This week, I am becoming more aware of the power of language.
The longest relationship I have had in my life is the love affair I have with words. Although I’m not sure exactly when it began, I remember feeling excited at age 10 when my first poem was published in The Western Producer.
Over the years, I have discovered how common it is to manipulate with words. We bring closeness or insert distance. We perpetuate scarcity or produce abundance. We instill fear or express love.
Not so long ago, climate change, sustainability and social responsibility entered our everyday vocabulary. Climate means weather patterns. Sustainability is a system’s ability to remain productive. Social is how we live with others. These words are now used in a way that distances us from our daily choices. The very action of promoting sustainability proves our acceptance that systems have become unsustainable. When we discuss climate change, it feels like something that just happens on its own. When we talk about our lifestyle addiction to polluting fossil-fuels and coal, we own our actions and our daily decisions. Instead, we debate the light and airy greenhouse effect of carbon emissions to avoid addressing the actual toxic pollution that is filling our environment every hour on the hour. If our actions are not socially responsible, they are socially irresponsible.
There are no pretty words to describe what we are doing to the ecosystems that support our human existence. Our current situation is the result of pollution and environmental degradation that leads to an abundance of unresolved anger. Other life forms might survive indefinitely without fresh water, clean air and healthy soil. Homo-sapiens cannot.
I really began understanding the power of words when I began exploring the world of spirituality. I was raised in a fear-based religion that still defines me as a sinner with no chance of redemption and a one-way ticket to hell. Today, my spiritual practice is a belief in the natural world where energy becomes form. A tree grows where it is planted and naturally reaches for the sun in order to grow. I am comfortable with my belief in life and simple physics as a power greater than myself, even though conscious evolution and quantum physics might sound sexier. I also believe that Buddha and Jesus and Allah and all great spiritual teachers preach the same message of how importance it is to value all life and take care of each other and let go of our need to control and learn to trust a higher power.
When I discovered the law of attraction, I questioned it like any healthy skeptic until I learned that it is an actual, scientifically-proven physical law. I also believe that Buddha and Jesus and Allah and all great spiritual teachers preach the same message of how importance it is to value all life and take care of each other and learn to trust and let go of our need to control. With this understanding, I am committed to choosing words consciously. I am creating my world.
Our efforts to raise awareness about cancer and ebola and AIDS and other symptoms of chronic unrelieved stress in our society creates more symptoms … and we are using precious attention that would otherwise be devoted to prevention and wellness and love.
When I majored in Consumer Studies at university, the most enlightening and useful course I studied was an elective called Marketing 101. I came to understand the process clearly — create consumer demand by scaring the shit of people so they will buy lots of stuff they don’t really need if they already feel good about themselves. A memorable example given to illustrate successful marketing was the introduction of the white-pants commercial that convinced menstruating women they are dirty. My hand was was constantly up questioning the concepts and the rules and I didn’t go unnoticed because my chronic tardiness meant I usually sat in the front row due nearest the door. I found it hard to believe the professor at the end of term when he came over to thank me for attending his class. However, I did believe him when he told me that in all his years of teaching, none of his students had ever asked any of my questions.
When I am writing and publishing, I constantly edit out fear and exaggeration. I am forever grateful to the digital revolution for providing tools that make it easy search and replace exclamation points with the simple full stop. There is rarely a need to shout. I shift don’t into do, should into could, convince into invite, exclusive into inclusive and I replace claims of better and best with clear descriptions that attract and inform anyone interested in the products, services or programs being offered.
A new generation is beginning to question our rules of convenience over conservation, volume over quality, scarcity over abundance and consumption over creation. Witness the recent trends of artisanal products, do-it-yourself design, up-cycled fashion and grow-your-own gardens in tiny plots and balconies and windowsills. There really is more than enough of everything to go around.
It is time to start communicating directly and stop relying on familiar last-minute scare tactics as the call to action. We live in an age where virtual unlimited access to information means everyone can gain understanding. Our ability to connect with people who share our values is unprecedented. We are forming ourselves into powerful communities that drive positive change.
A number of our current operating systems are certainly unsustainable and we tell ourselves that change takes time. Yet we have all experienced how everything can change in an instant — like the moment we leave a job or the birth of a baby. We define a situation using words like loss or gain, restriction or freedom, ending or beginning. The situation is the same but our experience depends entirely upon the words we choose when describing it.
What words are important in your world?
Kinzie
Founder
www.heartbeat.com.hk
natural life in the fast lane
Listen to your own heartbeat.
Blessed is the season which engages the whole world in a conspiracy of love. ~Hamilton Wright Mabie
The Marketplace
Conscious Celebrations
Join us for a casual evening gathering on 4 Dec in Central
The season is upon us. We have begun accepting party invitations, making shopping lists and preparing to host family and friends in celebration of our love and connection. Many travel plans were arranged many months ago and many more are in the works. We invite you to consider some options that will add value to every choice you make as we wind up another year and make preparations for the next. With the a growing awareness of the positive contribution we can make with every purchase we make, we will host heartbeat lifestyle community members who will share their wealth of experience and knowledge about what goes into preparing for a conscious holiday. Gain insights, tips and practical ideas for celebrations that last a lifetime.
RSVP : soulfoodsocial@respond123.com | TEL : +852 6628 6153 – Kinzie
WEBSITE : heartbeat.com.hk
Bali Gaia Retreat 2015
With Special Guest KRYON/Lee Carroll
Experience Love from Home with Lee Carroll, the original channel of loving angelic master KRYON, when he presents seminar and live channeling for the first time in Bali. Visit sacred sites like the Fivelements that connect you to the four elements of Bali and beyond. Practise daily meditation with the magical energies of Bali. Learn cross-species communication and co-create inner peace, wellness, joy and balance with Gaia. Receive blessings from Balinese priests. Visits include Balinese village, temple and school among others. Celebrate our divinity and experience oneness with Gaia. See you in beautiful Bali.
ENQUIRIES : contact@lighthousemakers.com – Jenny Cheong
WEBSITE : lighthousemakers.com
Fresh Choices HK – mini-guide
Get listed in our conscious holiday guide for gifts and celebrations
The new mini-guide is an instant favorite — cute, clever, convenient — these are all words used to describe the new publication. Fresh Choices HK is designed for people on the move. Printed on our signature raw-paper, the small format fits into bags and briefcases for easy reference everywhere. Fresh Choices HK features fresh contacts and connections for everything natural in Hong Kong, including popular products, tips and tricks, upcoming events along with contact details for natural choices every day. 10,000 free copies are circulated to our networks and posted to personal members. Listings and display advertising is available for natural products, services and programs. Contact us and find out how you can get listed in the December edition – click here for details
ENQUIRIES : connections@heartbeat.com.hk
TEL : +852 6628 6153 – Kinzie
WEBSITE : heartbeat.com.hk
The Calendar
Natural events in Hong Kong this month
October 8 (7:30pm) > Working Solutions for Climate Change
November 1 (9am-1:30pm) > Deliberate Creation
November 3-4 (8:30am-5:30pm) > Hong Kong, China and the World
November 3 (7-10pm) > The Moral Imperative of Climate Change
November 3 (7-9pm) > Meat Free Hong Kong Monday
November 3 (7:30pm) > Yoga Is
November 6 (8pm until late) > Full Moon Gathering
November 7 (8-9:30am) > Consumer Product Safety
November 7 (6:30-9:30pm) > What Is Yoga?
November 8-9 (10am-5pm) > Heal Your Life
November 8-9 (10:30am-7pm) > Living Yoga Weekend Workshop
November 11-12 (9am-8pm) > Diversity & Inclusion in Asia Conference
November 11 (7:15-8:30pm) > Biotherapy
November 12 (6:45-8:45pm) > Superfood and Detox Open House
November 12 (7:30pm) > Human Trafficking: Slavery in our Day and Age
November 13 (6:30pm) > RGS-HK Annual Dinner
November 15 & 16 (9-11am) > Shakti Kriya
November 15 (10am-4pm) > TEDx Hong Kong GREEEN
November 15-17 (10am-6pm) > The Yuen Method
November 15 (11am-6pm) > Artisinal Pop Up Bazaar
November 16 (11am-12:30pm) > Energy Circle
November 17 (11am-1pm) > Hormone Balance
November 17 & 18 (6:30-9:30pm) > Parenting
November 18 (12:45-2pm) > Learn to Make Kefir
November 19 (7:30-9:30pm) > Native American Pipe Ceremony
November 20 (7:15-8:45pm) > Moving Towards Love
November 22 (12-6pm) > Falling in Love
November 24 (11am-12pm) > Introduction to Kombucha
November 24 (12-2pm) > New Energy in China
November 24 (7:30-9pm) > 5Rhythms®
November 26 (10am-6pm) > The Life Matrix
November 26 (6:30-7:30pm) > Kirtan
November 26-28 > Urban Adaptation to Climate Change
November 27 (7-9pm) > Essential Oils for Home Use
November 27 (7-9pm) > Mexican LifeFood Class
November 28-30 (10am-5pm) > Yoga & Mindfulness Workshop
November 28-30 > Clockenflap Music & Arts Festival
November 29 (5-9pm) > Underwater – The Lost City of Atlantis
The directory – fresh listings
Submit a listing | Visit the website
Maya Café – healthy Mediterranean style vegetarian and raw vegan food
The Art of Living – founded by Sri Sri Ravi Shankar providing mindfulness course
Global Essence – Skin, hair and body care and facials free from chemicals
Stephen Thomas Art – watercolor and acrylics classes for all ages
Just Bread – bakeware, loaf pans, pizza pans, grain mills and artisanal organic flours
Reborn Living – Collecting, refinishing and re-selling solid wood vintage furniture
Mademoiselle Chic – Second hand French brands on consignment online and pop-ups
Tree Children’s Lodge – Natural toys and crafts inspired by Waldorf and Steiner
Fresh content and connections for natural choices every day
At heartbeat, we support positive ecological, personal and social change by sharing information about everything from aromatherapy to yoga — chemical-free health and beauty, lifestyle services, whole food, sustainable fashion, eco-style, green gadgets and more …
