(photo from geekfill.com)

~ White Lion ~

“THE BEST RULERS ARE BARELY KNOWN TO MEN”*

“The great ruler speaks little

and his words are priceless

He works without self-interest

And leaves no trace …”

~ *Tao Te Ching

What is true leadership? How does one develop oneself into being a leader, a good leader, a great leader? What are the characteristics of the people we have admired over the years, those who have inspired and mentored and empowered ourselves and others to be their best?

There are many books written on leadership, and many worth reading. I have found for myself, however, that when life has thrown its curves at me, the real ballast that I could count on came from within myself. I have to listen deeply in the darkest hours of experience, for some quiet resonance of insight. There are times when friends and family can assist, but then there are times when one has to walk alone. How do we do this, make choices when there is no outer guidance?

This question has been the source of my last years of work on listening for what we don’t know, and listening for the wisdom that lies dormant yet intrinsic within that inquiry. I work with clients on developing this listening as a practice, as I ongoingly work with myself on sustaining the discipline of this practice. Whatever expertise we have, whatever leadership role we have attained, we are always at square one. The elevation may be higher, but the next unknown and need for awakening presents itself – and there we stand again, at square one, listening to the Silence.

After a workshop I delivered in New York in January of this year, one of my clients sent me a quote that moved and inspired me. These are the words of a courageous and passionate woman  - a true leader.  She has dedicated her life to the protection of the African white lion, a majestic and sacred species that is gravely endangered. Her words move and inspire, and her actions, in the face of many odds, are making a positive contribution to us all.

“A true leader takes the first step into the unknown, without guarantees, without official mandate, without road maps to follow - only her heart and inner knowing of fairness and justice. There are no guarantees. Knowing full well the weight of responsibility in charting the first steps into the unknown, a leader takes these steps regardless. She doesn't wait for human consciousness to be approving or condoning; she takes consciousness with her as she courageously breaks new ground on behalf of humanity. That's the nature of leadership.”

~ Linda Tucker, Saving the White Lions

http://www.earthisland.org/journal/index.php/elist/eListRead/linda_tucker_is_racing_to_save_white_lions_only_7_of_which_roam_free/

The Art of Collage

"What If I Speak My Truth?"  

Laura Basha

Paper Collage, 2004

COLLAGE

“Collage is the twentieth century’s greatest invention.”

~ Robert Motherwell

While artists have been utilizing combinations of mixed media for some time, “collage” garnered attention as its own art form, a medium in its own right, at the turn of the 20^th century, a result of the creative endeavors of Cubists Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque.

These two notary experimental painters coined the term “collage” from the French verb “coller”, “to stick or glue”, referencing the combination of paper, images from publications, fabrics, and other everyday elements into two dimensional artistic expression. Such co-mingling of what was considered true artistic medium along with the common elements of daily life revolutionized what we know as modern art. Taking disparate elements and arranging them into a harmonious whole is quite possibly a metaphor for a life well lived. Perhaps Motherwell was right …

Although collages can be non-verbal commentary on the politics and social conditions of the day, collages, created as works of art in their own right, act also as symbolic tools for revealing intuitive understanding to an individual or to any viewer seeking insight, bringing innate wisdom to cognitive awareness.

The process of intuitively choosing images and arranging them in a particular composition can shed light on many perplexing issues. Non-verbal symbols communicate valuable insight, as our own wisdom often lies deeper than our conscious thought. We are naturally drawn to images that represent the answers we seek.

The question is always preceded by the answer that wants to be brought up to conscious awareness.

I will have an exhibit of a small collection of my own collages during February and March in Oakland, CA*. Some of the pieces in this exhibit are dated, some are not. As the choices for the images emerge from the subconscious, where there is no time, both dated and non-dated pieces express the timelessness of transformation and awakening.

Through collage, one can capture the essence of authenticity which catalyzes struggle: fear of running out of time, exhaustion born of woundings of the heart, aloneness arising from not being heard, suppression from not speaking one’s truth. Through capturing the non-verbal essence in an image, the struggle is released, the essence expressed … the possibility of freedom towards the probability of transformation.

Though some images may be familiar, perhaps sleepwalking is not our fate. What do we hear when we listen for what we don’t know?

What does the naked eye see?

 ~ Laura Basha, PhD

* February 2014: “Nellie’s Java Café”, 1952 Mountain Blvd, Montclair, CA, 94611

* March 2014: “Studios Eleven Gallery”, 560 Second Street, Oakland, CA, 94607

Dr. Laura Basha

Welcome!

 To the launch of my new EVOX Television Page: 

"Evolve with Dr. Laura Basha"

We will be introducing a new year-long series on 

what it takes to create the life you want, 

and pragmatic steps for how to do it! 

Saturday, January 18th, at 11:00am EST - 11:30AM EST

https://new.livestream.com/evoxtelevision/evolve

Please join me on this first Livestream event of the series, and 

together we will generate a conversation for 

the evolution of possibilities 

and a life of well being and happiness!!

I look forward to being with you!

~~~~~~

"The Thought is the Thing"

Evening Sky 2014

“Flow with whatever may happen and let your mind be free.

Stay centered by accepting whatever you are doing.

This is the ultimate.”

~ Chuang Tzu

“One makes one’s best choices from a clear flow state of mind, and this is coupled with a lighthearted or even inspirational feeling. Such feeling also brings hope and a sustained knowing that a solution can be found, for the hope is not contingent on the new-found solution, but rather is inherent in the flow mode of understanding that thought creates the experience of reality.

The art of transformation lies in knowing that the thought is the thing.”

~ From the manuscript of Dr. Basha’s soon to be published book

Moonlit Oakland

"...when we let our own light shine, 

we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same ... 

our presence automatically liberates others."

~ Maryann Williamson

Quoted by Nelson Mandela in his 1994 Inaugural Speech

Wishing You Joy & Peace 

during this 

Holiday Season 

and into the 

New Year

"To Give is to Receive ..."

Nona & Sawyer ~ August 2013

"The more we care for the happiness of others,

the greater our own sense of well-being becomes."

 ~ His Holiness The Dalai Lama

It is said that the greatest gift we can give another is our own happiness. An interesting concept, yes?

It leads me to think about: well, how do I generate my own happiness? I mean, when we're happy, it's inevitable that we share the resonance of lightheartedness with another as it effortlessly emerges, generally catalyzing a similar lightheartedness in them. Lightheartedness allows for seeing the world from a better perspective, through lenses that allow for greater possibilities.

What is particularly interesting in the Dalai Lama's quote, is that paying attention to another's 

well-being, being interested that another feels uplifted, actually increases our own well-being.

How does this make sense?

If I am paying attention to what you need, my attention on my own issues is suspended for the moment. I become present, listening to what is important to you. When I become present, a whole world of ease and wisdom becomes available to me, for as I stop paying attention to my own thoughts of concern, those thoughts lose the substance gained from my attention to them, and fade into the background, as if I turned down the sound of one radio station while I listened to another frequency.

What exists in the Present, in the moment of attending to what is happening in the Now with nothing else on our mind, allows for all of the attributes of well-being that exist in the present moment to be available to us.

My own happiness and well-being increases as I pay attention to increasing another's well-being because the resonance of the Present has to come through me before I can give it away to another.

"To give is to receive."

Get it?!