
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]

Arianna Huffington is the co-founder and Editor in Chief of the Huffington Post and the author of twelve books. [www.huffingtonpost.com]

Seth Godin is a prominent author, blogger and speaker. [www.squidoo.com/linchpin]

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]

Norman Lear has enjoyed a long career in television and film. He is also a political and social activist and philanthropist. [www.normanlear.com]

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]

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]

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]

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]

Liz Phair is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. [www.lizphair.com]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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
home

It doesn’t take much for me to feel at home. Give me a comfy chair, surround me with beautiful objects, simmer me a pot of soup, soak me in a hot bath at the end of a long day and I’m in heaven.
Home is not just a physical structure, but the sense that’s built into our human experience of feeling safe and whole. Home is what informs and gives meaning to our lives. Home and well-being go together.
As I see it, homes are not just empty boxes we fill with collections of stuff, life experiences and unique personalities. They’re alive and dynamic places that respond directly to our attentiveness (or lack of it). Our homes and workplaces are extensions of us: they affect us, reflect us, and support us. There is no separation.
I didn’t start out having this awareness, mind you. It took me over a decade of personal experience, self-inquiry, and training with some of the world’s leading experts in space clearing to appreciate the many layers that connect us humans to our living spaces.
That journey began for me in 1996 when I walked away from a 20-year career teaching at one of Boston’s preeminent schools. I was at the top of my game and burned out. By releasing a huge part of my personal and professional identity, I was able to get in touch with the things that made my heart sing (and cringe): my longings, my fears … and my clutter! I didn’t need to go on a pilgrimage to a faraway land to find myself. My home became my temple, my clutter was my teacher, and my journey of self-discovery began with clearing out a single drawer.
I often tell my students and clients that space clearing is “loving up” a place. Doing something every day for your home that feels good lifts the energy in the space. Sweeping a floor, clearing a closet, or just moving a pile from one location to another moves stuck energy. Allowing yourself to feel the resistance that arises – without judging it as good or bad – moves stuck energy too, in ways both subtle and profound.
There is no separation. When we tend our homes with awareness, we nourish ourselves. When we nourish ourselves, we come back into balance. When we restore balance, we bring peace to the world.
That is my idea of home. And heaven.
– Stephanie Bennett Vogt
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