Sonoma Big Ideas

Traveling into the World without an Itinerary ~ February 22 Big Ideas Opening 2012

2012-01-31T10:06:00.000-08:00

Can you imagine leaving your familiar life and home for a year to travel without a plan? Where would you begin your journey and how would you find your way? What would you discover about yourself?

She's back! Victoria Johnston, our inspiring speaker for Big Ideas in May 2010, has returned from a year of travel in the world with her family to tell us her story of that journey and what she learned taking this Big Idea into action. Her travels took her to New Zealand, Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, China, Mongolia, Korea and Japan.

Come pull up your travel armchair and sit by the fire as we begin our Community series for Big Ideas and Rich Conversations 2012 on Wednesday eve, February 22 at the Sonoma Valley Inn. The focus for our new year will be The Art of Creating a Beautiful, Generative Journey in Your Life and Work.

Many of you met Victoria in our first year of Big Ideas. We featured her in May 2010 with her Big Idea project of 14 years with the Salmon Creek Falls Environmental Center in the Harmony Union School District in Occidental. Topping her creations was a LEED Platinum award for an environmental school building, the first Public K - 12 school building in the state of California to be awarded this highest honor.

Her dreams then quickly turned toward traveling in the world with her family for one year. And, they would be making their plans as they went! Many times we build plans to create shelters from our fears of the unknown. What if you didn't have to do that? What if you discovered you were already safe enough and could actually be more free? What if it changed your consciousness about how things are and you discovered peace within and more of what is possible?

We will also have the honor of not just one, but two Sarahs joining us. Sarah He will tell us a short story of being an entrepreneur in China, imprisonment and exodus to the USA. Like Victoria, she is on a threshold now of "what's next?" Teen Sarah Summers will bring her Senior Project of music and song into our gathering and the evolving images of song will be ours for the evening.

Will you join us for our Opening of Big Ideas and Rich Conversations with Women 2012 on Wednesday evening, February 22? Our gathering is held at the Charles Krug Event Center, Sonoma Valley Inn, 550 West Second Street (just off West Napa Street near the Plaza).

In addition to our creative evening program with Carole Peccorini, co-founder of Big Ideas, and her special guest presenters, you will have the opportunity to meet other women and teens around your table in rich and soulful conversations.

Networking begins at 6:15 pm. A Cash Contribution Wine Bar is available for $5 along with gratis coffee, tea and water. Dessert will be served at 6:50 pm as the evening program begins.

Deadline to register is Friday, February 17, with an additional $10 late registration charge after the 17th. Move into action now. It's the best way to strengthen your creative response in life.

Will you be attending? 2 ways you can register and reserve your chair at the table.

Register online here with your credit card $47. You do not have to be a PayPal member. See top upper right hand corner shopping cart.
Send your check in advance for $45 to Carole Peccorini/Sonoma Big Ideas, 18398 Riverside Drive, Sonoma CA 95476.

Teens and Students $15 with scholarship funds available as needed. Would you like to gift a chair at the table for a teen? Simply add $15, $10 or $5 or more to your registration.

The Best Western Sonoma Valley Inn is located at 550 Second Street West in Sonoma. If you enter from Second Street West, drive all the way to the back of the property behind the Inn to the Charles Krug Event Center and the patio entrance. You can also park along First Street West and follow the walkway to the left and back to the Event Center garden patio entrance.

Come join us in co-creating a new year with Big Ideas and Rich Conversations. Surprises and more possibilities to come!

Sowing the Seeds of Your Life Dream for the New Year ~ January 18 and 20

2012-01-03T18:11:00.000-08:00

Here's the question: What are you personally dedicating your life to this year?

There is a deeper idea, a purposeful vital energy for life hidden within the seeds at the bottom of your heart. It is present in everyone and becomes visible if you can catch the little flame intended for you.

Come sit by the winter's fire. The Eskimo wisdom story, Mistress of the Fire, will stir our creative embers. I am offering this space on either Wednesday eve, Jan 18 or Friday morning, Jan 20 for small gatherings at my home of 10 to 12 women to warm themselves together around their inner hearth. You can choose the date and time that works best for you.

We will meet at my home 18398 Riverside Drive (at Comstock) Sonoma 954676. Because of limited parking and seating, those who act early will have the first choice of date and time.

Carole Peccorini, co-founder of Big Ideas and Rich Conversations, will co-create this time with you.

I encourage you to disarm, to lay down your plans and strategies, your busyness, your occupation and preoccupation and be supported by the unseen. What is below ground is your potential and your vital life energy. Loss of imagination constricts this in us. You have to feel the fire and follow the voice of your own soul. As we did in December preparing for the holidays, through story, writing and rich conversation in a small group, we will once again create a shift in consciousness that you can feel living in you.

We'll sow three types of seeds: In our ideals and deepest values for 2012; in germinating concepts and ideas; and in our direct experiences with images and everyday life. This is how we cultivate and grow vital heart knowledge.

Joseph Campbell once declared, "The part of us that wants to become is fearless."

Will you join us for our first intimate gathering of 2012 on either January 18 or January 20 in my home?

You are welcome to come for light refreshments from 6:30 - 7:00 pm on Wednesday eve, January 18 (program begins at 7 pm) or at 9:30 - 10:00 am on Friday morning, January 20 (program begins at 10 am).

You must pre-register to reserve your space and it will be on a first come basis because of limited seating and parking.

Will you be attending? 2 ways you can register for your chair at the hearth.

Register online with your credit card. See upper right corner for link. You do not have to be a PayPal member.
Send your check in advance for $45 to Carole Peccorini/Sonoma Big Ideas, 18398 Riverside Drive, Sonoma, CA 95476.

SAVE THE DATE. Our series of Big Ideas and Rich Conversations community events begins on Wednesday evening, February 22. Your invitation will arrive on February 1.

In addition, Individual Mentoring is now available with a specific focus. You can, more quickly than you imagine, identify a false belief that is blocking your vital energy and specifically craft a statement that truthfully reflects the inner power that has been yours since birth. We were meant to renegotiate these early life agreements based on trying to please others for love and approval. This is the "being" part of growing yourself in the direction of your deepest dreams. We have to become the person who can do the dream. Please contact me directly to schedule your mentoring appointment. carolep43@sbcglobal.net or 707-996-2167.

Wisdom Stories that Fan the Creative Embers Within ~ December 7 and 9

2011-10-24T17:33:00.000-07:00

An intimate gathering to blow on the embers and glowing Inner Life of Your Holidays this year.

The creative ember deep within has been there since you were born and can be fanned back into a flame for your life right now. In the winter's pause. I am offering small gatherings at my home for 10 to 12 women to warm themselves together around their inner hearth.

In December we will focus on the Inner Life of Your Holidays. You can choose to attend either Wednesday eve, December 7 from 7 - 9 pm or on Friday morning, Deember 9 from 10 am - noon. We will meet at my home 18398 Riverside Drive (at Comstock) Sonoma 95476. Because of limited seating, those who act early will have the first choice of date and time.

We will listen to the old Wisdom stories to give us a larger, deeper experience of your own rich potential and the ideas that will emblazon you, embrace you and take you someplace. Carole Peccorini, co-founder of Big Ideas and Rich Conversations, is going to co-create this time with you.

There is an unseen flame behind your instinct and intuition. No matter what happens in the outer world, it cannot be extinquished or damaged. It remains within you as your deepest knowing and even if hidden for awhile, can blaze again when you breathe upon it. The burning ember comes naturally alive. It is your bridge and doorsill for your creative process to move between the inner and outer world of your life.

Will you join us for our first intimate gathering on either December 7 or December 9 in my home?

You are welcome to join us for light refreshments at 6:30 - 7:00 pm on Wednesday eve, December 7 (with program beginning at 7:00 pm) or at 9:30 - 10:00 am on Friday morn, December 9 (with program beginning at 10 am).

In addition to our creative program with Carole, you will meet other women in rich and soulful conversations.

You must pre-register to reserve your space and it will be on a first come basis because of limited seating and parking.

Will you be attending? 2 ways you can register and reserve your chair at our hearth.

Register here online with your credit card $47. You do not have to be a PayPal member.
Send your check in advance for $45 to Carole Peccorini/Sonoma Big Ideas, 18398 Riverside Drive, Sonoma CA 95476

Teens and Students $15 with scholarship funds available as needed. Would you like to gift a chair at the hearth for a teen? Simply add $15, $10 or $5 or more to your registration.

In January 2012, we will offer another intimate gathering at my home, Wisdom Stories that Fan the Creative Embers Within. We will turn our focus in January toward Sowing the Seeds of Your Life Dream for the New Year. Dates to be announced.

In addition, I will be offering individual mentoring through December and January to properly name a false belief that is trapping your energy in wrong ideas and to specifically craft a statement of inner power that can be your act of truth to stand on day-by-day in reshaping your destiny in deeper alignment with your true desires. Please contact me directly for scheduling your mentoring appointment. carolep43@sbcglobal.net or 707-996-2167

Welcoming you to our inner hearth and community of learning,
Carole
Carole Peccorini, RN, MA

Welcome to Your Desire and Your Destiny ~ October 26 Big Ideas Finale 2011

2011-09-26T13:05:00.000-07:00

Desire and Destiny come from the same root word, desider, of the stars and constellations. It is yearning and longing and awake to what the stars may bring.

Welcome at the Opening to Desire and Destiny

There is a lot to learn and we make room for this discovery on Wednesday eve, October 26, in conversation with other women. It will be our gateway to the close of this year's Big Ideas and Rich Conversations series and the opening to what is to follow. You are invited to join us. We need each other to be awake and co-create from our deepest desires to engage and evolve our fullest, richest destiny.

What's at stake for you? My dear friend and evolutionary partner, Jung Starrett, wrote this to me as she prepares to leave the security of her position at a major corporation and leap into the unknown. She is scared and she recalls a quote from humanist Abraham Maslow reminding her why she must do this: "If you deliberately plan on being less than you are capable of being, then I warn you that you'll be unhappy for the rest of your life."

Carole Peccorini, co-founder of Big Ideas and Rich Conversations, is going to co-create this evening with you. You will learn how to turn the stones of your life into stars (poet Rilke) by renegotiating the early agreements you made about who you are and what you can be. All these first agreements are meant to be renegotiated and this is how we generate our destiny and activate our desires into this space and time. You will also learn how to be clear about the differences between social relationships and those who can join you in your evolution as you inch your way along your creative arc.

The obstacles to the full flourishing of your life are not outside yourself. Your power does not come from managing to do lists, schedules, circumstances, finances, etc. It does not even come from the accumulation of your accomplishments. Your life is being generated by who you are being and you can learn to shift your self-experience by renegotiating your core agreements.

Will you join us for our 9th month Finale of Big Ideas and Rich Conversations 2011 on Wednesday evening, October 26? Our gathering is held at the Charles Krug Event Center, Sonoma Valley Inn, 550 West Second Street (just off Napa Street near the Plaza).

Networking begins at 6:15 pm. A Cash Wine Bar is available for $5 along with gratis coffee, tea and water.

Dessert is prepared for you by the Lovin' Oven teens from the Sonoma Valley Teen Center and served at 6:55 pm as the evening begins.

In addition to our creative evening program with Carole Peccorini, you will have the opportunity to meet other women and teens around your table in rich and soulful conversations.

Deadline to register is Friday, October 21, with an additional $10 late registration charge after the 21st.

Will you be attending? 2 ways you can register and reserve your chair at the table.

Register right here online with your credit card $47. You do not have to be a PayPal member.

Send your check in advance for $45 to Carole Peccorini/Sonoma Big Ideas, 18398 Riverside Drive, Sonoma CA 95476

Teens and Students $15 with scholarship funds available as needed. Would you like to gift a chair at the table for a teen? Simply add $15, $10 or $5 or more to your registration.

The Best Western Sonoma Valley Inn is located at 550 Second Street West in Sonoma. If you enter from Second St West, drive all the way to the back of the property behind the Inn to the Charles Krug Event Center and the patio entrance. You can also park along First Street West on the street and follow the walkway to the left to the Event Center garden patio entrance.

Welcoming you,
Carole

Carole Peccorini RN, MA
Big Ideas and Rich Conversations with Women
707-996-2167
carolep43@sbcglobal.net

Dancing in Turbulent Times with the Energy of Money ~ Big Ideas September 28

2011-08-22T14:17:00.000-07:00

Who are you being around Money, especially now in turbulent times?
Are you confident, scared, betrayed, alert, happy, generous, broke, tight, open? Most people have lots of upset about money or feel bad in some way regardless of how much they have or don't have. Whatever your experience, you are invited to join us on Wednesday eve, September 28, to explore in conversation with other women this mysterious, emotional topic of money.

The truth is you are much more than however you perceive yourself with money. Your soul actually has wisdom about money. There are wisdom stories to give you a wider and deeper story about money, one with more freedom and power. Within the creative process, you can discover fresh insights and new thinking to bring aliveness to the dance you do with money. After all, money is our creation. Human beings created money. We made it up. There are plenty of ideas available.

Here is a question for you. Do you really want to stay with the story of yourself and money as it is right now?

Money coach, Donna Colfer, will be joining with Carole Peccorini to co-create this evening with you. Donna brings 25 years of experience in financial management and in spiritual counseling and has been working with the Money Coaching Institute in Petaluma for six years. She is now their Lead Trainer and Facilitator. She wants you to feel more powerful, effective and compassionate about money in your life.

Will you join us for our 8th monthly Big Ideas and Rich Conversations with Women 2011 on Wednesday evening, September 28? Our gathering is held at the Charles Krug Event Center, Sonoma Valley Inn, 550 West Second Street (just off Napa Street near the Plaza).

Networking begins at 6:15 pm. A Cash Wine Bar is available for $5 along with gratis coffee, tea and water.

Dessert is prepared by the Lovin' Oven teens from the Sonoma Valley Teen Center and is served at 6:55 pm as the program begins.

In addition to our creative program with Donna Colfer and Carole Peccorini, you will have the opportunity to meet other women and teens at your table in rich and soulful conversations.

Deadline to register is Friday, September 23, with an additional late registration charge of $10 after that.

Will you be attending? 3 Ways to Register and Reserve Your Chair at the Table

Register online right here with your credit card $47. You do not have to be a PayPal member.
Send your check in advance for $45 to Carole Peccorini/Sonoma Big Ideas, 18398 Riverside Drive, Sonoma CA 95476
Stop by The Sonoma Valley Sun Office at 158 West Napa St between 10 am - 6 pm, Monday through Friday. Checks, Cash or Credit Cards $47

Teens and Students $15 with scholarship funds available as needed. Would you like to gift a chair at the table for a teen? Simply add $15, $10 or $5 or more to your registration.

The Best Western Sonoma Valley Inn is located at 550 Second St West in Sonoma. If you enter from Second St West, drive all the way to the back of the property behind the Inn to the Charles Krug Event Center. Enter through the small patio gate. You can also park along First St West and follow the walkway to the left to the Event Center garden patio entrance.

Celebrating Creativity that Gives You Freedom ~ Big Ideas August 24

2011-07-26T13:16:00.000-07:00

Let's celebrate! You are invited to a birthday party on Wednesday eve, August 24. Come with a wish for your candle. Join other women and teens in a Big Ideas playful celebration of your life and the gifts you bring to the world.

Last August, we began turning our attention from awakening toward manifesting. We each set off on our journeys and encountered ordeals and triumphs, big and little, along the way. Now it's time to celebrate what you intended to create and also how all your actions have far-reaching significance in their own time even if you don't know how. Everything about you matters.

Through the art of storytelling and guided by theater and film artist, drama therapist and educator, Deborah French Frisher, we will discover a playful way to shape our stories into a communal celebration. You will see both the power of co-creating and how your creativity can give you back your freedom.

This special evening will also include a live poem performance by Deborah that she originally created and performed on the 100th Anniversary of International Women's Day, March 8, 2011. We will view her 5 minute film, Women and the World, a mosaic of women around the world each naming "what I most want for women of this world."

There is a line from a poem by Rumi ~ "Who lets his bucket down." On Wednesday evening, August 24, will you join us for our 7th monthly Big Ideas and Rich Conversations with Women 2011? We'll let our bucket down into that deep well of experience that women know. We need each other to celebrate how we co-create new possibilities right here and worldwide. We can't wait.

Carole Peccorini celebrates The Butterfly Project
and East African girls going to college.

Our gathering is held at the Charles Krug Event Center, Sonoma Valley Inn, 550 West Second Street (just off Napa Street near the Sonoma Plaza).

Networking begins at 6:15 pm. A Cash Wine Bar is available along with coffee, tea and water.

Dessert is prepared by the Lovin' Oven teens from the Sonoma Valley Teen Center and is served at 6:55 pm as the program begins.

We will begin with our wishes and blowing out our candles. In addition to the playful evening program with Carole Peccorini and Deborah French Frisher, you will also have the opportunity to meet other women and teens at your table in rich, soulful conversations.

Deadline to register is Wednesday, August 17, with an additional late registration charge after Friday, August 19.

Will you be attending? 3 Ways to Register and Reserve Your Chair at the Table

Register online right here with your credit card $47. You do not have to be a PayPal member.
Send your check in advance for $45 to Carole Peccorini/Sonoma Big Ideas, 18398 Riverside Drive, Sonoma 95476
Stop by The Sonoma Valley Sun office at 158 West Napa St between 10 am ~ 6 pm, Monday through Friday. Checks, Cash or Credit Cards $47

Teens and Students $15 with scholarship funds available as needed. Would you like to gift a chair at the table for a teen? Simply add $15, $10 or $5 or more to your registration.

The Best Western Sonoma Valley Inn is located at 550 Second St West in Sonoma. If you enter from Second St West, drive all the way to the back of the property behind the Inn to the Charles Krug Event Center. You can also park along First St West and follow the walkway to the left to the Event Center garden patio entrance.

Growing the Life That You Love ~ Big Ideas July 27

2011-06-20T18:00:00.000-07:00

Creation Seed © by Carol Lorraine

Let's grow something! Within your own imagination lies all of your answers, your wisdom and the truth of what is yours to do. You simply have to know how to tap into it. Take time and join with other women and teens on Wednesday eve, July 27, and you will learn seven steps to grow the seeds of your inklings, good ideas and dreams into reality in ways that uplift you and nurture your soul. These seven steps can be applied in any area of your life.

Life and business coach and artist, Carol Lorraine remembers from a soft sweet spot her grandmother's hands as she was sewing and her father's hands in the soil growing gardens. "My hands are for growing people," she purrs. Carol sees your life as a work of art.

You will leave with a clearer vision of your "creation seed", the idea living in your imagination. You will know steps to take to plant your seed idea and begin to grow it in the rich soil of your heart and life.

We will be learning and discovering with Carol on Wednesday Evening, July 27, for our 6th monthly event of Big Ideas and Rich Conversations with Women 2011. Our gathering is held at the Charles Krug Event Center, Sonoma Valley Inn, 550 West Second Street (just off Napa Street near the Sonoma Plaza).

Networking begins at 6:15 pm. A Cash Wine Bar is available along with coffee, tea and water.

Dessert is prepared by the Lovin' Oven teens at the Sonoma Valley Teen Center and is served at 6:55 pm as the program begins.

The evening program will begin with a conversation with Carol in front of the room and will include hands-on ways you can send a tap root into your imagination. You will also have the opportunity to meet other women at your table in rich soulful conversations.

Deadline to register is Wednesday, July 20, with an additional late registration charge after Friday, July 22.

Will you be attending? 3 Ways you Can Register and Reserve Your Chair at the Table.

Register online right here with your credit card $47. You do not have to be a PayPay member.
Send your check in advance for $45 to Carole Peccorini/Sonoma Big Ideas, 18398 Riverside Drive, Sonoma 95476
Stop by The Sonoma Valley Sun office at 158 West Napa Street between 10 am and 6 pm, Monday through Friday, Checks, Cash or Credit Cards $47

Teens $15 with scholarship funds available as needed. Would you like to support a chair at the table for a teen? Simply add $15, $10, or $5 or more to your registration.

The Best Western Sonoma Valley Inn is located at 550 Second St West in Sonoma. If you enter from Second St West, drive all the way to the back of the property behind the Inn to the Charles Krug Event Center. You can also park along First St West and follow the walkway to the left to the Event Center entrance.

From Passion to Action. Making Space to Grow Your Dreams. Big Ideas June 22

2011-05-23T15:41:00.000-07:00

Coming Next!

Laurie Marshall

Join us for an evening with Space to Grow Your Dreams on Wednesday, June 22. You will experience learning and collaborating with others to create something greater and wiser than you could do as an individual alone. It all points to we are not alone, something Laurie Marshall calls the flowing idea generation process. You will be part of a hands on experience with creativity at whatever level you are. This will help you get across the threshold from dreams and ideas into action in a way that excites you beyond your fears.

Laurie Marshall, a certified social studies and art teacher, and her 18-year-old assistant Lili Lopez engage students so they may bring their true gifts to the world. Laurie believes in making it real, getting out of being frozen and into action.

We will be her students on Wednesday eve, June 22, which is our 5th monthly event of Big Ideas and Rich Conversations with Women 2011 held at the Charles Krug Event Center, Sonoma Valley Inn, 550 West Second Street just off West Napa St near the Sonoma Plaza.

Networking begins at 6:15 pm when the doors open. A cash wine bar is available.
Dessert will be prepared by the Lovin' Oven teens at the Sonoma Valley Teen Center and served at 6:55 pm as the evening program begins.

"Space to Grow" by NASA
Administration Employees

The evening will include a conversation with Laurie in front of the room based on her book, Beating the Odds Now! She offers a radically positive vision for 21st C education that prepares children (and adults) to cope with the rising complexity of our times. There are 3 steps that cost the schools no money and apply equally to you and me. You will also have an opportunity for soulful conversation with women around your table.

Deadline to register is Wednesday, June 15, and there will be an additional $10 late registration charge after Friday, June 17.

Will you be attending? Here is how to register and reserve your place at the table.

Register here online with your credit card $47. You do not have to be a PayPal member.
Stop by the Sonoma Valley Sun at 158 West Napa Street between the hours of 10:00 am to 6:00 pm, Monday through Friday. Checks, Cash or Credit Card $47
Or, send your check in advance for $45 to Carole Peccorini/Sonoma Big Ideas, 18398 Riverside Drive, Sonoma 95476.

Teens $15 with scholarship funds available. Would you like to support a place at the table for a teen? Simply add $5, $10 or $15 or more to your registration.

Our registration deadline arrives soon. Please register before June 17 to avoid $10 late charge.

The Best Western Sonoma Valley Inn is located at 550 Second Street West in Sonoma. If you enter from Second Street West, drive all the way around the Inn to the back of the property and parking for the Charles Krug Event Center building. Or, you can also park along First Street West and follow the walkway to the left to the Event Center entrance.

We were all born to learn and discover. This evening with Laurie Marshall will excite you.

Teens Speak Across the Planet about the World They Want ~ May 25

2011-04-26T13:20:00.000-07:00

Coming next. Join us to view our newest Big Idea project documentary, A World Wide Conversation, Teens Reaching Across the World, on Wednesday evening, May 25. Teens in the Sonoma Valley from seven schools and teens at Banjika Secondary School in rural Tanzania, East Africa, speak on video about the world they want, their dreams and what they are willing to do to help create a world that works.

Their willingness to speak, their frank honesty, their awareness of what is happening in our world is stunning and moves me to tears. Although these students live in communities on the other side of the planet from one another and have never met, you will be amazed at what they have to say and the common ground of their ideas and concerns.

We will have a live conversation with several Sonoma teen participants and our creative videographers, Kathleen Quinn and Flor Suarez. You will also have the opportunity to meet other women in conversations around your table.

Teen Participants in Tanzania

Teen Participants in Sonoma

Wednesday evening, May 25, is our fourth monthly event of Big Ideas and Rich Conversations with Women 2011 at the Charles Krug Event Center, Sonoma Valley Inn in Sonoma. We will be focusing on the courage to have a vision and speak about it. Dessert will be prepared by the Lovin' Oven teens at the Sonoma Valley Teen Center and served at 6:55 pm. Cash Wine Bar is available beginning at 6:15 pm. Deadline to register is Wednesday, May 18. There will be an additional $10 charge for late registrations after Friday, May 20.

Will you be attending? Here is how to register and reserve you place at the table.

Register here online with your credit card $47. You do not have to be a PayPal member. See top right sidebar to register.
Stop by The Sonoma Valley Sun office at 158 West Napa Street between the hours of 10 am to 6:00 pm, Monday through Friday. Checks, Cash or Credit Cards $47
Or, send your check in advance for $45 to Carole Peccorini/Sonoma Big Ideas, 18398 Riverside Drive, Sonoma 95476

Teens $15 with scholarship funds available. Would you like to support a place at the table for a teen? Simply add $15, $10, or $5 or more to your registrations.

Our registration deadline arrives soon. Please register by Wednesday, May 18. $10 late charge for all registrations received after Friday, May 20.

The Best Western Sonoma Valley Inn is located at 550 Second Street West in Sonoma. If you enter from Second Street West, drive all the way around the Inn to the back of the property and the Charles Krug Event Center building. You can also park along First Street West and follow the walkway to the left to the Event Center entrance.

Calling You to Africa ~ Living an Inspired Life

2011-04-07T11:56:00.000-07:00

"It starts with a dream." Anne Sadler Garrett, mother of Sue Rickert

You are being called to Out of Africa on Wednesday evening, April 27, our third monthly event of Big Ideas and Rich Conversations with Women 2011 at the Charles Krug Event Center, Sonoma Valley Inn in Sonoma. Deadline to register ~ Wednesday, April 20.

We have set a chair at the table that is personally calling to you. Each month we focus on a quality that lights up our inspiration. In April we focus on Dreaming and begin with belief in our dream. We will also continue to explore the frontier of attracting money and resources as part of building good ideas.

Our program begins at 6:15 - 6:50 pm with arrival, cash bar and seating.
7:00 ~ 9:00 pm Dessert with Rich Conversations ~ It starts with a Dream.

Our desserts are creations of the teens from Lovin' Oven, Sonoma Valley Teen Center, teens creating a taste for change.

We begin with a multi-media Sights and Sounds of Africa show. You will travel with us to Tanzania to see the Great Migration of a bizillion wildebeests and zebras, lions up close and personal, elephants encircling you, the endless plain of the Serengeti, the Milky Way stretching across the night sky, a rip-roaring thunder and lightning storm, a tiny baboon clinging to its mother's back.

Sue's comment, "I have felt so receptive to beauty, color and sound since returning home. A gift from Tanzania which is teaching me how to live more fully open with my senses."

We were fourteen Big Ideas women on a journey of learning and discovery. Returning home, here are some of our relevant questions we are still asking:

How can we keep the spaciousness of the Serengeti (the endless plain) alive within us? Room to feel our own life moving in us? Room for our dreams to reveal themselves?
What would it be like to be so totally yourself like a lion or leopard in the wild? And, how can we stay close to something wild, untamed and free in us?
At Oldupai Gorge, the Leakeys worked in the dirt and sun for 30 years with only belief in their dream of finding the oldest human skeleton. 30 years! It made me cry. What do you believe in that much? What dream calls to you like that?
What would it be like if we treated the world like it is alive and a source of revelation and discovery, not just there for our personal gain?

This is our conversation and invitation to you. You will have the opportunity to meet other women in conversations around your table. This year we want to simplify and create more space for learning about our own ideas and dreams, to discover them and take action.

Will you be attending? Here is how to register and reserve your chair at the table.

Register here online with your credit card $47.00. You do not have to be a PayPal member.
Stop by The Sonoma Valley Sun office at 158 West Napa Street between the hours of 10 am to 6:00 pm, Monday through Friday. Checks, Cash or Credit Cards $47.00
Or, send your check in advance for $45.00 to Carole Peccorini/Sonoma Big Ideas, 18398 Riverside Drive, Sonoma 95476

Teens $15 with scholarship funds available. Would you like to support a chair at the table for a teen? Simply add $15, $10 or $5 or more to your registration.

Our registration deadline arrives soon. Please register by Wednesday, April 20, so the teens can prepare dessert for you.

The Best Western Sonoma Valley Inn is located at 550 Second Street West in Sonoma. If you enter from Second Street West, drive all the way to the back of the property to the Charles Krug Event Center. You can also park along First Street West and follow the walkway to the left to the Event Center entrance.

Living an Inspired Life. Acting on Inspiration.

2011-03-07T09:58:00.000-08:00

The language we are using today is insufficient for dealing with the territory we have entered. The art of conversation is what it actually takes to create a real conversation and enter the real world. From David Whyte, Leadership, the Courageous Conversation.

You are invited to our third monthly event of Big Ideas and Rich Conversations with Women 2011 on Wednesday evening, April 27, at the Charles Krug Event Center, Sonoma Valley Inn in Sonoma. Beginning in April we will continue our tradition from last year and host these monthly evenings on the 4th Wednesday of each month through October.

We have a longer than usual interval between March and April events because we will be coming Out of Africa and our Big Ideas trip to Tanzania during the last two weeks of March. We will be stepping on to African earth and out into the unknown to discover our conversation with vast spaces and the wild, inside our hearts and in everything we encounter. It's about tribes in love with possibilities. It's about joy, discovery, connection, stories of real people touching real lives. It's about unlocking and celebrating life with dirt in your hair.

We invite you to picture yourself joining us in this conversation and your chair at the table. More details to come in April and you can sign up anytime online until April 20.

Also, Coming Soon! Our first Creative Pod on Manifesting will begin soon, probably in May, for women who are attending our monthly Big Ideas events on a regular basis. This will be a small group devoted to re-inventing themselves and manifesting more good for themselves and others.

Living an Inspired Life. Acting on Inspiration 2011

2011-02-08T14:20:00.000-08:00

Put down the weight of your aloneness and ease into the conversation. Everything is waiting for you.
poet, David Whyte

You are invited to our second monthly event of Big Ideas and Rich Conversations with Women 2011 on Wednesday evening, March 9, at the Charles Krug Event Center, Sonoma Valley Inn in Sonoma. Deadline to register ~ Tuesday, March 1.

We have set a chair at the table to welcome you.
Each month we are focusing on a quality that nourishes our inner fire. In March, we will focus on Believing and begin from belief to explore the frontier of attracting money and resources as part of building good ideas.

Our program begins at 6:15 - 6:55 pm with arrival, cash bar and seating.
7:00 ~ 9:00 pm Dessert with Rich Conversations ~ Growing Ideas that Inspire

This year we are making a change to dessert only, starring baked creations by the teens from Lovin' Oven, Sonoma Valley Teen Center, teens creating a taste for change.

We will do two conversations in front of the room. Our Lovin' Oven teens will share their story of moving from inspiration to creating an entrepreneurial project through baking desserts and now dreams of business.

Anne Marie Clear

Anne Marie Clear will tell her surprising story of saying "Yes" to going to Tanzania in March with Big Ideas women and how this opened a new portal with her husband to commit to a shared vision of prosperity this year. You can read more about Anne Marie's professional life at her website: www.cleardirections.com

You will also have the opportunity to meet other women in conversations and activities around your table. This year we want to simplify and create more space for learning about our own ideas, how to access them and take action. Our speaker interviews will be with women and teens closer to the beginning of their Big Ideas.

Together we will build thoughts, skills and practices that help us claim the life we are meant to live and bring it to our world. We will enlarge our ability to be brave and generous and kind, not tired.

Will you be attending? Here is how to register and reserve your chair at the table.

Three Choices to Register.

Register online with your credit card $47 (with PayPal fee). You do not have to have a PayPal account or be a member. See Registration box in upper right sidebar and Click.
Stop by The Sonoma Valley Sun office at 158 West Napa Street between 10 am ~ 6 pm, Monday through Friday. Checks, cash and credit cards accepted. $47 per person includes processing.
Or, send your check for $45 to Carole Peccorini/Sonoma Big Ideas, 18398 Riverside Drive, Sonoma CA 95476. Teens $15 with scholarhip funds available.

Would you like to support a chair at the table for a teen? Simply add $5, $10, $15 or more to your registration.

Our registration deadline always arrives soon. Please register by Tuesday, March 1, so our teens can prepare desserts for you. They bake to order.

The Best Western Sonoma Valley Inn is located at 550 Second Street West in Sonoma. If you enter from Second St West, drive all the way to the back of the property to the Charles Krug Event Center. You can also park along First Street West and follow the walkway to the left toward the Event Center entrance.

Living an Inspired Life. Acting on Inspiration 2011.

2011-01-11T08:33:00.000-08:00

You never know the moment when someone hears something and makes a decision to change their life. Or, ideas collide and create a magical cascade of new possibilities. Discovering what inspires you can change everything. You can do something life changing. Are you listening for a future that inspires you?

You are invited to our opening event of Big Ideas and Rich Conversations with Women 2011 on Wednesday evening, February 9, at the Charles Krug Event Center, The Sonoma Valley Inn in Sonoma. Deadline to register is Tuesday, February 1 .

We have set a chair at the table to welcome you.

Our program begins slightly later at 6:15 - 6:55 pm with arrival, cash bar and seating.
7:00 ~ 9:00 pm Dessert with Rich Conversations and Growing Ideas that Inspire

This year we are making a change to dessert only, starring baked creations by the teens from Lovin' Oven, Sonoma Valley Teen Center, teens creating a tasteful change.

Carole Peccorini interviews Chalon Bridges

In our first event we will turn the tables and interview Chalon Bridges, co-founder of Big Ideas and Rich Conversations, as she shares her story of stepping onto a new creative path that enlarged her life in unexpected ways.

You will have the opportunity to meet other women in conversations and activities around your table. This year we want to move in closer, allow more time to feature you and all of us in the passion conversation as kindred spirits huddled together igniting both creative action and the experience of belonging.

Together we will build skills and practices that help us claim the life we are meant to live and bring it to our world. Poet David Whyte speaks of building a profound ability to make ourselves large enough, brave enough, and generous enough for the triumphs and harrowing challenges of every day life. Sonoman Beth Fox put it this way, to feel bigger, not more tired.

Every new endeavor is created out of the quality of the energy we bring to it. What is important to you? What kind of world would you like to create?

Will you be attending? Here is how to register.

Another change. Our event fee is lower in 2011. Pre-register online here with your credit card to reserve your chair at the table, $47.00 (with PayPal fee). You do not have to be a member of PayPal. See the registration box in the upper right corner.

Or, send your check for $45.00 to Carole Peccorini/Sonoma Big Ideas, 18398 Riverside Drive, Sonoma, CA 95476.

Teens $15 through scholarship funds. Would you like to support a chair for a teen? Simply add $5, $10, $15 or more to your registration.

Our registration deadline always arrives very soon. Please register by Tuesday, February 1, so our Lovin' Oven teens can prepare dessert for you. They bake to order.

The Best Western Sonoma Valley Inn is located at 550 Second Street West in Sonoma. If you enter from Second Street West, drive all the way to the back of the property to the Charles Krug Event Center. You can also park along First Street West and follow the walkway on the left to the Event Center entrance. Contact Carole Peccorini for further information 707-996-2167.

Living an Inspired Life. Acting on Inspiration 2011

2010-12-21T14:28:00.000-08:00

You never know the moment when someone hears something and makes a decision to change their life. Or, ideas collide and create a magical cascade of new possibilities. "Maybe Rich Conversations are a Big Idea," muses Margarita Ramirez.

Save these dates to begin our New Big Ideas Series for 2011

Wednesday eves, January 26 and March 2nd

New Sonoma Location. More details coming soon.

Big Ideas - The Movie!

2010-12-20T13:33:00.000-08:00

What happens when a teen takes a video camera in her hand and enters Big Ideas and Rich Conversations with Women? She captures the inspiration and power of ideas colliding and changing lives.

Don't Go Back to Sleep - poet Rumi

2010-10-18T14:47:00.000-07:00

Check out the Vision Workshop November 11 Tab. I'm so excited about our next step together in creating inspired lives. The Round Room Sanctuary in the natural setting of Westerbeke Ranch, Sonoma, will hold us perfectly. We will be blessed to work with Terces Engelhart and more..... What is your next Bold move? Carole

We Have Set a Chair At the Table for You.

2010-09-20T10:57:00.000-07:00

You are invited to our Ninth Finale event for 2010 of the Awakening Your Legacy series on Wednesday evening, October 20, at Ramekins Culinary School, Inn and Event Center in Sonoma.

We want to introduce you to our remarkable international speakers Potenza, an Artist who has dedicated herself to a world at peace and has painted the Hearts of the World for every country, and Lisa Kristine, Fine Arts Photographer, whose striking photographs in hidden corners of the planet capture the dignity and unity of humanity. You will also have the opportunity to meet other women in thoughtful, rich conversations and celebrate the closure of this series with Vocalist and SongWriter, Cat Austin, MA.

Our program begins at 5:45 - 6:25 pm with arrival, cash bar and seating; 6:30 - 7:10 pm our supper meal together; 7:10 - 9:00 pm Lisa Kristine's and Potenza's visual work and stories followed by conversations around our dining tables about leading inspired lives. We will close the evening with music by Cat Austin.

Our deadline for registration always arrives sooner than we think! To take your place at the table for this year's finale evening, please register by Monday, October 11. You will receive an entry coupon for a chance in our drawing of gifts to win a certificate for a free Ramekins Cooking Class for two of your choice. Also, $10 of your registration will be given as a gift donation to further the work of our speakers in the world.

Who is Lisa Kristine?

"My work is about dignity, to see the good through my camera," affirms Lisa Kristine, Fine Arts Photographer, as her new book called Slavery went to print on September 10. "The last thing to go is the light in their eyes," she notes about the 27 million slaves worldwide today. "Until then, connectedness still exists."

Lisa received her first camera, an Olympus, from her aunt and uncle who raised her when she was 11 years old. By the age of 13, she was printing in black and white with the help of her cousin. She love National Geographic and books on anthropology. At 18 years, after attending the San Francisco Institute of Design, she bought an airplane ticket to travel with her camera expecting to be gone for a few months. Instead, she came back 5 years later with a body of work.

When a photographer saw her work, he mentored her in the Cibachrome printing process. Only then it dawned on her that this would be her career and life's work. Lisa is a technical genius with her camera and she has traveled in more than 60 countries on 6 continents over the past 25 years. She is drawn to people who have been living close to the earth and have very old traditions.

With intuition and firm trust between us, I can create a stirring image of who they really are. When they remain who they are, the image sings. Lisa captures the sheer beauty of the differences and uniqueness of people and at the same time the expression of our shared unity. What endures and what is possible?

Who is Potenza?

When Potenza was 31 years old and recovering from surgery, her husband bought her brushes and a set of oil paints as a gift while she was in bed. "When I took those brushes in my hand, I knew I was a painter."

After 20 years, New York City artist Potenza heard a news report about a 15-month baby dying horribly in a military action and she wept. Could I make a difference? Every child, everywhere, deserves to be safe became her commitment from that moment. "I'm going to use my brush and dedicate my work to world peace."

Potenza painted a 360-foot painting to world peace that was displayed at the United Nations and seen by over 20 million people. She also wrote a peace letter in which she poured out everything in her heart and sent this letter to 4,000 world leaders. She says that sending these letters also saved her life as she faced the sudden tragic death of her son by a drunk driver. "I had a commitment for a world at peace that was bigger than my feelings of terrible loss and this helped sustain me."

Later, when a volunteer knocked on her door at 9:00 pm raising funds for children, the words "this American heart" popped into her mind. Eventually this grew into her Hearts of the World paintings, a series of over 200 5 x 6 feet paintings using the colors of each country's flag but with a heart now embedded within it. She has offered these paintings as a gift to each nation to inspire bringing all our hearts together in peace.

Download the Flyer for our October 20th Dinner with Potenza and Lisa Kristine.

Change of Location

2010-09-18T18:29:00.000-07:00

Change of Location for our Wednesday, September 22, Big Ideas and Rich Conversations Event

This month we will be hosting our event at MacArthur Place, 29 East MacArthur Street, Sonoma (at Broadway - Hwy 12 and MacArthur). Everything else remains the same. Go to the second entrance that says Saddles Restaurant and Hotel Registration and you may park in the parking lot or on the street. Welcome begins at 5:45 pm with dinner seating at 6:25 pm. Cash Bar $5 for wine. Our program will end at 9:00 pm. See you soon. Carole and Chalon 707-996-2167

We Have Set a Chair at the Table for You

2010-08-23T12:37:00.000-07:00

You are invited to our Eighth event of the Awakening Your Legacy series on Wednesday evening, September 22, at the Ramekins Culinary School, Inn & Event Center in Sonoma.

We want to introduce you to our remarkable speakers for September, a mother and son team, Victoria and Alec Loorz, who are bringing about changes in how we think with empathy about the future of our kids and the planet. You will also have the opportunity to meet other women in thoughtful, rich conversations.

Our program begins at 5:45 - 6:25 pm with arrival, cash bar and seating; 6:30 - 7:10 pm our supper meal together; 7:10 - 9:00 pm Victoria and Alec's story followed by conversations around our dining tables to inspire visions that light up our own lives and a brighter future for our world.

Our deadline for registration always arrives sooner than we think! To take your place at the table, please register by Monday, September 13. You will receive an entry coupon for a chance in our drawing of gifts to win a certificate for a free Ramekins Cooking Class for two of your choice. Also, $10 of your registration will be given as a gift donation to further the work of our speaker in the world.

Who are Victoria and Alec Loorz?

A mother and son team, Victoria and Alec Loorz, are bringing about changes in how we think with empathy about the future of our kids and the planet. iMatter is rallying the voices of youth to look into the eyes of their parents and leaders and say, "I know my future matters. Do iMatter to you?"

Alec loved science and when he was 12 years old, he saw the movie "Inconvenient Truth" by Al Gore and his life took a new course. He was deeply moved and watched every detail twice. He began sharing his new passion about climate change with friends and put together his own presentation on the topic. When Gore's team first declined to train him because he was too young, Alec set off on his own, giving presentations to friends and school audiences. Suddenly, he became a keynote speaker at a conference when the scheduled speaker could not come at the last minute.

Last October at the age of 15 years, Alec received the Brower Youth Environmental Hero Award, one of six in the world. He is focused on mobilizing youth leaders to raise their voices and let the adults in charge know that our dependence on fossil fuels and other unsustainable practices are not OK. "It's not about money or politics. It's about the survival of their children and grandchildren."

Victoria works full time with the non-profit they created under Earth Island Institute, Kids-vs-Global-Warming. She knows this story actually began when she was pregnant with Alec. At that time she was hired by a World Vision organization to write white papers to engage environmental issues. The more she wrote, "this became more important to me." Their relationship as mother and son has been an important part of the story from the beginning.

As a baby and youngster, Alec required her full attention so Victoria surrendered her work and writing more than once to be a full-time mom. Alec is now a 6 foot 4 inch teen of 16 years and a junior at El Camino High School in Ventura, California.

This fall, they launch the iMatter campaign with a Listening Tour in the Gulf Coast where Alec will meet with groups of youth from fishing towns most impacted by the oil spill and listen to their stories. He plans to link these youth and their stories with young people in Alaska to tell their stories about growing up post-Valdez.

They will also announce the iMatter March to take place on Mother's Day, May 8, 2011: One Million Youth Stand Up for Their Planet. It will give the youngest generation a loud collective voice. "We aren't old enough to vote, but our voices are passionate enough to be heard."

We Have Set a Chair at the Table for You

2010-07-26T09:55:00.000-07:00

You are invited to our Seventh event of the Awakening Your Legacy series on Wednesday evening, August 25, at the Ramekins Culinary School, Inn & Event Center in Sonoma.

We want to introduce you to our remarkable speaker for August, Susan Rickert, a San Francisco grandmother who travels and gives to the children of the world especially in remote, isolated villages. You will also have the opportunity to meet other women in thoughtful, rich conversations.

Our program begins at 5:45 - 6:25 pm with arrival, cash bar and seating; 6:30 - 7:10 pm our supper meal together; 7:10 - 9:00 pm Susan Rickert's story followed by conversations around our dining tables to inspire visions that light up our own lives and a brighter future for our world.

Our deadline for registration always arrives soon than we think! To take your place at the table, please register by Monday, August 16. You will receive an entry coupon for a chance in our drawing of gifts to win a certificate for a free Ramekins Cooking Class for two of your choice. Also, $10 of your registration will be given as a gift donation to further the work of our speaker in the world.

Who is Susan Rickert?

When Susan Rickert celebrated her 60-year birthday and all five children were raised, educated and out the door, she declared to her husband Tom, "I'm out the door to see the world." Yet Susan was no ordinary traveler.

Susan first focused on her long-standing love affair with Tanzania where she spent two years in the Peace Corps as a primary school teacher in a remote, isolated bush village in the 1960's. She chose to travel with OAT (Overseas Adventure Travel) because a school visit was integral to their itinerary. She was eager to see what primary schools in the bush villages looked like today.

What she saw became a "pivotal moment that changed my life!" When Susan visited the Bashay Primary School in the Karatu region, she saw a wing of the school that had a dirt floor and no windows, doors or roof. She was so moved, she collected the money for the new roof on the spot.

Susan has been collecting money every since. She has traveled each year to Tanzania for ten years and each time, she arrives at the local school with two questions: "What do you need?" How can I help?" Once the project is selected by the villagers, she pledges to raise the money and return in a year to see how it is progressing. "Most of the time, the work is finished and I'm able to cut the ribbon," she says.

Over ten years, Susan has raised over $300,000 and funded new classrooms, schools, roofs, kitchens, dining halls, first-aid clinics and scholarships for thousands of children.

Susan's focus also shifted to another part of the world. For three nights she had a recurring dream that called her to the Amazon, to remote villages that needed help and no one else was helping them. "It was a mystical experience," she says. "What I found was very similar to my Tanzania trips, only a water safari. What I found were loving, outgoing people living as they have for years."

Visiting a primary school in the village of Las Palmas in Peru, Susan discovered the need for a first-aid clinic. Within a year she was cutting the ribbon on first-aid stations in two separate villages and creating funds for emergency short-wave radios, solar panels for lighting and refrigeration of vaccines as well as soccer equipment for the school.

As Susan works on her African and Amazon projects daily, she is also a very engaged grandmother. Those five children are all married now and she has seven grandchildren and helps pick up the slack for her young mom daughters. Though San Francisco is her home, "I feel at home in the world," Susan says, "especially in remote villages."

"I'm not a wealthy woman," writes Mama Susan, a professional massage therapist. "I am just like you. I work mostly by intuition, then bulldog determination combined with inspiring other to get involved and enjoy the magic of how it all comes together."

Can grandmothers have Big Ideas and create meaningful change? "Nothing is impossible when we inspire a committed group of people and ask the two important questions: "What do you need and how can we help?"

Download the Flyer for our August 25th Dinner with Susan Rickert.

Coming Next

2010-06-21T14:54:00.000-07:00

What happens next as our series of nine Awakening Your Legacy events draws to a close in October? Creative Pods!

Think Seed Pods bursting forth with seed and multiplying. Think of Dolphin Pods leaping for joy and communicating in concert. Think of the reverence of Whale Pods and the gaze of that beautiful eye looking at you. Creativity with High Touch.

I will mentor smaller groups in 3 types of "Creative Pods":

Pods for women still seeking the Inspiration of what is truly theirs to do
Pods for those who have a Big Idea and want the magic of working in concert with others to develop their vision into action and move it into being in the physical world
Pods for women who want to be mentored to lead Creative Pods with others and help expand this work in the world.

You can contact me if you are interested. I already have one woman committed to the Next Step. Three cheers for Creative Pods!
Carole Peccorini RN, MA
707-996-2167 or carolep43@sbcglobal.net

We Have Set a Chair at the Table for You

2010-06-21T13:28:00.000-07:00

You are invited to our Sixth event of the Awakening Your Legacy series on Wednesday evening, July 28, at Ramekins Culinary School, Inn & Event Center in Sonoma.

We want to introduce you to our remarkable speaker for July, college student Hai Vo, 2009 winner of the Youth Environmental Hero Award for the Real Food Challenge from the David Brower Youth Awards, Earth Island Institute, and to meet other women in thoughtful, rich conversations.

Our program begins at 5:45 - 6:20 pm with arrival, cash bar and seating; 6:30 - 7:10 pm our supper meal together prepared by the Ramekins Executive Chef Joe Vitale; 7:10 - 9:00 pm Hai Vo's story followed by conversations around our dining tables to inspire visions that can light up our own lives and a brighter future for our world.

Our deadline for registration will be here sooner than we know! To take your place at the table, please register by Monday, July 19. You will receive an entry coupon for a chance in our drawing to win a gift certificate for a Ramekins Cooking Class or your choice as well as other gifts. Also, $10 of your registration will be given as a gift donation to further the work of our speaker in the world.

Who is Hai Vo? Can young people have Big Ideas and create a huge difference in our world?

Food is personal for Hai Vo. "There's nothing more intimate than the relationship between human beings and food," says this 2009 social ecology graduate of UC Irvine and winner of the Earth Island Institute's Brower Youth Award as an Environmental Hero.

As a low-income student in the public school system, Hai Vo, the son of Vietnamese refugees, got free lunches at a high price. "I love soda, candy, anything greasy and salty like chicken nuggets or syrupy fruit," he says. Now wiry, he tipped the scales at 250 pounds when he entered college.

Hai became a student leader in the Real Food Challenge to shift the four billion dollars spent annually on food at universities to "real" food. Instead of making food his enemy, it became his passion. Hai began studying food's journey from the field to the fork. His personal health battle turned into a public effort. "I love social ecology's emphasis on interdisciplinary community problem solving."

In order to educate and connect students, Hai helped organize events to bring students together to "simply eat" and to discuss their understanding of food. He also brought pencils and notebooks into the kitchens at UC Irvine to survey the food they serve to students and discover how much sustainable food was used. He found that UC Irvine procured only 10% real sustainable food and then he worked with the University of California to develop a system-wide institutional commitment to 20% real food by the year 2020.

Hai is now immersing himself in urban farming, looking for innovative ways to grow food within a city. He also got a taste of farming as an intern at UC Davis which gave him fresh eyes about growing fruit trees and edible plants on school grounds. He's "on a mission to understand the dynamic relationships between food and youth. How will we produce, consume and sustain food in the generations to come?"

Take a trip to the Farmers Market with Hai Vo, and his love of food, "real" food, becomes contagious. Can young people create Big Ideas and real change? You bet they can!

Download the Flyer for our July 28th Dinner with Hai Vo.

We Have Set a Chair at the Table for You

2010-05-24T15:55:00.000-07:00

You are invited to our Fifth event of the Awakening Your Legacy series on Wednesday evening, June 23, at Ramekins Culinary School, Inn & Event Center in Sonoma.

We want to introduce you to our remarkable speaker for June, Terces Engelhart, co-founder of Cafe Gratitude, and to meet other women in thoughtful, rich conversations.

Our program begins at 5:45 - 6:25 pm with arrival, cash bar and seating; 6:30 - 7:10 pm our supper meal together; 7:10 - 9:00 pm Terces Engelhart's story followed by conversations around our dining tables to inspire dreams that can light up our own lives and a brighter future for our world.

Our deadline for registration will be here sooner than we know! To take your place at the table, please register by Monday, June 14. You will receive an entry coupon for a chance in our drawing to win a gift certificate for a Ramekins Cooking Class of your choice. Also, $10 of your registration will be given as a gift donation to further the work of our speaker in the world.

Who is Terces Engelhart?

What are you grateful for? Terces Engelhart asks this question often as she and her husband Matthew tend to growing seven Cafe Gratitudes and 280 employees in the Bay Area.

Cafe Gratitude is not just about great healthy food. It is also a business about growing people, expecially young people in their 20's and 30's. They invite everyone who steps inside to enjoy being someone who chooses -- loving their life and themselves, accepting the world, being generous and grateful every day, being provided for. You can order I Am Refreshed and a goblet of house lemonade arrives. I Am Vivacious is a stuffed avocado and I Am Kind brings Refried Beans. I Am Amazing is Lemon Meringue Pie.

Terces calls this a great experiment. Can we merge sacred principles with commercial profit? Love is the bottom line. Love of this business translates into profits that give livelihood to hundreds and sustenance to thousands. Love of transformation is awakening. Are employees inspired by their lives? At Cafe Gratitude employees are encouraged to train themselves to choose their thoughts, the ones that empower and inspire them. They spend about $230,000 a year (in time) or 1/3 of their profits to invest in the daily practice with employees to get clear and present so they can be creative, powerful and generous. This prepares the space for the highest of customer service, love of community. Love of the Earth is sustainability with environmentally friendly products, sustainable agriculture and the finest local ingredients. With these principles they have become business magnets.

How did this Big Idea happen? When Terces and Matthew married ten years ago, combining a family that would now include 5 children, they decided to start something new and to trust their inner guidance and inspiration to lead the way. They discovered the nourishing power of living foods and they also decided to create a board game to provide both learning and the experience of transformation. Once they created the Abounding River Game, they felt they wanted a place for people to play the game. While walking one day in SF, they saw a sign, a restaurant site was available, and the first Cafe Gratitude was born.

Terces has created and re-created herself many times. Her father was a Navy pilot and her childhood meant moving 30 times. Her mother was creative and her love of cooking opened Terces' heart to her own love of food. Her later life lessons come from twenty years of an eating disorder which began in competitive swimming and being a single mom of three children. She has expressed herself in many ways as a dental hygienist, flight attendant, Mary Kay cosmetics executive, business owner, massage therapist and eating disorder counselor. Today she lives on their organic farm growing food for the Cafes and offering monthly workshops on relationship, abundance and creating an alive, awake community at work.

Download the Flyer for our June 23rd Dinner with Terces Engelhart.

We Have Set a Chair at the Table for You!

2010-04-27T08:35:00.000-07:00

You are invited to our Fourth evening event of the Awakening Your Legacy series on Wednesday evening, May 26, at Ramekins Culinary School, Inn & Event Center in Sonoma.

We want to introduce you to our remarkable speakers for May, Victoria Johnston, whose vision created the first LEED-Platinum ultimate green public K-12 school building in California, and Kathleen Quinn, who produced her first documentary film of this environmental project, Building a Dream. And, we invite you to meet other women in thoughtful, rich conversations.

Our program begins at 5:45 - 6:20 pm with arrival, cash bar and seating; 6:30 - 7:10 pm our supper meal together; 7:10 - 9:00 pm Victoria's and Kathleen's inspirational stories and a segment of the documentary Building a Dream, followed by conversations around our dining tables to inspire dreams that can light up our own lives and a brighter future for our world.

Our deadline for registration arrives in a blink! To take your place at the table, please register by Monday, May 17. You will receive an entry coupon for a chance in our drawing to win a gift certificate for a Ramekins Cooking Class of your choice for two. Also, $10 of your registration will be given as a gift donation to further the work of our speakers in the world.

Who is Victoria Johnston?

Victoria Johnston sees Green. "I am a seed planter," she proclaims. Victoria builds dreams and this time her vision created green building at its best, the first LEED-Platinum public K-12 school building in California.

In April 2010 Salmon Creek Falls Environmental Center in Occidental was given the highest honor, the prestigious LEED-Platinum (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) award. The newest building for the Salmon Creek School and the Harmony School District also has the distinction of the first Platinum certified building in Sonoma County and it extends the school community's commitment to sustainability.

A collaborative team which included the school children inspired this revolution in innovative design. Victoria served as Project Facilitator. The floors and walls of the Center are made of recycled materials such as hospital gowns, wine cork tiles and ground glass. Rainwater is collected and returned to the land. There is a living roof. Kids grow organic food which is served in the cafeteria. Here students, teachers and the greater community experience a place that is a living classroom.

Victoria began when she was elected to the school board with the idea of starting a school-wide garden program, cooking in the garden space and teaching nutrition. She feels the delight of children in a new way of learning.

"What a wonderful time to grow up as a woman. I had total freedom," she says. My mother was an artist and she did her own thing. Her parents taught her to live in the present moment and follow her heart. There was no guilt. They trusted her. Their gift was their belief that whatever she set her mind to do she would do and Victoria believes this with total conviction.

Who is Kathleen Quinn?

Victoria met Kathleen Quinn, a videographer, and believed in her. She asked Kathleen to do a documentary on the Salmon Creek Falls project. Two dreams were joined and Kathleen stepped out of her comfort zone to produce her first documentary, Building a Dream.

Kathleen's dream began 15 years ago with a simple thing that turned out to be a life-changer. A friend shared a video interview with a 92-year-old neighbor who had since died. Kathleen was impressed with the woman's wisdom and found herself laughing and crying through it. Reflections of a Lifetime was born.

Early on she dreamed of outfitting an RV with video editing equipment and traveling the USA seeking out and interviewing the oldest fascinating person she could locate in each state. She imagined giving copies of the videos to local libraries and the families themselves. Kathleen pictured creating a documentary called The Wise Old Men and Women of America. "That dream is still alive in me," says Kathleen. She also believes that this is too important a time now for any of us not to do our shining part.

Download the Flyer for our May 26th Dinner with Victoria Johnston and Kathleen Quinn.

We Have Set a Chair at the Table for You

2010-03-22T12:13:00.000-07:00

You are invited to our Third event of the Awakening Your Legacy series on Wednesday evening, April 28, at Ramekins Culinary School, Inn & Event Center in Sonoma.

We want to introduce you to our remarkable speaker for April, Diana Ruiz, founder of the Women's Global Leadership Initiative, and to meet other women in thoughtful, rich conversations.

Our program begins at 5:45 - 6:25 pm with arrival, cash bar and seating; 6:30 - 7:10 pm our supper meal together; 7:10 - 9:00 pm Diana Ruiz's story followed by conversations around our dining tables to inspire visions that can light up our own lives and a brighter future for our world.

Our deadline for registration will be here sooner than we know! To take your place at the table, please register by Monday, April 19. You will receive an entry coupon for a chance in our drawing to win a gift certificate for a Ramekins Cooking Class of your choice. Also, $10 of your registration will be given as a gift donation to further the work of our speaker in the world.

Who is Diana Ruiz?

When Diana Ruiz walked into a travel agency in Rome in 2005 to book a side trip to Croatia, the land of her Cuban father's heritage, she had no idea it would evolve into a new mission for her life.

In post-war Croatia, she met hundreds of women in villages and cities, in cafes, beauty salons, museums, colleges, bus stops and markets. She listened to old and young, educated and streetwise and was deeply moved by the hundreds of stories she heard. Diana recognized how much the Croatian women care deeply about community and yet they lacked economic power and a voice in decision making.

With insights from this experience, Diana started Women's Global Leadership Initiative, a non profit focused on developing women's individual and community leadership. In spring 2009 after six more trips to Croatia to lay the groundwork, she presented the first of her pilot three-part workshop program in Rijeko.

The emphasis of the program is to help women grow their leadership skills from the inside out. According to Diana, the world in the 21st century needs the leadership of women. She states, "My life's passion is to help women embrace the leading role their own unique life experience has prepared them to play in the world. Regardless of social or economic status, formal education or cultural influence, all women can become leaders and create positive change."

The daughter of pro-democracy Cuban revolutionaries, Diana learned at an early age the importance of creating one's destiny. Her life has evolved from being a teenage single mom of two to earning a Bachelor degree in Organizational Behavior. She has twenty years experience in finance, sales, mediation, volunteerism and youth mentorship.

Returning home to Sonoma County from her latest work in Croatia, Diana is now offering her WGLI workshop programs here in Sonoma and Santa Rosa to empower women and girls to become effective community leaders and unlock the potential of women who want to make a difference. See wgli.org for more details.

Download the Flyer
for our April 28th Dinner with Diana Ruiz.

We Have Set a Chair at the Table for You

2010-02-22T12:48:00.000-08:00

You are invited to our Second Evening Event of our Awakening Your Legacy series on Wednesday Evening, March 24, at Ramekins Culinary School and Inn in Sonoma.

We want to introduce you to our remarkable speaker for March, Dr. Len Saputo, author of Return to Healing and founder of Health Medicine, and to meet other women in thoughtful, rich conversations.

Our program begins at 5:45 - 6:30 pm for arrival and cash bar; 6:30 - 7:15 pm our supper meal together; 7:15 - 9:30 pm Dr. Saputo's story followed by conversations around our dining tables.

Our deadline for registration is coming sooner than we know!
To take your place at the table register by Monday, March 15. You will receive an entry coupon for a chance in our drawing to win a gift certificate for two at a Ramekins Cooking Class of your choice. Also, $10 of your registration fee will be given as a gift donation to further the work of our speaker's foundation or non profit in the world.

Who is Dr. Len Saputo?

Len Saputo, MD, was inspired to change how he thought about health and healing when he was faced with solving his wife Vicki's life-threatening illness. It marked a turning point in his medical career. His practice would never be the same. In his book, Return to Healing, Dr. Saputo writes, "Today, my bottom line is simple: Medicine should be about healing."

Pursuing this vision, Len discovered his true life's purpose of improving the way medicine is practiced and promoting healthy living. He finds it heartbreaking to see far too many people sick in all age groups in spite of astronomical costs of our current system. "It doesn't have to be this way," notes Dr. Saputo.

In his quest for another way, he founded the Health Medicine Center in Walnut Creek where he has been experimenting with new approaches to creating a financially sustainable practice focused on what he calls "Health Medicine." Patients and families are part of their health care team which includes professionals from many healing traditions along with Dr. Saputo. The approach is holistic and preventive in focus.

He also pioneered a non profit education foundation, The Health Medicine Forum, devoted to professional and public education on integrative medicine, the nature of healing and a vision for change.

Len believes in community action and has spearheaded an initiative called WellnessCitiesChallenge.org. This grassroots effort has negotiated with restaurants, schools and hospitals to serve healthy, fresh foods with adequate fiber and no high fructose corn syrup or trans-fats.

A 1965 graduate of Duke University Medical School, Dr. Saputo is board certified in internal medicine. For 40 years he as been a practicing physician in affiliation with John Muir Medical Center in the East Bay.

His remarkable book, Return to Healing, is available for purchase online at http://www.aReturnToHealing.com

Download the Flyer

for our March 24th Dinner with Dr. Saputo.

Imagine Our Surprise--Our Chef

2010-02-06T16:41:00.000-08:00

Chalon and I were thrilled to hear that Joe Vitale is the new Executive Chef for Ramekins and Lisa Vitale, his wife, is going to be our chef for the evening of our event. This is wonderful news. We know Joe and Lisa from years of soccer games and tournaments with the Sonoma Strikers. We've cheered together in the heat, the cold, the rain all over northern California. And best of all we are in for a dining treat. Here are the cupcakes that Lisa made for my birthday last August and the celebration of my Butterfly Project. These were the best cupcakes I have ever had. The taste was as fabulous as the beauty.

We Have Set a Chair at the Table for You.

2010-01-28T16:11:00.000-08:00

You are invited to our first evening event of our Awakening Your Legacy series on Wednesday Evening, February 24, at Ramekins Culinary School and Inn in Sonoma. We want to introduce you to our incredible speaker, Heidi Kuhn, CEO of Roots of Peace, and to meet other women in thoughtful, rich conversations. Our program begins at 5:45 - 6:30 pm for arrival and cash bar; 6:30 - 7:15 supper meal together; 7:15 - 9:30 pm Heidi's story followed by conversations around our dining tables.

Our deadline for registration is Coming Soon! Take your place at the table before February 15. Our first 20 registrants will receive 2 entry coupons instead of one for a chance in our drawing to win a gift certificate for 2 at a Ramekins Cooking Class of your choice.

Who is Heidi Kuhn?

Heidi Kuhn was deeply inspired in September 1997 to create Roots of Peace, dedicated to removal of landmines worldwide. From the heart of a stay-at-home mother, she took up landmine eradication following the death of Princess Diana, who had catapulted the issue of landmines to the forefront of our consciousness. With a simple toast in the living room of her home, a hope that the world may go from "Mines to Vines", a global environmental initiative was born.

Turning her "ideas into reality", Heidi sought the support of Napa Valley vintners to replace the scourge of landmines with the nectar of grapes in Afghanistan. Seeking to transform "seeds of terror" into "seeds of hope," she attracted legendary vintners such as Robert Mondavi, Mike Grgich, Diane Disney Miller and over 400 California vintners with the vision of the "grapevine" as the symbol of hope. Her vision has transformed lethal minefields into bountiful fields creating sustainable economic agriculture for farmers as well as safe soccer fields and schools for kids.

"We are helping them get back to the land," notes Heidi. Their economy is 80 percent based on agriculture. "This was once dubbed the Garden of Asia and we are helping to bring it back."

Her daughter Kyleigh created their Pennies for Peace with kids, which has raised more than 30 million pennies -- $300,000 and now operates more than 100 schools. In Afghanistan, 44.6% of the population is under 14 years.

Heidi told me this story when we met and you can also find it in the book Tactics of Hope, How Social Entrepreneurs Are Changing Our World, by Wilford Welch with David Hopkins. A little boy asked, "Mrs. Kuhn, are you really from California?" He paused after Heidi nodded, then raised his chin. "Is it true that the children in California can hike in mountains and run on beaches without fear of landmines beneath their shoes?" Heidi nodded again. "It must be heaven," he said, looking down at his hands.

Heidi is a fifth generation descendent of of a Marin County family, a graduate of the University of Berkeley, a cancer survivor and married for over 25 years with four children. Her work is recognized by world leaders and organizations around the globe.

Heidi will be showing us video footage of being in Afghanistan and her inspiring work with the people. You won't want to miss this.

Download a pdf flyer to share with friends here: SonomaBigIdeas_Feb24.pdf

A Mother-Daughter Venture Inspiring Many Women to Discover Their Own Legacy

2010-01-28T15:27:00.000-08:00

We live in a remarkable time. It is a time for big, bold ideas about possibilities. It is a time where one person, one partnership, one idea can make a difference. It is a time to engage in conversations about visions that inspire a brighter future for our worlds.

This year in 2010, we will host nine Awakening Your Legacy evening events with women. You will have direct access to Bay Area thought leaders and innovators who are passionate about a Big Idea that became their personal destiny. We pair this with compelling conversation with other North Bay women around the intimate tabes at the beautiful Ramekins Culinary School and Inn in Sonoma. (www.ramekins.com)

Each month we will enjoy a simple, freshly prepared supper prepared by our Ramekins chef and experience an unforgettable encounter with our speaker. Each speaker's story reveals how action transformed the speaker's own life and contributed to the greater good in vital areas like sustainability, health, new business models, and education.

We will then engage in thoughtful conversations to discover and support the fresh ideas and longing we perhaps didn't even know we had. We will listen and reflect back to each woman the greatness we see in her. With each event, we will create fertile ground for big ideas to stire and awaken so that each of us can move toward our own unique legacy.

You can call us at 707-996-2167 or write to us at sonomabigideas@gmail.com. Find us on our FaceBook Group SonomaBigIdeas and Twitter.com SonomaBigIdeas. Eager to meet you, Chalon and Carole