Quest for Food 04/16/2012
I just came back from a delightful jaunt through the forest trying out my new trail running shoes accompanied by my golden retriever Finnegan. Trail running has become my new passion and I've rediscovered mountain biking again after many years away. I've been asking myself, "Why haven't I been doing these things all along?" I could get my mind involved and answer, "Well, the kids were young and you needed to be home," but I don't think this is it. The thing is I AM DOING THEM and I feel great doing them! It's Spring in my part of the world, time for exploring new passions and unleashing creative forces, just as green things start to shoot up through the soft damp earth. There were plenty of times over the winter that I debated whether I really wanted to buy the produce transported from thousands of miles south of here. No offense to my California friends as a lot of what I eat during the winter comes from your neck of the woods or places even farther afield such as Chile, but those raspberries in plastic containers refrigerated for weeks, just don't taste the same as those picked fresh from the vine in the heat of summer. That said, I am sure they taste great where you are when you can pick them yourself! Remembering this taste has me exploring the memory vaults of childhood containing the bounty of Baba's garden -the taste of potatoes just out of the ground seasoned with dill grown alongside, shelling peas at the kitchen table, and eating jars of preserves in the winter. It wasn't that long ago that we didn't have access to year round berries and from what I recall the ones we had tasted A WHOLE LOT BETTER. We somehow managed to satiate our appetites with what was available. Thankfully, a whole lot more becomes available this time of year. With this thought in mind, I recently interviewed "Wildman" Steve Brill, North America's preeminent expert on foraging for wild foods.I invite you to join me for the next episode of Leaders' Call to Adventure Interview Series - Foraging in the Urban Environment. Learn about some easy to find plants to create a new ice cream, make pesto, give meatless entrees the taste and texture of chicken and get more what's behind red wine's claim to heart health fame. Perhaps, a healthy new taste sensation is just waiting to be discovered right outside your doorstep! Listen to the interview. 1 Comment  Winter Snowshoe Jaunt, Snow Valley, ON For the first winter since moving to Barrie, I am finding ways to truly appreciate the beauty, splendour and unique benefits of my surroundings rather than wishing I'd taken off with the Canada Geese. For example, I hadn't experienced the fun and adventure of snowshoeing in the moonlight, which has now become a much anticipated weekly outing. I also got over my conviction that foraying into the wild during business hours would be a luxury I couldn't indulge in if I wanted to get things done. It's amazing how much more energetic and alive one feels getting out and being with the wind, sun, snow, and barren trees. The outdoors is the place where I can best connect to myself and everything around me. It is the place where inspiration and understanding is born. I recently interviewed herpetologist Tim Shields. This gentleman provides the perfect example of the kind of inspiration and understanding I am talking about. He has spent much of the last 35 years separated from his own species while studying tortoises in the desert of Southern California and has acquired a great deal of wisdom through this experience. This interview marks the launch of the Leaders' Call to Adventure Interview Series, born out of the telesummit held in fall 2011. As well as offering free downloads of the interviews so you can listen to them at your convenience on your ipod or smartphone, the series will feature thought leaders actively involved in creating a connected and sustainable future on our planet -- inspiring ways to evolve a global economy which acknowledges our interdependence as part of the family of life or as Tim Shields says, "our life support system". Listen to the interview. Life, death and tortoises 01/23/2012
Going into the holidays in December, I received news of the unexpected passing of a dear friend's daughter which knocked me down flat. All of my well-laid plans just didn't seem to matter as much as they had when I made them. Holiday time filled with activity and people in my home, I was mentally diverted from the reality of this news until about New Year's when my body started to cave in again and I couldn't get out of bed for a couple of days. So started this year with a feeling of general malaise and fatigue and no clear idea of what was happening until I saw my friend and we spoke for the first time since the tragedy in December. After seeing him and consciously sharing his grief and loss, I realized I had been experiencing much of what he had been experiencing. My heart and body knew even though we weren't in direct communication. My mind was bypassed in the process until my eyes met his. Through this, there has been great learning of love and loss and a reawakening of a creative part of myself I had put aside. Alot of what I engaged in during 2011 didn't feel as real or important as it did before. I was tired of hearing about grandiose schemes and action plans, anything where I felt the mind was trying to control, manipulate and/or force outcomes. So, while there would be the temptation to talk about big changes afoot in 2012, the personal responsibility you have as leaders to create the future, or even the usual new year's wishes, I decided to be real about how it's been for me. I am following a path one step at a time and when inspiration strikes, I will be sharing the stories of certain individuals with you in this interview series. The heart of what is important to me will guide the selection of interviewees. In 2012, you can expect Leaders' Call to Adventure to focus on those who understand the importance of doing business with reverence and respect for all life - that true sustainability stems from an understanding that humanity is part of the natural world and it is up to us to create a beautiful thriving future on this planet.  The first interview of the year will be with herpetologist Tim Shields who has studied the desert tortoise for 34 years. Tim is currently writing a book about his career entitled "Tortoise Time". In this interview, you will find out what the longest surviving creatures on Earth can teach us so we humanity may enjoy this sort of longevity as a species. TRUST UNFOLDS LIKE A FLOWER 11/02/2011
 "The more open you are able to receive what is given to you, the more trust you will have for future moments." -Julio Toribio on Leaders' Call to Adventure, 10/3/11 The WISH is coming true! 09/21/2011
 I recently had the pleasure and privilege of interviewing the amazing Stephanie Beeby and Emmanuel Bombardier for Leaders' Call to Adventure Telesummit. These heart-centered people are in their POWER living their GIFTS and supporting others to do the same. I LOVE THEM and their KEEN SENSE OF MISSION AND PURPOSE. If you want to continued to be inspired by these folks, check out their OUR WISH RADIO show join the PING COMMUNITY !!! And, you can check out the episode where they interviewed me about this EVENT! My Wish for Community 09/21/2011
 Well, one big dream of mine is to play an instrumental role in shifting business to a force of good in the world, creating a platform where life and the Earth's resources are deeply respected and valued. Not only a sustainable future, but a thriving and abundant future where we truly appreciate the beauty within and around us. This telesummit is aimed at those who are part of this mission because frankly, although the somewhat solitary path I've walked in my life has had it's purpose, it is TIME to join forces!! The world NEEDS ALL OF US to be true to ourselves, to really feel on track on our lives, to love and appreciate ourselves more fully so that we can take this OUT into the world. I've had some challenges through the summit when things didn't go quite according to plan to love and appreciate myself anyway. This "not enough" syndrome that Suzanne and Jeffrey talked about is something I know ALL TOO WELL. I see how I create "not enough" around me and frankly, well, I have had ENOUGH of NOT BEING, HAVING or FEELING like I am ENOUGH!!! Does this sound familiar?? If so, I WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU!! We are all living on this beautiful blue green gem fully of majesty and wonder. We truly are in this together. Isn't it time to recognize the DIVINE within and around US?? We have the collective power to imagine and create a human presence that reflects our CONNECTION -to each other, to ourselves and to the Earth. This one planet. Our home. OUR home. Fast Forward to San Francisco, May 2011 09/15/2011
 Lori Ference on the Coastal Trail, San Francisco By now you may have realized I'm not exactly a linear thinker and I am internally driven to jump ahead. However, that does NOT mean I don't have an equal propensity to revisit the past *grin* So, I will take this opportunity to jump ahead in the time line from the mid 90s to May of this year, a point that is nevertheless still past relative to now. I am going to save how I ended up in San Francisco attending the Spiritual Marketing Quest in May this year for another time. Let's just say that I don't feel that there was any accident that my roomates at the Quest had were telesummit hosts. Sharon Crawford, a dear friend and speaker for Leaders' Call to Adventure hosted the Spiritual Path to Money Telesummit and through her telesummit training with Sage Lavine had buddied up with Tamra Flemming of the Creative Souls Telesummit. The three of us shared a room at the event hotel and many powerful and transformative moments together over the three day event. In their downtime, Sharon and Tamra were happily at work on their telesummits. It was a joy for me to watch them as they got their purposeful evolutionary work out into the world and built their communities. I guess it was a subtle yet strong reminder that although I had been participating in telesummits for the past few years, I had a desire to host my own summit. I had ideas on what my message might be, but not enough clarity to move ahead. Until....I figured out some important things about the people I am meant to serve. The video below will tell you more about that part of the story. This is your new blog post. Click here and start typing, or drag in elements from the top bar. My Telesummit Journey - How it All Began 09/13/2011
 With hope and a prayer and a lifetime of attempting to connect the dots, I've ended up here. Seriously, how does a former currency trader, risk management consultant, internet executive, green designer and producer end up doing a telesummit? What on Earth would lead somebody to do all these things in one lifetime anyway? What can I say??! I have an adventurous spirit and when it comes down to it, when my heart speaks, I listen. It almost seems as if I have no choice in the matter. Full stop. Doing this telesummit has been a culmination of all the things I've done in the past. The common points linking all these things together:
For instance, when I worked at Olsen and Associates, I was consulting global risk managers in using predictive technology for financial markets. It was the mid 90s and the setting was a Zurich-based lakeside office- a global village led by a mad scientist, Oxford educated lawyer, economist and visionary entrepreneur Dr. Richard Olsen. A typical day in the life:
So...what does this have to do with a telesummit exactly??! Well, as you can see, I had some education on what it's like to work in an international environment under the guidance of a visionary leader where new things are being done in unconventional and new ways. I also gained a lot of media experience during that time. This was just a piece of the puzzle. More to come.... First Post! 09/13/2011
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| AuthorI believe life should be a magnificent fun-filled adventure and that saving the world through collective inspired action IS possible. I support Visionary Leaders and Change makers in fulfilling their mission. ArchivesApril 2012 Categories |
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