author. speaker. motivator.
Affectionately known as "America's #1 Success Coach," Jack Canfield is the originator of the Chicken Soup for the Soul series and a leading authority in the areas of self-esteem, achievement motivation, and peak performance. [www.jackcanfield.com]
political powerhouse. media mogul. author.
Arianna Huffington is the co-founder and Editor in Chief of the Huffington Post and the author of twelve books. [www.huffingtonpost.com]
author. speaker. linchpin.
Seth Godin is a prominent author, blogger and speaker. [www.squidoo.com/linchpin]
yogi. philanthropist. dynamic teacher.
Krishna Kaur is the founder of YOGA for Youth, a program that takes yoga, meditation, and stimulating discussions on the philosophy of yoga to urban youth. [www.yogaforyouth.org]
producer. philanthropist. tv legend.
Norman Lear has enjoyed a long career in television and film. He is also a political and social activist and philanthropist. [www.normanlear.com]
race car driver. activist. carbon free girl.
Leilani Münter is a professional race car driver and an environmental activist who uses her voice in the number one spectator sport in America as a catalyst for change. [www.leilanimunter.com]
Freedom Fighter. Philanthropist. Game Changer.
By going undercover to meet slaves and slaveholders, Kevin Bales exposed modern slavery's penetration into the global economy. He co-founded Free the Slaves, which has helped to liberate thousands of slaves. [www.freetheslaves.net]
mom. big dreamer. lady in red.
Sophie Chiche, lifebyme.com founder and curator, enjoys asking deep questions and living a life of meaning. Today she's launching Shape House, an urban sweat lodge, a place to melt away fears and fat. [www.shapehousela.com]
Writer. Entrepreneur. Daily Lover.
Entrepreneur and writer Mastin Kipp founded TheDailyLove.com, which merges pop culture with inspiration, and co-founded The Love Yourself Company, an apparel company that has started a global self-esteem movement. [www.TheDailyLove.com]
singer. musician. crier.
Liz Phair is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. [www.lizphair.com]
archbishop. author. peaceful leader.
Archbishop Desmond Tutu is Chairman of The Elders, a group of world leaders who address some of the world's most pressing problems. He works energetically for human-rights and in his ministry. [www.tutu.org]
author. ceo. humanitarian.
Zainab Salbi is the founder and CEO of Women for Women International, a group dedicated to helping women survivors of war rebuild their lives. [www.womenforwomen.org]
speaker. psychotherapist. life embracer.
Despite his physical challenges, Sean Stephenson has taken a stand for a quality of life that has inspired millions of people around the world. He's a professional speaker, psychotherapist, and author. [www.timetostand.com]
yogi. meditator. teacher.
Kia Miller teaches Yoga at Yoga Works in Los Angeles, leads teacher trainings, and runs retreats and workshops on meditation, chakras, pranayam, and mantras, and other practices. [www.kiamiller.com]
creator. writer. idea geek.
Simon Mainwaring is an ex-Nike/Wieden creative, former Worldwide Creative Director at Motorola/Ogilvy, branding/advertising writer, author/speaker/blogger, Australian, idea geek. [www.simonmainwaring.com]
Strategist. Writer. Life Coach.
Shannon Bindler is a style editor, life coach, and the co-founder of Get Up Girl, an empowerment company that inspires women to shine. [www.getupgirl.com]
Designer. Art Director. Passionate Creator.
Grammy-nominated art director/designer/photographer Mathieu Bitton has designed over 450 CDs and movie posters. He's a renowned collector of and authority on black films and their soundtracks. [www.candytangerine.com]
Agent. Producer. Photography Enthusiast.
Opus Reps founder and agent-producer Jorge Perez travels the world producing photo shoots with great photographers and celebrities. He's also very involved with Meals on Wheels in Los Angeles. www.opusreps.com
inner garden
Jeannine Parker
strategist. cultivator. interactive media pioneer.
Jeannine Parker founded Infinite Solutions Institute, to educate and advocate for solutions that already exist, and co-founded The Wealth Garden, a global collaborative platform for social entrepreneurs. [www.infinitesolutions.org]
It came to me once during a meditation that peace and happiness and beauty are outcomes. We don’t do peaceful. We don’t do happy. We are them. They’re states of being that emerge through practice. Peace is the natural result of the practice of harmonizing ourselves with our experience. Happiness comes about through the practice of love. Beauty is also a state of being. Beauty reveals itself through the practice of gratitude – what we find most beautiful, we’re deeply grateful for, and vice versa. The more deeply I delve into meaningfulness – what has juice for me, what gives my life dimension and scope and savor and sweetness – the more I return to these practices.
If all that shows up in my outer experience is simply a reflection of my inner world, projected onscreen in living color in such a way as to bring it to my awareness, then my first step is to accept and welcome my experience. If I notice that my welcome is anything less than warm and open, I know it’s time to cultivate, time to revisit my inner landscape, with the eyes and heart of a gardener. So I check inside.
If something in my world is out of alignment, it’s because something in me is out of alignment. Where is my harmony? I ask myself. If it’s not present, that’s my cue to stop, to breathe, to harmonize with the person or the situation before me. I bless the life in it, whatever it is. If it’s a person, I place myself in their shoes. And breathe. It only takes a moment and harmony returns.
Where is my happiness, my joy-filled center? If it’s absent, that’s my cue to pour more love into whatever I’m saying or doing. The well of love is always there, waiting to be tapped, once I release any ideas I might have about myself or the circumstance. When I have nothing to prove, I have everything to love.
Is this experience beautiful to me? If not, that’s my cue to ask What am I not appreciating here? What could I be truly grateful for? If I can’t find gratitude, that tells me that my context isn’t large enough. A shift in perspective is required. There’s always, always something to be grateful for.
Harmonizing, loving, appreciating: these are my cherished inner gardening tools. They call me to be compassionately yet rigorously honest with myself – another practice, into which I infuse as much humor as possible. Humor is divine. After all, I brought these experiences forward for my own enlightenment, did I not?
– Jeannine Parker
Explore More Meaning
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actress. environmental advisor. world peace representative.
Leigh Taylor Young is an Emmy Award-winning actress. She's also been a Special Advisor in Arts and Media for the United Nations Environment Programme. [www.lty.com]
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art supporter. real dreamer. voice finder.
Justin Oswald is on the board of directors at p:ear, an organization serving disadvantaged youth in Portland, Oregon. He knows how to make big dreams a reality. [www.pearmentor.org]
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author. poet. aritistic guide.
Julia Cameron has been an active artist for more than 30 years. A bestselling novelist, playwright, songwriter, and poet, she has multiple credits in theater, film, and television. [www.theartistsway.com]
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digital guru. buddhist. wonder seeker.
Nova Spivack is a technology futurist, serial Internet entrepreneur, and one of the leading voices on the next generation of searching, social media, and the Web. [www.novaspivack.com]
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entrepreneur. marketing expert. milkshaker.
Amy Jurkowitz is an entrepreneur at heart. A marketing expert with a keen eye for design, she co-founded Milkshake, a daily online edition of good finds that give back. [www.getmilkshake.com]
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outdoor explorer. diversity accepter. extension of earth.
Jonathan Ellerby, PhD, is a spiritual teacher, healer, author, and the CEO for the Tao Center for Inspired Living in the Mayan Riviera. [www.jonathanellerby.com]
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grateful daughter. dancing inspirer. gentle pusher.
Chisa Yamaguchi is a performer and the Education Director of Diavolo Dance Theater, an internationally renowned modern acrobatic dance company. She's also a yoga instructor for IRIS, the new Cirque du Soleil show. [www.diavolo.org]
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Guitarist. Songwriter. Rhythm Rider.
Kamil Rustam is a French guitarist, composer, arranger, songwriter, producer, and a prolific musician. [www.kamilrustam.com]
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