Many of you contributed through donations of your services to the silent auction and monetarily to the fund raising efforts put forth in 2010 and 2011 for Bumi Sehat, a birth center started and run by Ibu Robin Lim, mother, midwife, humanitarian, author, and birth change agent of Love. Last night Ibu Robin was received an award as CNN Hero of the Year 2011!! Her mission to decrease maternal and infant mortality and support gentle birthing has served thousands in Bali and Aceh, Indonesia. But her work doesn’t stop there. Her voice travels far and wide, inspiring many midwives, doctors, childbirth professionals, mothers, fathers, and children. Her mission, her voice of Love is heard. She is a leader and a healer. Robin Lim is a Hero. The award she was given will help her to establish a permanent site for Bumi Sehat, as well as, keep her services going and growing.

The other part of her award is what we receive. Those of us not working in Bali, and serving women and their families all over the world receive hope and inspiration. Mothers receive a message of honor, of worth, of respect. Not only do we receive hope, but also confidence that we too can make a difference.

I commit to asking myself everyday to be a vessel of Love, of gentle birthing. I open myself again and again requesting that I be guided in the ways I can assist women and babies. I ask that I do the most and best I can as a midwife, a woman, a healer, a friend, a being of Love. In my own backyard, and throughout America, mothers and babies are dying at alarming rates for a country said to be so strong, advanced and powerful. It is time we use our power for the good, the health, and the heart of humanity.

Ibu Robin Lim is my hero. She reminds me of the importance of keeping birth normal, safe, gentle, and beautiful. She is a source of Love that keeps on giving.

Another source of Love and inspiration for me is Mata Amritanandamayi Devi, also known as Amma. Amma gave a speech in 2002 entitled, The Awakening of Universal Motherhood. In this speech she says, Amma says, “Let us have the courage and perseverance, born out of spiritual practice, to realize this dream. For this to happen, each of us needs to discover and bring to light our innate qualities of faith, love, patience, and self-sacrifice for the good of all. This is what Amma calls true motherhood.” She later states, “Women are the power and the very foundation of our existence in the world. When women lose touch with their real selves, the harmony of the world ceases to exist, and the destruction sets in. It is therefore crucial that women everywhere make every effort to rediscover their fundamental nature, for only then can we save this world… A woman’s mind is the only real barrier that prevents this from happening… The right circumstances and support of others will certainly help women to awaken and arise. But this alone is not enough. They need to draw inspiration from these circumstances and find strength within themselves. Real power and strength do not come from outside; they are to be found within.” It is equally important that both women and men cultivate the qualities of motherhood, as they live within everyone.

This message is what lead me to call the style of prenatal yoga I share, Awakening Motherhood™. Awakening Motherhood™, is not just my brand of prenatal yoga, it is my mission and vision. The love, beauty, patience, perseverance, compassion, and power within a woman is revealed in pregnancy and childbirth. If buried, it has the opportunity to come alive again with the right support and environment. For a father to witness this in a woman, he too has an opportunity to come into balance and aliveness with his true nature. This healing, this remembrance can happen at anytime in our lives. It is time to Awaken! It is time to recall forth our true nature of Love. It is time to live our lives in alignment with Love, to see the oneness. We are peace. Ibu Robin Lim sees the peace and love in everyone, and does what she can to help them see it too. Mothers and babies all over the world need Love. They also need resources for good nourishment, health, and services that support gentle birth and Awakening Motherhood™.

It takes a village……..to raise a child, “they” say.

And, I say, it takes a village to live on Mother Earth harmoniously and happily. Community brings us closer to ourselves and each other, to nature, to living conscious and aware. Isolation is a result of our industrialized, civilized, way-too-busy lifestyle. Living as a village is our true nature.

Spending three days with the PeaceWeavers over this new year 2011 transition, reignited my vision of community-living. For three days we were a village of 70 plus, sharing our hearts in love, in hurts, in peace, in hugs. We played and laughed, created ritual, ate amazing food….and danced, boogied, and sang to our hearts and souls delight. I was home inside myself and amongst these conscious, loving bright beings.

The land held prayer, history, and vision.

It was my original visions of community-living in action. It brought me to Kauai, the land I also call home, visions of living as an eco-village, the gatherings of kin, the sweet vibes of aloha.

I returned home to Philadelphia with a realization. I re-awakened to the community member in me. I re-awakened to myself as a PeaceWeaver. I realized that creating community all around me wherever I live is vital to my peace and joy and to this whole planet. So, in the city, I create community in my home, with friends and family, in yoga classes, in nature, in my neighborhood, with my clients. Coast to coast I hold community with loved ones and connected Souls.

Reflection brought me to past prenatal yoga classes I taught. To the women who create community amongst themselves that extend beyond the class, beyond their pregnancy. My connections with the women that remain today are pieces of the village.

My friends, although we may live in different neighborhoods are pieces of the village. Sharing blissful ecstatic kirtan and dancing with beloved friends energizes community. Deep, conscious contemplative conversations builds bonds of heart and mind.

Can we recreate this earth as a village? I think we are.

Can we slow down, create space, join together, play, make peace, make music……share meals, share feelings, support one another. WE CAN!!! We need to.

It feels vital.

I know my joy begins inside my own heart and mind, but sharing this joy is expansive and essential to its vibrancy.

It takes a village to raise a child…….and to raise ourselves……in LOVE.

This vision of living as a village, is not set to one place, but rather a way of living, of doing and being that comes from thinking of our actions and expressions as contributing to the whole, and essential for peace inside our own hearts and harmony in nature.

We shall lift each other up…….higher and higher……

Let it be so….Blessed Be. Namaste.

Check out more about The PeaceWeavers: http://peaceweavers.com/

Check out my website: http://spiralbelly.com/

Carrot Ginger Soup

Ingredients

· 2 pounds of carrots

· 1-2 inches or fresh ginger

· 1 sweet potato

· ½ tsp. sea salt- or to taste

· Ground black pepper- to taste- 3 turns of the peppermill

· Fresh herbs- if desired (lovage, basil, parsley, rosemary, thyme, marjoram)

· Can also use Herbamare instead of sea salt

· Makes about 4-6 servings

Wash and prepare ingredients. Chop carrots in chunks 1-2 inches long. Shred ginger. Peel and chop sweet potato. Put all ingredients in pot with about 2 cups of water. Bring to a boil and turn down to simmer on low-medium. When vegetables are soft turn off burner. Puree with hand-held mixer or let cool and puree in a Cuisinart or blender. You may need to add water to get desired consistency and texture.

Other variation- When you are not immediate postpartum and it is ok to eat onions and garlic, you can sauté these together (may add celery), and then add vegetables and fresh or dried herbs. Sautee a few minutes longer, then add the water and follow the instructions above.