April 7, 2007 Press Release

On April 6, 2007 Zaadzsters Paul Salamone & Gwen Bell completed the paperwork to register their new start-up coaching and design company, Plunge Artist.

Building on their more than 10 years combined experience in the field, the founders now provide services for new and nascent small businesses and individuals ready to plunge into the world of the web and beyond in a graceful, informed and supported way.

Services offered include: 

Entrepreneurial coaching
Vision mapping
Branding
Logo and website design
Graphics and Illustration
Print Promotion
Marketing and web copy
Training (Wordpress, Basecamp, blog set-up)
Consulting (sustainable business practices, GTD, streamlined systems)

Contact gwen(at)plungeartist(dot)com or paul(at)plungeartist(dot)com for more information on how we can help you grow your business and brand.

Plunge gracefully,
Gwen & Paul

In the women's bathroom at Outback Bar & Karaoke Saloon (emphasis on the karaoke) I discovered a most alarming poster on the back of the stall door closest to the sink.  You have to picture the scene.  I'm there, knickers around my knees, suspended above the toilet seat to avoid germ contraction, perusing the advertisements 6 inches in front of my face.

There, at the bottom of the poster, a woman with dark hair, not much younger than me, looks visibly distraught.  Her tousled hair, a look of agony in her eyes, I want to reach out and hug her.  I read the copy. 

What if?  Asks the poster.  What if you forgot to take your Pill (starts out innocuous enough)?
What if the condom broke (ooh, thinks I, yeah, that would suck)?
What if you were raped on your way home?

It's an advert for emergency contraception.  

I never asked these questions, in my years in Japan.  It never crossed my mind.  I never, not once, felt like I might be attacked or hurt in any way, except maybe by a train crash or earthquake.  To be honest, when I first got to Japan I was scared all the time, after I felt my first tremor.  I really thought I might die in an earthquake.  So, I started asking my Japanese students what they do to prepare.  Many said there's nothing you can do.  You just have to do the best you can.  My favorite answer, though, was a woman in her forties, classy businesswoman.  She said, "oh, that's easy!  I keep a piece a chocolate in my purse!"  
"How will that help you after an earthquake?"  "Well," she says, as though it's so obvious, "at least it will cheer me up."  And I laugh.  Then she says, "And I always eat it, so it's not really Emergency Chocolate."

Emergency Chocolate.
Emergency Contraception.

To be sure, emergency contraception will be more help in an assault situation.  I don't mean to make light of this.  What I do mean to say is this.  One woman knows that there's little she can do when faced with a situation beyond her control.  If it's gonna quake, it's gonna quake.  The other, doe-eyed and broken, reminds me that it's possible that assault could happen at any time.  What if?!

What if we lived in a place where, rather than reacting from fear, we acted from a place of understanding.  That our very existence is groundless.  That we can never know what will happen next.

Let me share with you a quote (even though I sort of loathe quotes-you can really only munch on one at a time, and in my case, I need about a month to really get it, sometimes a whole year- I wrote this one, with a sharpie on the back of my notebook): 

Please vote here if you want to help us win the blogger's choice award. The Buddhist Geeks (your girl Gwen, Vince & Ryan) thank you.

*re the title:  we go hungry anyway...but at least we'll have a pretty medallion for our blog.  ;)

You've waited so long now... and now's your big chance to...give me all your money.

(Buddhist Geeks now graciously accepting your donations.  And I hope Vince & Ryan aren't too terribly embarrassed by my lack of dignity.  What can I say?!  Upaya babies!!) 

No, really.  We'll keep providing stellar content anyway, even if nobody contributes a dime.  It was getting to the point where total strangers were saying, "hey, why don't you put up a donate button!  I wanna give you my hard-earned dollars!"

In other Gwendolyn-related news I had my first paid photography gig today!  That was totally fun and hanging with a group of people that are being forced to smile in my direction lifted my spirits immesurably!  What can I say.  I like to watch you squirm.  ;)

I started my Creative Dream Guidebook (with help from Sark, who I've been reading since '99 baby!) this week.  Ironically, I'm sure, on the same day that I was called a hippie for the first time.  (First?!)  It's not an insult, people!  (And neither is drifter, for that matter....but keep 'em coming!)  And yes, I still shave.  Some days.  The dream I'm hatchin' is a big one.  Keep one ear to the ground and both eyes to the sky. 

Plunge Artist is growing and we've got our hands full.  I'll be looking to hire someone (contract) to help out with coding very soon (proficiency in CSS a must).  So, if that sentence makes you wriggle with delight, do send a message along.  gwen at plungeartist dot com.

On Sunday we co-hosted with the girls upstairs a rockin' brunch.  It was a good time and amazing photo op (as you can see from above shot).  The theme was decidely red.  Guests had to wear fancy dress and bring a piece of their favorite fruit.

Well, that's given you plenty of time to get your wallet out.  So, if you're ready to contribute to the Geeks and want to see us live to podcast & blog for another day you can contribute here.

(And no, I won't ask again.  What!?  You think I have no pride???) 

Answer to the koan:  clink!

Before I share this week’s post with you, I want to take a moment with you to open our hearts to everyone touched by the events at Virginia Tech on April 16, 2007. May they be at ease. I dedicate this post and my work in the world to easing suffering the world over, including my own.

If you’re so “Zen,” why are you yelling at me?

It seems to me that the tone of communication at Buddhist Geeks has changed over the weeks since we started the site. At first, during introductions and all that, it seemed like we might be able to create a site where, “everybody just gets along.” Now, as differences in opinion, approach and tradition surface, I see that there is some dissonance underlying what I’m reading in the comments area. As one reader put it, “I do sometimes feel there is a lot of reactivity in the comments on Buddhist Geeks. If I take a step back from it I really have no idea what ultimately all the fuss is about.”

I can be violent (and reactive) in my speech, too, so I’ve set out to find out what the root cause of that is and how to begin to work with the language that sometimes creates defensiveness, resentment and fear in others. Even though sitting can often help me see a situation with more clarity (and some would say seeing things for what they are is half the battle), I often don’t leave the cushion thinking, “okay, now I know just how to proceed to avoid pissing somebody off.” What’s worse, on a number of occasions I’ve left the cushion and lashed out at someone near me moments later! Back to the cushion? Not if it’s only helping solidify that self-righteous voice that says, “look at me go! Meditating for the benefit of all beings. Metta metta metta. Blah blah blah.”

Earlier this week, in the spirit of learning and open-mindedness, I went to a meeting about nonviolent communication. The founder of Nonviolent communication (NVC), Marshall Rosenberg (watch a clip of him speaking about NVC), has developed a system of speaking so clear that a child could understand it (and indeed, a giraffe and jackal are used to teach children NVC).

The premise of NVC is that it seeks to allow people to communicate with others effectively and with compassion. It focuses on clearly expressing observations, feelings, needs and requests to others in a way that avoids diagnostic language or language that labels or defines others. It also states that all human action is motivated by attempts (some more skillful than others) to get needs met. During the meeting we went through an extensive role-play to discover the needs and feelings that either were or were not being expressed. One person in the group told a story about a situation with her house mates. As she told the story, she was guided by the leader to keep to the facts and cut the story-line. The rest of the group laid down cards with words like SPACE, AUTONOMY, CREATIVITY, etc. written on them. 30-40 needs came to light as the story was told. What appeared to be a “simple situation”…

I’m reading Nonviolent Communication: A Language of Life and noticed the highlighter was getting more use than usual in chapter two as I read about “Communication that Blocks Compassion.” What resonated most was when I read there are “certain ways of communicating [that] alienate us from our natural state of compassion (15).” Therefore, if we want to stay connected with our natural state of compassion, it would make sense that we would want to employ Right Speech. Rosenberg goes on to say that “blame, insults, put-downs, labels, criticism, comparisons, and diagnoses are all forms of [life-alienating communication (and)] judgment. Classifying and judging people promotes violence (15).” It’s hard for me to think of a day in the past month that I haven’t employed at least one of those Life-Alienating Communicative ways. You, too? It can feel overwhelming to sit down and think back to the times, even in the past week, that I’ve alienated people with my judgment and criticism.

I see learning to communicate nonviolently as a way to bring my practice off the cushion into my daily life. No joke: it’s hard work. It’s like cutting the fat out of my daily life. I get a chance to see now, with every interaction how I can bring compassion (and empathy) out of myself and others (often through displaying my own vulnerabilities) or how, by contrast, I can instigate violence. Empathy is a skill that is sorely needed in the workplace, in our relationships, in our government and applied to ourselves. NVC trains in how to give and receive empathy… which is at the heart of compassion.

Daniel, one of our Buddhist Geek readers, recently wrote a post that got me thinking about Right Speech and shared this quote from Dogen:

‘Kind speech’ means that when you see sentient beings you arouse the mind of compassion and offer words of loving care. It is contrary to cruel or violent speech… You should be willing to practice it for this entire present life… Kind speech is the basis for reconciling rulers and subduing enemies…You should know that kind speech arises from kind mind, and kind mind from the seed of compassionate mind… kind speech is not just praising the merit of others; it has the power to turn the destiny of the nation¹.

So, that’s the meaning of Right Speech and Nonviolent Communication. And people often say stuff like, “you should be practicing Right Speech.” But then they don’t say how. How we incorporate the practices of NVC (which really is Right Speech how to), is vital and starts/ends with ourselves. We can’t twist somebody else’s arm and say: “Hey, jerk! I want you to communicate nonviolently with me!” And we can’t walk around like an automatron saying things like: “How are you feeeeeling? What are you neeeeeeeding?” Continue reading ‘A Buddhist Response to Virginia Tech’

(Read the full post at Buddhist Geeks)

I've been on a bit of a personal development kick the past few months.  Really, since I left Japan in October '06.  I left with the intention in mind of caring for myself, learning about myself and how I can fully engage in full catastrophe living.

A major thing I've learned over the past six months, living in/visiting someplace different each month, is that resisiting "what is" gets me every time.   I've read a tiny bit of Byron Katie, and it was really a workshop that I did before I left Japan (The Work as it's called), that pushed me over the edge and led me to "plunge" as it were.  This time I plunged by returning to the States.  Katie's work asks, over and over, "Is it true?"  It teaches us to work with what we have, where and who we are in this moment, rather than looking at the past/future for answers.  (Buddhists call this Mindfulness Practice.  Some call it Vipassana Meditation.)

To illustrate the difference between resisting and "plunging," I'll give you an example of a plunge I took recently.  There was a meeting of entrepreneurs last week in Boulder.  That and the location was all the information that I was given.  I arrive wearing my jeans tucked into my butterfly rainboots, toting my hot pink umbrella and all the geeky equipment I'd need for the day (read:  MacBook, Canon PowerShot, power source, notebooks, colored pencils...need I go on?), shaking the rain out my hair.  Vic's (they don't turn the internet on until 11am, which made this meet-up particularly surprising) is bustling with men, many of whom carry bags with words like Adobe & Microsoft embroidered on them (and possibly Dells-shocker!- within) clutching steaming cups of coffee.

Here I am, the *only* woman, probably the youngest of the crowd, going, "WHAT?!  What am I DOING here?!"

PROBLEM:  You're in a crowded room.  You know no one.  You feel wildly out of place.
SOLUTION:  Plunge.  Or run.

I search the crowd for a familar face and eventually discover my friend Stan from Lijit.  With a sigh of relief I enter the growing crowd and jump into the tech talk (oh, you know, the Newsgator folks were there, as was a guy from the Attention Economy set) to discover actually, yes, I do totally belong with this group.  And even though they're geeks, some of them still dug my boots and even asked for information on where they might purchase them.  One man claimed he wanted a pair for himself.  And he calls himself a Technologist.  I call him:  Metro.

Let me make one thing clear.  In any given (potentially scary) situation, I don't think everyone should simply plunge for the sake of plunging!  I want to make this totally clear, especially as I grow (with Paul) the definition of what a Plunge Artist is over the coming months and years.   I think what it means to plunge to me is going to be different from what it means to plunge to you.  And that's where the beauty is!

You see, for me, stepping into that room was my way of saying:  I'm not resisting this.  I'm not going to hold my breath and hope that it's over with quick.  I'm going to enter the room--making a conscious decision to stay present with whatever happens. 

And I had an uplifting, invigorating and (ohmygoshcanIsaytheword) FUN time.  I'll be back next Tuesday to hang out with my fellow (Ruby on Rails, Feed Aggregatin', Search-engine Optimizin') geeks.  And I might even drag a girl along with me this time. 

I'm living the catastrophe.  You game?

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Here's the deal.  The Plunge Artist team is starting a blog.  From its earliest stages we are looking for user interaction and feedback.  My first question for the blog, which will go up by next week, is::::What's one Life Plunge you've been wanting to take for some time now but have hesitated on?  What's creating the hesitation?  Examine the needs and feelings involved and share either in the comment section below or by sending me a message.  If you're not in the Zaadz community, you can reach me at gwen (at) plungeartist (dot) com.  And thank you all, in advance. I'm excited to be creating a new blog with you!

**Photo:  Paul takes the plunge at his most recent improv performance at Bovine.  Care to guess what he is?