Hello, Bonjour, Hola, Konichiwa, Shalom, Marhaba!

Welcome to the first of what I hope will be a long series of newsletters that I will send out every month, with the intention of inspiring, provoking, amusing, and tickling your soul.

Each letter will also highlight three extraordinary people: AN ARTIST, A PERSON YOU NEED TO KNOW, and A HERO. Each letter will also have a theme.

A person whose actions affect society positively is at the very least on the road to becoming a spiritually healthy person, and only when a person is spiritually healthy can that person be truly functional. The person who takes responsibility for the choices he/she makes is capable of changing him/herself and society. Positive choices require that one have a guiding vision. With this in mind, I encourage you this month to consider your vision.

What is your vision? In these ongoing communications, my intention is to inspire you to set goals that are beneficial to both you and society. This can be accomplished by focusing on the bigger vision of the good you are producing, instead of ending up getting stuck in overwhelm mode, or focusing too much on material gains, or trivial or selfish things. We can see examples in both kinds of choices in action in the recent Katrina disaster. As gut-wrenching as it has been to watch the photos and video emerging from the hurricane Katrina disaster, one bright spot has been all the individual acts of heroism and selflessness.

On the other hand, there has been raping, looting, shootings and bureaucratic bungling.

So what can we say about the choices people have made during and after Katrina?

Well …

On second thought, maybe everything there is to say about the good and bad choices has already been said a thousand times, and probably better than I could say it. And maybe you’re all growing as tired as I am of having everyone and their brother pontificating about Katrina, dissecting Katrina, using “lessons” of Katrina to promote their personal agenda. So I’m not even going to talk about Katrina. You won’t hear the word Katrina mentioned again in this column. Really. I’m so over talking about Katrina. The only thing I have to say about Katrina today is this: sit down and write a check to the Red Cross or your favorite charity.

Because Rita is on her way.

Just go ahead and do it. The spiritual ramifications of that choice will probably amount to more than all the verbiage you or I could expand in a year on the subject.

All the Best,

Lisa Haisha

Composing a Life
http://www.composingalife.com

"If you want to be reborn, you must first die."

What do MOCA, the Getty, the Skirball Center, the Bodhi Tree, Storyopolis, and Lee Aronsohn (a TV Mogul) have in common? Well, they’re all really cool, smart, and soulful – and they also all pre-ordered limited, signed hardcover copies of Whispers from Children’s Hearts for themselves, their customers, employees, and friends. Whispers makes the perfect gift book, one which will both entertain and enhance the lives of those who read it. In my life I have been blessed by the unique opportunity to look into the hearts of children all over the world, and I would love to share my experiences and insights with you. Beautifully illustrated by artist Tim Huhn, Whispers is a book that will stay with you forever.

Visit (http://www.whispersfromchildrenshearts.com) to learn more about Whispers and save $5.00 if purchased before October 1st, 2005.

“A writer is a person for whom writing is more difficult than it is for other people.” -- Thomas Mann

Why Write? Because writing focuses your mind and allows your soul to speak. Because you have to. Because if you are an entrepreneur, it can make you an “expert” in your field and can increase your bottom line, while helping others. Because you’ll never know how good you can be or how much you have to say until you try.

In Stephen King’s book On Writing, he prescribes two things every aspiring writer must do: 1) Read a lot and 2) Write a lot. Now, the first of those is all too easy to do; the second is a difficult practice to begin.

How do you balance and/or schedule your day so that both of these activities are included? One way is to keep a journal by your bedside, set your alarm clock fifteen minutes earlier than you usually do, and then write before you start your day.

You say you don’t feel inspired? Dig deep inside and write from your heart, cut an artery and bleed on the page. Think about images, people, a dream, an article you read that made you think or feel and write about that.

I understand that writing well does not come easily, especially early on. Writers need encouragement, skillful guidance and sound, practical advice to master their craft. Otherwise, they can flounder for years, making the same mistakes repeatedly and turning what should be a rewarding activity into an exercise in frustration. But first things first. Start by writing at least one paragraph per day, even if you think it’s awful. For example, take the following quote:

“A prayer for the wild at heart, kept in cages.” – Tennessee Williams

Now, write about a time that you followed your wild heart against others’ wishes. Or a time you didn’t, and wished you had. Everybody should be able to write something about that. Right? Write.

If you want more writing assignments and inspiration to make your writing process a bit spicier and more fun, visit here. (http://www.lisahaisha.com/store.htm)

As I mentioned at the beginning of the newsletter, every month, from among the many people that share their stories with us, my staff and I will select a “Artist of the Month”. An artist, musician, actor, or other creative person who is doing work that will rock your world. This section is for artists that inspire.

Contact us if you know someone that you would like to be considered for Artist of the Month (including yourself).

This month’s Artist is the beautiful, talented, and sexy Renfey, a Renaissance Rock Warrior/Singer/Songwriter who is performing her debut Alternative Rock album in several upcoming shows that should not be missed. She has the gift of reaching inside your soul and pulling out your dreams and inspiring you. I loved her the moment I set eyes on her over two years ago, for sharing her musical gifts with an open heart, which opened up my creativity, taking it to a new level. Hope to see you there!

Click on the flyer below to PRINT OUT and bring it with you to The Mint to pay only $7.00. It’s $10.00 at the door.

RENFEY

Live at Highland Grounds
Friday, September 23rd at 8:00 pm Sharp
742 N. Highland Avenue
(Just north of Melrose)
$5.00 Cover Food and Full Bar

The Mint
Saturday, October 8th at 10:00 pm
6010 W. Pico Blvd.
$10 at the door and $7.00 with Flyer

IT'S HERE!! RENFEY'S DEBUT ALBUM "RISE" IS NOW AVAILABLE ONLINE AT HTTP://WWW.CDBABY.COM

“Beautiful Friends... Come and move your music souls... Hello beautiful music fans Welcome to our music realm Coming to you from the studio, together with my amazing musical partner, Kor, we celebrate the completion of a magical and wild ride with this debut album ‘Rise’ Thank you fans and revelers for supporting our project with your words, presence and oh so gentle "where is it, where is it?!" So close your eyes, have a listen and send us your thoughts ...”

Cheers,

Renfey
http://www.renfey.com

Each month we want to introduce you to someone, an organization, magazine, etc. that we feel is doing outstanding good work. This person or organization is about transforming your life, helping you move your life forward where without them you would still be stuck in procrastination and fear.

This month’s person is professional organizer, June Saruwatari! June is owner and founder of The Organizing Maniac™. She brings a whole new spin to the organizing world and comes at it from a spiritual perspective to help shift not only her client's day to day but their consciousness as well.

She has been teaching, lecturing and consulting for a variety of businesses and Groups including CEO's, investment bankers, attorneys, judges, doctors, architects, politicians, writers, rabbis, university professors, housewives and mothers, restaurants, hair salons and hospital clinics, Hollywood producers and celebrities throughout California, Nevada and Hawaii.

June came into my life about a year and a half ago, recommended by my dear friend Deborah Kagan, and whipped my life into action. She helped organize my many facets and helped me make sense of them. Without her incredible intuitive and practical skills, this newsletter would not have been born and several of my books would still be a dream. Thank you June! You are a treasure.

Also, she most recently shot a pilot for television, and her book, Behind The Clutter: Truth, Love, Meaning, Purpose will be published in December 2005. I can’t wait! Read an excerpt from her book:

I want you to realize that stuff has energy and has a life of its own, and like you, the stuff wants to be useful, serve a purpose, have meaning and be loved. We can’t take anything with us when we die. We come into this earth in this lifetime with nothing more than deep-seated desires planted in our hearts. We don’t come out of our mother’s womb attached to stuff … only the umbilical cord that gives us breath and life. Breath is the only thing we come into this world with. And our last breath transports us to the next realm.

Do you want breathing space? Can you breathe? Do you feel suffocated by your stuff? Is it clogging up your life with confusion? Do you feel like you’re slugging through mud everyday? Do you want more energy?

Life energy has to do with what we put into our environment. We live in a physical universe … but underneath the physical stuff are the mental, emotional, spiritual layers and levels. That’s why you feel weighed down when you have so much stuff. You feel bogged down mentally, spiritually and emotionally. You can’t budge. The stuff is holding you back from being all that we can be. It’s holding you bondage. The stuff then is no longer serving you. You’re a servant to it. The stuff dictates to you how you should live your life. The stuff then is no longer a tool to help you lead a better life. It’s controlling you and your actions.

So you begin to realize that the stuff has a life all its own with its own stories, memories, feelings, and triggers that connect the past to the present. Sometimes they are tentacles to our past so we’re living in the past. We realize that we don’t want to let go of those times when we felt loved, safe, secure. We don’t want to let go of what the stuff represents. They are symbols for the way it used to be … my youth … my sense of adventure. Is it gone? Will holding onto those photos help me retain that feeling of being so young and alive? Will holding onto those items remind me to never make those stupid mistakes again? So does that mean that I don’t have trust in myself, the present and my future? Does that mean I’m living my life with fear, and not faith? Perhaps. These are some of the issues you might begin to deal with if you let your stuff tell you the story … if you go beyond the superficial meaning of why you have it … and if you’re willing to delve beyond appearances to what lies beneath the clutter.

The digging is what thrills me … it’s like an archaeological dig in your own consciousness for the reasons why we exist, and your perceptions and feelings about life itself. All contained in your stuff.

I’ve seen it all. Buried underneath the stuff are dreams waiting to be manifested, talents waiting to be unveiled, passions waiting to be explored. Buried underneath the stuff are issues of anger, resentment, shame, addictions waiting be healed. Buried underneath the stuff is: Truth. Love. Meaning. Purpose.

For more, log onto http://www.organizingmaniac.com.

Someone who exemplifies this month’s theme of Choices is Asher Sorrell! His selfless choice to dedicating his life to helping people who are in dire need and with nowhere else to turn humbles and amazes me.

Asher is a member of Doctor Without Borders, an organization of doctors who travel to developing and war-torn countries, and to natural disaster zones to offer their medical services for free. On October, 2002 he journeyed to Bali after the bombings to help the victims, for which he was awarded the Order of Australia for service to that country by providing medical assistance to the victims and families. He also aided Indonesian victims of last year’s tsunami disaster. He is currently an Attending Physician in the Emergency Department of Kaiser Permanente Hospital in West Los Angeles, and says that one of his favorite prescriptions is chocolate and music. He also believes that the humble bicycle could solve many of the world’s biggest problems. We need more Ashers in the world!

Take a peek into a day in the life of Asher. Below is a letter that he wrote to the family of one of the Australian victims of the Bali bombing, who died despite Asher’s best efforts.

Dear Parker Family,

My name is Arthur Sorrell. I am an American emergency medicine physician, and I was the doctor who first treated your son and brother Mark in Kuta. Of all the victims I treated, he stands out in my mind, representing the horror of that tragedy. I have wanted to make contact with you for some time, but didn't even have Mark's name until recently. I cannot imagine the magnitude of your loss. Maybe it will be of some comfort to you to hear about my brief contact with Mark on that terrible night, to know that he wasn't alone, to know that he was being cared for.

I arrived in Bali two days before the bombing. I was there to supervise and teach the Indonesian doctors and nurses at the Bali International Medical Centre in Kuta for the month. I was asleep at my house in Sanur on Saturday night when I received a phone call from our clinic administrator. Someone said there had been an explosion at a petrol station behind the clinic. It was about 11 pm. She picked me up and we drove to the clinic. I anticipated that there might be several people with burns and perhaps some significant trauma victims. When we arrived, the clinic was surrounded by hundreds of Indonesians, onlookers, helpers, victims. I walked into the 7 bed clinic and saw patients everywhere. Some on the floor, some standing, some on gurneys. There were about 30-40 patients with all manner of injuries. It was chaotic. I scanned to find the most seriously injured, and Mark was clearly in that group. He was on a hospital bed in one of our rooms. He had critical injuries to his legs and his chest as well as burns. But he was, remarkably, able to talk to me. He had lost a large amount of blood, and he needed an operating room immediately. We managed to get IV lines into him, tourniquet his bleeding, and give him pain medications, but we had no capacity to do the kind of surgery he needed. So after stabilizing him as best we could, I sent him immediately on the first ambulance to Sanglah. I wished that I could have gone with him, but there were too many others. I sent one of my nurses and told her to make sure they understood that had to go to the operating room as soon as he arrived.

Over the next 24 hours, I worked non-stop, first at the clinic till morning, then at Sanglah hospital with some other ex-pat doctors. I tried to find Mark but couldn't. I didn't have his name. I helped arrange the triage for the first airlift that took place 24 hours after the incident. He wasn't among those patients, I knew that much. Over the next week, I was in and out of the hospital every day. There were many victims as you know. I never found out what happened to him.

I've wanted to tell you how brave he was in the face of his pain. I've wanted to tell you what a remarkable son, brother, and man he seemed to be. He had a calmness about him that was eery in that moment. He fought hard. I kept wishing that he had been one of my patients back home at UCLA, with our staff and nurses, knowing that I had an operating room ready for him just down the hall. Who knows if the outcome would have been any different--it's just my sense of helplessness in those circumstances that haunts me. We did everything we could for him and for everyone we saw. I only wish we could have done more. It is hard to make sense out of such senselessness.

If you should ever want to know more, or just want to chat, now or in the future, I would be pleased to hear from you. Please accept my sincere condolences for your loss and my wishes for peace and healing.

Sincerely,

Arthur Sorrell