For £12 a night during this holiday season people can bed down with Buggins the donkey and, by the looks of it, sleep on a bed of hay.

“And for anyone not keen on forgoing their modern conveniences it even has wireless internet and ‘mood’ lighting. Shepherd costumes and bath towels are available at an additional cost, but traditional ‘Christmas lessons’ are free of charge.”

Now before you get all bah humbug and say this is cashing in on Christmas, you should know that the host couple are both doctors who intend to donate any money they make to Leukaemia and Lymphoma Research.

The stable to manger transformation was the idea of their daughter-in-law whose aunt died of leukaemia. Their hope is to re-ignite peoples understanding of the spirit and story of Christmas while donating to a good cause.

The Inner Balance™ wave is about finding a deeper meaning. Here we have a family that wants to do just that. The festive season can mean drunken office parties, crazed holiday sales and bickering at the dinner table to many people. The Human Truth™ of this wave is: “Without meaning, what’s the point?”™ As I suffer through some hideously garish TV advertising while I write this, I find myself asking the same thing.

I mean seriously, T Mobile, “Walking in a 4G wonderland”?? Yeesh! (My friends all agree it sounds like “orgy wonderland”, so at least we get a snigger.)

This time, I noticed almost EVERYONE in the crowd raised their smartphone and began recording a video or snapping a pic.  Ok, I get wanting to snap a pic and share it with your friends… “look, I am at this awesome gig!!” Sure.

However, the videography lasted the whole gig… there was a girl in front of me getting an audio recording on her blackberry. Really?

I couldn’t help thinking, are you actually going to go home and listen to that crappy, overblown recording tonight? Are you guys really going to upload these poor quality, shaky videos with terrible audio to youtube? How about just live in the moment and go home and have awesome memories of a full bodied experience?

And it’s not just music concerts. I watched baseball’s Game 7 and every time they cut to the crowd, people were recording and watching the game through their phones!

If they didn’t, perhaps we wouldn’t have some of the amazing viral videos that we see where something really unexpected happens, but that surely can’t be the reason. Not everyone is filming every event they attend on the off-chance that some thing will go terribly wrong or awesomely right?

To use the famous hippy words of Ram Dass, why can’t we just: Be. Here. Now.

It reminded me of the Inner Balance wave’s Human Truth™, which is: “Without meaning, what’s the point.”™ My feelings on all this concert/event videography is that it takes you out of the live experience…which leads me to say: what’s the point?

Why pay for gas, battle traffic, find a parking, navigate crowds, line up for restrooms etc etc, if you are watching the whole thing through the back of a smart phone? Perhaps in our endeavors to capture the moment, we are actually missing the moment?

“In a new interview with Canada’s National Post, the nonprofit’s executive director says the campaign was motivated in part by the way prostitutes are referenced in crime coverage. “If we look at last week’s coverage of a trial a couple weeks ago, one of the headlines was all about ‘prostitute’; it did not talk about anything about these women as women,” says Rene Ross. ” ‘Killer arraigned in prostitute murders.’ ‘Alleged attacker goes to trial for prostitute beatings.’ You never hear that this is a woman, this is a mother, this is a friend.”

Inner Balance™ is about:  “Finding a deeper meaning.” The fact is that we often have a set idea of what kind of things we will find in this wave.  There is a lot in there to do with belief, spirituality and higher-order thinking.  I guess I’m putting this print campaign in the Inner Balance™ wave because sometimes sex work is about making your own decisions about the way you want to live and who you want to be … living on your own terms of what’s “right”.

Making money is a daily challenge for so many people, especially lately.  If someone makes informed decisions about how they wish to earn, it’s my opinion that they shouldn’t be judged for that, and better yet – it be made legal and safe.

Recently a Toronto directory of AA meeting removed two secular groups from their listings because they have come up with 12 steps that don’t include God.

Beyond Belief and We Agnostics were started for people who admit they need help but, because of their beliefs, have trouble “surrendering” to the terminogly used.  For example:

Alcoholics Anonymous:

Step 6: Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character.  Step 7. Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings.

Beyond Belief:

Step 6: Were ready to accept help in letting go of all our defects of character.  Step 7: Humbly sought to have our shortcomings removed.

Religion is a very personal and passionate subject.  When I read this article all I could think of was the Human Truth™ of the inner balance wave: “Without meaning, what’s the point?” My hunch is that if you can’t fully commits to those steps, you probably wont get sober. In life and business we come across so many things that are seemingly “set in stone”. It made me wonder about serving “the greater good”, even if that means changing the wording, or being lenient about “set ideas”.

Founded by 19-year-old philosophy student, Isaac Gerson, this brand new church believes that copying and the sharing of information is the most beautiful thing in the world.

“In our belief, communication is sacred. Communication needs to be respected. It is a direct sin to monitor and eavesdrop on people. Absolute secrecy is holy in the Church of Kopimism.”

The church has its own “commandments” that mostly revolve around free access to knowledge and the sharing of information. They are:

# Reproduction of information is ethically right.
# The flow of information is ethically right.
# Remix Spirit is a sacred kind of copying.
# Copying or remixing information conveyed by another person is an act of respect.

The Inner Balance™ wave’s Human Truth™ is “Without meaning what’s the point?”.  This young philospher is posing the question: what really makes a religion?  Is it a way of life? Is it devotion to a way of thinking? Does it protect you and allow you certain freedoms of expression?  Well, that’s what he believes his “pirate community” stands for and is seeking official recognition.

We have heard of The Cult of Mac, perhaps if he succeeds, we will see Steve Jobs take his throne as The High Priest of Apple?

I had a friend who works in the publishing industry and he forwarded me this video, which I found quite interesting.  He’s often hearing that “these youngun’s with their iWhatevers and texting thingamies” might be the death of his industry.

The video below was prepared by the UK branch of Dorling Kindersley Books and produced by Khaki Films. Originally, it was meant solely for a DK sales conference, however, the video was such a hit internally that it is now being shared externally.

Make sure you watch it up to the halfway point, to receive the intended message.  The clip was inspired by a video created by an Argentinean agency, Savaglio/TBWA entitled, “Truth.”

Read an interview with the creator of the video on the Penguin Blog.

Lime Fresh founder and CEO John Kunkel says the certification gives the chain a special distinction: “We are literally the only chain restaurant in the entire United States to offer only 100 percent Certified Humane meats at this point,” Kunkel says.

To qualify for a HFAC label the standards include raising the animal without antibiotics or hormones, and in sufficient space that allows the animal to engage in natural behaviors. Every step in the meat process is inspected for certification, Kunkel says, including the farm, the slaughterhouse, the distributor, and, finally, the restaurant. HFAC is the only certification program endorsed by the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. The Humane Society of the United States also endorses it.

Kunkel says that carrying 100 percent Certified Humane meats is the “right thing to do,” but there have also been many unexpected benefits like larger yields and better tasting meat.

“When you stress an animal out, it basically ups the pH in the beef, and you end up with a very different tasting beef than what was intended,” he says.

When thinking about upscaling a national QSR he makes a good point:  “…if the industry moved toward Certified Humane meat in big numbers, Kunkel says big change could come from it. “All it takes for me to convert more and more farmers out there is for somebody like a Chipotle or a large restaurant chain to draw a line in the sand and say, ‘This is what we’re buying,’ those farmers know that it’s worth it,” he says.

We’ve been tracking conscious consumers and labeling trends for many quarters now, so when Mr. Kunkel says “For whatever reason you do it, whether it’s taste, whether it’s consumer demand, or whether it’s your person beliefs, I think that it is a trend that’s not going away.” …We concur.

Well, the people at Raynor Contract seem to think so; which is why their new chair created in partner with Karim Rashid is designed to focus on your body’s pressure points. Yep, a Chakra Chair. The Chakra Chair is broken down into seven sections, which aligns with the bodies major pressure points, and although it is only in prototype mode people expect it to eventually see a production line. After all, we bought into a blanket with sleeves, so why not a Chakra Chair?

The thing that’s interesting about this is it takes the rare leap we seldom see in Inner Balance™, into design. Inner Balance is one of those Waves where everything is very person-centric, and it almost always involves the human element. But when we see a pure design piece meant to balance out the body, it’s an interesting treat.

As we’ve evolved our cultural opinions on Yoga and holistic health, we’ve seen the adoption of holistic habits, eastern rituals and beliefs make their way into the office. Yoga during lunch, meditation in the morning, it’s all slowly being adapted to keep the frustration down, and now there’s a chair to help align your being as well. Take that idea and sit on it.

You’ve probably heard the term “Spiritual but not Religious”.  Yep- that’s pretty much it… and it’s seems many Americans are identifying with what this WSJ article has termed Religious Independents:

“According to the most recent American Religious Identification Survey, only 76% of Americans identify as Christians, down from 86% in 1990. But interestingly, while non-Christians are not choosing Islam or Judaism, neither are they choosing atheism. A poll done by Gallup in 2008 found that 15% of Americans – up from 8% in 1999– say they don’t believe in God, but they do believe in a “Higher Power” or “Universal Spirit.” More and more, Americans believe that the world was created by a spiritual being, but they reject the Torah, the Koran and the New Testament as the explanation for it.

These universal-spirit worshipers, or what we call Religious Independents, are defining a secular Third Way in religion. They are like political independents who vote but refuse to affiliate with a party. Consequently, attendance at Christmas mass may be declining, but celebration of Christmas and the holidays remains as high as ever. Paradoxically, overall belief in a God is rising, while participation in organized religion is declining.”

The article goes on to discuss the “substantial implications for American culture.” I have blogged about and captured many Thoughts about the rise of yoga and meditation in western culture and this year saw many “new age-y” principles continue to grow from the hippy fringe into the mainstream.

So as our soccer moms talk about “The Universe providing” over their Starbucks and jocks make jokes about a team’s “bad karma”… I will bid you a very heartfelt blessing for this Holiday Season and you can receive it in the spirit of whatever it is you believe (or don’t believe).

The Inner Balance^™ Wave says: “Without meaning what’s the point” so whether it’s Merry Christmas, Happy Chanukah, Kwanza, Namaste or <insert anything here>… I wish: All the best to you and your family!!

“Many of us keep our most precious memories on a shelf, in a shoebox or in the pages of a diary. We cannot be sure that these items will stand the test of time or that our memories will live on after we are gone. Creating a Heartwill removes this uncertainty. A Heartwill is a secure, online safe box, where you can store letters, photographs, recordings and copies of memorabilia. MyHeartwill is a place where you can create dedicated messages for friends and family which can be scheduled for delivery well into the future, enabling you to speak to the people you love even when your voice is still. It is a way to pass on elements of your emotional life – the beliefs, values and experiences that shaped you as a person – in a place where they can always be found.”

If you think you don’t already have an “online footprint”… ahem… you’re probably wrong.  Anyone who has googled their name knows that there is all sorts of random, potentially, embarrassing info floating out there on our beloved yet fickle web.  For instance, my ex had a fairly unique name and was quite bothered that there was a convicted murderer with the same name all over his results page.

So HeartWill is a way to control exactly what message, pics, video etc. that you want your loved ones to see when they want to know more about you…whether you are far away or ahhhh… dead.

We are all leaving such haphazard splatterings of our personalities through our social media habits.  I know that, I for one, would like to be remembered for a lot more than my last tweet:

“So glad the Hipster Hammer Pants thing didn’t go “Walmart Mainstream”