Connection

Connection. For the past month we have been surrounded by friends. Families that are all living intentionally, either on the road full-time, preparing to journey across the world or making their own way on some grand adventure. All living outside the box, creating a different norm for their kids, and loving every minute of it. Friends that have become family to us, friends that get the way we live, and share in wanting to live with purpose every moment of everyday. We have found ourselves opening up to these friends the first time we had a conversation with them, connecting on some deeper, spiritual level. We have discovered that our paths are all very similar, and that in trusting to allow the wind to guide us, the universe always steers us exactly where we are meant to be when we are meant to be there. We have also grown and changed even more into who we have always been. We started really listening to our hearts, feeling that power of love that is so strong inside, and found that the more we lived intentionally from that center, the more we had to give to others.

For the past year we have been connecting with people in the most amazing way. We have done events or been traveling when random (or not so random) people come up to us and start talking about the deeper things in life, what's going on in the world, how to reconnect to our roots and discover our purpose. This is what it is about for us, connecting with all of these beautiful souls. And, the more we have been open to that, the more our energies attract it fully. It is amazing! And so, in January, on the first full moon of the new year, I hosted a Gathering of Intentions for 2012. We shared a meal, we played, we talked around a campfire, we drummed, we connected. I was so full of love that everyone came, and that everyone cherished that time together as much as I did. It also fueled me to continue gathering like this on every full moon, as much as we could. And, so we have.

We went to the Families on the Road Rally with other families that live full-time on the road, playing, swimming, dancing the night away, enjoying meals and music around a campfire. We journeyed to Legoland, FL with these same families for a day of fun and rides. Then, we again all gathered at the Spirit of the Suwannee Music Park for a weekend long Kids Music Camp. They received personal musical instruction and shared in making music together at a concert for the parents. We had so much fun together that we stayed the rest of the week, just being together. And, sharing in the next Full Moon together, drumming, belly-dancing, fire-circling, and working through some powerful self-realizations on so many levels. Turning inward will always be powerful, but growth happens when the energies align for you to feel safe and strong enough to move through them. Imagine several families connecting at this level, creating a village where we do feel safe to be our true selves, our whole selves, who we were meant to be and have always been. Imagine families supporting each other in this process, and having fun at the same time. So grateful to surround our kids with this. The world is rocking, and so much despair is happening, yet if you tune into your conscious self and awaken to that energy, you will find it and it will fill you. You will be able to ride the waves, trust in a bad economy that you will float, see the positive, surround yourself with community that supports you, and be awake to the beautiful possibilities of the future. 2012 is not the end and things will not crash this year, it is a time of conscious transformation. We are beginning to see the world shifting in so many different ways, and that may seem rocky and unsteady, but it is also part of this amazing time of change. It is happening in all of us personally and it is happening in this great big world of ours... the live local, think global of our time.

So as we continue on this great journey to connect with others, we continue to be fueled by the energy created as we gather. Like nomadic tribes of old, we are getting back to our roots and trusting that we can weather any change as long as we have family by our side, good friends that have become family, a warm fire to gather around, and good food to nourish our souls. So surround yourselves with what fuels YOU, live with passion, and have fun!

Thank You 2011, and Intentions for 2012!

So the holidays have come and gone, the New Year is here, and I still can't believe how time has just flown by. I last blogged about our Fall Tour in fast forward because we were still trying to catch our breath after a whirlwind of events and excitement during the American Autumn. Then, if you follow on Facebook, you must have read about our downturn when we broke down for a few weeks. I did write about it all, but didn't post at the time and have since taken a break from this space, not because I intended to, just because I was allowing things to unfold in the moments and slow down enough to enjoy those moments with my family. It can get pretty busy on the road moving from place to place, transitioning three littles constantly, juggling three jobs, and enjoying all the places we have been. So, after our breakdown in Northern Florida and Louisiana, we decided to enjoy, to slow down our pace a bit and actually take in our drive, and take a little downtime for the holidays :) We enjoyed Thanksgiving with family in Texas, a tour of Tennessee lit up for the holidays, and Christmas with the kids nestled in the beautiful mountains of North Carolina. We even got to play in a dusting of snow before we hit the road again. Hope you all enjoyed blissful time with your friends and families, too, during the holidays, and that you have welcomed the New Year in with love and intention.

We are so excited for 2012! While there is a lot of turbulence and tension in the world right now, there is also a lot of love being uncovered in the hearts of so many different souls once all segregated by societal norms, and now connected by this conscious wave of awakening. We feel so inspired by the many faces of change we met during our Fall Tour and our holiday travels that we intend to make this New Year full of giving back, connecting and co-creating change. To everyone that marched with us from NY to DC to demand labeling for GMOs, we want to keep marching for you. To everyone who supported Eco Womb by buying online or at one of our events, we want to thank you and promise we will continue to provide independent, handmade, and eco-safe products for your families. To everyone who waved at us on the road or commented on our blog or followed us on Facebook or Twitter, we want to give a shout back and send out (((hugs))) to promise that we will continue connecting across the miles. To all of our Fuel Sponsors and University Biofuel Programs that helped keep us on the road this year, we want to say Thank You, you truly are creating change for the future. To everyone who engaged in conversation about alternative fuel, sustainable living, eco-safe products, natural health, GMOs, the evils of Monsanto, corporate control of our food system and economy, and all of those other taboo subjects, we love you. You are the reason we do this, to share the passion about co-creating change in this world, to turn the way it has always been upside down, to think outside of the box, to create a different norm, to engage and connect with you on these subjects that are not discussed readily enough in our media or government, but that are so vital to the future for our children and their children. Thank you. You made all the difference in 2011 and as we jump into 2012, you help fuel our passion to continue to engage, educate, connect, and co-create.

So, as I consider my intentions for 2012, how I intend to live consciously in every moment, I think of all of YOU that we have connected with in 2011. Our journey has only been made possible by these connections and I feel that our path has been led by the pull of connecting - connecting to each other, connecting to nature, connecting to the rhythms of the earth, moon and sun, connecting to the past, present and future, and connecting to the love that everyone holds within. I hold so much peace in knowing that this love can be felt within us all if we are open to it and open to each other. So, go ahead find someone to connect with, openly discuss a matter that is important to you, find common ground together, connect with nature and your family, love yourself and everyone around you.

My Intentions for 2012 for myself, for my family, for Eco Womb are... * to live peacefully within so that I may hold peace for our family and belief in peace for our world * to love and be loved and express love and find love in everything * to learn from every moment how to love unconditionally * to live connected... to myself, my body and mind and emotions... to my family, my kids and husband... to my tribe, my community of friends that also have a passion for life... to my broader community, everyone we meet that is open and awake and shares even one underlying value for love and conscious connection... to the world's people who are seeking to find connection... to Mama Earth who has been praying for this connection for a long time and who has nurtured all of the world's living creatures through it all... to our higher spiritual selves, our creator, that love that binds it all, to seek a way to help co-create a different world, a better world, a peaceful, connected, conscious world in which we all will thrive.

What are your intentions? What do you want for yourself? for your family? for this world? Everyone can do something, and collectively we can co-create what we seek. It is happening all over, that fabric of connection is being weaved from all corners of the planet, people are waking up to realize that they don't have to sit by and watch things collapse, that they have the power to co-create something different. We all want to love and be loved, we all want to sustain ourselves and our families, we all want to be healthy and happy and enjoy family and friends. We all want to be free from oppression, have food and clean water, a warm place to sleep at night, support when we are down, the right to thrive when we are up. So strip away the labels, step out of the ring and stop taking sides, look at what really matters. Live what really matters. Live intentionally. Live out loud. Live connected and at peace. Live to love and love how you live. Don't just live... thrive and love.

Fast Forward, Fall Tour

What a whirlwind we have been on! As a family, as a community, as a movement! I last blogged over a month ago, and just before we left on our most recent adventure. We had been camped out in the beautiful mountains of North Carolina for the summer, doing local events and festivals and enjoying our time with friends on their amazing organic farm. We were growing food and growing closer, families with littles, connecting to the land, bonding with mama luna. It was truly the rest before the upsurge of energy. And, energy we have felt, oh my! We were connected with the Sustainable Living Roadshow (SLR) by our dearest friend and amazing artist, Xavier Hawk. All things line up for a reason and all souls connect when they are meant to connect, and this time was no exception. On the day that the Occupy Movement started in NYC, we left the safety and grounding that our little piece of mountain provides, and ventured into the unknown to make some waves, to join up with the Sustainable Living Roadshow and their caravan of alternative fuel vehicles setting up eco-carnivals to educate and connect. Must have been the energy of that day, causing things to happen, people to move, change to stir, but we could literally feel it pushing us forward, heading north into the unknown.

I started writing this blog post in detail to catch up on our adventures over the past month and a half and realized I could write a book. So much has happened, so much has changed, so much energy has been stirred, for our family, our community of friends, our world. Mama Earth is a talking, and we have been a walking. From our time in Seven Springs, PA at the Mother Earth News Fair, to our trek east across Amish Country, to landing firm with conviction in New York City for the Right2Know March, we have been on the move, constantly evolving, blessed beyond belief, and full of this conscious energy sweeping for change. Upon meeting the Sustainable Living Roadshow crew, we immediately felt connected, a nomadic tribe like ourselves trying to educate and make a difference so that people can understand how we are all the same and how our actions impact our intertwined existence. It does matter if we recycle or not, it does matter if we support local independent businesses over big corporate giants, it does matter that we hold ourselves accountable for what we purchase and how we vote, whether that be with our dollars or our forks. And, it does make a difference that people are out there standing up for us all. We felt that with the SLR crew, and with everyone that joined up on this amazing Fall Tour. I was amazed at the conviction and energy of the people that came out for the Right2Know March, some traveling as far as California and even Germany! Some walking every single step, including a 30 mile day (whew!), some organizing all the logistics, some setting up all the events. Everybody's Kitchen fed us the entire March, and the amazing conscious music by Human of The Human Revolution and Saratone of the Earth Tribe Gospel kept our spirits up and fueled to continue. Plus, how can you not enjoy night after night of campfires, good food, conscious music, and the company of fifty new and dear friends. And, together we all marched 313 miles, from Brooklyn, NY to Washington, DC, chanting in the streets, educating people along the way, demanding that GMO foods be labeled, because we have the right to know what's in our foods! 80% of the food in our grocery stores are genetically modified, and there is no way for us to know and make an educated choice when shopping. In 50 other countries across the globe, including Japan, Australia, and the entire European Union, GMO foods are either labeled or banned entirely, and the United States and Canada haven't done a thing, c'mon! President Obama promised in his campaign that he would label GMO foods, we are now calling on him to carry through with his promise!

Whew! I know I could write a whole post on the Right2Know March, and will as well as upload the million photos we took along the way, just trying to catch up on it all... still. Someone on the March asked how we did it, activism, education, running a couple of businesses, with three children in tow. Well, we just do, it is our passion, it's what fuels us. It just takes a bit to catch up sometimes, lots of sleep is sacrificed, and well, sometimes, it takes me a couple of months to catch up on the blog ;) or post photos. To us it is not work, we feel so energized by the momentum that is being created right now in the world, that we want to keep on marching, across the country, across the world, demanding that GMO's be labeled, but also that we need to support our local farmers and businesses, we need to keep our money out of the big banks, we need to protect our natural resources for the future of our children's environment, and we need to demand safe food and water and air and soils for not only the health of our planet, but the health of our families. Mama Earth is shaking her brow, knowing that we have done wrong, and the world is a shaking right now with the energy for change. The rumblings of angst and apathy and anger are turning into positive change.

Over the summer we were introduced to the One Love Movement and the teachings of the Rastafarians, the Mayans, and the Hopis. We felt so connected to that message of spreading love and peace that we knew we had to continue speaking up and reaching out. Then, when we joined the Sustainable Living Roadshow for their Fall Tour, we were energized with the movement of people educating and creating change by connecting and having fun. On the Right2Know March we joined with such a diverse group to collectively speak out and actively engage through peaceful, educational protest. And then, along the way, as we gathered marchers from state to state and town to town, as the Occupy Movement was building and spreading worldwide during this time, I felt the energy coalesce, and the momentum build as one. It was as if Mama Earth stirred the pot, and the day we left on this life-changing adventure, the day the Occupies started, it all began to boil up and combine forces. We have met so many amazing people along the way, we have felt such a boost in positive energy, we know the world is connecting in ways it just hasn't been able to figure out before. And, we know it is all happening right now for a purpose.

Now that the Right2Know March is over, and many went their separate ways, we are all still demanding change from our own pockets of the world and in our own ways. We still want to educate, spread the message of peace and love, and activate other families to stand up as well. We want to demand labeling of GMO's, we want to share how we live simply and sustainably, we want to show families how important it is to vote with your dollars and your forks. We want to support other local businesses and demand change by not giving one cent to the big corporations that are controlling our economy, our food supply, our livelihoods. We also want to have fun, educate our kids with song and dance, have drum circles, share meals with friends, enjoy the stars under a big ole campfire, jam out with strangers, connect our energies with the natural cycles of the moon, and continue on this spiritual path of conscious change happening all over this beautiful world. We want to live passionately with compassion. We want to stand strong for our children and stand in solidarity behind the principles that will change the world for the better. Someone recently asked me if I thought change was really possible being that there was so much discourse in the world. Absolutely was my response. I am a mama, I have to have hope for my kids, it has to be possible. And, after this past month's adventure on the road, I know it is possible.

Thank you, all of you beautiful souls who are out there making a difference, who are standing up and speaking out, who are camping out in parks and peacefully demonstrating in the face of riot gear, who are marching 313 miles to make a statement and demand change, who are running ethically moral businesses making safe products and supporting our rights, who are making amazingly conscious soul music from the heart and making sure to shout it from the rooftops for everyone to hear, who are stopping people in the street to engage in conversation, to learn from one another and teach one another, and who are taking care of those ever-precious littles every day making the life-altering decisions on how to feed, and raise, and love them. Thank you all, for forming and connecting community, for creating a ripple of change, for standing ground on behalf of my littles, our future. From this mama to Mama Earth, I am thankful for it all, and can feel the rumblings of a new consciousness forming, one with thought and love and heart.

Full Steam Ahead!

So much happening here at Eco Womb, we have been a bit busy behind the scenes. And, the energy is contagious! We have been busy, our kids are always busy, the world has been busy shifting and changing. And, there are so many connections going on. So stay tuned for some big news... soon!

New products to roll out in the next couple of weeks, updates on where the Eco Womb Tour Bus is headed this fall, and a whole new business venture that connects it all. Can't wait to share it with you, and at times have been too anxious thinking it is all happening too slow. But, have come to realize that it is all happening when it is meant to be happening. That every moment is perfect the way it is. That any pauses or delays were intended so that we could reassess and at times change directions. Blessings in disguise, a pitstop on the path, a much needed pause in the midst of chaos.

So, now that the Summer of Love is over and we fast forward into Fall, watch out, we are rolling full steam ahead!

Summer of Love Giveaway!

Eco Womb is excited to announce the Summer of Love Giveaway! Sustainably made and reusable forever, the Give Bag is the perfect way to give a gift. Pair this with an Eco Womb Organic Cotton Tour Shirt, and you have fun all wrapped up in one. Enter now through Labor Day, September 5th at midnight to win a Give Bag and an Eco Womb Tour shirt. Give a gift all wrapped to go, or gift yourself with some love and peace.

Just "Like" Eco Womb and The Give Bag on Facebook, and/or follow Eco Womb and The Give Bag on Twitter and then leave a comment here that you did so in order to be entered to win. Each like and follow should be a separate comment. One winner will be selected at random and announced on Tuesday, September 6th. Hope you are enjoying a summer of love!