On Saturday March 5, Cara Oberfoell did a presentation about the benefits of barefoot running at Agape Toastmasters in Culver City. Oberfoell clearly outlined the benefits of barefoot running versus the potentially injurious hazards of using inappropriate athletic footwear. She urges listeners to think for themselves before they "Just Do It."
The footwear Oberfoell mentions in her speech can be located at: http://www.vibramfivefingers.com/
"People think chutzpah is in the genes. It isn't.. it's in the needing and wanting and being willing to fall on your face. It isn't fun.. who wants all that rejection, but life is sweeter if you make yourself do uncomfortable things."
- Helen Gurley Brown
That was the quote I read the morning after my speech contest and it was just what I needed to hear. As I mentioned in last week's post, I competed in the Tall Tales contest and represented Division One, Area A2 Toastmasters. I signed up for the contest to challenge my fears and grow as a person and I accomplished my mission.
I was pushed and pulled emotionally every step of the way. The entire experience was way out of my comfort zone. I may have looked comfortable but my insides were in a state of turmoil. I did it anyway and it was exhilarating.
I also had the support of my fellow Agape Toastmasters and my Savvy Soul Sisters. I actually had Cynthia Lamb pray for me before the contest began...I was that nervous. But, I showed up, I did what I planned to do and I made it through the experience galvanized. Here's another quote I got in my Daily Love newsletter the day after my contest:
"Life is a good teacher and a good friend. Things are always in transition, if we could only realize it. To stay with that shakiness - to stay with a broken heart, with a rumbling stomach, with the feeling of hopelessness and wanting to get revenge - that is the path of true awakening. Sticking with that uncertainty, getting the knack of relaxing in the midst of chaos, learning not to panic - this is the spiritual path."
- Pema Chodron
After the contest, I celebrated the accomplishment of facing my fears and went to see live music at Industry Cafe & Jazz with my friend Linderella. Linderella (AKA Linda Saito) was recently honored at Industry Cafe & Jazz. Here's a video of her singing. Listening to her voice and seeing her smile with soothe your soul.
Another great tool to help me make it through the utter terror of competing in a speech contest was free Yoga on the Bluff in Long Beach. I went twice this week and it was heavenly both times. I don't have a photo of the actual class in session but it takes place right here at Junipero and Ocean. There's nothing like doing Yoga while looking out at the ocean. Talk about bliss.
[caption id="attachment_1518" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="The view from Junipero and Ocean. Just to the right of this is where the free yoga classes in Long Beach are held"][/caption]
The philosophy of Yoga is that you can breathe through any difficulty, any pain, any stiffness.
You can stretch yourself, you can be flexible, you can do things you didn't think you could do.
The teachers always say you can take the lessons you learn on the yoga mat out into the real world. I put that premise to the test this week and it proved to be true. With that in mind, I will definitely return to Yoga on the Bluff and I look forward to flowing through the next great adventure with grace, ease.
If I had to give this week a title, it would be Creativity Crash Course.
You see, I'm on this whole "love not fear" kick which calls for an incredible amount of creativity because fear is very sneaky and has endless ways of manifesting itself. I had to face a bunch of fears this week. Fear of losing my husband, fear of sickness, fear of being out of control, fears of being "found out", fears of not being good enough, fear of public speaking and more. Fear knocked on the door of my peace many times and each time, I had to deny it's pleas and make a conscious decision to choose love.
Let me give you a couple of examples.
This week, my husband and I have spent more time than usual dealing with doctors. He's been in serious pain, and I've stepped into the role of caretaker more deeply than usual. My husband has kidney stones and he has blood in his urine. I know, I know, "Too Much Information" but I have to say, when I saw that blood, my heart dropped.
It wasn't just about the blood, it was the fear that my husband could die and it was the fear of having to go on without him. It was unsettling to say the least. But if I was to choose love, not fear, I had to switch my mind to how I could make his experience a little less painful. How could I be of service?
Sometimes I felt like I was fighting with myself. Against the me that wants to ask "what about me?" Against the me that wants to dwell on the fear and drama of what might happen if/when I lose my husband "someday". I think the pull to dwell on drama goes way back, at least as far as the teenage years of watching soap operas and reading teen magazines, but I can speak from experience that choosing love feels a lot better than living in fear.
Since my husband has been down and out, I've been in charge of walking the dog. I used to dread walking the dog but since I'm in the "love not fear" mode, I looked for ways I could enjoy the time. I put on my iPod, listened to some tunes and last night I had the inspiration to practice my speech for the Area 2 Toastmasters contest while I was out walking. It was a blast.
Talk about overcoming a fear. I was delivering my speech in a very loud, animated way as cars whizzed by on Ocean Blvd. Call it crazy or call it bold, all I know is I used to be afraid to practice my speech in the closet of my own home! Now, I could care less what people think. I'm a public speaker practicing for a speech contest, whadda ya expect?
I liked practicing my speech in that manner so much that I might do it again even if I don't have to. It made my practice time feel more realistic and powerful than practicing inside my home alone. I pretended the people in their cars and houses were my audience and I was telling them all a story. This helped me get more clear on my timing. It seemed like it was more true to how I want to communicate in front of the live audience.
And that brings me to another aspect of my Creativity Crash Course. I just won a speech contest at my Agape Toastmasters club, which means I go on to represent my club at the area contest which means another opportunity to overcome fear. A lot of fear. I am literally pushed up against my own wall. I'm competing in the Tall Tales contest and prior to February 19, I'd never told a Tall Tale. But since I won (gulp) I will be busting through a new barrier on March 2 when I tell a Tall Tale for the second time, only this time there will be a lot more people there and I won't know them as well as I know my fellow Toastmasters at Agape. I have daydreams of disappearing into thin air. I consider the possibility of backing out. Neither one is going to happen if I have anything to say about it. Love it is. Love for me, love for life.
Another fear-busting experience for me was co-facilitating a Money Magnetism teleseminar with my WE-WOW Master Mind partner, Nick Pfenningwerth of Creative Wealth Building on Wednesday night. I have to admit (even though I'm afraid) that money management has been my greatest life challenge to date. I literally have money fears and I was pressed face to face with them all week long. Nick made some excellent points about why people repel money and what they need to do to attract money. I did all the homework he recommended and I'm determined to make peace with money. Love not fear...right?
I guess the success for me is that I flowed through the whole week without freaking out completely, throwing a fit or any other unfavorable response to life. Thanks to learning and applying some of the aspects of CBT and A Course in Miracles as well as some amazing warrior workouts with Your Next Victory, I've been able to remain calm, peaceful and resourceful in a time of unpredictability and nervousness. My goal is to continue to handle life in a "love not fear" manner and to take on new challenges in the spirit of adventure and personal growth.
Subscribe to the I am Galvanized blog today
This week, I experienced the Holy Instant that's written about in A Course in Miracles. I can't even write about it because it is a book, not a blog post and this is Galvanized Facebook Friday so I'm going to summarize some highlights from my wall.
The main story I want to tell this week is about my somewhat mysterious but clear connection to a certain Native American Chief. I will have to tell the story with pictures, for there are far too many details to put in one short scribe.
Here it goes.
You can insert "Once upon a time" here if you'd like.
One night, I was meditating while listening to Dr. Joy Brugh's CD - "Practicing the Presence"
The meditation is about balancing your chakras.
While I was meditating, I got a clear sense of a Native American Indian Chief in my room, standing like a guardian and protector.
It was something I'd never experienced.
The next day, my student came up to me and said, "Ms. Zampelli, do you like Native American jewelry?" I said yes. She handed me this piece of handmade jewelry.
A few days after that, Jesus Nebot approached me at Agape Toastmasters and said "I think you are a leader and I want to give you free passes to this conference".
I went to the conference.
It was in San Francisco, I stayed with my brother, Matthew. I had a blast.
On Sunday, the closing session consisted of a peace circle in the park.
When Chief Arvol Looking Horse showed up to lead the whole affair, I was a little taken aback.
He kinda looked a lot like the guy in my meditation.
Jesus.
Meditation.
Chief.
Hmmmmmm
One year later, I'm teaching a new batch of students in Helping and Listening Skills class. One of my students, Martha Cabanas made a huge shift in her attitude as a result of applying some of what she learned in class to her daily life.
She heard me speak earlier in the semester about how I used to live on the Hoopa Indian Reservation and she believed that my experience probably impacted me in ways I didn't realize. She wanted to encourage me to keep what I learned from living on the reservation and to nurture that spiritual, free-spirited aspect of myself so she got me a doll as a gift.
That's two gifts given to me from students that have a Native American theme to them.
Then, On Thursday, one of my students, Linda Woodbury posted something on my Facebook wall:
"So yesterday I was in a meditative state and was visited by a Native American shaman and an owl! Pretty cool, huh?!"
What was interesting is that on that same day I felt the presence of a Native American Chief in my room.
I'm not sure exactly what all of this means but it is comforting and enjoyable to experience. I guess you can say it's a "trip."
You can read some of the comments back and forth between my students on Facebook.
And as a HUGE P.S. A miracle has happened in my marriage this week and I am LOVEY DOVEY. You can feel the love on my Facebook page.
I just got back from Master Mind group and I took a look at the photos my camera has saved from the last 9 days. Let's just say my life is a whirlwind of good things. This blog is an excuse for me to post the awesome photos that represent the past 9 days of my life and maybe to tell a little bit about each photo. This is a week I want to remember.
On Friday, October 22 I was asked to speak at a candlelight memorial for Omar Brown, former Long Beach City College student who was shot and killed in an allegedly gang-related fight. Although the event itself, and the need for it is a tragedy, the positive aspect is that the Long Beach City College community took quick action and pulled together an event to show support and to speak out against violence.
The event was hosted by the Associated Student Body and I want to give a "shout out" to Pamela Marshall for doing a great job pulling everything together. Also great to see Anita Gibbins of the Women and Men's Resource Center and Sabrina Sanders, Interim Dean of Student Affairs.
I was honored that I was asked to speak and I was proud to speak about peace and love, two topics I am passionate about. Below is a photo gallery of the event. I gave my students extra credit for attending and asked them to hold up Get Galvanized signs during my speech so I would have the courage to pull it off. To see my speech on YouTube, click here.
Just less than two days later I was able to join with Cynthia Lamb at an event called Conscious Kickstart - The Future of Alternative Health. The event was organized by Blog Talk Radio host, Michelle Ann Johnson and featured a panel of leaders in the alternative healing profession. It really did give my Consciousness a Kickstart.
One of the powerful points in the day was when Cynthia Lamb guided participants in a journey to Forgiveness. She helped remind participants that we are all "spirit in a body" and we are all worthy. Here is a video of the process that you can use to forgive and heal:
Later in the day, Sound Shrine was there with a Didgeridoo. Evan played the instrument right next to me as I was sitting on the floor and I was definitely feelin' the vibes.
After the show, I was able to speak with E. Raymond Brown privately and we posed for a few pictures. The film was very honest, entertaining and thought-provoking. You can probably expect to hear more about this film in the coming months. Last I heard, it was in the top 3rd highest grossing film at the Rave and it has been extended for theatre play one week.
Click here to go to the Rave Theatre page and see if its still playing. The more people who go, the more press and promotion the movie will receive which means more people will see it all across the nation and around the world. The message in his movie is important and timely, because it shines light on the self-destructive power dynamics that run our world.
Overall I left the theatre with this take home message: we need to wake up and realize who's really in power and we need to step into our own power if we want to survive and thrive. We cannot allow ourselves to be passive victims to the politics of corporate greed.
On Wednesday, I was so galvanized by the events of the week that I took two steps of action toward things that are important and valuable to me. I went to Long Beach City College and taped a short interview with Urban Voodoo about community action and being a part of the solution. I was able to submit the video to 562CityLife in response to their call for the "10 most 'Real' people in Long Beach." To see the video interview, click on the picture below.
Immediately after taping the interview, I went to teach my Domestic Violence class and decided to give my students a little surprise that was out of the ordinary. Lately, we've been talking about the importance of esteeming yourself and not holding back because of fear of rejection or criticism. We talked about the standing true to your values and to your Self.
I figured the best way to get the message across was to be real myself, to not hold back, and to lead by example. So, I took 7 minutes out of class time, put on a pink wig (to help me get in touch with my 16-year-old inner punk rocker) and told the story of how I ran away from an abusive household and why I'm proud that I did. If you'd like to see the speech on YouTube, click on the picture below.
Thursday was the day my new computer came via UPS. What this means, is that it will be even easier for me to pump out more YouTube videos and to do the work that feels like my purpose (sharing empowering information) in a faster, more efficient way.
The week ended with another great meeting at Agape Toastmasters. I was the Toastmaster of the day and since it was October 28, I decided to blame it all on Halloween and go for the gusto. I chose the theme "Alter Ego Extreme" and I dressed in Galvanized gear.
I did my best to act like a rockstar the entire meeting and I definitely accomplished my goal of parading my Alter Ego for all to see. I had a great reaction and I made so many people smile and laugh. It was wonderful. I definitely felt Galvanized.
Call me crazy, (it wouldn't be the first time I heard it), but I've got to tell you something. I know the reason why I've got the guts and stamina to do the things I do. It's because I'm surrounded by people who love and support me (including my Master Mind group) and that is by design. I made that choice. I believe anyone can create the life they want but some people need a little bit of support from people outside their normal social and family circle.
If you need some support, you might want to check out Master Minding. I'm having a sale this month as part of my 20 days to create your reality celebration. It ends on my birthday, November 20. I will be offering the entire I Create Reality package along with the entire Start a Master Mind package for the price of one. The information and support you'll receive in this bundle of products will definitely give you the strength and courage to live your own life. Check it out. Because there's nothing cool about holding back.
Listening to hip hop as a young girl gave me an education in the power of words and imagery. In this speech from the Toastmasters Storytelling manual, I take the liberty to consider the popular hip hop song, "Left My Wallet in El Segundo" as a folk tale and I retell it in my own words.
---------------
When you think about it, every musical act you know of is using the Master Mind principle whether they realize it or not. They are joining together as a team with a combined vision. You can use the same principle and make some truly rockin' things happen in your life.
Do you have a creative project you want to complete? Do you want to find a purpose for your life?
If so, I invite you to come over to my brand new page called Start a Master Mind Group.com. I'm offering 4 freebies to get you started so you can get a sense of what the Master Mind is all about.
There's nothing cool about holding back.
Last Saturday, December 12 was a fun and exciting day for me. I already wrote about how I won Toastmaster of the Year last week, and it's taken me this long to re-group and reflect on another aspect of the morning which was being the host of the Agape TM Live Show.
While planning for our year-end party, we had brainstorming meetings and came up with the idea of a Red Carpet theme so we could dress up like stars and have some fun. I recommended an awards-style twist on Table Topics.
Table Topics is the impromptu portion of a Toastmaster's meeting where you call up a speaker and ask him or her to talk about a topic for 1-2 minutes.
How I set it up is that prior to the meeting, I contacted all the members and asked them to tell me two interesting bits of information about themselves that most of us probably wouldn't know.
I took those bits of information and used them in two ways, one as the basis of a treasure hunt game. We passed out a sheet with some these bits of information written on it then people had to guess which bit of information went with which person. Some of the match-ups were pretty hard to guess.
The second way I used the information was to generate a Table Topics intro. I would introduce each guest by telling a little bit about what they were going to talk about, then they would come on stage and tell the story in their own words. Below are some pictures of the Table Topics speakers and what they spoke about.
Joan Ramirez tells us about the time when Jim Morrison of The Doors pulled her up on stage and planted a huge kiss on her lips! She had the crowd on the edge of their seats.
Susan Lowe tells the audience at Agape Toastmasters Red Carpet Awards celebration about the days when her children were regulars on Sesame Street.
Bruce Gordon entertains the audience at Agape Toastmasters Red Carpet Awards celebration as he showcases his live comedy act.
Diane Moseberry tells the audience at Agape Toastmasters Red Carpet Awards celebration how she used her speeches to educate her child regarding practical life skills.
After the interview-style Table Topics we handed out awards.
John McLaughlin shows off his "Best Film Editing" award at Agape Toastmasters Red Carpet Awards celebration. Club President Cynthia Lamb shows her enthusiasm and support.
Shirley Nason Mitchell is awarded "Best Original Screenplay" at Agape Toastmasters Red Carpet Awards celebration.
Before, during and after the Red Carpet awards, we had good food to eat thanks to Linda Lloyd.
For a complete photo gallery of this event, click here.
All photos in this blog are courtesy of Michael Zampelli.com
[/caption]
The philosophy of Yoga is that you can breathe through any difficulty, any pain, any stiffness.
You can stretch yourself, you can be flexible, you can do things you didn't think you could do.
The teachers always say you can take the lessons you learn on the yoga mat out into the real world. I put that premise to the test this week and it proved to be true. With that in mind, I will definitely return to Yoga on the Bluff and I look forward to flowing through the next great adventure with grace, ease. 
On Friday, October 22 I was asked to speak at a candlelight memorial for Omar Brown, former Long Beach City College student who was shot and killed in an allegedly gang-related fight. Although the event itself, and the need for it is a tragedy, the positive aspect is that the Long Beach City College community took quick action and pulled together an event to show support and to speak out against violence.
The event was hosted by the Associated Student Body and I want to give a "shout out" to Pamela Marshall for doing a great job pulling everything together. Also great to see Anita Gibbins of the 
Just less than two days later I was able to join with Cynthia Lamb at an event called 
Last Saturday, December 12 was a fun and exciting day for me. I already wrote about how I 
Joan Ramirez tells us about the time when Jim Morrison of The Doors pulled her up on stage and planted a huge kiss on her lips! She had the crowd on the edge of their seats.
Susan Lowe tells the audience at Agape Toastmasters Red Carpet Awards celebration about the days when her children were regulars on Sesame Street.
Bruce Gordon entertains the audience at Agape Toastmasters Red Carpet Awards celebration as he showcases his live comedy act.
Diane Moseberry tells the audience at Agape Toastmasters Red Carpet Awards celebration how she used her speeches to educate her child regarding practical life skills.
After the interview-style Table Topics we handed out awards.
John McLaughlin shows off his "Best Film Editing" award at Agape Toastmasters Red Carpet Awards celebration. Club President Cynthia Lamb shows her enthusiasm and support.
Shirley Nason Mitchell is awarded "Best Original Screenplay" at Agape Toastmasters Red Carpet Awards celebration.
Before, during and after the Red Carpet awards, we had good food to eat thanks to Linda Lloyd.
For a complete photo gallery of this event, 