Pray the Devil Back to Hell

Michelle Fairchild

Pray the Devil Back to Hell is a powerful documentary. I was incredibly moved by the courage of the Liberian women who stood up and said “No More War!” It is also demonstrates how Peace is an ACTION. It means doing something to make Peace happen. It means speaking up and speaking the truth, even when it is difficult and frightening to do so.

Here is a short trailer for the film:

Photo Monday

Michelle Fairchild






















“To me, photography is an art of observation. It’s about finding something interesting in an ordinary place… I’ve found it has little to do with the things you see and everything to do with the way you see them.” ~ Elliott Erwin


This weekend we had a Rainbow Birthday party for my twin daughters 4th birthday. I made a rainbow cake (the cake was actually a rainbow of colors as I had put gel food coloring into 6 different batches of white cake batter and then layered them in the baking pans) and then covered the outside with rainbow colored frosting too. There was a platter of fruit designed into a rainbow (strawberries for red, cantaloupe for orange, pineapple for yellow and so on….) So with rainbows on my mind I thought sharing a favorite photo where I captured a rainbow being formed by a large prism in a window of our home would be perfect.


Here is a little extra rainbow inspiration:

“The way I see it, if you want the rainbow, you gotta put up with the rain.”
~ Dolly Parton

Eva Cassidy singing Somewhere Over the Rainbow:



Do you have a favorite photo you would like to share?

Or look around your space and see if you can find some version of a rainbow and share that too.

(Be sure to leave a comment and post a link to your site.)

Inspired Monday

Michelle Fairchild



















“Music expresses that which cannot be put into words
and that which cannot remain silent.” ~ Victor Hugo

One of the things in life that I find incredibly inspirational is music. I love melodies and I love lyrics. When they are skillfully and beautifully put together I am in awe.

I recently discovered a new band called Gypsy Soul. Cilette Swann the lead singer has a beautiful voice and great stage presence. Guitarist Roman Morykit plays the guitar beautifully and also has a remarkable voice. Their ability to write powerful and touching lyrics is remarkable. Below is the lyrics to one of their songs called Be The Change as well as a video that includes the song. A second video shows the band performing a song called Who.

Is there a particular singer, band, musician or song that inspires you?

BE THE CHANGE

(Cilette Swann / Roman Morykit)

We are flesh and bone and
We are parts unknown
We are ashes, we are dust

We are rogues and kings
We are bold extremes
We are jury, we are judge

We are strength and heart
Though we are miles apart
We are one, we are love

We are hopes and dreams
We are noble beings
We are diamonds in the rough

Have we lost sight of all we are
Forgotten history and its scars
Reduced ourselves to doubt and fear
Given up what we hold dear

Freedom is won and fought
Lives are lost, souls are bought
But lasting freedom lives inside
Within our hearts and in our minds

So, BE THE CHANGE you wish to see
Be the peace that sets you free
Be the love you want to feel
Be the cure that helps you heal

Be the dreams that you desire
Be the spark of your own fire
Be the future you inspire
Be the wings that take you higher

So, BE THE CHANGE you wish to see
Be the peace that sets you free
Be the love you want to feel
Be the cure that helps you heal

Be the dreams that you desire
Be the spark of your own fire
Be the future you inspire
Be the wings that take you higher
BE THE CHANGE you wish to see
Be the peace that sets you free
Be the love you want to feel
Be the cure that helps you heal

Be the dreams that you desire
Be the spark of your own fire
Be the future you inspire
Be the wings that take you higher

Here is a video/photo montage that someone created and included the song Be the Change by Gypsy Soul
Here is another song being performed by Gypsy Soul called Who

Grateful Monday

Michelle Fairchild

“When you are grateful fear disappears and abundance appears.”
~ Anthony Robbins

The above quote by Anthony Robbins is very true. Remembering to be grateful has the power to shift one’s mood. It has the power to make a glass that once looked half empty, look half full. It is very difficult to remain pessimistic when you take time to look around yourself and consider all that is good and right in your life. Sure there are days where you might feel stretched to write a gratitude list, but even on the worst of days one can still find something to include.

Here is an eye opening video called the Miniature Earth. The idea behind it is that if the world’s population was reduced to 100 people it would look like this….

Today I am grateful for:

having all my basic needs met abundantly (food, shelter, clothing)
having clean water to drink and bathe in, as well as indoor plumbing
this beautiful planet called Earth

What are you grateful for on this beautiful Grateful Monday?

Magic Mojo Mondays

Michelle Fairchild

Starting Monday there is going to be some Magic Mojo on the Red Boa. There are going to be regular postings on different topics. One Monday it will be “Grateful Monday,” the next “Inspired Monday,” followed by “Photo Monday,” and “Express Yourself Monday” and so on. If you are reading this I hope you will return each Monday to play along. You can post comments and also include links to your own blog or web site and share in the fun! Magic Mojo Mondays are going to be a wonderful way to get the week rocking and rolling in a positive direction. Here is to living our dreams and creating our legendary lives!

Alanis Morissette On Authentic Power

Michelle Fairchild

Click this link: ‘Join Alanis Morissette Today at 11am PDT!’ on the Women on the Edge of Evolution teleseries at 11:00 a.m. PDT

“Authentic Power: Stepping Up and Stepping Out
in Service to Our Collective Evolution”

In Dialogue with Honored Guest,
Alanis Morissette

Internationally acclaimed singer-songwriter and multiple time Grammy winner, Alanis Morissette, speaks intimately to the trials and vicissitudes that come with being a woman on the front lines of power and influence. At twenty-one years of age, Alanis’ album Jagged Little Pill skyrocketed her to unexpected worldwide recognition and fame, selling more than 30 million copies and becoming the best selling debut album of any female artist in music history. At this very young age, Alanis found herself thrust on an international stage, an icon of rock and roll whose voice was changing the face of the entire music industry. Through the swirl, Alanis made a fierce decision to stay true to her own voice amidst enormous pressure from both fans and industry insiders who all wanted to stake their claim in shaping her emerging career.

Here is Alanis performing Thank U

“Thank U”

how bout getting off these antibiotics
how bout stopping eating when I’m full up
how bout them transparent dangling carrots
how bout that ever elusive kudo

thank you india
thank you terror
thank you disillusionment
thank you frailty
thank you consequence
thank you thank you silence

how bout me not blaming you for everything
how bout me enjoying the moment for once
how bout how good it feels to finally forgive you
how bout grieving it all one at a time

thank you india
thank you terror
thank you disillusionment
thank you frailty
thank you consequence
thank you thank you silence

the moment I let go of it was the moment
I got more than I could handle
the moment I jumped off of it
was the moment I touched down

how bout no longer being masochistic
how bout remembering your divinity
how bout unabashedly bawling your eyes out
how bout not equating death with stopping

thank you india
thank you providence
thank you disillusionment
thank you nothingness
thank you clarity
thank you thank you silence

In the Clearing

Michelle Fairchild

Clearing ~ the act of making or becoming clear.
Clear ~ a synonym for transparent
The word “clearing” and “clear” have been especially significant to me the past seven years. I entered into a new phase of life that included marriage, moving to a new community and then becoming a mommy to twin daughters. Sharing my life with a partner has taught me so much more about the real meaning of commitment, compromise and forgiveness. Being a parent also includes commitment and compromise, in addition to self-forgiveness and the practice of a whole new level of patience with myself and others.
I entered into therapy for the first time due to some struggles I was experiencing in my marriage and as a first time parent. It has been eye opening to view my life as a kind of web and to really see how the various parts of myself from the past and the present connect. There have been revelations that have been positive and helpful. Others have been painful, but also in their own way sometimes even more helpful. When you find yourself caught up in an unhealthy spiral, to finally have that aha moment of clarity, allows you to then break free and move in a different direction, make different choices and really see things through new eyes.
During the course of some work I have been doing with Shiloh McCloud and the Cosmic Cowgirl University in the 30 day on-line class called A Year of Great Promise I have again come to see more “clearly” how often my thoughts can travel back into the past and revisit old stories and events or project worries into the future. I once read that FEAR stands for False Expectations Appearing Real and I have never forgotten that because it is so true. If I am reminiscing about wonderful happy memories that is all fine and good. However, if my wanders into the past are more focused on loss, grief, sadness, and those things that cause me pain, I am unnecessarily living them over and over again. In the opposite direction there is that thinking about the future too much. Dreaming, Visioning, and Planning out one’s future is the best part about thinking about one’s future. Yet when I find that my focus becomes more about my worries and fears about what could happen, then my focus on the future becomes unproductive and even self-defeating.
I don’t want to suggest that all wanders into the hurtful past are self indulgent. Certainly it can be necessary to bring something from the past into the light so you can experience a breakthrough of sorts and finally move forward. An example might be when you are feeling anxiety and you really don’t quite know what is at the heart of the matter. So you find yourself taking an on-line class with Shiloh and some of the prompts and questions prove difficult and intitally you find yourself resisting answering, writing and responding, but as you stick with it there comes upon you a realization of what is truly at the center of that anxiety. There is your clearing. There is that point of bringing what was hidden into the light. There is your opportunity for recognition and then release, or perhaps action, if that is what is called for in order for you to move forward.
In this clearing I have realized how profoundly my own thoughts affect me. I can allow my thoughts to get bogged down in thinking about old negative story lines from my past or worries and fears about my future. When I get bogged down in the past and future there isn’t as much room for Focusing on my Vision or all the positives in my life or all of my many blessings. This is my challenge – to stop those unhealthy and negative wanderings and redirect my thoughts back to the present and what I am doing NOW. Positive thoughts create positive feelings. Positive feelings make you feel good and make you feel happier. This brings me full circle to my Life Vision. I want to be a force for Positive change in my life, the lives of my family and friends and if I widen the circle I would also say in my community and in the world.
It all starts with my thoughts and where I choose to focus them.