The Mamalution Network

Sorting through the stories that are flooding in and have decided to create an online social network that will connect us all! I just officially launched the Mamalution Network today and have sent invites out to as many of you as I could possibly pull together from all my various lists (from reponses, posts and my personal lists) but I know I have missed some of you!

Please email me at Imani@thegreenvibration.com for an invite or try linking to http://busymomsgogreen.ning.com/ to see if you can get on.

Create your own personal profile so we can get to know each other a little better, invite your friends & find out what other women are doing with their families - each of us in our own little corner of the world. Share green tips, accomplishments, frustrations, recipes, ideas, photos...create your own groups and connect with other women as passionate as you are about making some positive change in this world!

Laugh. Cry. Share your wisdom. Learn something new. In this way we will transform, grow strong, heal, become wiser & collaborate- together in the community of women.

Thank You!

A heartfelt thanks to all the "green"moms who have responded to my call for stories in just the first week. I am thrilled that there are so many of us out there and would like to share just a couple of the responses I have received so far in the upcoming weeks. Have a story? Send it my way! Here are two great moms and a grandmom sharing some wisdom and inspiration:

Basically the thing that I am feeling lately is this rising feeling of panic and fear for the generation of babies and young children that are here right now. they are so sick! I feel like its not about the future-its about right now-we are killing these little guys. This is the first generation that will have a shorter lifespan then their parents- and everyday I am seeing why. They have 300 times more asthma, and are more likely to die from it than ever before, they are amidst an autism epidemic that we are only just beginning to understand the full impact of, they are medicated for depression, OCD, ADHD, ODD, they are allergic, covered with eczema, obese, have heart disease and diabetes (the former disease of middle age are now common for even preteens). and we are getting to a point where this is just thought of as "normal". Much like we accepted older people having a laundry list of pills everday in former generations-we now think that a healthy child is one that is maintained OK on daily doses of 3-7 medications. This is not health! It is sickness! Parents with children who are suffering know that. Their lives are scarey, frustrating and exhausting, everyday. But do they know that most of their kid's friends are sick too? I am worried that the environmental movement often speaks in terms of "the Earth we will leave our children"... and so forth, primarily in the future tense. When all around us, the evidence is there that our children are not surviving the world they have now. Mamas- The time is RIGHT NOW to save our precious babies from lives barely lived, pain and suffering that never should have been. ~Dr. Gruber-Cooley, Forest Family Medicine, West Hartford, CT


I have 4 grown children and 9 grandbabies with 1 due in July. I was not aware of "green " when the kids were growing up except not to throw trash out the car window. If you did we stopped the car and you went back and you had to pick it up (the ultimate embarassement). Just small things. But now my children recycle (and of course I do too). What I am really proud of is my daughter who is involved in my business with her children who help cut, stack and trim as part of their home school training. It is teaching them to sew and training them in business, but more importantantly they are involved in helping to save the planet from plastic and paper bags. Every day they recycle cans and bottles from our trash and on Saturdays we go to the recycle center and they take the loads to each bin. All three help with our organic garden and go around singing a cute little ditty "Recycle Recycle what you gonna do with all that trash?" ~ Cordie, owner of www.buymygreenbag.com

Dear Imani,

I love, love, love what you wrote here! It all resonates with me!! Last year, in February, I said the most sincere prayer of mylife: “God, if I am doing what I am meant to do (raising small children, freelanceediting), thank you. I am very grateful for all the blessings in my life. However, if there is more for me, and there is something else that you want me to do, I am open to it and I am listening.”

Since then, I have listened, gone with the flow which has lead me to:Starting a business www.zolagoods.com which empowers women by educating them about the changes they can make to help the environment and also gives them the opportunity to spread the message. This is a new business model that values community, & transparency, rather than hierarchies cloaked in mystery and solely driven by profit. Being part of three spiritual communities which have been very fulfilling - one is Unity (very similar teachings to Eckhart Tolle's A New Earth) and the CUUPS at the Unitarian Church which is an Earth centered practice with a very trusting close circle of people who honor the earth/divine femine, etc..

I have also gotten back into yoga and am doing mediation. All of these things help to balance, center and ground me as I follow my higher purpose, which I believe is to help heal our planet. I am also available and present for my two small children and husband and I know that when they get older they will be proud that I tried to do something to help people learn to be better stewards of the earth. Good luck! It sounds like a fascinating book! Thank you! Beth, visionary behind www.zolagoods.com (GREAT site!)

Share your stories

The Mamalution is a movement of mothers who are passionate, dedicated and on high alert. We are mothers who are tapping into our instinctual wisdom to lead us in the right direction. We are mothers who have answers and who are seeking answers.

We are mothers who care about our environment and the world that is going to be left to our children and their children. We are mothers that know that there are ways to be in the world that are more sustainable and more fair.

We are mothers who have faced insurmountable obstacles and who have learned things the hard way. We are mothers moving through fear to the other side. We are busy, overworked, overextended and exhausted. We are fiercely determined and short on time.

Some of us are stay at home moms while others work in Corporate America to pay the bills. All of us live lives dictated by money. Some of us are dependent on the men in our lives to take care of us while others are the family breadwinner. All of us sacrifice.

Some of us are still in circumstances that are painful, challenging and overwhelming. Many of us struggle to get through each day. Some of us are in relationships that are not supportive of our feminine essence while others of us may not be in relationship at all.

Some of us have yet to unleash the fullness of ourselves. Our voices have been silenced. Others of us are lacking the confidence or support of sisterhood to speak out. Some if us may have just begun on the path of “green” while others may have been screaming the same message for decades.

Many of us may have gone astray but have found our way back on track. We have overcome challenges in more than one arena. We have learned lessons the hard way. We have lost loved ones, moved, saw places we loved be destroyed and have lost battles. Yet we cling to our visions and keep going on.

We are light greens, dark greens and everything in between. We are mothers, grandmothers, aunts and sisters. We are doing things differently. We are inventing a new world order that serves as a model for the rising feminine rather than the privileged elite. We envision a world of many cooperative sustainable communities living in harmony side by side – not a world defined by borders armed with the threat of nuclear weapons.

The time for action is now. Whatever your circumstances, know that you are powerful. You can make a difference just in the ways you choose to live your life. You are not alone. There are others out sharing your journey. There is a thread that connects us all. There is a tapestry to be woven.

We have stories to share and wisdom to offer. If you are a woman that identifies with any aspect of this call to action, please consider sharing with me your personal story to be considered for the book I am completing entitled The Absence of Soil. Some concepts that will be included in the book are addressed in my blog http://www.busymomsgogreen.blogspot.com/ and I am available to answer inquiries via email at Imani@thegreenvibration.com. Please feel free to share this with other women that may be interested in this project.

In the spirit of midwifery and the birthing of our new world, I would be honored to have you share your stories with me – wherever you are on the path. What do you feel in your bones? What is really important? What are the barriers that get in the way? What is your motivation? Have you challenged the system? Where do we go from here?

I am seeking stories of success and stories of failure that depict the realities of our experiences as mothers and the specific obstacles we face. My book is intended to be direct with hard hitting facts about the seriousness of the issue at hand but without judgment. My hope is to soften the message with our stories and inspire and encourage mothers everywhere to follow their instinctual selves.

Many Blessings

Imani

The Mamalution

As women, we are instinctual healers guided by our intuition. This is our power. This is our birthright. Since the beginning of civilization, we have gathered together in honor of this gift in red tents, in moon lodges and in temples. We have foreseen the future. We have witnessed the destruction. We have been the target of attack.

Nonetheless, we are the force that has enabled our species to thrive. We give birth to new life, nurse them during illness, watch over them in their youth and advise them through the years. We use herbs, find comfort and support in our circle of female friends, practice common sense and soothe injuries with our love. It is our web of wisdom that is weaving a new tapestry – a new way of life. It is an exciting time to be alive. We are the generation of women that will forever change our world.
We can use the advances made by women of the past combined with the technology of the future to further our cause. We will infiltrate every realm of society, as we tap into our abilities as healers and identify others among us. We are teachers, we are business leaders, we are medical doctors, we are social workers, we are soldiers, we are laborers, we are para-professionals, we are lovers and we are mothers. Many of us are more than one. Our multi-dimensional aspects work to our benefit. The tools and skills we have used to survive thus far is to our advantage.

We are all colors, all religions and all cultures. We live in every corner of the earth. We have permeated every arena of the world. We are all within reach. We are breaking past the divisions and disconnections of the past and joining forces during the time when our presence will be most felt. We are a united front of women who are healing the earth.

We are building our networks, gathering our resources and aligning our intentions. Together, we are taking back our bodies, our minds, our children and our world. This is the MAMALUTION.

Blossoming Values

I have spent the week immersed in writing the book I am working on and so my mind is swirling with thoughts that I am anxious to make sense of in a way that others can understand. One of the concepts I am unraveling has to do with the ways we instill values in our children when they are surrounded by a society that is devoid of them.

How do we teach children what’s important - the real meaning of value? In our current society, value is associated with the dollar store. Value means getting a good deal by ripping someone else off in another country. In essence, there is no “value” in value at all. It’s just another of one of the many things we have paradoxically devalued. It is the way in which we take things that are precious, like the earth herself, and destroy it. We see a beautiful beach and we envision building condos on it so we have access to the beauty whenever we want. We do this with things, destinations, cultures of people, all for the sake of convenience.

Looking back, one of the things I was able to successfully do with my children is provide them with a sense of values. I realized the other day as I watched my youngest child race across our yard to get a closer look at the blossoming of her magnolia tree (each of my children has a tree planted in their honor from birth). She has been anxiously awaiting the green buds on her tree to pop open. Finally, this week they did and she was squealing with excitement.

As mothers, we can teach our children to be thrilled by the simple pleasures in life. It important that we infuse an appreciation for the food we are fortunate to eat, for handmade gifts, the rediscovery of a special game or outfit that was put away for a season, unforgettable moments during a private performance and the endless series of variations displayed by Mother Nature.

I, myself, have piles of pictures, presents made out of recycled objects, special stones, shells, tree limbs, flowers, handmade cards, personalized love letters – little treasures that remind me that I have instilled some sense of meaning into their lives. I love that my nine year old did not think twice to gather some “recycled” items from her room to gift another little girl from dance for her birthday.

Spring is the time when the world is in bloom. It holds the potential for new beginnings. It is time to re-establish the ways we want to live in the world and do it by starting first with our own families. Join mothers across the nation in a revolution. A revolution of mothers initiating the de-evolution of our species. The MAMALUTION is born.

Sacred Relationship

Being a “Busy Green Mom” can take a toll on ones relationship with their Beloved. It is essential that we maintain the balance between trying to save the world and preserving the grounding force which makes manifesting our visions possible. For me, my husband is the one who helps to ground me and make my dreams come true.

He’s the one who bears the burden of turning our ideas into reality. On most days he starts off enthusiastic and willing to show up. On grumpy days, “our” ideas become mine alone and he wants nothing to do with the “vision”. It’s these days that I make sure I am extra appreciative and remind him how much I adore him.

I know I am blessed to have found my perfect mate – someone strong enough to hold the big vision while willing to make some sacrifices along the way. I try to My husband in no way is wishy washy, yet he is comfortable enough with his masculine self to allow me to express my full feminine self.

Once in awhile our egos get in the way, but for the most part we are both committed to each other, our family, our community and the big picture. Together we continue to redefine and reshape our ideas and how we want to live in the world.

We find success when we keep the lines of communication open and ensure any time alone that we cane get. This itself can be a it challenging raising a blended family of six activist children and running our businesses with a team of staff. We work every day, including weekends and homeschooling our kids is a full time job. They are with us almost ALL the time, leaving my husband and I very little one on one time.

Strategies must be developed to ensure private, uninterrupted moments. A lot of effort is needed to coordinate any amount of alone time. We treasure the minutes we have to synchronize our thoughts and review our schedules and try to remember to say “I love you”.

Having half of the six on particular days can evoke a sense of spaciousness. Weekends alone with Cordie, our only child together, is like a breath of fresh air. Yet, on rare occasions it can be more challenging as she emotionally whines for her sisters to come home.

Recently we have added to our dilemma the adoption of two new puppies. So the rare moments that all the kids are away we now have puppies to watch over! Not sure what I was thinking on that one (that’s another story).

Some days I have to remind myself that I am talking to another adult rather than my children (or puppies). I have become accustomed to constantly repeating things three or four times to each of the children and find myself unconsciously doing the same with him.

The effect of repetition is relevant in the case of developing, distracted young minds but not so effective with my other half. He constantly reminds me that he actually hears what I say and gets annoyed that I talk to him like one of the kids.

His other complaint is that many evenings he feels he is competing with the computer, or the “blue screen” as he calls it. This he mutters while drifting off to sleep as he clings to the edge of the bed as our youngest lies between us with arms and legs spread. On occasion, after drifting off to sleep, he is abruptly jabbed in the ribs with a little foot. More muttering, Ah, the joys of family life.

Probably the most upsetting thing for my husband is the pace at which we live our lives and the multiplicity of multi-tasking that I take on. For me, it is a challenge to see how much I can actually accomplish at one time. It is as if another aspect of me takes over – I call this my take charge mode – and I become determined to get things done.

For me husband, my take charge mode is his worst nightmare. He resists the schedules, panics with deadlines and resents the fact that we can’t go anywhere or do anything without a cause attached. These are the moments when he will complain about being a chauffeur or babysitter, tell me how much work he has to do or how much more important his work is or literally just reaches a standstill in his ability to give or do anything else for the cause.

Luckily these times are not that frequent and if I plan well enough can be prevented. Success lies in the planning! If we develop a strategy based on our values (i.e. loving relationship, saving the world, raising children on organic food …) then we can move on to the next step: developing plans of action.

This is where the fun begins and where we as moms can begin to share our wisdom and experiences with one another on how to more efficiently and effectively live the green dream in ways that incorporate our families, including our husbands!

Simple Celebrations

My second oldest daughter, Malaika, turns twelve today. It’s amazing how our kids represent so many aspects of our selves. They serve as mirrors to the inside of our souls challenging us to step up and better ourselves and the world. They inspire, motivate and teach us how to live lives of integrity.

Children are born with instinct intact, yet from the moment of birth these precious beings are set up to stray away from that truth. How do we keep alive the spirit and natural intuition of our children? How do we keep sacred the intrinsic beauty of each child with their own distinct personalities?

How do we protect both their fragile and fierce natures – setting boundaries while encouraging them to fly? How do we maintain an open honest connection with our children as they grow older and try to find their way in the world?

Take the impact consumerism has on our children for example. The result of a century of manipulative marketing tactics has influenced every aspect of our lives from the way we give birth, to the food we eat, our health care system and the education of our children.

Big Business funds our schools in order to influence the minds of our children at younger and younger ages. Latest marketing schemes target younger audiences in order to secure consumers for life. Tween markets have been strategically designed to target the largest growing consumer niche – kids....a tactic intended to alienate parents from their children.

Corporate America has infiltrated and controls the very government agencies that have been formed to protect us to ensure their success. The FDA, EPA, CIA, IRS and FAA no longer serve to protect the people, rather they are used as a tool to advance their continued quarterly profits. As consumers we must realize that our dollars speak and use our vote wisely every time we buy something.

The only way to bring Corporate America to a halt is by changing the rate at which we consume. Americans make up about 4% of the world’s population yet produce 25% of the world’s carbon emissions, 6 times the global average. Our emissions come not only from the vehicles we drive but also indirect emissions from the products we buy. Virtually everything we consume impacts our climate.

It is time to begin thinking about the impact all of the stuff we consume has on the planet. We can begin making significant changes by buying local, supporting farmers markets, buying whole foods, bulk foods, organic non-gmo foods. We can prepare our own foods and eat dinner with our families at home. We can stop using plastic water bottles and plastic bags and use reusable ones instead. We can stop spraying pesticides on our lawns.

We can take back the rituals of humanity by having our babies at home and allowing our loved ones to die at home. We can buy clean renewable energy and buy appliances that are energy efficient. We can buy toxic-free cleaners or better yet make our own. We can buy organic sweat shop free clothing and recycled paper products.

We can find ways to be with our children that don't require that we buy something. We can bring a sense of balance back into our family by reclaiming the pieces that have been taken away by consumerism.

I spent the day with my daughter in our cafe kitchen; I making raw food and she baking the vegan cupcakes that we sell. She has positioned herself as an integral part of our operations in her drive to perfect baking and would have no one other than herself make her own birthday cake!

Happy Birth Day Malaika. May you always let your heart continue to lead your way in your quest for truth and justice. May you grow stronger and wiser as you blaze paths with your fiery spirit for others to follow. I love you with all my heart.