The Women's Global Mission Network is a perfect example of Currency of the Heart

Sometimes the creation of a movement is a simple as someone saying, ‘This worked for me, why don’t you try it too and if you’d like, we’ll work together’.

Kim Polhemus is passionate about gender equality. As a member of Anglican Women’s Empowerment, she knows she can make a difference in the lives of women globally. This background was the impetus behind Kim starting a Women’s Global Mission group with her friend Kris Cassar at their parish, St. John’s Episcopal, New Milford, CT.

With the success of this group, the idea for replicating the group into a network was born. Women’s Global Mission Network engages the women of the Diocese of CT and creates a platform to partner her faith and her passion for gender justice. She found other women had the same intentional themes in their lives. It is brilliant to connect the dots, create a network, paving the way to enhancing the lives of marginalized women and girls around the world.

A launch event was held in January, 60 women from the Diocese of CT attended. The women received a package of material designed to create and maintain their own parish group. The materials provide ways to gather the women, educate the parish, including action steps and a plan to create a mission focus (for example; girls’ education, elimination of violence against women and girls or the trafficking of women and girls). The format is flexible and allows each group to start at its own comfort level. The material also shares resources that will allow the women within each parish group to come to the same level of understanding about the issues faced by our global sisters.

The Network currently has 10 parishes with active Women’s Global Mission groups. A monthly e-news and Face Book page keep everyone current on what is happening with other groups. The entire network of women will gather 3 times a year to connect, collaborate and support each other.

With the addition of each new parish group, the network is reborn, along with the excitement of new possibilities. If you would like to receive information on starting your own Women’s Global Mission group please contact Kim Polhemus at womensglobalmission@gmail.com  

In Kim’s words,” We knew the hope of creating a Network would be realized at our first meeting with the Diocesan Canon for Mission Development by their response and generous offers of help. I’ll never forget walking away from that first meeting. Kris and I were so excited we linked arms, looked at each other and said at the same time, ‘This is going to be BIG!!’

And that prediction is turning out to be accurate. New parish groups have joined the network each month since the launch event was held last winter. The Network currently has 10 parishes with active Women’s Global Mission groups and continues to grow.

Rosemary Williams launched Currency of the Heart to inspire readers to “pay it forward” from the heart’s most precious currency. We’d love to hear from you! To share your story or to request permission to republish this blog post, please email rosemarycwilliams@gmail.com. 

© 2013 Rosemary Williams

Kindness Brings Currency of the Heart to Light

Synchronicity is Currency of the Heart

The bright yellow flower in the cupped palms of two hands, on a book cover caught my eye as I walked into J.R.Julia's book store in Madison, CT, in January. Yellow flowers are rare in CT in the winter, even pictures of them. Then I noticed the name of the author, Stephanie Dowrick. She was a class mate of mine at the New Seminary. Stephanie lives in Austrailia and I haven't seen her since our ordination as interfaith ministers in 2005.

Her book arrived in my life right on time. The first Currency of the Heart blog post was scheduled for February 14 and here was a book called Everyday Kindness. It felt like Stephanie was talking to me, saying "Here's a thought. Read this." I did read the book and now I'd like to share a few of her thoughts with you. 

"Kindness drives connection and engagement, empathy and comfort. It is thoughtfulness in action. It is self-respect and concern for others in action. 

Kindness lets you live life to the full. It expresses your gratitude for who you are and what you can contribute.

You can't become kinder to others  without also benefiting yourself. You can't be more genuinely self-supportive without also asking and needing less of others-and benefiting them also. 

Kindness doesn't mean surrendering your boundaries or meeting every demand that comes your way. It doesn't mean becoming a doormat that others can walk over. It can mean being much clearer about saying no as well as yes.  Nevertheless, kindness pushes you to take other people into account constantly, even while it saves you from harming, demeaning or sacrificing yourself.

Kindness helps you physically as much as it does emotionally and spiritually. It keeps you connected. It relaxes. It radically reduces tension and stress. It doesn't depend on status, education or wealth. It doesn't depend on brilliance or age. And it certainly can't depend only on things always going well for you. (Easy to be kind when everything is going our way. Far more to be kind when life is not going our way.)


Have trouble with iframe - Watch it in Youtube

Kindness is a way of life and living, depends on choices made and remade on a daily basis."

Visit Stephanie's website 

Rosemary Williams launched Currency of the Heart to inspire readers to “pay it forward” from the heart’s most precious currency. We’d love to hear from you! To share your story or to request permission to republish this blog post, please email rosemarycwilliams@gmail.com. 

© 2013 Rosemary Williams

Shooting Hoops Creates Currency of the Heart

Dr Jodie Meyer and Dr. Steve Tuber have found a unique way to invest the currency of their hearts into their community. This professional couple (both psychologists) created a basketball program for third through eighth grade boys and girls in Hastings on Hudson, NY, in 2002 and have managed it ever since. Both wife and husband are involved in all aspects of the Program every Saturday from early December through the end of March each year.

Most importantly, the Program is guided by developmental principles aimed at minimizing the stress and maximizing the fun of childhood athletics. It creates a dynamic balance among competition, caring and sportsmanship. Procedures have been derived that strive to ensure that teams are balanced skill-wise; that playing time is equitable; that rules and even the size of the basketballs are modified to fit the developmental needs of the children as they progress through the Program; and that parents are strongly guided to positively

support their children’s play without criticism of coaches, referees or other players. Referees are high school students (often graduates of the basketball program) and are also guided by Jodie and Steve to promote fairness and fun.

 

Steve writes an article reviewing every game every week in the local town paper, the Rivertowns Enterprise. Over the course of the season every player is mentioned at least once in the article. In this way each child is given public attention and credit for his or her efforts on the basketball court.

Jodie and Steve, as they are known by the locals, do all of this because they love doing it, they love the kids who play basketball, they love their community, Hastings on Hudson, and they derive deep gratification from helping to evoke the life lessons learned by all concerned through being part of a team sport.



Rosemary Williams launched Currency of the Heart to inspire readers to “pay it forward” from the heart’s most precious currency. We’d love to hear from you! To share your story or to request permission to republish this blog post, please email rosemarycwilliams@gmail.com. 

© 2013 Rosemary Williams

Philanthropy, Fashion and Fun

_{11-Year-Old Philanthropist 
Lets Her Fingers Do the Fundraising}

_{Philanthropy, fashion and fun intertwined when 11-year-old Emma Geertgens hooked her friends, her grandmother and even her brother into helping crochet hats to raise money for the Burlington County Animal Shelter} www.friendsofbcas.org/

_{When Emma’s family was looking for a family pet, they had visited the Burlington County Animal Shelter in Westhampton,NJ.  Emma was surprised and saddened to see so many animals waiting to be adopted.  The family eventually adopted a big, sad-eyed boxer named Betty, and Emma never forgot the trip. A Currency of the Heart seed was planted during that visit.}

_{Completely engaged in life, Emma is always playing field hockey, roller-skating or biking. At home she is baking, reading, writing poetry, practicing the cello and crocheting.}

_{Emma crocheted a stylish hat that all her friends loved. When she realized how popular the hats were becoming, Emma decided to sell her creations at the local Christmas fair to raise money for the animal shelter.}

_{Instinctively Emma connected the dots. Her love of animals, the popular hats, and her enjoyment of a holiday fair in years past pulled all the pieces of the project together.  A designer, entrepreneur and a philanthropist emerged.}

_{Emma’s  hobby took on a life of its own.  Her hands became a crocheting machine. She walked, talked, and watched TV while crocheting hats. One hat, one flower, finished in one hour. Done. Next.}

_{After enlisting the help of friends and family last November, Emma set up a table at her local holiday fair and offered her hats for sale from inventory and made-to-order in additional colors.}

_{This project captivated Emma’s imagination, delighted customers with a colorful accent to winter fashions, and helped the animal shelter. When all the orders were fulfilled, Emma tallied the results: $421 earned! Last Thursday she presented a check for that amount to Jackie Daniels, manager of the Burlington County Animal Shelter.}

_{No one could have been happier than Emma, except of course, the folks at the shelter. Emma had turned her Currency of the Heart into cold, hard cash to support abandoned animals.} 

Rosemary Williams launched Currency of the Heart to inspire readers to “pay it forward” from the heart’s most precious currency. We’d love to hear from you! To share your story or to request permission to republish this blog post, please email rosemarycwilliams@gmail.com. 

© 2013 Rosemary Williams

Currency of the Heart Celebrates International Women's Day

Giraffe Blessing
Stand Tall, Fearlessly stick your neck out
              Reach for new heights, Dress with flair
                                                Listen with your heart
                       --Author Unknown


In celebration of International Women's Day I want to introduce you to two extraordinary women I was privileged to be with last week, Donna Goodman and Zainab Salbi.  When you have time, take a look at their websites. And as a follow-up to Jean Bolen's story there is a youtube link below.

 

www. earthchildinstitute.org

“I am an action-oriented visionary with a passion for ‘connecting the dots’ (whether they are individuals, organizations, places, policies, etc)… and weaving more coherent, higher functioning structures 

- Founder Donna Goodman

www.womenforwomeninternational.org

"Everything can be taken from you in a second, but the human spirit is so strong. War can teach you so much about evil, and so much about good." - Founder Zainab Salbi 

We would like to post stories of people you know who are examples of currency of the heart in action.  I invite you to send your stories to info@womensperspective.org. 

As part of the effort to collect stories for this blog, hundreds of the cards shown below were given to participants of the 57 Session of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women.

Jean Bolen          

Can't see it in iframe, you can watch it on YouTube - click here

One Woman Spends Her Currency of the Heart Energizing the Global Woman's Movement

Available at Amazon.com

Finding Your Assignment
and Moving Towards your Circle!

Our Currency of the Heart story is about Jean Shinoda Bolen, author, Jungian analyst and activist. Jean spends much of her currency of the heart as an advocate for a fifth UN sponsored world conference on women (5WCW).

 Next week she will speak in New York, at parallel events of the 57th United Nations Commission on the Status of Women. More than 5,000 women from many countries of the world have registered and will participate.

"Moving Towards the Millionth Circle: Energizing the Global Women's Movement", Jean's new book, is an invitation to advocacy and action. This book will be given as a gift to many at the conference by Jean and her publisher Conari Press.

Introducing you to my dear friend Jean Bolen is a delight. Jean is one of the most hopeful and inspiring people I know. She speaks often about "assignments" and seems certain about hers. Watching her tend to her assignment gives me the courage and determination to tend to mine which is sharing stories of Currency of the Heart.

"A friend is someone who remembers the song in

your heart and reminds you of it when you have forgotten."

Kenyan Proverb

Jean Bolen is this kind of friend.  Here in her own words is her story.

I continue to take my “assignment” as a message carrier to heart. I believe that critical-mass, grassroots activism transforms consciousness which in turn, changes history. I believe that humanity is at a crossroads and that what women do in the next few decades will determine the fate of life on this beautiful, abundant planet.

I’m an advocate for a UN sponsored 5th World Conference on Women (5WCW) as a rallying point that would raise consciousness, network women worldwide and at a time of transition, could be the tipping point

Activism and individuation (to find a meaningful, inner directed, chosen life-path) come together when the choices we make express who we are. There is a soul purpose to life. Be centered, and archetypes, dreams and synchronicities provide depth and direction. As one phase of life shifts into the next, energy becomes free to take on something that is personally meaningful, fun, creative and motivated by love—my definition of “assignment.”

The author copies of Moving Toward the Millionth Circle were delivered on January 21, 2013, Inauguration and Martin Luther King Day!  Such an auspicious beginning and such a delight to hold the little book in my hands. In this author-mother’s eyes: she is gorgeous! My publisher provided 2000 copies to give away at the UN during the CSW meetings. They will be given to NGO delegates by other delegates who volunteered to help gift the books in one-to-one conversations. A random method that invites synchronicity. After March 1, the book will be released for sale through amazon.com. 

I wrote this sister book/sequel to The Millionth Circle: How to Change Ourselves and The World for heart centered activists who are motivated to act by compassionate action, a sense of sisterhood, or fierce mother bear protectiveness which is a combination of love and outrage. I wrote it when efforts for a 5th World Conference on Women (5WCW) encountered obstacles and resistance even after the UN Secretary General and President of the General Assembly issued a joint statement in strong support on International Women's Day, 2012, and I turned to writing as an expression of my activism. The last UN women's conference was in Beijing in 1995 --before widespread use of the internet, way before the millennial generation entered adulthood.

I wrote it to inspire you to act out of consciousness and choice to step up and take on what is meaningful, fun--even when difficult, and motivated by love, which only you can know to be true. Activism is then an individuation step and soul work. I wrote it so more circles with a sacred center would form and groups in existence might transform into circles. I wrote it with the hope and intention that it would be in print when the UN Commission on the Status of Women met the first two weeks of March 2013 and that I could gift copies of the book away to NGO delegates and UN people. This became possible because of exceptional support from my publisher (Conari). Synchronicity, serendipity and grace helped all along the way.

I wish now that I had included how an idea spreads geometrically with the example of the 3 to the 19th power (it is in the Preface to the paperback of Urgent Message From Mother: Gather the Women, Save the World.)  If three women speak of something each believes is true to 3 others, and they in turn speak to 3 others, in 19 steps the message will reach 1,162,261,487. When a critical number of people change beliefs in what is possible, then perceptions and actions follow.  This Inauguration Day was a reminder.  Remember history? Slavery and denying women the right to vote was once what was. These expressions of patriarchy were transformed. Compassion and courage grow in a circle of equals with a spiritual center--as members of AA know. In the consciousness-raising groups that became the Women’s Movement in the 1970s, equality was a sacred mission.

I believe that the feminine principle is rising into consciousness through women and exceptional men and that the fate of planet and humanity depends upon each of us believing in the possibility of transformative change in our families, communities, institutions, countries, and the world. To believe leads to action which changes us as well what we want to change--when done with love, hope, perseverance, courage and optimism

Activism is a personal choice. It is a passion for a cause expressed

through actions, funding, communication, as well as prayer, rituals, and art.

Listen to Jean Shinoda Bolen recite her poem "Untapped Source of Peace"

The written words to "Untapped Source of Peace can be found on 

Jean's website http://www.jeanbolen.com/

Jean Shinoda Bolen, M. D,Jean Shinoda Bolen, M. D, is a psychiatrist, Jungian analyst, and an internationally known author and speaker. She is the author of The Tao of Psychology, Goddesses in Everywoman, Gods in Everyman, Ring of Power, Crossing to Avalon, Close to the Bone, The Millionth Circle, Goddesses in Older Women, Crones Don't Whine, Urgent Message from Mother, and Like a Tree with over eighty foreign translations. She is a Distinguished Life Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association and a former clinical professor of psychiatry at the University of California at San Francisco, a past board member of the Ms. Foundation for Women and the International Transpersonal Association. She was a recipient of the Institute for Health and Healing's "Pioneers in Art, Science, and the Soul of Healing Award", and is a Diplomate of the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology. She was in two acclaimed documentaries, the Academy-Award winning anti-nuclear proliferation film Women—For America, For the World, and the Canadian Film Board's Goddess Remembered. The Millionth Circle Initiative (www.millionthcircle.org) was inspired by her book and led to her involvement at the UN. She is the initiator and the leading advocate for a UN 5th World Conference on Women (www.5wcw.org), which was supported by the Secretary General and the President of the General Assembly on March 8, 2012.