It's Siona again.

I wasn't going to start out by mentioning this, but you know what? I will anyway.

This past weekend I ended up at conference on online communities. I had a good time there (I'd love conferences solely for the coffee breaks; they're a fantastic excuse to meet new people ;), but what I appreciated most about the day was how grateful it made me for Zaadz.

Nearly all the presenters talked about the unique features of their social networking sites, or the technology they were most excited about, or what techniques they used to "get viral." Obviously these things are important, and they do have their place. Still, I kept being struck by how different my own reaction was... and I how lucky I felt as a result.

Because when people asked me about Zaadz, the first thing I mentioned was YOU.

It's true. To me, what defines this site, more than anything else, is the community itself—all of you who are writing and connecting and conversing and supporting each other, who come here for inspiration and who inspire me (and, obviously, the entire team) every day, to grow more and be more and love more. And I came home feeling so, so fortunate.

So thank you for that. Deeply.
 
And now we'll get on to what I really wanted to update about: what's going on in the community itself.

Remember Jeff? He's the Zaadz member working to provide safe drinking water and basic health care to children in Honduras, one of the poorest countries in the Americas. He wanted to extend a thank you to everyone who donated as a result of the last note. (If you'd like to contribute to either the dialogue or the project, check out the blog entry here ... if nothing else, you might want to just acknowledge the importance of his work.)

And then you might say hello to Haydn, an artist on the site who recently started a foundation with the name of Great Hearts Afire, which provides a venue for honoring those who are making the world better. Or Sherry, who wrote to share her currently work in Nicaragua opening medical clinics with the donations from individuals and small fundraisers, and to say that two weeks ago another young Zaadz member, Ben, just flew down to their clinic in Julgalpa to open a botanical pharmacy there.

Finally, there's Alix, who's just embarked on a Peace Scooter tour. Peace Scooter? If you're curious, check out her profile to see how one new Zaadz member is "putting peace on the map."

What I said before about inspiring? Exactly.

And one more thing about this group. Last week you got a note about conscious capitalism. Here's a little followup. We've got somewhere around 250 zPro users, with another batch due in this week.

Is it obvious, yet, how excited I am about this? I'll tell you a little secret about one of my dreams. I know Zaadz is filled with people who've read books like Eckhard Tolle's Power of Now, or who feel some resonance with Neale Donald Walsh's writings, or Dan Millman 's work, or Peter Senge's Presence , or, perhaps, who've been affected by Byron Katie's The Work. I know that I, personally, love connecting with those who "get it"—who are open to those marvelous synchronicities and alert to their meaning.

So how wonderful is it to think about bringing this into business? Or into your work?

What if you could do more to increase the connections you have to others who are tapped into that sense of purpose, and being, and compassion, so that the interactions you have in the marketplace—when you buy and sell and make and spend money—are infused with that same sense of connection and fulfillment?

I know. In many ways its already happening; you've probably noticed yourself. But, well, it's a dream of mine that Zaadz become a nexus for these exchanges. I think zPro will help. And I think we're already well on our way. But it's exciting, still, to imagine what lies ahead.

That's enough from me, though. Because you know what? If YOU have any ideas about how to help create this marketplace, and what tools or features we might build to enhance or facilitate this, please please please let us know. What do you want to see? What do you dream of? Just hit reply (or leave a note in the comments here). We're all ears.

Love, as always,
Siona
and the whole Zaadz Team.


PS. Got a business? Or a practice? Or a cause? Our survey 's still open. :)