The earth itself is crying out for our mindfulness and attention, as is our economy and our world family. Although this may seem a daunting task, it is really about the illuminating power of one light at a time and what happens when multiple lights shine in concert.

I have long been committed to being the voice of solution rather than the harbinger of problems. That’s why I am so thrilled to be gathering together women who are among the most visionary thinkers, extraordinary leaders, innovative teachers & anointed healers of our time for a dynamic discussion with YOU at the WOMEN Living On the Verge of Evolution Summit & International Convocation.

Beginning May 13, 2010, we will host dynamic discussion with one of 18 outstanding women each week through September 9, 2010. Following the entirely free online summit, we will gather in Las Vegas for the international convocation. A historical calling together of feminine light, love and power from all corners of the globe to join together in setting our intentions and actualizing change in our world.

Meet our speakers and register for Sunday May 9th’s FREE Preview Call where you can join us as we set our intentions for WOMEN Living On the Verge of Evolution. http://www.womenlivingonthevergeofevolution.info

Deborah Santana

As you follow the discussion with women from around the world who are redesigning everyday experiences and recreating their lives by awakening their inner truth and lifting their voices in expression of their fullest self, I invite you to join in with your comments.

A Shining Star: An InnerView with Deborah Santana
By Leah Young

This past December I was privileged to sit down in an InnerViews exclusive with published author Deborah Santana. For more than 30 years Deborah was almost solely identified as the wife of music icon Carlos Santana. She likens it to being the space between the stars and even titled her memoir the same.

Deborah Santana published her compelling memoir Space Between the Stars in 2005. It was a seven year journey of self-discovery. “Publishing my memoir was an act of radical love,” declared Deborah Santana during our conversation. “I was very afraid in publishing my memoir that people would think ‘Oh my God, she is really an idiot.’ But I didn’t face any of that,” she explained. “I really didn’t expect that people would accept me. I was surprised that people accepted me as my authentic self.”

This writer found Deborah Santana to be powerfully honest and a reservoir of life-changing lessons. But more than that, Deborah Santana is an author, philanthropist, supporter of peace and social justice, and mother of three extremely loved children: Salvador, Stella and Angelica Faith.

Ms. Santana is founder of Do A Little, a donor advised fund at the San Francisco Foundation that helps women become healthy, educated and happy, and a Board member for ANSA (Artists for a New South Africa). She mentors girls and young women, and is a supporter of Marian Wright Edelman’s Freedom Schools in New Orleans.

While still married to Carlos Santana Deborah co-founded the humanitarian non-profit The Milagro Foundation, which supports young people in health, education, and the arts. In 2000 she was awarded the UCLA Cesar E. Chavez Spirit Award, and in 2004 received a “Woman of Distinction” award for her foundation’s efforts in social justice and humanitarianism.

In our candid conversation Deborah shared with me an inner view of her personal journey and its fruits. In response to my query about what reinvention means to her, Deborah had this to say, “Reinvention for me really means transcending who I have been & allowing life lessons to expand me in really positive ways. I look forward to change. I see it as an opportunity to grow. It’s pretty thrilling.”

Although I happened to share Deborah’s view on change, I still had to ask if she maintains this perspective even when the process of change is challenging. “ It’s not always easy; but, if I can sit with whatever is happening in my life that is propelling me forward, then more than likely I know that I am going to have an amazing educational lesson that I can grow from & touch more of who I really am.”

Many women moving into the reality of their authentic selves are doing so after having been “merged” with a powerful and sometimes public spouse or partner. The separation is often even more difficult in these situations. Deborah has the dubious distinction of having two such relationships. Prior to meeting & marrying music icon Carlos Santana at the tender age of 22, Deborah had extricated herself from a tumultuous and abusive relationship with entertainment personality Sly Stone.

“In my marriage I had a beautiful life, so much beauty with my children, and so much opportunity to connect with others and grow. Yet I recognized that I was constantly compromising my self-worth. Writing and publishing Space Between the Stars and standing in my own truth was the catalyst for many changes in my life. In the solitude after my divorce, I realized that I did not love myself enough. There were times I had to just practice saying ‘I love myself’.”

The prospect of living in alignment with your authentic self is an undertaking that requires immeasurable courage. Deborah confided that she encourages having one or more mentors to model. Deborah’s strong mother was one such mentor to her. “My mother was such a radical feminist and radical woman. She showed me that example. I was pretty fearless except for choosing myself. I think that is an issue for a lot of women. We have to listen to that inner calling. Coupledom, marriage, family is all great, but there is a great difference between blending one’s life into the whole and compromising one’s individuality because you feel that another person’s life is more important than yours.”

Women often suffer for lack of a support system, since they are most often everyone else’s support system. Some two years after the initial defining events of her transformative work, Deborah found herself excited to move forward but needing some help. She hired a coach.

“It took a long time for me to integrate what I’d learned with what I wanted to do. I wanted to be active in the world and moving and shaking in business. What I did was find a life coach, a former minister of mine that I really like and admire. We began discussing a list of eight life intentions that would make my life sing. From this list, I decided I didn’t want another business, I wanted to be free to travel and serve humanity.”

Once the vice president and COO of the New Santana Band, Inc. responsible for the entire business side of a surprisingly vast array of Santana-related ventures & the former vice president of the Milagro Foundation, Deborah is now content to focus on herself, her writing and her philanthropic and humanitarian concerns. “That was an amazing letting go. I learned that sometimes I was holding on too tightly.”

Transformation is pervasive and by nature impacts every aspect of someone’s life. I asked Deborah how hers has affected her activism. “Before I lived and spoke as a couple, often as the little finger of the couple because people didn’t give me the credibility or just weren’t interested because Carlos is such a force, a wonderful force in the world,” she began. “In my transformation I have room to breathe and this room to just be. I love being in communion with other people. This humanitarian activism that I have is just coming from my soul. I don’t have to represent anyone else. I can walk through the world and touch people as a person, not a name.”

Deborah’s main interest is gender equity and education. “Women are still further behind in the world in education, job opportunities, sexual rights and freedom to choose how they live. I work with the Global Fund for Women, a non-profit that addresses these issues and supports women in wars. I fund a school for girls in Kenya called Daraja Academy which I’ll be visiting at the end of February. I am on the board of Artists for a New South Africa (ANSA), which provides education and anti-retroviral medicines with people and suffering from HIV/AIDS.”

Although Deborah names several female mentors as influential in her life and transformation, her own mother was at the top of the list. I asked how her journey has impacted her own children. “The most important thing that I hope my children saw from my transformation is that I was able to choose myself with great integrity, courage and love. They saw me suffer and then watched me come through the experience with great respect and acceptance of the vagaries of life, moving forward in a way that made me a lighter being.”

She continued, “I hope that they remember my experience when they come to a place in their lives when they have to make an amazingly difficult decision that will affect their futures and the ecology of their family and friends. I hope that they know they can choose themselves.”

Deborah spoke about the intensity of her life as a parent mostly raising her children alone because of her husband’s career. “I was sometimes like a drill sergeant. I wanted the children to be successful. I wanted them to do well in school. I think it was a little too much. I may have held too tightly to things that I was in charge of because I did not want to fail.”

Creating a life from your authentic self is holistic process that includes mind, body & spirit aspects. I spoke to Deborah about whether or not she’s taken the big step of being in a romantic relationship again. Joyfully she shared that she has. “I have been dating a man for about six weeks. He’s sweet and kind. It’s a wonderful experience.”

I asked her how she feels about the possibility of losing herself in this relationship and she had this to say, “My prayer and one of my eight intentions for my life is to be a life partner in a loving and joyful relationship. And that we would be in alignment in building something for a better world. I really believe that being in spiritual alignment is what it’s about. This man & I are in alignment. My goal in a relationship is to resonate at the same level in looking out at life. I long to have a man support my life and be able to adore me.”

My InnerView with Deborah Santana revealed a woman who knows where she’s been, is happy with where she is and has the future in perspective. Deborah Santana is living fully from her core and has been refined by the fire. Learn more about her latest endeavors and read her blog at http://www.deborahsantana.com.

We are the Dream Team at Act2Reinvent™ and we are so glad you decided to find out more about us, and learn how we can help you transform your life and redesign your world around your creative, authentic self. We have put together a one-of-a-kind teleseries designed to give you the tools to immediately begin making a difference in your life and uncovering that untapped potential within yourself.

This unique teleseries is for you if:
• you are curious how other women, who seem to have a certain sense of freedom and self-expression that you have always admired, are able to comfortably express that.
• you have are ready to have more choices and options open up to you in your life.
• you are ready to explore a part of yourself that you feel is there, but have not yet fully expressed.
• you are inspired to imagine and create your life from the most authentic center of your unique being.
• you want to learn from experts, to express yourself on a holistic “6D” journey.

You’ll discover so many parts of yourself that have long been pushed aside and neglected.
If you are ready to start anew, reinvent yourself, you must join us for this truly unique teleclass led by 8 experts the “Dream Team” who have come together for the purpose of giving women the tools to discover their own uniqueness and the power to create a life that brings them health, happiness, balance and joy like they’ve never experienced before!

You may wonder why we are doing this…

Each of the members of the Act2Reinvent Dream Team are women, just like you, who have traveled through life seeking our own true identities, our uniqueness, and full self-expression of who we really are.
We know too many women who wait for someone to give them permission to be themselves, and we understand how soul-crushing that can be because we have been there!
We believe that to be whole, a woman needs to value each facet of her being, body, spirit and mind, and fully express her uniqueness through who she is, and everything she does, every day. The Dream Team coaches are here to give you the tools to own each part of yourself, and inspire you to live as you have never lived before!

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I get so busy during the holidays that I never took the time to stop and think how much more effective I could be if I did give myself some “me” time and attention.

I don’t know how my family and friends would react if I showed them the real me.

Living in alignment with my authentic self has become increasingly important to me. Working with the Act2Reinvent “Dream Team” has been invaluable to me putting together the pieces of the puzzle that are me, helping me to actualize myself.

I felt like I had completely lost control of my life, I didn’t even know where to begin to try to get my sanity back!

Sometimes I feel like I am the only one who feels this way. It’s helpful to know that there is a place I can connect with other women who understand my frustrations.

To participate in a community of supportive, truly inspiring women who have come together to evoke the possibilities within us all is priceless.

There is a movement among women, and change is powerful when we step up and own our potential and recognize that we do have choices.

I feel like this is a safe place where I can renew myself.

The Act2Reinvent Dream Team coaches are truly expert in their respective fields. Once I understood the experience and commitment these coaches have, I was eager for their help to learn more about myself and plan my own reinvention!

How do we know this? Because these are comments we heard from so many women who interviewed to work with our Dream Team Coaches. Women just like you, realizing that there is more to their lives and ready to explore greater possibilities and pursue their dreams.
I love taking care of my family, and doing things for others, but when I realized that I had built up some resentment from always giving so much of myself, I knew it was time to find out what I needed too.
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What was my experience working with the Act2Reinvent Dream Team Coaches?
“Working with Marketing Money Soul Coach Gracie Polinski has helped me rediscover the unique brilliance of my personal brand and how that shapes my entire life not just my career. Working with Dayle Beyer helps me to decide what is most important to me to accomplish and in what order, creating a structure within which to succeed. Working with Reverend C has helped me direct my energies more efficiently, freeing me up to recognize the voice of Inspiration as It guides me. Working with Katherine Walker has allowed me to explore and modify patterns of behavior that no longer serve me. Dr. Indu’s wonderful home remedies and yoga instruction are helping me mitigate the physical & mental damage of dis-ease & stress in my life, making me stronger within my mind & body. Last, but certainly not least, Kathy & Linda of Personal Vogue have helped me project the best image of myself to the world, one that reflects the power & personality of the inner me.” Leah Young
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It’s time for that to change…
“My reinvention will prepare me to guide others such as you and me out of the darkness of fear and disempowerment into the light of inspiration and empowerment. I intend to craft my talents into a career that satisfies me spiritually & financially, become more fit and create more balance in my life.

In many ways this will be a solitary journey, but I’m not going alone. I have a dream team of coaches and experts to help illuminate my chosen path and support me along the way. Also, five other women will go on their own personal journey of reinvention at the same time.

We invite you to join us. If you’d like to switch lanes in your life and create more happiness, more joy and some major transformation then now is the time. This is an opportunity to do a makeover from the inside out.

The A2R Dream Team are versed in helping women such as you and I become more physically & spiritually fit. They are skilled at helping their clients reach new heights in their careers, businesses & relationships. Have you ever wondered what it would be like to have a team of brilliant minds support you in your endeavors? Find out for yourself.

…why the Dream Team has Created…

“The Transformation Telesummit”

I believe that the Divine is always a partner in my creative process, a benevolent and supportive partner which allows me to flow as I so choose, remaining without judgement as to whether my intent is wrong or right, this or that. I also believe that I can co-create with other individuals such as friends, family, colleagues and the like.

At the beginning of Act2Reinvent there was only me & the Divine. I realized fairly quickly that my idea was manifesting as something much bigger than I had originally conceived. I recognized through the use of the Visioning process that my Dream Team of extraordinary creators were in fact co-creators of this wonderous show, community, movement that we call Act2Reinvent. The idea had been birthed through me, but without them it could not live and thrive.

Allowing this new incarnation to unfold became a significant part of co-creating my reinvention. To paraphrase Abraham Hicks: Creating is not about making things happen through action. Creating is not about making things happen. Creating is about allowing the things that you desire to happen & the allowing happens through energy alignment, not through action.

WOW! When I allowed myself to align more with my dream team co-creators, something beautiful happened. The possibilities expanded for me, for Act2Reinvent, for all who are touched by Act2Reinvent.

Recently an opportunity to co-create with others and expand more possibilities in my reinvention has unfolded. I created the Dream Saver Project to support women 40+ reinventing themselves with bi-annual financial awards. The mission of the project is to help women who are reinventing themselves from the inside out. As Act2Reinvent provides holistic support for these women, so the Dream Saver Project will provide an aspect of material support.

Zig Ziegler often said, “you can have anything you want in life, if you just help enough other people get what they want.” I am inviting you to be a co-creator with me. Participate in the Dream Saver Project challenge. Learn the details here.

I was privileged to share in this celebration with Celeste, her colleagues, congregants, family & host of friends. I expected this event to be a pleasant but fairly innocuous one for me. I would attend, congratulate, celebrate and exit stage left.

Imagine my surprise when I found myself second row from the altar crying copious tears and choking back huge sobs. Where on earth was all this emotion bubbling up from? You guessed it, from deep down inside of me, where it could be contained no longer.

There were so many catalysts and so many reasons for the power of my responses to them. But all things worked together for the highest good. The music, the readings, the speakers, the commitment all spoke to my heart.

I am an ordained minister who frequently questions the why of it all. Why did I bother to become ordained with a particular religious organization? What does it all mean the outside appearance of it (for me)? I am reminded that I still have answers to reveal regarding the nature of my ministry.

The keynote speaker said that ministers get to heal themselves in public. Well, I am certainly doing that with my participation in Act2Reinvent. How about the world for a congregation? I am walking in my own transformation as much for me as for anyone watching.

Healing your family & its intricate relationships came up. Wow! I came back to Chicago three years ago and that was my goal. I have achieved that. I am immensely grateful that I had an opportunity to heal my relationship with my late father before his left his body this past June. I am also grateful for the opportunity to increase the depth of my relationships with my siblings, nieces & nephews and other family since I returned to the place of my birth.

There is so much more that I felt, that I’ve analyzed, but most of all last night’s events and my expressions affirm that I am walking in my purpose and that I am called to continue the journey with renewed commitment. Even when the appearance is that things are not what they should be, I am reminded that illusions may look like the real thing but they are illusions still.

When I was in High School, I wanted to see a “5” on my papers in Mr. Cate’s English class. In fact, I signed up for a second year of Mr. Cates English Advanced Placement class just so I could have another attempt at achieving a “5”. Anybody who had Mr. Cates knows what I mean. He gave out those “5”s on papers like they were gold and in two years of trying, I could not figure out how to earn that magical number.

For many years afterwards, the lack of achieving his level of writing perfection haunted me. I felt like I couldn’t write well and actually avoided it. I took more English classes and thought that if I could get the “A” in a class, I would be OK but still the confidence in writing eluded me.

In writing this blog, I felt that same frustration creep back up into my hands, head and heart as I sat down to write an article. But now, after writing my thoughts, my ideas and publishing them out for the world to see, I actually feel empowered because I am dealing with my fear rather than avoiding it. If my grammar isn’t 100% perfect it’s OK because Mr. Cates is no longer around to grade my work. How I express my thoughts in writing is not right or wrong because the words I choose are what makes me who I am today. Additionally, I know that if I need help, God created people called “Editors” because they are way masters at catching and fixing those pesky little writing errors. Yet, there is still a part of me that wishes my words would show off that I am as verbally prolific and talented as my friends Christina or Alicia. I have always been so jealous of how brilliantly they string together the seemingly best words.

In writing and producing blog articles, I have faced yet another one of my fears. My fear of writing will probably never go away but I now realize that when I do write and publish my ideas, I won’t die of shear embarrassment or fail a class. Not only will I not get graded but imagine this thought; If I practice writing that I could actually get better at it! But if I avoid those things that I fear, how could I ever improve?
What do you avoid doing in your life? What do you procrastinate about? Could your procrastination be linked to something you are afraid of? Fear is not something we can talk about easily because let’s face it; do we enjoy admitting “I’m afraid”? But fear is part of all of our lives and knowing HOW to deal with fear is a powerful skill that takes practice. The more you acknowledge and deal with your fears, the easier it becomes.

Join me in my next entry for specific ideas as to how to deal with those pesky fears. And if you had Mr. Cates for English and got a “5” on a paper, please tell me the secret!!

Make it an EXCELLENT day!

Dr. Pamela Peeke is an internationally renowned physician, scientist and expert in the fields of nutrition, metabolism, stress and fitness. An avid athlete, Dr. Peeke is nationally known as the “doc who walks the talk” as she inspires by living the message she teaches. “I identify fitness a little bit differently. It’s not just pumping your biceps. I look at fitness more holistically.”

“I look at mind, nutritional, physical, spiritual fitness as all working together. That’s what women are looking for. Women no longer want to be just thin. What they want to be is fit & healthy. That’s music to my ears.”

“And they want t do it in a way that works for them. It’s the hardest thing for a woman to do is to find the time to get out there and get physically active, because women are time-starved. But when she understands that the driving force to maintain her mental & spiritual sanity is to get out and take that walk, forget about getting to a smaller size, which will happen anyway. The key is to remember the mind-body connection on this. At the same time realize that it helps power you through the day. You really feel like you can cope with a lot of the tough stuff that’s happening in your life.”

Dr. Peeke teaches women her gym-less program which utilizes the woman’s own body, as well as Pilates and cardio. “There’s no question that after the age of forty that a woman has to become physically active. One of the most important things that women globally want to do is to remain independent. There are real simple things to do which will allow women to maintain strength and endurance.” Dr. Peeke encourages women to just take action, participating in things like ballroom and hip-hop dance, hiking, etc.

Dr. Peeke is a New York Times bestselling author. Fight Fat after Forty was the first consumer book describing the stress-fact connection for men and women. It has become the go-to book for anyone trying to understand why they eat under stress and what to do about it. Dr. Peeke’s PBS special, Fight Fat after Forty: The Stress-Fat Connection, is nationally syndicated. In Body for Life for Women and the companion Body for Life for Women Workout DVD, Dr. Peeke uses cutting edge science and a holistic and integrative program to show women how to transform their lives as well as achieve and maintain their optimal mind and body fitness throughout the decades of their life.

Dr. Peeke’s newest book, Fit to Live, was recently launched on the Today Show. In it, she presents wellness with a twist and challenges her readers with the question “Are you Fit to Live – Mentally, Nutritionally, Physically, Financially and Environmentally”? She presents the “21st century lifestyle-expanding waistline connection,” as well as her holistic plan to optimize men and women’s ability to literally cut the fat from lifestyle habits, as well as their bodies. Her Fit to Live column was launched in Fitness magazine in September 2007 and is in development as a television series.

A practitioner of holistic, integrative medicine, Dr. Peeke was the first senior research fellow at the National Institutes of Health Office of Alternative Medicine, where she helped establish the scientific foundation for the research and development of investigations involving nutrition and fitness.

Catch Dr. Peeke at the MORE Reinvention Convention next week in New York City. The Convention happens Monday October 5th, 2009. Find out more about Dr. Peeke and her activities by visiting her website at http://www.drpeeke.com. Check back here next week for more of our conversation with Dr. Peeke.

By Leah Young

So what does wave/particle duality have to do with intention? Everything! I love studying the concrete science behind the ethereal because it validates what we know is true intuitively and experientially.
Many of us know and have observed that energy is responsive to our thoughts and intentions. But, as humans, we sometimes forget and/or need more evidence of our Divine nature which is as much a part of our identity as our human nature.

As a human being, we can fall into worry, stress, striving, and needing to prove our worthiness. Yet, as a spiritual being, we have a source within us that says to relax, all is well, you are worthy just as you are, trust this. This is a reflection of the contrast between our human/divine experience.

Wave/particle duality is a principle of quantum physics that actually measures individual intention! Scientists found that light was more than just a wave of energy, and that it could also be measured as a particle. The really cool part is when a technician sets about to measure the light, the light seems to “know” whether the technicians intention is to measure particles or whether the technicians intention is to measure waves. Since light cannot be measured in both particles and waves at the same time, the light responds to whatever the conscious intention of the technician is. The light obediently responds to the human request, appearing in the exact form intended by the person measuring it! This never fails!

What does this mean to us? Well, it means that light has consciousness, and that it responds directly to the conscious intention of the individual! What we can understand from this is that whatever our expectations are about a thing, it is projected as a very clear intention that gets results from the Universe! It also reveals that energy is both active and responsive to the human will.

Therefore if we look at the quantum nature of creating a successful life, it truly lies in the quality of our thoughts, expectations and intentions along with the peace and joy of our everyday emotions. To allow the kind of success we want into our life, a great question to stop and ask ourselves every so often is “What is my intention for this year, this month, this week, this day, this very moment” We always have a choice.

How do you know when your style needs to be updated and trendy?

Keeping yourself updated and maintaining your look with your wardrobe indicates that you are interested in a healthy, nurturing relationship with your personal style. This is a form of high self-esteem and a strong sense of self-worth.

It is also important that you invest in timeless wardrobe pieces so you are always in style- your trend !! We recommend that you only spend 20% of your wardrobing budget on trendy pieces IE this seasons plaid, over the knee boots, gladiator shoes. The other 80% should be spent on pieces that flatter your body type and coloring and are a reflection of your personal style- clothing that makes you feel alive that you can wear for another 5 years or more!

You need to own your look and love what you see, for that is the key to great style. You also need to define your own style and not imitate someone else’s. Your image is what you portray to others and it should be closely aligned with who you really are (the core of your existence and being).

YOU have the power to create lasting first impressions everyday!

Here at Act2Reinvent we talk about whole person transformation, that is, reinventing yourself from the inside out. We all have an inner light, talents, skills, a purpose to share in the world. Our fear of revealing our true selves with integrity acts as a dimmer of our inner light.

I don’t know about you, but I definitely recognize times when I am afraid that I will not be liked or loved if I fully reveal who I am. Are these moments always conscious ones? No, in fact, most times thiis is a subconscious fear. It is a manifestation of limiting beliefs that lie dormant until I am taking a positive risk, reaching for a goal, on the road to achieving some wild ambition.

The extent to which we impact ourselves & the world depends upon our perception of the power we have to effect change. We must believe in our own inherent possibilities.

Working with the Dream Team over the past few months has inspired me to dig deep and to peel back layers. Working with various forms of meditation, yoga practices, visioning, coaching & counseling have moved me to de-compartmentalize myself.

I am ramping up to the big reveal of the real me. I am trusting in the Divine Love that is working in and through me as me.

Break out the sunglasses because I am amping up my wattage & letting my light shine full force. Will you join me? Let’s light up the world.