We Did It! People Power - No Mining in NZ :)

Last week on July 20 the NZ government announced that there would be no mining in in Schedule 4 land or any national parks now or in the future. We did it! The various methods applied by non profit organisations using social media worked :)

The picture on the left was taken by Alex at the top of Mt Ngauruhoe (that's Mt Doom for Lord of the Rings fans ;) showing the view of Lake Taupo. From when did the Tongariro Crossing, an incredible walk through the National Park that took us several hours. We were exceptionally lucky with the weather, which is why you can see for miles!

Greenpeace wrote:

This is a huge victory for the environment, for you and for future generations. We saw the biggest protest in a generation and an avalanche of submissions. It goes to show that people power works, that when enough of us act together - we are unstoppable.

This is a hugely significant victory and shows the Government in no uncertain terms that New Zealanders want a better vision for the future. We value our environment and its importance to our economy. We don't want it sacrificed for short-term corporate profit.


When I tweeted "We did it" one of my followers Peter S Lopez suggested I blog about it, so here is a brief look from my perspective at what contributed to this success as a casual observer! I'm fairly sure that there was a lot more activity going on but this is all I can remember and highlights what stood out for me from their social media strategy!

TV News role: I remember the news on tv reporting the Government's proposal to mine in an area called Schedule 4, that had previously been protected like national parks, the Coromandel and Great Barrier island. We were staying with Will and Kirsten in Auckland at the time and it got us talking about the topic. Kirsten, Alex and I, visited the Coromandel (see next pic) and it just doesn't make sense to spoil somewhere so beautiful and such a tourist destination. Although we talked about it, no action was taken by any of us and I forgot about it until ...

Facebook: I started to see status updates about the topic from green groups and kiwi friends like Michael Q Todd (even though he's in Japan!) with links to sign petitions or competitions to design T-shirts slogans against the mining! I went to website signed the petition, it posted a message to my facebook status and I then used the other social media sharing button for ...

Twitter: I tweeted about the petition and others re-tweeted it. The conversation was going on and was useful for letting people know about upcoming deadlines for the petition. Initially the NZ government had set a deadline of end April/early May? Then it got extended and this gave even more people an oppotunity to participate. I saw that demonstration marches were organised in places like Auckland and Wellington. Alex and I, were unable to make any because we were on the South island. Still they seemed to be well attended and got media attention!

Email: As I'd given my email address for the petition, I then received updates by email from Greenpeace NZ and finally that was how I found out that we did it! People power succeeded.

I sometimes hear from people either in face to face conversations, or on social media, who think that they don't have the power to change the way things are. I disagree. I think we all have the power to make choices that support change or not.

I chose to pay attention to what was happening in this beautiful country I am visiting.

I noticed some messages online (less offline because I don't watch tv or listen to radio that often).

I followed them up - this usually only involved a simple click of my mouse on a link!

I added my name to a petition and a comment.

I shared the message on facebook and twitter - again as easy as clicking on a button and adding a brief personal message - sometimes there was even a draft one I could use (Greenpeace are great at providing these :) That's it!!

Anyone can do this if I can and many did. Thank you to everyone who helped put a stop to mining in NZ schedule 4 and national park areas. There are talks of others sorts of mining - Greenpeace describe it as dangerous deep-water oil drilling, and new coal and lignite mines. So there is already another petition under way to stop that! Click here to sign.

Hope this was interesting and helpful, please feel free to leave a comment and have your say.

Best wishes,

Peace

Emily

My Magical Birthday Dreams & Wishes

I celebrated my first winter birthday yesterday in Queenstown, New Zealand with Alex. The picture on the left is from on top of the mountain, in brilliant sunshine after lunch. He completely spoilt me and made my birthday truly special and magical. Starting with breakfast in bed, then opening my cards and presents from him, my family and friends. Thanks Mum & Dad, Sandra, Great Aunty Helen and Yung for birthday wishes and lovely messages. I know more are on the way and I am looking forward to the extension this gives me in celebrating my birthday! ;-)


I set the cards up today on our bookshelf in the living room :) I really loved the poem by Emily Matthews "Your Birthday is a Special Time for Dreaming" on the card from Alex all about the importance of dreams and wishes! Today there is a new moon and my fabulous friend Geraldine sent me a message saying how you can make many wishes on this day - here is how you can do it! I'll be making my list later today :)
I am also very grateful for all the email cards, messages on facebook and Twitter wishing me a wonderful birthday from all my awesome friends around the world. I managed to read some in the morning, more in the evening and all of them today! Anthony from Motivational Radio sang me happy birthday thanks to Tetka Rhu. I feel very blessed and honoured to receive them all. This blog is my way of saying thanks and sharing with you the joyous time I had celebrating it.

Alex arranged a day and night of skiing at Coronet Peak. This meant I was able to explore fully the snow park because I am not yet competent enough on my snowboard to manage the steeper more challenging slopes! We escaped at 1pm to Heidi's Hut at the base of the Rocky Gully T-Bar. The view you can see in this picture was taken from our table inside Heidi's Hut - reserved by Alex (one of the perks of his job)! "Intimate dining, pizza, pasta, coffee and a full bar service." We were right next to the window and fire place. The food was delicious and plentiful - we ordered bread (two loaves freshly baked - one wholemeal with seeds, the other plain) olives and dips as a starter. They'd sold out of the twice cooked pork belly main so we had pizza, which proved to be too much after the bread - dough! ;)

We washed it down with some local Central Otago Lake Hayes Pinot Noir 08 - described as "deeply coloured and packed with sweet ripe fruit aromas with a touch of spice ... a fine, silky texture." It was divine. The kiwis know how to make good wine!

We continued playing on the slopes the rest of the afternoon, meeting up with Toby (our landlord) and his friend Max both snowboarders. I was impressed by their style and tricks jumping/turning mid air as they made their way down the slopes.

Alex is awesome on the board too (considering it's his first season - only a few weeks in) and a real speed devil, travelling at times faster than me on my skis!! And some of you will know how fast I like to travel ... or maybe I'm slowing down a bit now in my old age? ;-)


We stopped for some hot chocolate when it got dark, which allowed me to put away my sunglasses. When Alex came out with the drinks, he also had a a slice of chocolate cake with two candles on it!! So I made a wish as I blew them out and we then ate/drank it all.

The skiing at night was fun and the picture here shows you how pretty the place looks - we also experienced the sun setting making the sky that magical orange, purple, pink glow you see around the edges of the mountains! Coronet Peak stays open late on Friday and Saturday nights until 9pm. We didn't stay that long because Alex had another surprise in store for me at 7pm ...

A private indoors/outdoors hot pool high on the cliffs overlooking the Shotover River canyon thanks to Onsen Hot Pools. It was incredibly romantic because he had asked for the room to be set up like the picture to be lit up with candles! At the press of a button you can retract the picture windows (roof and front-wall) and suddenly you're outdoors. It was completely magical and breath taking to be able to look up and see all the night stars and the milky way! It was fabulous to experience an hour immersed in the views, the pure waters, and the fresh mountain air, allowing our mind and body to surrender to the deep penetrating warmth and gentle massage of the private pool. It was just what we needed to soak and relax our muscles after the days adventures.

We finished celebrating my birthday in Queenstown at the Patagnia Chocolate shop. We had ice cream cones with two scoops (dark chocolate, figs & pistachio for me; Alex had dark chocolate and banana split) and hot chocolate. We loved the ice cream and thought the hot chocolate was not as nice as the one's at Coronet Peak, maybe it was because the dark chocolate ice cream was sooooo rich = spoiling the taste? - or simply because they didn't come with marshmallows and M&Ms!

Today I have missed Alex's company because he's back at work :( However, thanks to his thoughtful birthday present - a wireless mouse as shown with my new laptop here - I've had an easier time navigating online!

Thank you Alex for my magical birthday, I can't wait to return the favour when it is yours and we are in Australia! And thank you everyone for your wishes, I feel totally supporting in pursuing my dreams :)

Big hugs and lots of love Emily xxx

Virtual Assistant Goddess

I've often joked to my friends that I am their Virtual Assisant Goddess when lending them support to their causes and projects! Yesterday I made a decision to use the nickname as a fun and playful way to promote myself on LinkedIn. It's part of my on going plan to get paid for doing what I love.

Ever since the Lifeline project last summer, I've been using my skills to develop my knowledge of social media and to expand my network of people aligned with creating sustainable change. I've discovered how to step into my greatness to create the life I love thanks to Geraldine McMahon. I also learnt about owning my power thanks to Tetka Rhu author of Embrace Your Goddess book and the Goddess of Spirituality on Motivation Radio.

I now feel ready to put it altogether and be of service to others! Here's a description of what I do ...

I connect people using social media to ideas that can change themselves and the world for the better.

I believe in making what YOU do more AWESOME!!

I bring my experience as a project manager and passion for coaching to ensure that those I work with achieve results.

I am excellent at building good working relationships, which is one of the secrets to my success.

I also use my divine feminine consciousness - the goddess quality - to guide you in a fun, intuitive way to check that your heart is aligned to your goals.

If you've ever wanted someone to do the tasks you put off or don't get round to - consider them done with me acting as your Virtual Assistant Goddess!

Other key skills:
• Professional - prioritising work & organisation to meet due dates
• Excellent verbal & written communication skills
• Amazing MS Office skills & understanding of social media
• Can do attitude - very proactive, great motivator & problem solver
• Effective coaching skills & personal development tools

Examples of my voluntary work so far include the Lifeline.tv, UN Millenium Development Goals Youth Film Online Festival Awards and International Peace Day.

If you have any questions or comments please ask and I will answer!

Peace, love and Light, Emily xx

Rise and Shine!

Hi everyone

I'm back ready to rise and shine after months on the road travelling and soul searching the meaning of my life! Who am I and why do I do the things I do? There have been lots of good times, plenty of fun, excitement and adventure. Plus some darker times that have made me learn new things about myself and grow stronger from the experience. I am no longer going to hide who I am or what I am up to! I hope you will enjoy catching up with my blog. I have been journally all the time and have a few ideas for new entries to reflect where I've been and what has been inspiring me. The picture on the left is Alex and I jumping for joy on the first day that Coronet Peak was opened.

First of all, I'd like to share with you my updated LinkedIn summary.

One life to love let's make it authentic!

Currently I am working as a virtual assistant goddess to connect people to ideas that can change themselves and the world.

My mission in life is to raise global consciousness by connecting people through social media to services and causes that promote sustainable change. I aim to inspire and encourage others to make the intelligent choice to unite and live for the peace and harmony of all, rather than for the material gain of the self. To listen to their heart and focus on what they love. To be true to themselves - authentic!!

"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented and fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small doesn't serve the world. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others." by Marianne Williamson.

I believe everyone has a right to be educated in the ways of discovering what their strengths, passions and purpose are; and achieving fulfilment. To be able to focus on a life full of love, compassion, acceptance and understanding for living a harmonious existence instead of one based on fear and competition.

If everyone decides to change themselves and focus on love, peace, co-operation and united as one then the world will change. Together we can make a difference and heal the world. The greatest act one person can do is to follow one's heart and contribute to the rising wave of love.

Looking forward to blogging more and reading any comments or questions you might have.

Hugs,
Love Emily xx

Reflections Since Arriving

We've passed the one month stage and I worked out that for 17 out of the 28 days I was taking antibiotics for a skin infection on my face! Not the best way to start a working holiday :( I guess though it was my body's way of telling me to SLOW down, rest and recover after what has been a very eventful last six months (or more):

• Processing my divorce, learning forgiveness, dealing with obstacles and delays ... finally the end is in sight!
• The Lifeline - documenting sustainable solutions in London and at Karuna in Shropshire, tweeting, planning and fundraising for a 13 month trip around Europe and Africa that I chose to let go because I was ...
• Falling in love with Alex and out of love with work at the Department for Children Schools and Families.
• Moving from New Cross, London to Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire in early November.
• Deciding to leave work, take the voluntary redundancy money and go traveling around NZ and Australia with Alex.
• Getting ready for our big trip, selling up, storing, recycling and saying goodbye to friends and family.

Even though I could not stay out in the sun for 10 of the days (thanks to the antibiotics), we managed to get out and about visiting some amazing places featured on the top 101 Kiwi things to do! e.g. Sky Tower, Stardome Observatory (actually I don't think this is on the list but it should be because it helps you understand what you can see at night in the Southern Hemisphere and the stars here are truly AWESOME :), Auckland museum, Kelly Tarlton's (sharks, penguins, stingrays, etc), Hot Water Beach, Kare Kare Beach, Devonport, etc. New Zealand certainly is a beautiful, warm and mostly sunny country, with scenery that takes your breath away.

I also got the chance to remember how much I love reading great novels like Shataram by Gregory David Roberts (thanks Ali). I recently finished The Irresistible Inheritance of Wilberforce by Paul Torday (thanks again Ali - I think my brother now has the UK copy - and Kirsten/Will for NZ copy). I've not yet visited any vineyards but I am sure it's only a matter of time before we go wine tasting here. I also read about being a wine trader yesterday, now there's something you can appreciate going up in value or down because it's been drunk ;) I am now reading A Thousand Splendid Sunsets by Khaled Hosseini (thanks Ann) - please don't read the links if you don't want to know too much about these books!! Next up I have the twelfth Wheel of Time, Robert Jordan & Brandon Sanderson book The Gathering Storm to read next (thanks Will :)

Alex has learnt how to play Munchkin (original with expansion packs) and we've enjoyed several games with Will and Kirsten. I'd forgotten how much fun it is. I love how silly and simple it is. Most of all I love winning - who doesn't?! - and casting a spell or sending in a monster that means some one else's victory is delayed, giving me and every other player another chance to try our hand or should that be luck at winning. ... Will mentioned that he has MAGIC the gathering card game, which I vaguely recall playing when I was a teenager, so maybe there will be more fun in rediscovering that ... yes I do still love my sci-fi and fantasy.

I have to admit that it hasn't all been fun and games. It was very strange to be here at first, realizing I had no home, no job and no family nearby - and that I'd chosen to do this! Letting go of everything you know is not easy when you are healthy let alone when you are ill. Old habits of negative behaviour crept in and stole my joy of life many times. I felt pretty miserable and found myself listening to the little voice in my head giving myself a hard time about most things. e.g. when I found it stressful writing my CV - describing what on earth I did at DCSF in non civil servant jargon to show my ability and suitability for ski season/office work = I'm stupid, incompetent, blah blah blah! I was depressed when my jeans/shorts were too tight and hyper critical when photos showed my extra weight - put on from over indulging at Christmas/in general, not saying no to yummy food like chocolate and keeping up with Alex size portions. I also regretted not packing the lovely Christmas bathroom goodies - due to no space and weight considerations - because products out here like body lotion, shower gel are really expensive (on the flip side I will have them to enjoy when I get back :) and Kirsten has very kindly given me some of her stuff.

So I was being my own worst enemy! I'd forgotten to "shut the duck up" - love this expression from Pete Cohen's Sort Your Life Out - long story supposedly based on the coach chatting to the French footballer Eric Cantona, which I learnt at the Vitality Show last year!

Thankfully now I am completely better :D My face looks normal again and I am remembering to love myself each day. I have work doing data entry and it reminds me that I do not love this type of office work enough to do it full time - a week or more will be perfectly ok! It's great to be earning money to spend on exciting things e.g. this weekend we had a private guided tour of lions and tigers at Zion Wildlife Garden (please turn your head left to see big cat :)

That's all for now ... I hope to blog more soon about some these adventures in more detail and with more pictures. On this trip it seems like I've been a lot busier and distracted from blogging, not to mention the recent virus on my laptop has made it less easy to blog. Fingers crossed it can be fixed at the PC shop ... oh how I miss my IT savvy friends in the UK ... or maybe after four years it's time to accept it's game over and find a new laptop?!

Driving My Car - Louise Hay Meditation

I bought my first car a blue 1998 Subaru Legacy GT-b (automatic) yesterday. The number plate is EGT66 and I have decided it stands for Emily Goes Traveling! Not sure about the 66, Alex joked that it was one number 6 shy from being the sign of the devil! ;)

Today I found a mediation by Louise Hay on Driving My Car, which I love and am going to keep in my car ... to remind me I am a skilled driver and a friendly passenger.

"Driving is a safe and pleasant experience for me. I take good care of my car and my car takes good care of me. It is ready to go whenever I am. I have the perfect mechanic, who also loves my car. I fill my car with love whenever I enter it, so love is always traveling with me. I send love to the other drivers on the road, as we are all traveling together. Love goes before me, and love greets me at my destination. I am always safe and Divinely protected. I love my car."

As Alex loves driving, so much more than me, I am thinking he can act as my chauffeur! He also has more experience driving (eight years compared to my on/off four years) and he can get cheaper insurance as the main policy owner. The beauty is that I can still drive fully comp because I am over 25 :-) so I will drive sometimes. We're going to get New Zealand driving licenses because we will be here for two years. I expect this will help us to learn their more unusual rules - Kirsten has told us a few but they haven't sunk in yet, probably because I haven't done any driving over here yet!

The Journey - What You Can Do!

Alex's grandparents drove us to Heathrow airport and helped us check in with Air New Zealand. We'd booked our tickets with the Flight Centre and were unimpressed to discover whilst queuing that they had not told us about registering for an ESTA (needed for USA immigration). Luckily Alex's new phone (Nokia 900) was able to find the website and log our details before we got to the front desk! The next thing the Flight Centre had failed to tell us was the correct baggage allowance - only 23kg per bag - we had two bags weighing 25kg because we thought that was the max limit!! Luckily they let us off and didn't charge us :)

We were then able to go and enjoy some lunch, our last British meal where these pictures were taken.

The time flew by in the departure lounge, shopping for last bits and saying goodbye on the phone to close friends and family. We had to run to the gate because we'd only just noticed the gates closing sign. The staff said it was closing early because they wanted to leave asap due to the snow!

It still took another 45 minutes sitting on the plane before take off. By which point I'd lined up several films/tv shows to watch over the next 20 odd hours. As you will see you can learn a lot on a plane and be entertained (or not) depending on what stage of the flight your are.

The invention of lying life is more fun when you don't have to be truthful and can think outside the parameters of what is genetically good or labels people are trapped with.

Paper Heart is a cute look at what is love, does true love exist? The mock documentary leaves you guessing what is real and what is staged between Charlyne Yi and Michael Cera. It was enjoyable enough.

An Education a coming of age story set in the 60s that had a discussion about whether action is character, which stuck in my mind. I think action does describe character.

The world's greatest money maker - Warren Buffet - the secrets of the richest man.

Eagle vs Shark - I begun to watch this after not much sleep and failed to enjoy the humour of this comedy romance staring Jermaine Clement (from Flight of the Conchords) so gave up!

The Informant! Matt Damon was interesting enough and funny in this movie watched just before we landed in NZ.

Air New Zealand have been voted number one in the world and it's easy to see why, good food, wine, plenty of movies, tv shows to choose from and music to listen to. The service by flight attendants was high quality and they kept asking for feedback on anything they can do to make the journey better. They also do their bit for the environment :)