Category: community

community, community service, generosity, safety, school, stress

Leap: Healing for Newtown, Connecticut

Christa Avampato
From Pinterest
From Pinterest

I was at the dentist when I first saw the news yesterday about Newtown, Connecticut. I am heartbroken for everyone impacted by this horrific event. So much will be revealed in the coming days – motives, names, faces, details of the event, tears. A great deal of healing will be necessary.

For many months I have been thinking about how Compass Yoga can make a difference in the world in these kind of circumstances – tragedies that cause so much trauma, grief, and pain in their aftermath, even long after they’ve ceased to be front page news. I believe we have something to offer; that we have the ability to mobilize a great wave of healing, support, and compassion in the face of unspeakable events.

In the new year, I’m going to find a way to bring this mobilization of healing to life. I wish it weren’t needed but in 2012 alone so many people in our country have endured unprecedented amounts of pain and loss. We must do more to stand up for them, to stand beside them, to be Earthly angels that help light the way forward.

choices, community, feelings, future, legacy

Leap: The Source of Our Inner Voice

Christa Avampato

2814818488163739_Ly16Wp5q_bWords can be daggers or wings. They can tear us down or help us fly. What you say now, not only to children but to all people, becomes a part of how they view the world and their place in it. Gentleness is as important as strength and honesty. Everyone should leave every conversation with their dignity intact.

Do you want to be someone who tears people down or builds them up? Do you want to be someone who becomes a pesky inner voice to someone that instills self-doubt or do you want to be someone whose words are a comfort to others in their darkest hours?

The answers to these questions fuel our words and actions. They are our legacy.

adventure, commitment, community, creativity, determination, dreams

Leap: Go Tell It on the Mountain and Then Get Down to Work in the Valley

Christa Avampato
From Pinterest

“Our life is composed greatly from dreams from the unconscious, and they must be brought into connection with action. They must be woven together.” ~ Anais Nin

I believe in shouting dreams. If you really want to do something, need something, or have something to give, I’m a fan of telling everyone you know about it. I’ve found it is the single best way to accomplish goals. We’re all here to help one another along this wild, twisted path of life. And we can’t help each other if we don’t know our own dreams, and the dreams of those around us.

Take a moment to be still. Close your eyes. Let your mind grow soft and your jaw go slack. Take 10 deep, slow breaths. Let any and every thought rise up into your consciousness. You’re not evaluating these thoughts. You’re not passing judgement. You’re scanning them. You’re looking for dreams. You’re looking for wishes that you are literally making with your heart.

Let those dreams rest in your mind’s eye and let everything else fall away. Consider how you might let people know about them, even how others may become a part of them, and how you might act upon them. Once you tell others about your dreams, you’ll find that others will share their dreams with you. Once they see you actually working on your dreams, you’ll find that many of them will work alongside you to bring those dreams to life.

The Universe will do its part, too. Once it sees that you are taking a chance on yourself, it will take a chance on you, too. Commitment and hard work are an incredibly magical combination. All of a sudden the dream that was living way deep down inside you, so far down that you didn’t even know it existed, not only comes into your consciousness, but it manifests out in the world.

Accomplishments are just dreams that you act upon. Nothing more, and nothing less.

communication, community, yoga

Leap: If You Listen, People Will Tell You What They Need

Christa Avampato
From Pinterest

“What comes from the heart, goes to the heart.” ~ Samuel Taylor Coleridge

I’ve been teaching a seniors yoga class for a few weeks and the enrollment is full. One woman in the class recently told me that she has been having terrible insomnia. I asked if she knew why and she told me that her son, her only child, was murdered 2 months ago and so far the investigation hasn’t turned up any leads. My heart broke, and yet I knew I had to be strong for her.

In that moment, I decided to change my class on a dime. I created the class, posture by posture, word by word, for her. By the end of the class, I could feel everyone moving a bit closer to healing. As my teacher, Cheri, always says, we are all healing from something.

I used to think that being a yoga teacher meant to create a sequence of postures, breath work, and meditation techniques. Now I know that my job is to show up, listen, and give the students what they need to be whole. What I give from my heart, goes straight to theirs.

blogging, change, community, entrepreneurship, social change, social entrepreneurship, social media, writing

Leap: I Will Be Live Blogging the Social Good Summit at 92Y

Christa Avampato

I am very excited to share the news that I will be live blogging the Social Good Summit at 92Y in New York City from September 22nd – September 24th. Huge thanks to the networking groups Ladies DC and Ladies NYC, and especially to Anastasia Dellaccio of the United Nations Foundation, for inviting me.

The Social Good Summit is a three-day conference where big ideas meet new media to create innovative solutions. Held during UN Week, the Social Good Summit unites a dynamic community of global leaders to discuss a big idea: the power of innovative thinking and technology to solve our greatest challenges. The most innovative technologists, influential minds and passionate activists will come together with one shared goal: to unlock the potential of new media and technology to make the world a better place, and then to translate that potential into action.

This year’s Social Good Summit will be more engaging than ever. People from around the world, in both the developed and the developing world, will unite in person and online to participate in The Global Conversation – the world’s largest conversation on how technology can grow communities and improve life for all of us as we move toward being a networked society.

On September 24, 2012 the Social Good Summit is coming to China and Kenya. Key leaders and citizens of Beijing and Nairobi will unite and explore the same themes that inspired the birth of the Social Good Summit. You’ll hear directly from these countries via Livestream, and can witness the live intersection of New York, Nairobi and Beijing on Monday morning from the stage of the 92Y in New York City.

The 2012 Social Good Summit is brought to you by Mashable, 92nd Street Y, the United Nations Foundation, Ericsson, the United Nations Development Programme, and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

There are plenty of ways to follow and participate in the conversation, no matter where in the world you live:

Follow this blog for updates and to leave comments on my posts http://christainnewyork.com
Follow my Twitter stream at http://twitter.com/christanyc and use the hashtag #SGSGlobal
Watch the Livestream of the event
Attend or organize a Social Good Summit meetup in your city
Buy a ticket and attend in person
Follow the Social Good Summit website for updates

I look forward to all of the conversations!

art, community, creativity, theatre, writing

Leap: The Art of Collaboration and My Interview for PBS Mediashift with Jim Nicola, Artistic Director of New York Theatre Workshop

Christa Avampato
Once the Musical, a New York Theatre Workshop production, won 8 Tony Awards this year.

I am thrilled to announce that an article I wrote based about the collaboration process at New York Theatre Workshop is now posted on the inspiring PBS site MediaShift. A few weeks ago I had the pleasure of interviewing Jim Nicola, Artistic Director of New York Theatre Workshop, who made me believe in the magic and power of theatre again. As you may know, I spent the early years of my professional career as a manager of Broadway shows and national tours. I’ve been out of the business since 2004 and until I interviewed Jim, I hadn’t missed the process. Now I’m reconsidering how I might slowly ease back into that wacky and wonderful world of professional theatre.

And with this publication I must thank the editor of MediaShift, Amanda Hirsch, for her continuous support of my writing. I am humbled and honored to now have the chance to work for her on a project that is near and dear to her heart. Amanda and I met because of this blog. She was moving to New York City from DC with her husband, Jordan, and she was searching for people writing about creative living in New York. My blog popped up in her search.

The internet has such a lovely way of tangling together fates and futures. I recently went back to that first introductory email that Amanda sent to me over 3 years ago. True to form, she closed the email with “keep writing.” I’m glad I followed her advice and encouragement.

Let me know what you think of the article on MediaShift!

adventure, change, community, determination, work

Leap: Rise Up to Meet Difficulties and Change Them Into Opportunities

Christa Avampato
From Pinterest.com

“There are two ways of meeting difficulties: you alter the difficulties or you alter the way you meet them.” ~ Phyllis Bottome

Challenges and difficulties abound in our lives and in the world. We can run from them for a while, but they’re patient. They will wait us out with dogged determination. They never get tired. They never give up. They are relentless.

Eventually, we have no choice but to get moving, to chip away at them bit by bit until they reach a manageable size. This work of whittling is incredibly important. Do not underestimate it.You may think you aren’t doing enough; you make think that you are one person fighting to turn a much larger tide. Don’t give up. Something amazing is about to happen.

You have to start somewhere and the miraculous thing is that once you start to work on a challenge, you will find that there are other people in the world working on the same difficulty. You can then join forces and the whittling begins to move faster. Many hands make light the load. And there’s no shortage of loads in this world that need more hands, and hearts. Find the one that draws you in and just do your part. I promise you that it is enough.

art, change, comedy, community, courage, television

Leap: A Lesson from Comedic Actor Sherman Hemsley, Star of All in the Family and The Jeffersons

Christa Avampato
Sherman Hemsley and Isabel Sanford as George and Louise Jefferson

It wasn’t until much later that I realized how revolutionary his character of George Jefferson was at the time. While he was making all of us laugh, he tore down social barriers and prejudices that existed for centuries in this country. A black entrepreneur who wasn’t intimidated by anyone, least of all his prejudiced white neighbor? That was a revelation, particularly to have it showcased on network television. His co-star, Isabel Sanford, was the first (and so far, the only) Black actress to win a Lead Actress Emmy Award (for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series in 1981.) Clearly, we still have a long way to go.

A South Philly native, Sherman Hemsley passed away from natural causes on Tuesday. His bravery and strength, his ability to creatively challenge the conventions of his time through his own performances, has cemented his contribution in the performing arts. As my sister, Weez, so beautifully said, “He finally got that deluxe apartment in the sky.” R.I.P. to another Trailblazer who is gone too soon.

adventure, choices, commitment, community, creativity, dreams

Leap: Go Out on the Edge

Christa Avampato
From Pinterest

“You’re not going to have a lot of people you can talk to about this. There is never a crowd on the leading edge.” ~ Abraham Hicks

My friend, Trish, had this quote on her Facebook wall last week and it captures a truth that can be tough for us to hear. Opportunity is glaring at us and growing bigger by the moment. We want to believe that everyone can see what we see and when they don’t we get frustrated, discouraged, and uncomfortable in our own skin. We begin to doubt our own abilities.

Don’t despair. Out on the Edge there is something beautiful and miraculous waiting for you – your kindred spirits. They are a small but mighty crew. They think like you think, believe what you believe, and understand what you understand. They will inspire, encourage, and support you. You are all in the same boat, paddling around looking for each other, and you’ll come together out on the Edge. It is better out there than where you are now. This time, the grass really is greener elsewhere.

But here’s the trick of it: you have to go out there. This is one of the few things that you can’t do virtually. You have to go there fully – mind, body, and soul. The only way to realize the gift of the Edge is to be there. And to make the journey you will have to trust your gut more than you trust the opinions of those around you.

Commit to the Edge and the Edge will commit to you. Now start paddling.

adventure, business, career, community, creativity, work

Leap: My New Company – Chasing Down the Muse

Christa Avampato

I am so excited to announce the launch my new business, Chasing Down the Muse. I create products for companies on the leading edge of their industries and teach classes that help people build their own creative habit. To learn more about my services, click here.

Thank you so much for all of your support leading up to this big day. If you’re interested in this new business, here are a few ways to be involved with the company:

1.) Be an Inspired Instigator! As I craft products, services, and programs, I will be reaching out to a small group of people to get their feedback and advice prior to launch. I’d love to have you as part of the group! The time commitment is very small (mostly done in short 10-question surveys every other month), entirely optional, and fun. Plus, there will be prizes and plenty o’ recognition. Contact me if you’re interested in learning more.

2.) Keep me in mind for any projects you or your company have that match my experience and pass on the URL of Chasing Down the Muse to anyone you know who would be interested in learning more.

Thanks again for all of your energy and excitement around my leap into a freelance life. I’ll be sharing the journey with you every day right here and I hope you’ll share your journey with all of us, too!