October 27, 2008


YOU POWER MONEY

This Halloween, give yourself a treat.

Everywhere I go, I hear people talking about their fears regarding the state of the economy. I hear everyone talking about their fears and because they are in conversation with their friends and family who are also afraid, they end the conversation only feeling more...fear.

Very few of us can make a change immediately to "the economy." But if you'd like to have the conversations regarding what you can do to help educate yourself and feel empowered to make a difference for your own accounts, please join Carol L. Buchman and I on Wednesday, October 29th from 6pm-8pm. If you'd rather stop "talking" about what is going on and actually be able to get in action for yourself and your financial health, please join us in the beautiful Enlightennext Meditation Center for this seminar. It is going to be a wonderful, comforting and an inspiring evening.
Please click here to view the flyer.
http://www.healingfinances.com/YouPowerMoney.htm
To register click anywhere on the flyer, scroll down to the "Paypal" button and fill in the information. We hope to see you there.

Because it is very important to Carol and I to foster connections, conversation and financial healing, if you want to come but are not able to pay the $35.00 fee please just send us an email at youpowermoney@gmail.com letting us know that you want to come. Money is usually the reason we use to not do many of things that would actually help us. We don't want that to be the excuse you can use this time. If you are tired of feeling fear and ready to take action, register and/or contact us today.

Transformation starts with you, your financial and emotional health and healing.



PLAN OF ACTION
Stop Talking, Talking, Talking. No need to add to the fears. Take Action.
If you are unable to attend the seminar, then balance your checkbook, begin tracking your spending each day, trace how often you spend to ease an emotional pain...pay attention to yourself. In hour long huddles and phone calls regarding the fears about the state of the economy, dare to share an action that you've taken and ask them what action they will take this week!




UPCOMING EVENTS:
Dr. Kataria's Laughter Yoga
lead by Dr. Alex Eingorn, Laughter Ambassador!
Generate Endorphins, Burn Calories, and have a Great Time!
Mondays at 7:30 PM sharp (ish) at

Better Health Chiropractic, PC
825 Seventh Avenue (53rd Street)
New York, NY 10019
RSVP 212-956-5920


TURN ON TO LIFE
Free teleseminar: "Productivity & Peace of Mind: You Don't Have to Sacrifice One for the Other"

Would you like more peace and joy in your life, but you're afraid that if you focus too much on those things, you won't be able to do all you need to get done? Then Peaceful Productivity is for you.

In this 60-minute teleseminar presented by Productivity Specialist & Coach, Curtis G. Schmitt, you'll learn:


The Path to Peaceful Productivity
The 3 steps to increase your productivity (without sacrificing your peace of mind)
The 3 steps to greater peace of mind (without sacrificing your productivity)
How the tension between Being vs. Doing creates challenges to your productivity and peace of mind
And more...

Tuesday, Oct. 28, 8 PM
Thursday, Oct. 30, 7 PM

Register at:
http://www.PeacefulProductivityNow.com

And if you like this teleseminar, please let us know so that we can provide you with more resources like it in the future!



www.enlightennext.org every Thursday 7pm-10:30pm
http://www.andrewcohen.org/ny/
Join me for an amazing retreat in Fox Hollow, Massachusetts at their headquarters from Oct. 31-Nov. 2nd.

www.sacredcenterny.org every Sunday at 11am-12:30pm


Congratulations to Alexandra Jacoby and the many participants, performers and all affliated with The Vagina Festival that took place this weekend in the beautiful Sage Theatre. Be sure to visit: http://www.vaginafestival.com/ to learn more from someone who not only talked about her idea but took action and has developed an entire festival dedicated to fostering conversation.
You can view the interview I did with her on Emotional Money on November 19, 2007.
http://emotionalmoney.blogspot.com/search?updated-min=2007-01-01T00%3A00%3A00-05%3A00&updated-max=2008-01-01T00%3A00%3A00-05%3A00&max-results=50
and scroll down to November 19th.
________________________________________________
Any affirmations, suggestions, requests, job notices, teleseminars or events please email me at emotionalmoney@gmail.com. Any comments regarding any of the weekly "Emotional Money" issues please post and join in the conversation. To unsubscribe to "Emotional Money" weekly ezine type in subject line "unsubscribe Emotional Money." To unsubscribe to all notices regarding Samarra Am Management events type in subject line "unsubscribe Samarra Am Management."

October 20, 2008

SLEEP, FOOD, FEAR, DENIAL...


"And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom."
Anais Nin


I went to a workshop that I had no idea would actually NOT feature the person speaking, because she was a channeler. She channeled a spirit regarding money matters. The guides told us to have hope which leaves the door open for possibilities, and to give from the heart. The guide explained that what has occurred today was because money was being "held" on to, not acknowledging the structures of the universe - abundance. Money is an energy and any energy, like water, "held" needs and must find a way to escape. You have to have a way in the system for the energy of money to be let go of or given away or else it'll find its own way to escape. The guests left the room feeling more assured than when they came in, but I wondered what happens when they return home and see their retirements, job and/or paychecks have dipped again? Whether you believe in channelers or not - my question is do you believe in yourself? We are in a system that with the current crisis, the solution is to pump 700 billion more dollars into the system, create credit, credit, credit. The powers that be saying, "come on people, turn your beliefs around, have no fear, buy, buy, buy." People are instead scared and running, holding on and seeking answers and distraction outside of themselves and their own homes. The solution, like the problem, tries to skip over the time and tension needed for an authentic bloom. Without it, there's no authentic transformation, people aren't buying into the rhetoric, outside or their own, they can't. There can be no built confidence because this fictitious 700 billion dollars no one can really lay their hands on or feel that the same thing won't just happen again. No trust or character is found in that system. We do this in our lives daily. We pick the easy way out and so no trust or character is built to learn and teach us to trust ourselves.

This past month I chose the easy ways again, sleep, food, fear, denial, turn to others to get answers, they say get a job, I try to convince myself to give up this business, stop going to meditation, stop working out. What happened to the transformation I was living every day? It was scary and pushing me up against things I didn't feel I had all the answers to...scary. I needed a break. Sleep, food, fear, denial, turn to others to get answers, they say get a job, I try to convince myself to give up this business, stop going to meditation, stop working out. As soon as I became conscious again, forced to because my friends are also up to practicing living authentically. They decided to come to the meditation so that forced me to have to get out of bed. Just being in the environment after meditation and the conversations, whew, I couldn't deny I had slipped to laying back AGAIN. No wonder I had stopped coming to meditation. I felt safer in bed but man I was miserable. Safe in fear but miserable. But because I was at the meditation center and willing to admit and be aware, all sorts of opportunities arose. Attending the workshop, being on a world wide teleconference call the next day with people living on the edge, *having a conversation that suddenly altered the name of me and Carol's upcoming workshop, a free massage, an opportunity to volunteer at a spiritual book store where in exchange I'll receive free yoga classes, two customers resurfacing wanting to start again, even finding a new church. Mostly what resurfaced, was possibility! Scary and unsafe but wow safety and familiarity keeps getting me a bigger waistline, sleep and lots of misery.


Don't you really believe deep inside you that really, despite the papers and rumors and Wall Street and War somewhere deep inside, you know that everything is going to be okay? Pay attention to that voice - burn through the surface fears, take responsibility and take action, for yourself and your life and join with others willing to do the same in theirs. If you want to go toward a different conversation, below I will list several places where hope, possibilities, and transformation of consciousness is the practice. Visit any one of these and experience the possibilities away from the drone of the fears. Dare to bloom and place yourself in a context closer to your core. There is where we can grow and learn to trust our own character. As the guides informed us - it's not the "systems" fault, we can't change a system - it's the humans that make up the system, transform the people and only then will the system be changed.


PLAN OF ACTION:
Dare to place yourself in environments and around others that support YOUR BLOOM:

www.enlightennext.org every Thursday 7pm-10:30pm
http://www.andrewcohen.org/ny/

www.sacredcenterny.org every Sunday at 11am-12:30pm

Wednesday, October 29th, 6pm-8pm $35.00
You Power Money: An Empowering & Inspiring seminar addressing the emotional, spirtual and practical pieces of your financial life.
Carol Buchman, CPA & Financial Planner & I, Emotional Money Healer & Guide at
243 West 30th Street, 11th Floor (1 block from Penn station)

*Formerly named "Empowering & Inspiring Your Financial Goddess" - as I was discussing my concern about the seminar I had just attended, which I talk about in the blog above, creating an "outside self" model, it was pointed out to me that that was what the title of our seminar also invoked. By "opening up" the title, it also allowed us to open it to anyone, male & female ready to transform their personal and financial lives starting from the inside. Thank you Shelley, Linda, Holly, Lauralee, Carol & Charlotte!)

When you feel afraid refer to Mark's words below, carry it with you and choose to act towards your transformation.

Moving Through the Dark
Mark Nepo

In nature, we are quietly given countless models of how to give
ourselves over to what appears dark and hopeless, but which ultimately
is an awakening beyond all imagining. All around us, everything small
and buried surrenders to a process that none of the buried parts can
see. We call this process seeding. And this innate surrender allows
everything edible and fragrant to break ground into a life of light that
we call spring. As a seed buried in the earth can’t imagine itself as
an orchid or hyacinth, neither can a heart packed with hurt or a mind
filmed over with despair imagine itself loved or at peace. The courage
of the seed is that, once cracking, it cracks all the way. This moving
through the dark into blossom is the threshold to God. And the devotion
of the living to move through the dark into blossom is the work of
soul.
*****************************************
These reflections are excerpts from several books, including a new book
of poems, Surviving Has Made Me Crazy, CavanKerry Press, and a new book
of spiritual non-fiction, Facing the Lion, Being the Lion: Inner Courage
and Where It Lives, Red Wheel/Conari Press. For more info, please visit
www.MarkNepo.com.



SAMARRA AM MANAGEMENT EVENTS
Wednesday, October 22nd, 7pm-8pm Free - Amanda Wiss: Professional Organizer
CANCELLED - Rescheduled for Monday, January 26, 2009. Thank you Amanda for your continued generosity. To learn more, please visit her at www.urbanclarity.net.

________________________________________________
Any affirmations, suggestions, requests, job notices, teleseminars or events please email me at emotionalmoney@gmail.com. Any comments regarding any of the weekly "Emotional Money" issues please post and join in the conversation. To unsubscribe to "Emotional Money" weekly ezine type in subject line "unsubscribe Emotional Money." To unsubscribe to all notices regarding Samarra Am Management events type in subject line "unsubscribe Samarra Am Management."


Copyright 2008

October 13, 2008


REST ASSURED, THIS TOO SHALL PASS

I have spoken to many of you who are all feeling completely shell shocked as you discovered that your retirements and savings has lost a lot of money. Emotionally there aren't enough words to even possibly try to take the shock, pain and fear away. What I can recommend is that you don't avoid it. Pay attention to your investements and work with your financial advisors to implement a plan that you can live with. Join Carol and I on Wed. October 29th (see under events below) where you will have the opportunity to share, ask questions and learn emotional and practical tools to carry you through this new time. In the mean time, I spoke with Carol, CPA Financial Planner for some words of advice. She says, "if you can, stay the course. You can not time the market. If the money is for cash reserves for purchasing a home or you are older and very close to retiring then you may need to constuct another plan. But if it is for your retirement and you have many years to go then stay the course. The market needs to work out it's excess and if you can handle it then stay the course." We both believe that this is simply part of the universe's way to begin the transformation process to us living from truth and our core instead of from our apperances and our minds. Before growth, there is a period of pain. Rest assured that this too shall pass.


She offered this excerpt from Genworth Financial's Wealth Management Weekly Bulletin:

"History suggests that the best option following a steep market decline is to stay the course. The markets eventually rebound and emotional responses to short-term upheavals can derail careful, rational planning.

Nonetheless, anxiety over the scale of the current decline has left many investors less willing to stay the course and wait for recovery. Many are considering foregoing their investment plans in exchange for the presumed peace of mind of a more conservative investment solution. This response is understandable and needs to be acknowledged. It is also possible that your clients' risk tolerance and goals may have evolved and that new planning is warranted.

The options to consider are:
Staying the course
Considering reduced risk levels within their current solution
Shifting to new strategies.

Why to stay the course

Consider this table. The left-hand column lists the end-date for market declines (as measured by the S&P 500 Index) against the end-date for their related economic recession. With the notable exception of the 2000 – 2002 period, when the 9/11 Attacks deepened and extended the bear market, stocks began to recover well before the economy:

Market Decline Ended Recession Ended

Sep 14, 1944 Oct 1945

Jun 13, 1949 Oct 1949

Sep 14, 1953 May 1954

Oct 22, 1957 Apr 1958

Oct 25, 1960 Feb 1961

May 26, 1970 Nov 1970

Oct 3, 1974 Mar 1975

Mar 27, 1980 July 1980

Aug 8, 1982 Nov 1982

Oct 11, 1990 Mar 1991

Oct 9, 2002 Nov 2001

Source: Standard & Poor's Equity Research Services


While history is only a guide, the lesson provided here is that retreating to the sidelines until after the general economy recovers has usually been a mistake."



We hope that this can provide some comfort and practical information for you. If you have any questions or are feeling alone please email me at emotionalmoney@gmail.com or call me at 718-350-6095. Or call your financial planner. But do not sit in the fear and let it take you over. Experience it and take an action that will help. Get the information on your accounts specifically and pick up the phone and get in conversation with someone that can listen and help. I hope to see or hear you at at least of the events on a Wednesday in October!




SAMARRA AM MANAGEMENT WEDNESDAY'S
Wednesday, October 15th, 7:30pm-10:30pm - Presidential Debate and Networking Event in New Brunswick
Register at www.njminoritybusiness.com $15
Leaving East Orange at 6pm. Join me for the ride.
Call me at 718-350-6095 or email me at emotionalmoney@gmail.com.

Wednesday, October 22nd, 7pm-8pm Free - Amanda Wiss: Professional Organizer
243 West 30th Street, 11th Floor
Must have at least 8-10 people in attendace. Please RSVP by Friday, Oct. 17th at emotionalmoney@gmail.com.

Wednesday, October 29th, 6pm-8pm $35.00
Inspiring & Empowering Your Financial Goddess w/ Carol Buchman,
CPA & Financial Planner
243 West 30th Street, 11th Floor


________________________________________________
Any affirmations, suggestions, requests, job notices, teleseminars or events please email me at emotionalmoney@gmail.com. Any comments regarding any of the weekly "Emotional Money" issues please post and join in the conversation. To unsubscribe to "Emotional Money" weekly ezine type in subject line "unsubscribe Emotional Money." To unsubscribe to all notices regarding Samarra Am Management events type in subject line "unsubscribe Samarra Am Management."

Copyright 2008

October 6, 2008

Be sure to check out Samarra Am Management's exciting October Wednesday events after the interview. I hope to hear and/or see you at least once this month!

INTERVIEW: AMANDA WISS FLUIDITY & FLEXIBILITY

Prior to launching Urban Clarity, a professional organizing firm, Amanda had ten years’ experience in the non-profit and corporate sectors in training, event planning, program and people management, sales, marketing and recruiting. She studied at Oxford and graduated from Wellesley. An active member of the National Association of Professional Organizers (NAPO), Amanda serves on the Board of NAPO-NY as the Director of Professional Development. She is also on the Board of the NY Wellesley Club, where she organizes alumni programs and leads the book club. Amanda lives in Brooklyn with her husband and their two young daughters.

Samarra: Can you give me an example of some of the things
that you do?

Amanda: Frequently I work with people who are feeling stuck in some way – they haven’t opened their mail in a while, they are wasting money buying duplicates because they can’t find the things they need, they don’t have routines in place that support them. One of my more bizarre stories was that as a client and I were sorting mail we discovered that her husband had received a notice letting him know that his car would be impounded. The letter was dated over four years ago, and that entire time they’d believed that the car had been stolen.

Samarra: Oh my goodness, are you serious?

Amanda: Yes. And I'm not telling you this for people to laugh. I'm saying this to show the extent of how overwhelmed people are these days. When I meet with people for their first consultation they are swimming in clutter and they don't have time to do the things that are important to them. I enjoy organizing so much because by working together people gain clarity and peace. The person I mentioned earlier now has closure from something that was four years old. Now this may seem an extreme example but every one has a range. I help clients set goals from where they are, without judgment, which allows them to move forward and be accountable to someone.

Let's face it, it's no fun to do this stuff alone. By doing it with someone else you get an energizing, invigorating boost. And with me you get the know how along with the companionship and support.

Samarra: Now as a child my mom told me that I always lined my toys up along the wall. I loved for things to be organized. It sounds like you have always been that way as well, so is it possible for those that can't stand to "file, organize" etc. to implement what you do with them for the long term?

Amanda: Absolutely! Organizing is definitely a skill to be learned, and we can all improve in this area. A successful professional organizer will customize the solution to the person. When I have clients who hate to hang up their clothes, we put a few well-placed hooks on a wall. What I focus on is creating a living system so you can go about enjoying life. We figure out how can we set up your space so you can you get out of the door in 20 minutes with as little stress as possible. We set something up that the household can maintain, and then tweak it as necessary in the future.

Samarra: Interesting.

Amanda: One of the things that I have learned by having two children is that we can’t all have houses that are designer show pieces, but we can have warm, functional places that support us and our families. As a former perfectionist, I’m finally learning that “done is better than perfect." Many times people don't even want to start organizing because they feel they won't be able to get it perfect. Growing up, I was always pushing myself to do things perfectly, and my girls have taught me to learn to be grateful for figuring out the important things and not getting too stressed about the rest. I admit I'm still working on that, but I realize and understand that having great friends, a family, and a community that you love is more important then the need to be right – or to have color coded files if that’s not important to you! In the past I was really precise and sometimes rigid, and now I've learned how to relax.

Samarra: This is why I really wanted to speak with you because your energy and spirit is seemingly so free and light and I think when people think about organizing or hiring someone to help them organize they think "tight, stiff" and you simply ooze "fun."

Amanda: Thank you. Yes, I really do enjoy doing this and it is fun watching people love their space. I’m very approachable and keep things real – no one is perfect, but we can all strive to have less anxiety and more meaning in our lives. Creating a clutter-free environment reduces stress, allows people to find things faster, and decreases expenses because you don’t have to make duplicate purchases. This is what I work with my clients to create. They see direct results from working with me – improved comfort and utility in their home, greater peace of mind with their finances and their schedule, and overall improved productivity in their lives. Because my approach is engaging, people feel extremely supported when we work together – and I make a task that they’ve been dreading actually manageable and dare I say, fun!

Samarra: Tell me a bit more about the process.

Amanda: My approach comes from "is the stuff that is actually in your space right now, supporting you?" I often find that people have several copies of the same book. They will have a chair blocking the door to their closet. They will have the book "Word Perfect for Dummies" and now they have a Mac. Or the book "What to Expect When You’re Expecting" and their youngest child is now 10 years old. Who can we pass these books on to? There are many people out there who could enjoy the things you no longer value – so it’s time to let go and let others benefit. I am unbiased and supportive which can allow me to envision things differently. It is so much fun to hear people say "I've never thought of that." Organizing should not be a struggle. It should give you possibilities. Organizing is about being open to fluidity and flexibility. I'm training people to rethink and live in the present. I have them take stock of everything in their house. To assess what is being used now, and if it isn't being used, what can be passed on to others, so they live in a streamlined, functional home.

Samarra: This is a very interesting way to look at this. I guess, even I didn't realize, but we tend to think of organizing as static. Once a system is set up then it must stay that way no matter what. That does take the fun right out if it, believing that the system in place today will have to work years from now. That does render a person to do nothing. But your approach of what is going to help you get out of the door and/or setting systems in place that will serve the person day to day has an entirely different approach and feel.

Amanda: Yes, exactly. When there is space we tend to fill it. So I start from what is important to them and create a system that supports that. Purge what they no longer need and use. And then discuss the behavior changes moving forward that allow them to maintain the system as long as it still serves them. If you have children then you know you can't keep the place immaculate, but one of the behavior changes that you implement is "clean up time." You make it a part of the routine. Now there is a flow and system that allows you to have a support system and behavior change that will support you and your family.

Samarra: What have you found to be the greatest obstacle or burden for people?

Amanda: Paper. Paper. Paper. But it's not the paper itself, it's that there is no system in place for dealing with it. It’s helpful to make a plan that works for you. For instance, have your trash or shredder close by, and make a simple filing system to file appropriately. Go through your existing files and purge – I bet there’s a ton of stuff you don’t need anymore! You should hold onto your tax filings (for at least 7 years, if not indefinitely), but you don't need your bills from 1987! Generally, you can get rid of everything prior to three years ago. For your incoming papers purge and edit at least once a week. What happens is people are overwhelmed and they let mail sit and then things are late and lost and then there are further repercussions and the cycle continues. However once you create a system that allows you to live from what supports you, people's lives are transformed. And it is so much easier to maintain and keep up with it. Ask yourself, in case of an emergency, how quickly can you put your hands on a vital document and get out the door? Is your information backed up properly? How much time are you wasting daily just looking for paper? If you can create a better routine, you’ll be in much better shape on a consistent basis.

Samarra: Right we are all familiar with the "where are my keys?" saga every morning. It is automatically easier when what is in your space is only what is supporting you and you know where to find the things that you need. I see it all the time with my clients so much time is spent "looking, searching,” which then gets them frustrated and causes them not to even want to deal with it.

Amanda: Exactly. Clutter is never about the stuff. It's your vision of self and the past, or what you want your future to be. Simply not doing things alone, and having an outside eye, like a friend or a professional organizer, you will be surprised by how quickly a large impact can be made in such a short amount of time. Be open to the shifts of life and embrace them when they come, because they do come.

Samarra: Thank you so much Amanda. I've always been organized but I think I do have my pay checks and bills from the last 20 years. I think I have some purging to do. (Laughter)




Amanda has volunteered her time to meet with Emotional Money Readers for a free one hour discussion of how you can set up systems to serve your space. It will be Wednesday, October 22nd from 7pm-8pm. Recently I've seen a lot of evidence that clutter in finances stems from a clutter within the home. When one is cleared it as an affect on the other. Please RSVP to me by October 14th at emotionalmoney@gmail.com to attend this amazing session. We need to have at least 10 people registered for the seminar to occur. So please RSVP. The location will be announced soon. You will be inspired by her energy, knowledge and love of teaching others about the secret to organizing - fluidity and flexibility.




SAMARRA AM MANAGEMENT WEDNESDAY'S

THIS WEDNESDAY,October 8th, 7pm-8pm - Samarra Mbenga -
The Other Side of Through - Learn about my story. Emotional abuse, lack of love for myself, and an adamant mistrust of others. Does that sound like me now? If you think it doesn't, please join me on this call to find out how I arrived where I am today. Please RSVP at emotionalmoney@gmail.com And/or call in at 1-218-486-1616 Passcode: 931969
Please call in a few minutes before, so we can begin on time.


Wednesday, October 15th, 7:30pm-10:30pm - Presidential Debate and Networking Event in New Brunswick
Register at www.njminoritybusiness.com $15
Leaving East Orange at 6pm. Join me for the ride.
Call me at 718-350-6095 or email me at emotionalmoney@gmail.com.

Wednesday, October 22nd, 7pm-8pm - Amanda Wiss: Professional Organizer
Featured in the interview TODAY. Seminar will take place in Midtown - location will be announced next week.

Wednesday, October 29th, 6pm-8pm $35.00
Inspiring & Empowering Your Financial Goddess w/ Carol Buchman,
CPA & Financial Planner
243 West 30th Street, 11th Floor


________________________________________________
Any affirmations, suggestions, requests, job notices, teleseminars or events please email me at emotionalmoney@gmail.com. Any comments regarding any of the weekly "Emotional Money" issues please post and join in the conversation. To unsubscribe to "Emotional Money" weekly ezine type in subject line "unsubscribe Emotional Money." To unsubscribe to all notices regarding Samarra Am Management events type in subject line "unsubscribe Samarra Am Management."

Copyright 2008