2009 with open hearts and trusting the process, but are not sure how to hold steady when there is so much turmoil and fear in the world at this time.

There is a think tank in Cambridge, MA, a group of scientists and brainy folks, who are dedicated to studying the changes that are happening on our planet. Each day thousands of reports on social, environmental, and political shifts pour into their office, and they do their best to collate and explore the data so they can help predict future trends and potentials. They have accurately predicted many global events, including the recent financial collapses that started in September.

One of these scientists recently shared this metaphor: We have spent our lives as ice sculptures, and until now the temperature has stayed below freezing. So we look at ourselves as say, see, everything is okay! We are still ice, everything is still solid. There is no problem here. But the moment the temperature goes above 32 degrees everything is different; we change from ice to water. And in the world, he said, the there is no doubt that the temperature, both literally and figuratively, is going up.

It is time for us to become fluid water rather than solid ice, to blend together and realize our similarities rather than our differences, to let go of our individual identities and explore solutions for the collective. 

What will best help during any transitions, whether our own or the planet's, is our capacity to be fluid and flow with what is arising. Fluidity allows us to stay present and enhances our ability to respond in creative ways to change.

* Thanks to my dear mentor, Peggy Dylan, for sharing this story with me because she felt it might benefit the people in our community. She heard this lecture at the Angsbaka festival in Europe this summer.

A few photos from our journeys...

The Day of  the Dead in Mexico is a vibrant community celebration to honor the dead. Filled with the symbolism of ancient Mexico, each altar is a tribute to those who have passed before us. Many families take their beloved dead's favorite foods and drink to the cemetery and spend the day celebrating. Many others build altars in their homes and create a trail of marigold petals out to the street, so the dead can find their way to the altar. The altars often have

 sugar or chocolate skulls, water, and tequila to feed the dead who have traveled a long way to visit the living.

These pictures are from a huge altar we created as a group during our Teotihuacan journey this year. We built the altar as a group and then little individual areas within it. The double-headed snake is Quetzacoatl, the winged serpent that represents transformation. Each of us built a personal altar within the curves of the snake.

The second to last photo is of our group doing a ceremony at the plaza of the moon, and the final photo is one I took in Maui; I call it "Prayer," as both the tree and the person seem to be paying homage to the ocean.

The Story of Rebellion

By Raven Smith

For many of us one of the biggest stories we tell ourselves is the story of rebellion. Many people get their first glimmers of the truth by rebelling against authority. We begin to question what everyone is telling us, we ask “why should I?” We start to wonder why other people’s ideas about what we should be doing are more important than ours. We challenge the tyranny of control we feel is being propagated against us, the unfairness of it all, and we righteously begin to claim our truth, our independence, “LET ME LIVE MY LIFE THE WAY I WANT TO!” we cry.

Some of us do this in big dramatic ways, and others do it in subtle ways, take a few minutes to think about how you have rebelled in your life and what you were rebelling against.

As we wake up to our spiritual path we are usually still carrying some measure of rebellion. It might be (and often is) the reason we take off on a spiritual path in the first place. The energy of rebellion drives us to question “normal” reality and to try and find what is beyond it. It is a strong energy and can take us quite far in our quest for the truth of who we really are and what this lifetime is about.

Having said that, at some point it is important to start questioning the story of rebellion. What is fairly clear with a little probing is that rebellion is not freedom. We think it is initially because we are challenging the existing structure and the righteous feeling we take on feels more powerful than we felt before, and we begin to take that feeling on as a statement of who we are rather than some “puppet” of the system. Can you feel it?

Yet we are now stuck with feeling “right” to someone else’s “wrong”. This constantly stimulates that same feeling of unfairness we started out trying to get away from, remember?

In fact the rebellion is another expression of the exact belief structure that made us feel trapped to begin with. The original control you were trying to counter was based on a system of right and wrong. You were doing wrong and someone was trying to make you do it right. Now you’ve made it so that you are doing something that is right and the original people are doing it wrong. Can you see how that is the exact same belief system underneath the surface? We still haven’t gotten free of anything, we just changed the frame, moved the furniture around a little, but we are still suffering from this sense of separation and not-rightness about the world. Darn!

The way through is to challenge the whole idea of right and wrong and fairness. How do you know you are right? Open the window up further and you can see you don’t know what is right for anyone except for you and only for you in this moment. Anything else is either self-importance and delusional projection about what someone else’s life is about or you projecting what worked for you in the past onto what is happening now. Which is also delusional as what is happening now is what is happening now, not what happened in the past. Sit with that for a minute.

A short study of the physical world around us in the form of nature can give great insight into the idea of “fairness”. Plants get eaten by bugs, bugs get eaten by birds, birds by cats, cats by dogs, and dogs are slaves of the humans, ordered about and endlessly domesticated. What is fair about any of that? The truth is life isn’t fair, so a great exploration is to ask, “Who told me it was going to be fair?”

Once we take on the belief it is supposed to be fair we immediately start seeing all the ways it is not and begin arguing with reality about What Is, and off we go on the path of rebellion.

The way through is deep contemplation on the falsity of right vs wrong and fairness. We have to get clear about what we believe and how these beliefs affect our experience of the world. Then we must find a way to reclaim the energy we have invested in these stories, this is what recapitulation is all about. Only then will we have enough attention and energy freed up to stop letting the story of rebellion rule our perception of reality.

Again, what we are working on is removing our investment in the story, our identification with it. We need to separate out the energy of rebellion from the unconscious story of rebellion. We can use that frequency of energy to constantly question our beliefs and free us to make conscious choices, or we can use it to fight against reality and thereby create suffering in our lives. Once again it’s all about choice!