Looking Back at 2011 to Look Forward to 2012

As I reflect back on the year of 2011 for me, I can appreciate all that I have learned and gotten out of this year. I have accomplished a lot and also failed a lot. I am grateful for both. I have taken risks, which have taught me lessons, I might never have learned had I never tried. Over and over, I have been reminded to truly appreciate the moments and lessons along the journey - no matter how wonderful or painful - for they each come with their own gifts!

So I share with you a look back at 2011. I am sharing 12 memories or lessons, that inspired, informed or shaped my life in some way. I have categorized them across physical, mental, spiritual and emotional realms as I believe that balance in our lives is like the four tires of a car across these realms. If one or more tires are out of balance, then my whole life can get a little rocky and imbalanced. As I strive to find more balance in my life, here are 12 lessons, from 2011, to inform more peace and harmony in my life for 2012! (I know this is a lot of information, but it is a recap, so check out what you want, discard the rest!)

Mental (Intellectual/Biz)

1. A VC's wisdom. I have to say, I am not the biggest fan of all VC's (Venture Capitalists to some, Vulture Capitalists to others ;). However, that being said, one VC that stands out and writes remarkable, informative blog posts is Fred Wilson. He writes almost every day and shares wisdom from his daily experience as a VC that are insightful. His blog is www.avc.com and a recent blog post and video that stood out for me was about business and sustainability that is long, but worth watching, particularly the last few minutes if you have it in you: http://www.avc.com/a_vc/2011/10/lineage.html.
2. Women as a Force for Good. Being that I am a woman in business, I am extremely passionate about our place in business, technology, startups, and investing to both transform business, but also have an impact on the planet. We are the voices for a new sustainable, responsible and conscious capitalism that can make business a force for good! Here are some of my blogs and other interesting articles reminding us of the power (and limitations) of women worth checking out can be found in my recent blog: The Next Steve Jobs...A Chick!
3. The loss of Steve Jobs. Whether you liked him or not, Steve Jobs's passing this year was a loss of a great mind. My favorites included his tribute to The Crazy Ones and his Stanford Graduation Address. But for the good, there was also the not as well known Dark Side of Jobs. And finally, my favorite a recent article about the next Steve Jobs being a CHICK...Amen to that!

Physical

4. Sugar is bad, mKay?! I know I probably won't win a popularity award condemning sugar around the holidays, but it is worth knowing ALL of the negative implications of sugar and some better alternatives, including: Xylitol and Stevia. More at my Sugar Blog.
5. Food Matters. What you put in your body - matters - you are what you eat! Evidence shows that every cell in our bodies is replaced somewhere between every year to within seven years. Given that, the implications of studies by Masaru Emoto on water, and the film Food Matters, our bodies are impacted by our thoughts, the food we eat and supplements, so remember to take better care of your body! More at my blogs: You are What You Eat and Supplements for Thought.
6. Surfing, a great metaphor for life. My passion for surfing has translated into so many lessons in my life. It reminds me to keep getting up, even when I'm knocked down, to have patience, to be present and to be persistent and perseverant. More at my Surfing Blog.

Spiritual

7. Giving Back. The earthquake in Japan early in the year set the tone for the year - one of giving, one of deep shifts in our planet's consciousness, and the recognition that we are all connected. Giving's visibility and impact grew throughout the year, which leaves us with reminders that in giving we receive! Some of my blogs on Japan and a three part series giving this year include: Giving for Thought-Japan; Look at Giving Part 1, Giving Part 2, Giving Part 3.
8. Occupy Wallstreet. While some might not put this in the spiritual category, I am putting it here because it is a call for more consciousness and responsibility in finance, business and government. The movement of OccupyWallSt can be tracked at their website: http://occupywallst.org/. Though some of the most powerful moments from the Occupy movement recently that occurred at UC Davis were captured both in Words and in Pictures. Of A good reminder that even in a "free country" and the "greatest democracy on earth," we still have to stay awake and make sure that our freedoms don't get widdled away. Democracy requires consciousness on each of our parts to stay awake and stand up, when necessary, for what we believe in to make this world a better place.
9. The Power of Meditation and the Aquarian Age. Whether you are a believer or not, increasing evidence is coming out about the benefits of meditation - not only to relieve stress, but actually to heal and to improve our efficiency in life and in business (Got Meditation Blog). Additionally, we have entered the Aquarian Age, which is about bringing more balance, feminine energy and healing to the planet (Aquarian Age Blog). Some of my blogs remind us to Breathe, Pay it Forward, and Leave Everything Better Than When You Found It!

Emotional

10. Joy and Laughter. Life just wouldn't be the same without giggles, laughter and joy. So don't forget to have a sense of humor! Here are two funny reminders that made me laugh this year: a Letter to Ryan Gosling that definitely got a giggle out of me and some of my friends ;) and a Video Compilation of parents playing tricks on their kids for Halloween, funny! Laughter - pass it on!
11. Overcoming Fear. I recently read a quote by Michael J. Fox: "The only thing that separates any one of us from excellence is fear and the opposite of fear is faith." It was a good reminder that in order to overcome our fears, we have to face our fears and go through them (or around them), but not let them stop us - as was my Super P Rappel Against Cancer. Sometimes we have to allow ourselves to feel the fear and even let it slow us down - Even Superheroes Have Bad Days! Just as long as we remember to get back up afterwards!
12. All you need is LOVE. This year hasn't been a big one for me for finding love outside of myself, but it was a good one for finding love within, accepting myself unconditionally and even falling in love with myself. In doing so, I also have realized how important love is...it really is all you need and meeting someone who loves you ain't so bad either...I guess that's something to look forward to in 2012! Perhaps I am learning the Keys to the Castle. And if not, I've always got the Beatles to remind me!

Happy Holidays and New Year! May 2012 be your best year yet!

You can find me at www.facebook.com/pilarstella1 and twitter @pilarstella.

Welcome to the Aquarian Age

11.11.11 marked the entrance into the Aquarian Age.

I'm sure some of you remember the song from Hair...This is the Dawning of the Age of Aquarius (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EhbxI5eVnM4)! I know that dates me a little...but I can just barely remember it ;)!

Anyway, being a yogini, and a Kundalini yogini at that, this date has special significance of the era we have entered into. Many question it and doubt there is really any truth to it all. Yet, I imagine that was the case when people questioned pioneers like Galileo, Einstein, Edison, the Wright Brothers...and so on and so forth...who proclaimed a different time, era and paradigm.

The Aquarian Age has been forecast by many for generations. Dating back to the Mayans and the Mayan calendar ending life as we know it on December 12, 2012, foretelling of a new golden age, not necessarily the end of life, but life as we know it.

The yogis have told that this time is a transition from the Piscean Age, or the age of information, the age of masculine energy and the age of seeking out, manipulating, and dominating. Rather the Aquarian Age is a more feminine energy, or an energy in balance between male and female, in which we receive and allow information and opportunities to come to us. By doing more meditation and yoga, balancing more between work and fun, between body, mind and spirit, by nurturing our soul, we are raising our consciousness, energy and vibration to attract in more of what we want and need while doing less to get it.

Eric Rankin, the author of The Aquarians - 2012 The New Age described it well, "This period represents nothing less than the second great divide in human history, comparable in magnitude with the shift from barbarism to civilization... To put it simply, we are shifting away from old, fear-based habits and imagining a whole new reality for ourselves - a reality based on hope rather than despair, of abundance rather than lack, of peace rather than war, of contentedness rather than yearning, and of connectedness rather than separation. We are awakening to the fact that a new era is upon us, and that we have the ability to co-create the hopeful future we desire for ourselves and our planet."

It is a good reminder that we all have a choice. We can choose to fret and scurry from here to there seeking and searching frantically, frenetically. Or we can choose to take deep breaths, relax a little more, have a little more fun, integrate our spiritual self and practice into our human lifestyle and elevate our vibration. We may choose to slow down which can help speed up our manifestation.

I know for many this sounds like airy fairy voodoo. And so it may be. Yet, this age is about manifestation. So if we choose negativity, fear, resentment and anger, that will come. If we believe in love, peace, positivity and gratitude, that will manifest very quickly.

I am seeing it with people's health, when they heal their mind, their body follows quickly. I am seeing it with people's financial and emotional well-being. I am witnessing it all around me. If you don't believe it, try it on for size...take more breaths, pauses in your steps, stretches and moments of gratitude in your day and see what happens.

After all, 11.11.11 marks the dawning of the Age of Aquarius to come into full fruition leading up and through 12.21.2012. Happy 11.11.11 all! Just like the saying goes, you are what you eat...you are what you believe! Try that on for size!

The Keys to the Castle

I was recently sitting with two of my women friends talking about men, women and relationships. I mentioned an article by Arjuna Ardagh that creates the analogy between a woman and a temple with concentric circles. The more you are devoted to the temple, the deeper into the center of the concentric circles you may go. That is, if you are just visiting the temple once, you are allowed to enter the outer circle/room only. But as you spend more time devoted to the practice and worship, little by little, access to the inner most circles become granted.

Arjuna talked about how this is no different for women. The more you worship and honor a woman, little by little, more access to her inner most secrets, beauty, grace and intimacy is granted, sometimes, most of the time even, she doesn’t even consciously know what will unlock those doors. (I also wrote a blog further on the subject as I was so moved, Hopefully Romantic).

This got us talking about the keys to the castle. So what are the keys that open up the door to the castle of a woman’s heart, trust, love and beyond? We got down to something that is so simple and yet it is so elusive. Finding a partner who studies us, who watches when and how we shut down and learns to see the signals and see the warning signs and embraces us any way. Someone who doesn’t shut down or walk away when we shut down. Someone who doesn’t drive off when we are frustrated and throwing oranges at them. But rather someone who embraces ALL of us – our flaws and our imperfections as much as our strengths and our glory.

A man recently said to me and a friend as we were discussing this exact subject, “It is about authenticity not perfection.” He said he would rather have an authentic partner than one who is trying to be perfect. That when we are throwing a fit, early on, learns how to shut down or even in the future, prevent it from ever happening. This doesn’t mean being a doormat. It means being observant enough to learn and truly study and know us, or worship as Arjuna says.

The true keys to the castle aren’t lavishing us with things or taking us to fancy places or introducing us to important people or showing off certain skills. Rather, they are taking the time to know who we are, where we came from, why we act and react in certain ways.

You can find me at www.facebook.com/pilarstella and www.facebook.com/pilarstella1 and twitter @pilarstella.

Hopefully Romantic

I am not a hopeless romantic, I am a hopeful romantic. ~ Byron Tuck

I too am a hopeful romantic and in my book, BEing the Present (http://www.beingthepresent.com/, #25), I wrote about loving fully with 100% of yourself, not 70, 80 or even 90% of yourself, but with 100% of yourself. That is what I aspire to. That is what makes me a hopeful romantic.

I was recently totally touched, re-inspired and reminded to remain a hopeful romantic by an article written in the Huffington Post by Arjuna Ardagh about Why it is Wise to Worship a Woman!
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/arjuna-ardagh/goddess-worship_b_660896.html?ref=fb&src=sp
The article was so right on!

When I read the article, I felt paralyzed. Here is this man who wrote a post on Facebook about his wife … No one and nothing comes close to the woman who is now asleep in the bedroom.
He received many responses to which he further responded and posed some insights that were deeply moving.

He wrote…
That's where the whole thing starts for all of us, when we realize that we don't yet know how to love. And that's that the big question that you have to consider: "Is that okay with me?" If not, and here's where you have to be honest with yourself, is that OK with you? Is it OK to die one day without the heart's gift having been fully given?

What struck me was that I have never loved in that way, that he so beautifully described, yet I believe it is possible. In fact, I recently asked myself that question and realized, that until recently, I didn’t love myself and so in no way could expect a partner to show up, if I didn’t start with loving myself. It has only been in the recent past that I finally fully love and accept myself that is where it starts, before being able to worship another, we must worship ourselves and not settle for anything less than someone else worshipping us. In fact realized that I’d prefer to be alone than with anything that isn’t totally additive in my life and doesn’t leave me in a place of awe, as so eloquently written as Arjuna’s love and divine worship of the feminine.

What further captured my attention was something he explained that I only recently started to understand about myself. He wrote of a time he was in Bali and was taken to a sacred temple that had many concentric circles and layers – the deeper a devotee you were, the further into the depths of the temple you were allowed and only those who had committed completely and totally were allowed into the inner most sanctuaries to experience the beauty and divinity. He likened that to a woman’s heart. I nearly fell over.

I had recently described to a friend that intimacy with partners has never come easy for me – not sexual intimacy, but real intimacy, spiritual and emotional, intimacy. I have described it in much the same way as he did. It is as though I have layers of walls around me and I let my friends in deeper than I let partners in and somehow I never fully understood it until I read his explanation and description.

The very essence of every woman's heart is the peak of wisdom, the peak of inspiration, the peak of sexual desirability, the peak of soothing, healing love. The peak of everything. But it's protected, for good reason, by a series of concentric walls. To move inwardly from one wall to the next requires that you intensify your capacity to devotion, and as you do so, you are rewarded with Grace. This is not something you can negotiate verbally with a woman. She doesn't even know consciously how to open those gates herself. They are opened magically and invisibly by the keys of worship. Step through another gate, and she will show you her outer gift-wrapping…Step through another gate with your commitment, with your attention, with the small seedlings of devotion, and she'll open her heart to you more. She'll share with you her insecurities, the way that she's been hurt, her deepest longings. Some men will back away at this point. They realize that the price they must pay to go deeper is more than they are willing to give. They start to feel a responsibility. But for those few who step though another gate, they come to discover her loyalty, her willingness to stick with you no matter what…And so it goes on. Somewhere around the second wall from the center, she casts the veils of her personality aside, and shows you that she is both a human being and also a portal into something much greater than that. She shows you a wrath that is not hers, but all women's. She shows you a patience that is also universal. She shows you her wisdom. At this point you start to experience the archetypes of women, who have been portrayed as goddesses and mythological figures in every tradition.Then, at the very center, in the innermost temple itself, all the layers of your devotion are flooded with reward all at once. You discover the very essence of the feminine, and in a strange way that is not exactly romantic, but profoundly sacred all the same, you realize that you could have got here with any woman if you had just been willing to pass through all the layers of initiation. Any woman is every woman, and every woman is any woman at the same time. When you love a woman completely, at the very essence of her being, this is the one divine feminine flame. You discover the magic ingredient which has lead every man to fall in love with a woman.

When I read this I felt renewed and re-inspired as the hopeful romantic that I am. One man wrote, "I feel my heart is closed down. I live in my head a lot…” It made me laugh, sounded like me. Particularly being an Aquarius woman, I recently read a perfect description of us Aquarian women that resonated for me in my romantic life…

Aquarians prefer intellectual partners and communication is very important…if you find conversation that fascinates them, you are three quarters of the way to seducing them. However, if you push for the physical too early, before they figure out their own feelings, it could be the end of their interest in you.

With these two articles a lot became clear, it explained a lot. I am in my head a lot and I do love an intellectual partner. It is safe, but it is also what turns me on and it is what allows a slow entry through the gates, walls or concentric circles, as Arjuna put it, into the depths of my heart, soul and being.

I am a hopeful romantic and I do look forward to that intellectually stimulating, heart opening, awe-inspiring, worshiping partner and relationship and know that it will come and that it is possible. Thank you Arjuna for your beautiful article. It served as a great reminder to me to stay true to being the hopeful romantic that I am, and to not apologize or settle for anything less.

You can find me at www.facebook.com/pilarstella and www.facebook.com/pilarstella1 and twitter @pilarstella.

What’s Love Got to Do With It?

You never lose by loving. You always lost by holding back.
~ Unknown

I recently posted a Facebook status update, “Hey Tina, Love’s got everything to do with it!” Truly, I believe it to be so and to be the crux of just about everything in life! I just finished my next book (to be released this fall), What is the Meaning of Life? After spending the last nine months writing this book and pondering the questions and meaning of life, I realized that it all boils down to love!

Love is so many things. Love is the way someone makes you smile or laugh, the feeling you get in anticipation of seeing them or talking to them. Love is also the way you feel about yourself, the peace inside of knowing who you are and getting that it starts and ends with loving yourself. Love is loving unconditionally, unabashedly, uncontrollably. Love is that flip in your stomach, the flutter in your heart, the tingle in your core, at the simplest thought of a person.

To love is to risk not being loved in return. To hope is to risk pain. To try is to risk failure, but risk must be taken because the greatest hazard in life is to risk nothing. ~ Unknown

I was recently reminded of what love is. My heart was opened in a way I had forgotten. I was also reminded that love is unconditional and it doesn’t always show up the way you want it to. When we try to label love, or put love into a box, we ruin the simplicity of what love is. Yet when we truly honor that feeling inside and the core of love, we see rainbows and feel fairies dancing inside reminding us that we are in love and that we are love, with no conditions or strings. When we love unconditionally, we love that person for all that they are, their life circumstances, their gifts, for everything they are and everything they are not. That is love in its purest form.

Let no one who loves be called unhappy. Even love unreturned has its rainbow.
~ James Matthew Barrie

When we love ourselves with all of our being, we attract others to reflect that back. When we love others without conditions, it is a reflection back at us of the love that we are, plain and simple. What a magical feeling to be in love and to be love!

You can find me at www.facebook.com/pilarstella and twitter @pilarstella.

I'm on a Boat!

I would be completely delinquent if I didn’t post a blog about my incredible journey aboard a boat, the Halcyon III, in the British Virgin Islands with the lovely Captains Gail Goodwin and Darryl Slattengren and a whole crew of hotties!

And then I thought better of it, because as you know, what happens on the boat, stays on the boat. But oh wait, we live in the world of Facebook, Twitter and blogs, so I guess that just isn’t the case!

Instead of write a whole lot about it, I thought I’d post the lyrics to the re-write of the song, “I’m on a Boat!” that we did to sum up our adventures. Unfortunately (or possibly fortunately for some of you out there), we were planning to remake the video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UBCrsaet-2Q) with these lyrics instead, but it rained on the day of our filming. So you’ll either have to picture a bunch of us jumping around the boat, or wait for our next boat trip, because this boat trip sucked compared to our next one!

Enjoy and just know that life really can be that easy and free – with laughter, love and joy – if we let it be!

Chorus
I'm on a boat
I'm on a boat
Everybody look at me cause I’m sailin on a boat
I'm on a boat I'm on a boat
Take a good hard look at the mother-huggin’ boat

I'm on a mother-huggin’ boat, watch me jive
Smooth floatin on the water, in the BVI
On the Halcyon III, straight pimped out ride
You can hug me mother-hugger cause my boat is so fly

Take a better photo, Jim, I'm on a fresh boat trip
We eatin green salad, cause it's oh so crisp
I got my breast pumps… and my flippy flippy floppers,
Anegada, playin pool, chowin vishals lobsters

I'm ridin the dingy, woops, that’s what she said,
Yoga in the mornin’, with the towels on our heads,
Drinkin sport tea, laughin, how sober can we be?
I'm on a boat mother-hugger, wanna snorkel with me?

Chorus I'm on a boat
I'm on a boat Everybody look at me cause I’m sailin on a boat
I'm on a boat I'm on a boat
Take a good hard look at the mother-huggin’ boat

I'm the king of the world, on a boat like Leo
Today really sucks, when compared to tomorrow
Gail and Darryl at the helm, and a boat full of cuties,
Donkeyote and the pirates, yo, Surrender the booty

Handstands, trampolines, straight chillin on a hammock
Just ran out of chocolate, the crew’s in a panic
Fear is an illusion and that’s a fact
But that’s okay mother-hugger, cause we got bushwacked!

Sailed past Branson’s island, who could ask for more
Cheers to him for joining us on the global hug tour.
OneGiving, street smart, front row foundation
Check out our crew, such an inspiration!

Chorus
I'm on a boat
I'm on a boat
Everybody look at me cause I’m sailin on a boat
I'm on a boat I'm on a boat
Take a good hard look at the mother-huggin’ boat

Hey there friends, if you could see us now
Arms spread wide, jumpin off the bow
Gonna get wet, but I just don’t care,
Cause this crazy adventure is for us to share!

I hugged a mermaid

Chorus
I'm on a boat
I'm on a boat
Everybody look at me cause I’m sailin on a boat
I'm on a boat I'm on a boat
Take a good hard look at the mother-huggin’ boat!

© Halcyon III crew May 2010

Thanks to the whole crew for the magical mystery boat ride!
Gail Goodwin and Darryl Slattengren with www.inspiremetoday.com
Jim Miotke and Jason Schumaker with www.betterphoto.com
Jon and Mara Berghoff with www.gecresults.com and www.frontrowfoundation.org
Oh yeah and you know me… www.pilarstella.com and www.onegiving.com

Thank you all for the love, light and laughter! ;) p

You can find me at www.facebook.com/pilarstella and twitter @pilarstella.

I Love LA!

Los Angeles is the city of angels, with magic, miracles and mystery unfolding every where you go. It is a place of possibility, opportunity and where dreams turn into reality. ~ Pilar Stella

When I sat down to write this blog, I went to look for a quote online about LA and they all had a negative connotation. It really is a shame, or perhaps, it is a good thing, because it really keeps any of the non-believers out. Whatever the case may be: I love LA!

LA has a bad reputation. For many, it is known as the land of gangs and violence, traffic and plastic, botox and Hollywood. For me, it is a place of dreams, vitality, passion, commitment and authenticity. People who live here don't live half - they live fully in every moment, with every breath, every step and every action. They live boldly and authentically in their truth.

Some external observers may criticize that people are fake and everything is smoke and mirrors - which for some it may seem that way. For me, I see people going for it. While many may hold day jobs, at night, rather than sit around and watch tv and watch other people's dreams, people in LA are doing the things they love - they act, sing, dance, and work towards their dreams and passions.

I have never experienced anything like it. I call it the land of misfit toys - it is a place where many have come because they might not have felt at home in other places, yet they get to LA and they can finally be authentically, truly themselves. I know that is very much how I feel. Everywhere else I have lived, I have felt like the odd woman out. That is, often times in other places people have said to me, "Pilar, why don't you ever stop and take a rest and take some time off, rather than volunteering, working, writing and doing all the crazy things you do?"

When I got to LA, for the first time ever, I felt like I wasn't the only one going for it. In fact, I started to feel like a slacker and I finally realized it is ok to go for your dreams, it is ok to give back, and it is ok to work around the clock - as long as it is doing your life's work, your passion and your dreams, then it doesn't feel like work!

Today, I was blessed with a perfectly beautiful day in February. I took a long walk on the beach with not a cloud in the sky and the perfect temperature of 68 degrees. Knowing about the snow that is dumping on the East Coast, I felt really grateful to be living in such a magical spot.

Last weekend I went to a nonprofit fundraiser for youth in LA and for Haiti. My friend's organization that put it on was amazing and all of the amazing talented musicians that rallied around to support his vision were awe-inspiring. It reminded me what life was really about - living, loving and giving back!

Somehow in LA it seems there is so much more of that going around. I don't care what the reputation, what the rumors...all I know is that my experience of LA is of a magical city of angels!

I love LA! Hooray for LA!

You can find me on Twitter @pilarstella and Facebook at www.facebook.com/pilarstella.

Birthday Gratitude for My Friends

As I sit here on my birthday and reflect upon the past year and the upcoming year, what is really clear for me is how much friendship has kept me going through the good, the bad, the ugly and the beautiful times. This last year has been one of growth, transformation and faith. As I stepped away from a world and life that I knew and was comfortable withm, and I fully stepped out with courage and faith to follow my heart and dreams, I realize that what has gotten me through have been my friends.

A friend is one who believes in you when you have ceased to believe in yourself. ~ Unknown

On my birthday last year, I 100% committed to myself to growing, building and creating my mission, my calling and my dream that is OneGiving (http://www.onegiving.com/). Before I stepped out to do so, I thought it was too BIG a vision, too BIG a dream, too BIG a mission. Yet, when I didn't believe in myself, my friends believed in me and wholeheartedly stepped up and let me know that they would be there for me to support me in the vision. They gave me the strength to move forward and believe in myself at a time when I couldn't fully believe in myself.

A friend is someone who sees through you and still enjoys the view. ~Wilma Askinas

Those first months of my committment were rocky. I had many good days and bad days --days of fear, days of faith, days of skipping and laughing with joy, days of being curled up in a ball crying and not wanting to get out of bed wondering to myself, "What have I done?" It was in those days that my friends saw through me and reminded me to keep going!

A friend is someone who knows the song in your heart and can sing it back to you when you have forgotten the words. ~Unknown

Some of those days, I felt lost, alone and afraid. While so many days, I walked forth with confidence and knowingness -positive with grace and shining my light, other days I would lose my way, forget the words in my heart, only to be reminded by my friends of my gifts and the necessity to stay on the path.

A best friend is someone who knows all about you and loves you anyway. ~ Elbert Hubbard

Every time I turned around, I would see a friend who reflected back the love and light I hold in my heart. I remember when a spiritual teach said that if you ever doubt the light that you are, just look around at your friends as they are just a reflection of your own light. It was truly a moment of appreciation and awe! I never really knew of my light, but looking out at my friends, I thought to myself, "Wow, could it really be true?"

A true friend reaches for your hand and touches your heart. ~ Heather Pryor

Yet the display of friendship - of the amazing friends, reaching out to me over the past year - and years of my life - friends new and old - from near and far - as I have been reconnected with many through Facebook - truly has warmed my heart. I couldn't have done it without the little angels showing up at exactly the right time - sending an email to help with investor introductions, or come volunteer for me and OneGiving, or let me crash on a couch when I needed it, or buy me a meal, or fly across country to move with me, or give me a hug in one of my momentary lapses of faith. Thank you!

A true friend is one who thinks you are a good egg even if you are half cracked. ~ Unknown

And of course, in moments of completely losing my S-H-*-T or my mind, knowing that I am not losing at you, but that it is just a momentary lapse of reason and knowing that I will recover and helping me to get back to sanity!

What is a friend? A single soul dwelling in two bodies. ~Aristotle

The reality is that we are ONE! You are me and I am you! That despite any of our differences - personal, professional, cultural, sexual, or otherwise - at the core of it we are LOVE - we are ONE!

Friends are relatives you make for yourself. ~Eustache Deschamps

That my friends have become my family - giving me unconditionally loving when I myself or my family might no have not been able to give it! You are the ones who show me your flame when I am in darkness to remind me and inspire me to relight mine...

A friend is one of the nicest things you can have, and one of the best things you can be. ~Douglas Pagels

And that I might do the same for YOU, when you flame flickers or burns out!

I salute you my friends for the outpouring and love you have given me over the years, over my lifetime and particularly over this last year which has been one of the most significant years of transition, rebirth and growth - one in which I have needed you more than ever before.

THANK YOU FOR MAKING THIS YEAR THE BEST YEAR YET, and cheers to this year as it will be the BEST YEAR EVER! May I be there for you as you have been there for me! Happy Birthday to ME and to YOU - in gratitude eternally!

in peace and love, ;) pilar

You can find me on Twitter @pilarstella and Facebook at www.facebook.com/pilarstella.

Happy New Year, New Decade & New YOU!

Can you believe it is already 2010? I myself am pretty amazed as I wonder to myself where did 2009 go? I have heard that many are glad 2009 is over for what it was not. But I hope that as we enter 2010, we may look back and be grateful for what 2009 brought and for what 2010 will bring.

For me 2009 was a clearing out year - clearing out the old, getting clear on ME - who I am and what I want, getting clear on my priorities for my personal and professional life, my goals for OneGiving™. For many, 2009 was a hard year financially, emotionally or whatever the case may be. But I also wonder on a greater level if it was really a year for us all to get clear, to be forced to get back to the basics to get clear about what we really want in our lives. That it was a year of transition, of rebuilding, of creating a foundation for us to move forward with. If we can see it for that and not for what it didn't bring, then maybe we can be grateful and also begin to get excited at what 2010 will hold since we have done our work and built that foundation.

I recently received a few links, videos and articles that provide some different perspectives of where we are headed in 2010. I wanted to share them with you now as I believe we are entering a new era - that some have called the "biggest shift since the Industrial Revolution"(@equalman on Twitter). While the pessimists and cynics may disagree, I consider it the next biggest movement following the women's rights and civil rights era, with a shift towards humanitarian solutions and global oneness. I believe in this upcoming decade we will begin to see a world we don't even recognize as different sectors transform before our eyes. Business will shift from a solely profit centered model to a triple bottom line (people, profit and the planet), media and merchandise will move from selling to listening, people will go from disconnecting to connecting and the world will move towards oneness.

Socialnomics™ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sIFYPQjYhv8
This is one of the most compelling videos I have seen about the rise of social media and its impacts on people, business and beyond. Some of the most incredible statistics include: - That while it took radio 38 years, Tv 13 years, the internet 4 years and the iPod 3 years to reach 50 million users, it has taken Facebook 9 months to reach 100 million users.- If Facebook were a country it would be the 4th largest behind China, India and the U.S.- By 2010 Gen Y will outnumber Baby Boomers and 96% are on social networks. You get the picture - we are entering the Social Media Revolution - do you still think it is a FAD? Are you going to catch on or get left behind?

Starbucks LOVE Project http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nh7D2g5v-Sg
While the Socialnomics video hit you more in the head with staggering statistics and data, this video will hit you straight into the heart. In December Starbucks launched the LOVE Project and this video shows all the people around the world who submitted videos singing Love is All You Need! Really it serves as a good reminder of what this year and decade should be all about, what is truly important in our lives and the foundation from which everything else should come. How are you going to give and receive LOVE this year and decade?

Start Ups - Looking Up http://bit.ly/4EDEgH
A recent Bloomberg article highlighted that acquisition prices for U.S. startups had climbed to a level not seen since 2007 - before the financial crisis hit. Given that I have our OneGiving™ start up going, I got excited to see that things are shifting and opportunities are opening up. So how are you going to take advantage of more opportunities? Now is the time to go for it, take a leap of faith and reach for bigger and better in 2010!

Has Drucker's Time Really Come? http://bit.ly/5Unvv5
A recent LA Times article wrote about Peter Drucker's revolutionary teachings on business management. The article talks about his belief that a corporation's role in society is to serve the customer by providing a good or service useful in terms of personal and social terms, not just profit. While he was born in Vienna in 1909, Drucker was a visionary who talked about corporate social responsibility long before it became a formal management principle. His views put him in conflict the classical economists including Milton Friedman who believed that maximization of profit was the end-all, be-all of corporations. Given the economic crisis and failings of the financial and business industries in the last few years and the rise of the ethical consumer and the responsibility revolution, I wonder if perhaps we have entered an era in which Drucker's revolutionary ideas time has truly come?

2010 Predictions http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q3zJm98UXzQ
This video makes some predictions about how rapidly our world will transform before us in 2010 - with transparency becoming the word of the year and in which trouble and strife will shift into growth, sharing, striving, believing and achieving. That it will be a year of great revelation of universal truths about energy and the interconnectedness of life. Are you ready for all that is to come? Prepare yourself and choose light, choose to enter the world from a heart centered space and from your true you and you will be more set up to succeed and thrive in 2010.

May you make this year the year of YOU and all that you want it to be! Because the reality is that it starts and ends with YOU! Only YOU can make the choice to shift your energy and set your dreams into motion. So set your intentions, hold true to your truths and watch the magic and mystery unfold before you! Happy New Year!

If you don't like how something is, you're the only one who as the ability to change YOU. ~ Unknown