Great communicators are few and far between.  When we hear them speak, we fall in Love.  We may believe we are in love with them, but it is the recognition of our Hearts that truly compels us.  We take their poetry and we present it to our loved ones.  We say, "Hey!  See what this person said?  That's how I feel about you!!"  We often say, "I couldn't have said it better myself!" or "You took the words right out of my mouth!"  When those who author via their heart speak, we are touched by the truth behind their words.

Language is such a fascinating thing to me.  It is both a conveyor and a creator of expression.  Are you like me in feeling that you can never quite "say what you mean"?  Do you usually feel as though you are aiming at the target, but you can never quite hit it?  Sometimes I think it is not possible to truly express myself through words.  Nothing I say ever fully describes what my heart-center so desperately wants to express.  And when I am lazy about it, this causes trouble.

How often is havoc wreaked in our relationships because we fail to take care in communicating our True intents/emotions/sentiments?  Or weeks later, we find out that something we have said was not received in the way that we meant it to be?  I believe that when we are connected to our selves deeply, we speak from the heart-center.  And we listen from the heart-center.  But encapsulated around this heart-center is everything else!!!  We each have our own unique ways of expressing ourselves.  Add onto that the family's lense.  Add onto that the community's lense.  Add onto that the cultural lense.  There are so many lenses that must be passed through for a sentiment to be packaged in words.  And then this sentiment must be unwrapped by the other, through another series of lenses.  How much of the sentiment was warped by the time it reaches the other's Heart?  I often wonder this.

Have you ever had the experience of sitting in silence with another?  Just gazing into each others eyes as you both softly smile energetically?  No words are traded.  You just look.  You allow the heart to speak silently, untainted by the confusion of translation.  There is no need to force meaning.  It is all there.  Unfolding as it may.  It can be overwhelming.  There may be an impulse to hide or turn away, to flee, to break the silence.  But when done without hiding, it is difficult to walk away from such an experience without being softened, without feeling the heart burst open and gush with Love, without being filled with compassion, without witnessing the face of God.

When you and I meet in person, will you be brave enough sit in silence with me?

You all remember Brian David? Here I am with him last night, recording a video... singing along with a Stuart Davis song.

From Top 10 Hottest Guy Cities: Colorado Snags Three Spots On The List

Colorado, and more specifically Colorado men, have something to brag about.

TotalBeauty.com just ranked three Colorado cities, Boulder, Fort Collins and Denver in its Top 10 Hottest Guy Cities list.

According to the Daily Camera the list was compiled by data-crunching rather than people-watching.

They used census data and surveys on income, education and fitness levels, as well as rates of drinking, smoking and sexual activity to determine which cities had the most attractive men, at least in theory.

The list ranked Boulder's men the second hottest in the country, with Fort Collins coming in fourth and Denver seventh. Pretty impressive for the Centennial State.

Apparently Boulder's Smarts catapulted it near the top of the list:

Although the men of Boulder have plenty of qualities that make them eye candy (think: non-smokers, moderate drinkers, healthy bodies), they're also tops on our list for their cerebral attributes. It's the no. 1 smartest city, according to a Forbes survey. Simply put: they're highly educated, and few things are sexier than an intelligent man, right?

(Read More...)

From The Team Blog (with my answers):

Alchemy.

What does it mean? Is it the transformation to lead into gold is it about something more magical, like a broken spirit or lost heart in the dark rising into the sunlight full of understanding and whole. Either way alchemy is a magical process and a journey of the hopeful, of those willing to believe in the miraculous impossible.

Many of you may have read Siona's post about our book giveaway to celebrate the famous book by one of Gaia's favorite authors, Paulo Coelho. It's been on the New York Times Bestseller's list for two years and a Gaia favorite since our launch in 2006. If you haven't read the book yourself, we highly recommend it, but even if you haven't you can share in this week's Friday Five about transformation, journeying, and turning darkness into light.

Please share with us....

1) Do you believe in miracles?
I guess it depends on how you define miracles.  I believe I am alive.  I believe in Love.  I think these are miracles.

2) Name one place that you have been that has felt magical, brought you peace or comforted you?
Boulder is magical :)

3) Name one thing you treasure?
The fact that whether or not I am here able to share it in my own unique way... Love remains.

4) In one to five words, name one place, person, event or thing that has felt magical to you or cheered your heart.
My 30th Birthday Celebrations on Gaia.

5) In less than 10 words, if you had one wish to go to somewhere or be with someone, from any time where would it be or who would you visit? (Go with your instinct :)
I would choose to be with my future wife, so I could start now with telling her how much I adore her, how much I love her, how beautiful she is, how much her presence makes the world a better place, and how ten words could never even come close to adequately covering the depth and breadth of her importance to the universe.


Let's open our hearts and explore :)

Mwahahahahahaha!!!!

That's my cryptic way of saying that I have completed 3 decades of life. 

Now dance!!

This man's 2 minutes and 35 seconds inspires me to no end. I could go on and on about how in this small amount of time, he models the perfect way to become a strong, healthy, powerful adult, even as he is faced with seemingly insurmountable pain. But I won't. Instead I will take his advice as I knock knock the door open and enter my 30's: "Walk like a God, and your Goddess will come to you!!"



Love, ~Matthew

Today is Blog Action Day!!  That's right, today :)

This year's topic is climate change.  It is a daunting topic.  With the way it is reported, sometimes it is hard to know what is science and what is propoganda.  But there are some things that we do know.  We do know that our planet is finite.  We know that the resources, such as oil, that we use for fuel took many years to be created, and we use them up in fractions of a fraction of that amount of time.  We know that we are dumping trillions of tons of CO2 gas into our atmosphere every year.  And we know that humans are affecting the climate.  And when I think about all this stuff, my reaction is to do what I can in my own small way to make sure I am part of a solution, whatever that solution may be.  And that means taking steps to off-set my own carbon footprint:  Bike as much as possible, instead of drive; use CFLs throughout my home; rent out rooms in my house so space isn't going to waste; if I can ever afford it, I will get solar panels for my roof; and work for a company (GAIAM) that strives for health and sustainability.

This is what I am doing.  What are you doing?  Please take a look at what blog action day is all about, register your blog, and post away!  Then check out what the rest of our community is saying by clicking here!!

Big HUGS!
~Matthew

From the Team Blog:

Thursday October 15th is Blog Action Day, but we like to spread it out and make it Blog Action Week here on Gaia. You can even see our lovely little logo marking us as participants on the main site.

Please join us and get ready to take part in this global conversation about Climate Change, one of the most important topics facing our planet today. It impacts each and everyone of us, from the air we breathe, to the water we drink, to the cars we drive. We're starting off early and making this Friday Five about climate change and the importance of taking part in this world-wide-web dialogue.

1) Do you drink bottled or filtered water?
Yes, I use a water ionizer in my house that also filters the water.

2) Have you ever used solar power? (for a calculator, your house, in a place you visited?)
Definitely for a calculator.  I would love to get solar panels for my home but can't afford them yet.  I also use solar power to create vitamin D :-)

3) Do you ever worry about polar bears?
I do get concerned about them and the sustainability of their habitat.  I hope for the happiness of all sentient beings.

4) Have you ever seen or been impacted by extreme weather? (hurricane, flood, drought, typhoon, tornado, wildfire or freeze?)
I lived in MN for the first 23 years of my life.  Enough said?

5) Do you like to recycle, save water or energy, compost, turn off the lights, etc.?
All of the above!

Let us know for this Friday Five...and get ready to share your thoughts with the world. on Thursday!

The smell of Fall is drowning me in memories.  The activities of Autumns past float through my present recollection.  Things have changed; they continue to do so.  But the wind still blows. The leaves still drop.  The clouds still decorate the sky.

I will be turning 30 this month--in just three short weeks.  The 20's have been a time for me to truly become an adult.  I have been tested.  Emotionally.  Physically.  Psychologically.  Spiritually.  I still feel so young... but somehow also very old. 

My body is a drop in the ocean.  One day, it will disappear.  But if the Love that flows through it makes a deep enough impact to those around me, then the ripples that it creates will be experienced long after it is gone. 

October begins today...