The Eden Magazine November 2020

November 2020

EDEN T h e

Magazine

PERCEPTION

SEEING IS NOT BELIEVING

by James & Steph Purpura

THE AIR THAT YOU BREATHE

by Gay Browne

CURTISS COOK FROM STARRING IN THE CHI TO WEST SIDE STORY

LIVING IN THE PRESENT IS THE BEST WAY TO FIGHT FEAR

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by Joya L. Ways

WAYS WOMEN CAN CHANGE THE WORLD, RIGHT NOW

by Kimberly Faith

Table of Contents 8

Hula, The Hawaiian Shamanic

CURTISS COOK

By Dina Morrone

14

18

HULA THE HAWAIIAN SHAMANIC PORTAL INTO ECSTASY

By Jonathan Hammond

18

FROM ME 2 WE

By Dr. Kashonia Carnegie

22

5 WAYS WOMEN CAN CHANGE THE WORLD RIGHT NOW

By Kimberly Faith

14

30

30

THE AIR THAT YOU BREATHE

By Gay Browne

34

THE HEALING POWER OF THE GRIEF RITUAL

By Bernadette Pleasant & Sara Nics

40

5 Way Women can Change the world....

LIVING IN THE PRESENT IS THE BEST WAY TO FIGHT FEAR

By Joya L. Ways

34

44

FOR SPARING TREES, THESE KENYAN FARMERS NOW COUNT BLESSING

By Dominic Kirui

52

WISDOM FROM HOSPICE PATIENTS FOR A TIME OF CRISIS

By Kareb Wyatt MD

22

40

Cover Photo by Eric Hobbs

10th Anniversary 57

I ONLY WANT TO BE ME

By Michael White Ryan

68

57

EYE YOGA EXPERT SHOWS FIVE EASY EXERCISES

By Lenstore & Phoebe Greenacre

70

TRAUMA AND POST TRAUMATIC GROWTH

By Tara Lal

74

PERCEPTION SEEING IS NOT BELIEVING

By James & Steph Purpura

68

78

THE NEW MIND SET

By Nancy Yearout

84

CREATE A SANGHA

By Malcolm Stern

78

86

RAISE YOUR INNER STOCK MARKET

By Phyllis King

70 74

100

RECLAIMING YOUR VOICE IN THE REALM OF RELATIONSHIP

By Jayita Bhattacharjee

Perception, Seeing is not Believing

86 100

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EDEN T

H

E

Since 2010

MAGAZINE

The Eden Magazine is a free online publication that focuses on spreading compassion to all Sentient Beings living in a healing and peaceful world FOUNDER & EDITOR-IN-CHIEF MARYAM MORRISON EXECUTIVE EDITOR/ CONTRIBUTING WRITER DINA MORRONE COMMUNICATION DIRECTOR/ CONTRIBUTING WRITER ALEXIA MELOCCHI BRAND AMBASSADOR MARIA ELENA INFANTINO COMMUNICATION SPECIALIST GLORIA KISEL-HOLLIS CONTRIBUTING WRITERS SASHA GARY PHYLLIS KING JOE SANTOS, JR. ANGELA DUNNING NANCY E. YEAROUT MICHAEL WHITE RYAN MARCO NUNZIO ALATI JAYITA BHATTACHARJEE TARA-JENELLE WALSCH MARGARET TOMASZEWIC CONTRIBUTING STYLISTS + MAKEUP ARTIST EDWARD HAKOPIAN GRAPHICS & PHOTOGRAPHY GREG DOHERTY ISABELLE RUEN SHERI DETERMAN ARTIN MARDIROSIAN WEBSITE

www.theedenmagazine.com 325 N. Maple Dr. Po Box 5132 Beverly Hills, CA 90209 To purchase a copy visit us in www.theedenmagazine.com

Eden Magazine is a non-profit monthly online magazine. We aim to create a better environment where we live among other living beings in peace and harmony. We support artists that their work matches our criteria. If you would like to submit your artwork, article or/and your photography for our future issues please contact Maryam Morrison at; maryammorrison@theedenmagazine.com The Eden Magazine reviews article content for accuracy before the date of publication. The views expressed in the articles reflect the author(s) opinions and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher and editor. The published material, adverts, editorials, and all other content is published in good faith.

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DINA MORRONE

Maryam Morrison

VITO TROTTA

MEET OUR TEAM

Photo by ISABELLE RUEN

Discover the path to a peaceful life among other living beings. We are all made of vibration and light in the universe to manifest our energy around all livingness.

ARTIN MARDIROSIAN

EDWARD HAKOPIAN

MARIA ELENA INFANTINO

ALEXIA MELOCCHI

GLORIA KISEL HOLLIS

TARA-JENELLE WALSCH

ANGELA DUNNING

NANCY E. YEAROUT

SHERI DETERMAN

GREG DOHERTY

MICHAEL WHITE RYAN

MARGARET TOMASZEWIC

ISABELLE RUEN

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SASHA GARY

SHELLY WILSON

JAYITA BHATTACHARJEE

JOE SANTOS, JR.

MARCO NUNZIO ALATI

PHYLLIS KING

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Cook Curtiss

FROM STARRING IN THE CHI TO WEST SIDE STORY

By Dina Morrone Curtiss Cook is the star of Showtime's The Chi, and upcoming film, West Side Story by Steven Spielberg.

After receiving a full-ride scholarship to London's prestigious Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts, Cook began his career on Broadway performing in shows like The Lion King and Miss Saigon.

With encouragement from his family to audition for film and television roles, Cook embraced the love and support, took the leap, and never looked back. He has since worked on countless projects, including, Arbitrage, The Interpreter, Shutter Island, FX's Mayans M.C., NBC's Manifest, Netflix's House of Cards, and Narcos, and Marvel’s Luke Cage, to name a few.

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Please tell us a little bit about yourself and how you got started in your theatre career?

Thank you for allowing me to speak with you and your readers today. I came to New York from London, England, where I had studied drama at Mountview Theatre School.

After some time, I got married and had/have three amazing children. My marriages did not work out (as some do), and I was then a single father of three. Broadway had not come calling at that point, and money was very tight. As a result, we were evicted from our apartment. I had to go on public assistance, all while still trying to forge ahead with my acting career. After sticking with it, I can say that Broadway did finally come calling. My three children are now grown, and I am re-married to a wonderful woman and have twins who are 16yrs-old. Life is good. No one said it was going to be easy. But I am truly grateful!

You are outstanding in your role in The Chi. Please tell are readers about your character.

Thanks for asking. I play Otis "Douda" Perry, a businessman on the Southside of Chicago, who also happens to be the leader of the 63rd street mob. He's very ambitious and ruthless at times, and in this third season, he's running for Mayor. *SPOILER ALERT* He wins! So, let's see what's in store for Chicago now.

Which role did you find more challenging, the one in The Chi or the one in the Sci-fi drama Manifest?

I don't know if I would say that challenging is the word I would use, but the beauty of it all is the opportunity to show and use my craft in such an array of characters! I get to go from a slick, well-mannered gentleman/mobster to a Jamaican violinist who has been missing for 8yrs looking for his son. Come on. This is an actor's dream!

Of all the characters you have portrayed over the years, which one do you feel is most like the real you?

Good question, I don't know. I mean, when I watch my work, I immediately see me, and nothing else at times.

And when developing each character, that's where I start from, me. It's a tough question to answer. If I were forced to answer, I would probably say Marcus Edison from Freeform’s The Bold Type, and Terry Womack from Netflix's House of Cards.

What advice would you give to someone struggling to make it in the entertainment business, and what is the true path to success?

Well, of course, if I had the answer to the true path to success, I would be a billionaire, haha! In any case, I would tell anyone who is struggling to stay the course! If this is something you genuinely feel is for you, stay the course and keep collecting as much knowledge as you can.

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Do you think social media plays a significant role today in celebrities' lives?

Of course! I think social media plays a significant role in life.

Period. Who would have believed ten years ago that the President of the United States would be tweeting, and everyone would be listening to it as if it were the New York Times or some other prestigious outlet? In many ways, social media has equaled the playing field for the good and the bad.

Your new film, West Side Story, directed by Steven Spielberg, will be releasing in 2021. Please tell us about your character?

Yeah, this is once again one of those pinch-me moments!

I can't say much about my character, Abe, at the moment, but it was an honor to work with Tony Kushner and Steven Spielberg, who had the wherewithal to include black characters in this iconic musical. I am truly fortunate in that I get to bring Abe to life and help introduce this classic story to an entirely new generation.

How are you coping with the pandemic?

I'm coping as well as can be expected. We all have our good days and bad days. Of course, I am missing work, yet I am grateful to spend this time with my family.

Is there a charity that is close to your heart, and why?

I always feel that charity is a private matter, but a cause that I was just made aware of that I am lending my voice to is called THE BLACK AND MISSING FOUNDATION. The organization focuses on the many black people that go missing every year that the press and media and law enforcement somehow don’t report on. Getting as many eyes on this foundation and sharing what they work towards will truly help someone in the end.

Is there a dream role for you in the future?

I would love the opportunity to bring to life John Stewart, aka the Green Lantern from the DC superhero universe!

Special thanks to: Curtiss Cook Eric Hobbs & Parrish Lewis Photos

You know I always feel that charity is a private matter, but a cause that I was just made aware of that I am lending my voice to is called THE BLACK & MISSING FOUNDATION The organization focuses on the many black people that go missing every year.

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HULA

THE HAWAIIAN SHAMANIC PORTAL INTO ECSTASY

By Jonathan Hammond

T

his is your Earth, because the Earth is you. This is not a hyperbolic statement; it is a fundamental tenet of all indigenous spiritual traditions. We are born of the Earth and we will return to her when our life ceases. The bodies that we are cloaked in, and the physical environment that we exist in, are made through and through of the elements of nature. To fully identify yourself as a being of nature is to merge with the mind of the shaman.

Shamanism is a spiritual path that draws from nature’s example to build a template to teach us about ourselves. The natural world is a vast matrix of cooperative effort and interconnection; a paradigm of holism in which all things matter, all things exist together, and everything is interdependent with everything else. As nature demonstrates through its unitive and symbiotic example, separation is an illusion; a cosmic misconception that blinds us to our true identity.

The time of a “separate” world has come to an end, or at the very least, it has greatly outworn its welcome. In today’s world, the illusion of separation has given rise to the devastating effects of greed, hatred, fear, and injustice.

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Photo by Brandon Morales

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The ancient Hawaiian shamanic traditions teach us that energetic tendrils of connective substance are created and sent out to the world whenever we so much as think a thought or focus our minds on an intention or an object.

Nothing is beyond our sphere of influence if we simply turn the light of our awareness toward it. In this way, we are not separate from anything because, as energetic beings in an energetic universe, the power within our own minds bridges the gap between us and everything in existence. Nothing exists outside of awareness, which means that nothing exists outside of us.

Shamans experience reality as One Great Happening; a singular event that expresses itself through each of us in every moment. To see yourself as an individual wave in the ocean that is inextricably connected to the entirety of the ocean, or as a singular aperture through which the universe experiences itself, is to see yourself with the clarity of a shaman’s mind.

During these tumultuous times of pandemic and racial conflict, we are discovering that the personal has no context without consideration of the All. Many people are experiencing an organic change in their habituated pattern of solipsism and separation, even those of us who would have previously considered ourselves “spiritual.”

It seems to me that the concept of “MY” has now left the conversation. Rather, when we consider “MY,” it is only in relation to the collective-we can now no longer escape the reality that we are all in this global predicament together. We are starting to realize that the individual choices that we make can’t not be influenced by everything else that is happening, and our new reality compels us to reconfigure the circumstances of our lives as part of a larger process.

The esteemed Hawaiian culturalist, Dr. Pualani Kanaka‘ole Kanahele, points out that this shift of attention from the individual to the collective is the essence of Hula, the ceremonial and spiritual dance of Hawaii. In the Hula, the dancer merges his or her individual consciousness with the Hawaiian environment to such an extent that the dancer shape-shifts and “becomes” the environment. The release of the separate self into unity is considered a “sacrifice” that the dancer makes for the sake of honoring and taking part in a larger story.

Through their deep connection with all of nature’s natural cycles, the Hawaiians originally observed this “sacrifice” being modeled for them by the Earth itself.

Each morning, when the sun rises on the islands, its heat is said to induce the Earth’s first breath of the

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day. The Hawaiians call this ha’ena, or “the breath of the sun.” Ha means “breath” or “life force” and ena translates as an “intensity” often associated with heat.

The sun’s hot rays titillate the Earth to expel its breath, a process that modern science calls transpiration-the release of water-laden gases and air into the atmosphere.

The Earth’s exhale is called Laka, the planet’s daily “sacrifice” that initiates the energies of all creation.

Laka is also the name of the Goddess of the Hula.

Laka, or the breath of the Earth, becomes a rising mist called Ohu that ascends in the sky to a height where it grows denser and thicker as cools. In the afternoon, this heavy mist, named Uhiwai, begins its descent back toward the Earth. It’s not important for you to remember the Hawaiian words here. Rather, what is noteworthy is that these people are so connected to nature, that they have specific words in their language for ascending and descending mists! (The Hawaiian language actually has over two hundred words for “wind,” and eighty of them are just for the winds of Kauai!).

As the Uhiwai mist descends, it is caught by “water-catchers” of all kinds that are called Ohiwai. At the top of the Hawaiian jungle, the leaves and foliage of the trees, as well as huge webs spun by spiders and caterpillars, catch and collect the water of this descending mist, and this vast weaving methodically drips the water and moisture that it has collected back to the Earth. In this way, water gives Mana to the land.

(Mana is any source of power that facilitates change and growth.)

These natural cycles have, of course , been happening since the beginning of time. Dr. Kanahele reminds us that “anyone with brains knows that this a process needs to keep going.” Hence, the overarching intention of the Hula is to revere and celebrate these cycles through the sacred dance. Through detailed training and preparation, the dancer learns to align his or her body, mind and spirit to ceremonially experience unity with their island environment.

The dancer begins by recognizing their space centering themselves inside the “Hawaiian Universe.” Barefoot, they ground themselves on the Earth, while holding an awareness of the celestial spaces above them. They will have adorned their bodies with vegetation and flowers that pull certain energies of the forest toward them. Some of this plant-life is affiliated with the akua or the deities of the islands. They also wear shells to honor the ocean element and the beings that live in the sea; the Hawaiians consider many of them (such as shark, squid, ray, and turtle) to be aumakua, or familial ancestors.

In Hawaiian cosmology, the present moment is of the upmost importance. In fact, there are no past or future tenses in the Hawaiian language, which means that everything relates only to the now. According to Huna, the shamanic philosophy of Polynesia, experience is accessed only in the present moment and nothing exists outside of it; all time-past, present and future-occurs simultaneously in every moment. The Hula exists inside this infinite space/time continuum.

Symbol, story and nature are conjured through the chanting of sacred texts, passed down for generations, and are invoked through specific choreographic movements that are universal to the dance. In this way, the Hula practitioner connects energetically with the beings throughout history who have come together and worshipped in the same way. Just as Laka, the Earth’s first breath of the new day, connects all of life, the dancer has a direct revelation of unity with all of life.

The deity of Hula, (also named Laka), looks on these proceedings with divine grace.

Kuma Hula, or Master Hula teacher Pualani Kanakaole Kanahele, describes this ecstatic experience of unitive consciousness as an entrance into haka ka ao, which can be translated as “the space of light,” or “the portal,” Haka ka ao is a space beyond time in which we transcend our own sense of limitation and experience a direct revelation of limitlessness and non-duality.

When we start to identify with the collective, the inevitable response is a yearning to take care of the collective. So, the goal of the Hula is not merely the entrance to haka ka ao; Kanahele also teaches us that the true purpose of the dance is “the honor and privilege to pull you into the portal with us.”

Symbol, story and nature are conjured through the chanting of sacred texts, passed down for generations, and are invoked through specific choreographic movements that are universal to the dance. In this way, the Hula practitioner connects energetically with the beings throughout history who have come together and worshipped in the same way.

So, I take you to the heart of the South Pacific only to return you back home to wherever you happen to reside. Center yourself inside the One Great Happening and enter the ecstasy of the portal. Start to see the people, the events, and the circumstances of your life as the necessary ingredients that remind you of the deep connection that you have with everything. The things

that you yearn for that still elude you, your hopes and dreams that are not yet realized, and the daily difficulties that you may be facing; these all exist to propel you forward toward the realization of a deep belongingness that you may have forgotten.

In the portal, the personal becomes the global and everything becomes our kin; what we heal in ourselves, we heal in all. Shamans teach us that reality creates itself based on how we think about it and what we do in our lives. So, traverse this difficult time on the planet with the full awareness that you possess the ability to contribute to the co-creation of a better world. Any beneficial action that you take, any loving intent that you have, and every prayer that you extend to anything that may be suffering or has had its freedoms diminished, has a direct and substantive influence on all of nature and on all sentient beings.

There is only One Great Happening. The microcosm of each of us is the macrocosm of the all. All things converge at your heart.

Enter the ecstasy of your haka ka ao and claim the immense power within you to contribute (through even a mere thought!) toward the new day that is becoming.

Jonathan Hammond is a teacher, energy healer, shamanic practitioner, and spiritual counselor. Before beginning his work in holistic health and spirituality, he had a career as an award-winning actor, appearing on Broadway and on television.

A graduate of Harvard University and the University of Michigan, Jonathan is an Interfaith minister and certified spiritual counselor. He is a Master Teacher in Shamanic Reiki and holds certifications in Cherokee Bodywork, Huna and Ho’oponopono. He is an ordained Alakai (leader or guide) through Aloha International. Jonathan teaches classes and gives lectures in Shamanism, energy healing, spirituality and Huna at the Omega Institute for Holistic Studies and other major venues around the world.

He has worked alongside shamans in Mexico, Brazil, Bali, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, and Hawaii.

The Shaman’s Mind: Huna Wisdom to Change your Life is his first book. To learn more about Jonathan’s work go to: www.jonathanhammond.com

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From Me2We The Unrecognized Key to the Rise in the Status of Women and why it’s Essential that Men Know About this Too.

By Dr Kashonia Carnegie

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Me I used to be so good at procrastination that I should have taught it. You know the sort of thing ~ you’re in the middle of an important project and suddenly you notice some cobwebs in the corner of the room.

Now you’re aware that the cobwebs have been there for the past six months. But this time you MUST stop working on your important project and clean up all those aging cobwebs IMMEDIATELY!

Well this was where I was in the early 1980s. Only instead of cobwebs, my distraction was thoughts about the coming new millennium—the 2000s.

Knowing that the number 2 was characteristic of positive-feminine-energy; and that feminine-energy was characterized by things such as partnerships, collaboration, peace, and so a We not Me attitude; I began to wonder what sort of changes we’d see to the status and lives of women, and indeed the entire world in the 2000s +/-.

Whatever the “important project” was that I had to complete took a definite second place to my ongoing research into the exciting changes I could see ahead.

I ended up writing a paper called “The Power of Two”. It wasn’t for publication, but was just a record of what I’d come up with at that time and also as a guide to see how it all played out. A few years ago, when I realized that everything I’d forecast had indeed occurred exactly as the number 2 indicated it would, I had to write about it out in a book— Conscious Change Today: From Me 2 We...

of countries, politics, businesses, and the home.

And even though the decade-number influenced year-to-year trends, such as the coming together and celebrations of peace in the 1920s after the end of World War I, and the focus on money and business in the 1980s, these decades were still underpinned with masculine-energy from the dominating 1 millennium.

The power of these millennium and decade-numbers playing out in keeping with their characteristics is not just based on a frivolous New Ageist belief.

Instead there’s an abundance of evidence to show that these decade and millennium characteristics play out due to the quantum theory of global consciousness. This is the concept that shows when a large number of people focus on an event, the event is likely to happen at some level. And the entire world was certainly focused on the arrival of our new millennium, and we continue to do so. For instance, every time we write down the date.

This dominating, patriarchal, command and control 1-millennium energy led to generations of blinkered thinking that said: “We do it this way because this is how I say it’s done—no arguments”. Definitely Me not We. However, from around the year 2000+/-, I suggested we’d begin to see a major change from that masculine-energy, to the rise of feminine-energy in all socio-cultural aspects of the world. And we did. Here are but two of many examples.

• No more pretty young women in “typing-pools” typing up the boss’s memos. With computers “the boss” was able to do all that typing himself, in the form of emails.

• In the mid-1990s the world was introduced to, and by 2000 had fully embraced, the soft feminine-2-energy skills of Emotional Intelligence.

We

As you’re probably aware, while the number 2 is characteristic of positive-feminine-energy, for millennia the number 1 has always represented masculine-energy. So during the entire 1000 millennium—1000CE to 1999CE—the dominant, prevailing influence on the world was a continuous number 1. So the man was the boss—of everything;

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Back in the 1980s, I also said that the years 2000+/- to around 2009+/- would be quite chaotic. This would be due to major changes beginning to emerge and the old energies associated with the masculine 1000 millennium acting-out in a big way as they tried to hang on in their death-throes.

And what happened?

• The attack on the World Trade Center buildings on 9/11/01. Look at all those 1s.

• Equally as brutal, although not as bloody, was the start of the Global Financial Crisis (GFC), known in America as The Great Recession. Born of unethical greed, it was all about a short-term, money-only Me focus that just does not work, be it in business, politics, or any other aspect of life.

Then what did we get in the following decade, 2010 to 2019? We got the return of that masculine 1 number.

Supported by the reappearance of the decade-number 1, during that decade, the decade just finished, we saw the waning masculine-energy of the 1000s doing all it could to hang on to its power and dominance.

The most obvious examples are the many political leaders all over the globe bringing in changes so they could remain in power—for many for life.

Writers and journalists heralded these events as the “Rise of the Strongmen”. Yet it’s no such thing. Indeed, it’s obviously quite the opposite. There can be no greater demonstration of negative masculine-energy in its death-throes than these desperate ploys to cling to power at all costs.

Everyone knows that a playground bully is definitely not a “strongman”. They are a bully because they’re weak and at some level of consciousness they know it. And to compensate for their weakness they bully the vulnerable. These leaders are no different. They’re just weak bullies doing all they can to hang onto their declining power.

Also in the last decade, 2010 to 2019, we saw many examples of the rise of feminine-2-energy occurring in parallel with examples of masculine-1-energy in its death-throes. Here are just a few; • The Arab Spring and the Occupy Movement, were both an indication of the feminine-2-energy trying to breakthrough, but being knocked down by the dying breath of the masculine-1-energy desperately trying to cling to life.

• And of course #MeToo—feminine-2-Weenergy rising up saying enough is enough, against the negative masculine-1-Me-energy of the past 1000 patriarchal years of domination and control.

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But the most wonderful demonstration of this rise in feminine-2-energy comes from our beautiful young Gen Zs—born around the year 2000 +/-. They are now ready to mould society with their softer, peaceful, co-operative yet assertive as opposed to aggressive nature, and dare I say loving actions and values all resulting from the influence of the energetic 2 vibrations at the time of their birth.

Again just two examples; • Those inspiring young high school students who led the anti-gun protests in America, all saying enough is enough, after the senseless mass shooting at the Majory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkdale, Florida in February, 2018.

• The climate change activist, Greta Thunberg.

I need say no more.

Now, except perhaps for the year 2021, from 2020 until 2100 when the masculine-1 will return in some form for 100 years, we’ll have a pretty fantastic eighty years. And who knows, with the attributes of the feminine-2-We-energy so firmly embedded by the year 2100, we might find a new less dominating form of masculine-energy at play. More like Conscious Masculinity as describe in my book Conscious Change Today: From Me2We… It’ll be interesting to see what sort of COVID recovery strategies are implemented next year—2021—with the final return of the masculine 1.

Now, except perhaps for the year 2021, from 2020 until 2100 when the masculine-1 will return in some form for 100 years, we’ll have a pretty fantastic eighty years.

And who knows, with the attributes of the feminine-2-We-energy so firmly embedded by the year 2100, we might find a new less dominating form of masculine-energy at play.

Finally, just one important point. Short of an environmental disaster, nothing happens overnight and so those full effects of the positive-feminine-2-energy will take over gradually from 2020. But after 2021, it will definitely be full steam ahead. And just think how beautiful the babies born in 2022 will be as adults. They’ll be incredible.

Why is this so important and what does it mean for our world today?

This rise in feminine-energy is not about women being better than men. It’s about the total equality for all that can eventuate when we live in harmony with that energy of the 2000s.

On an individual level ~ For men to live in harmony with the ever-growing global conscious Me2We culture, it’s essential that they develop their so-called feminine side—conscious masculinity—if they’re to succeed and reach their full potential in any and all areas of their life.

Similarly, as discussed in the Conscious Change Today chapter, “Conscious Feminism”, it’s essential that if women are to succeed, they too must demonstrate their positive-feminine-energy and not be fooled by the erroneous and now out-dated belief that they have to act like men to succeed. That was a 1000 millennium belief that’s not at all appropriate in our conscious 2000 world.

And at a global level ~ Thirty-Five + years ago I said once we reach 2020, the world will never be the same. However I never have imagined that that change would be heralded by the arrival of a global pandemic.

So is COVID nature’s way of saying enough is enough? Is it time to restructure our current world? And if so, in what way will you help to bring those conscious 2-energy changes to fruition?

Do keep in mind that not only is the number 2 symbolically associated with women and positive-feminine-energy; but interestingly, those positive-feminine-2-energy traits are exactly the same as our ethical moral-virtues including peace, love, empathy, compassion, caring, kindness, and these days the all-important sustainability, and so many more. All of these ethical virtues form the foundation of what are now known as “Conscious” activities and the move from a Me to We culture.

To many, our world today seems to be in a chaotic mess with problems including on-going wars in some form, major corruption in both government and business circles, global inequality, sexism, racism, femicide, and on they go, not to mention climate change and COVID-19.

Dr Kashonia Carnegie is a Moral Philosopher with a PhD in the Ethics of Conscious Change and the author of the Conscious Change Series of Books. She has successfully used “conscious” We not Me strategies in business, on radio as an award-winning talkAll these arguments have been fully explored with an abunback broadcaster, and teaching Conscious dance of supporting evidence and examples in my book, Intelligence Competencies to MBA LeaderConscious Change Today: From Me 2 We ~ COVID, Climate ship students in Australia and overseas.

Change, and the Rise of Feminine-Energy.

Her website is www.ConsciousChangeToday.com But we do have a solution if we’re willing to give it a go. The solution is for as many people as possible to not only embrace, but also habituate, the loving ethical virtues associated with positive-feminine-2-energy.

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Photo by Amadeo Valar

5

Ways Women Can Change the World..

RIGHT NOW

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By Kimberly Faith

It is not possible that powerlessness slipped in while our mothers and grandmothers weren’t looking, is it?

Yes, women have made enormous strides over the past 100 years with the right to vote, women’s equality, and Title IX. Yes, we have experienced advances in earning college degrees, new career opportunities, and increased economic opportunity. Yes, externally the achievements look impressive; however, there is still a silent belief system lurking within the collective subconscious of women.

It is the belief that we must learn to play within the current system that was created through the lens of history — a lens rooted in a masculine approach to the world. It’s an approach that is held not only by men but by women, too. This masculine energy has been the predominant worldview for a millennium.

That energy created innovations in product, place, and industry.

It won wars, developed countries, and set the stage for industrialization. Let’s give credit where credit is due; however, it is becoming increasingly obvious that our world — and leadership approach — is woefully out of balance.

Even in 2020, many women still feel a nagging sense of powerlessness to change the status quo. Afterall, how do we bring balance to a world in desperate need of change when most women struggle to articulate the real issue out loud?

We currently have a front row seat to the unintended consequences of systems which placed profits over people, competition over collaboration, and war over peace. We are overwhelmed by leaders who have allowed short term solutions at the expense of long-term sustainability. We are now being asked to “trust science” when science has allowed human experimentation at the expense of basic human rights.

Disrespect is part of the DNA of thought baked into many

systems like the technology sector, which is building the critical infrastructure for the future. Emily Chang’s Brotopia sheds lights on the deep vein of disrespect that is an accepted part of the culture of Silicon Valley — perpetuated by both men and women. After I read the book it was disheartening to realize that the tech industry was 30 years behind the times in basic human relations. How can the very industry we count on to lead us into the future via artificial intelligence be so broken? More importantly, why are we blindly trusting their guidance?

It is time to stop trying to improve old “systems” that are deeply broken. The time has come to create new systems — more rewarding, caring, and powerful systems — to guide us into the future. I genuinely believe women are the catalyst for this healing once we embrace the feminine life force lying dormant within each of us. We have the power to shift our awareness from “this is the way it has always been done” to “the system is broken and must be reinvented.” Simply polishing what has existed in the past is no longer enough. Much like the story of the boiled frog, we have been lulled to sleep by accepting the absurdity of “normal.”

It is time to stop trying to improve old “systems” that are deeply broken. The time has come to create new systems — more rewarding, caring, and powerful systems to guide us into the future. I genuinely believe women are the catalyst for this healing once we embrace the feminine life force lying dormant within each of us. We have the power to shift our awareness from “this is the way it has always been done” to “the system is broken and must be reinvented.”

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So how can you be part of changing the world one day, one decision at a time? By embracing the five powerful steps below.

1. Invest in Life-Changing Endeavors: Forget the “old guard” belief that an investment is only worthy if there is a measurable financial gain. Choose to invest your time, your money, and yourself in endeavors that provide support, change lives, help people feel safe, and help people feel cared for — including YOU. Don’t focus on short-term decisions centered on the almighty dollar; focus on big-picture actions that help create a world where we lift each other up instead of knocking each other down. Create a vision of what you would create in the world if money were not an issue.

2. Become the “Lion Inside”: We were taught that we’re supposed to be quiet and small like cats, but we all have the power of a lion inside us. It’s time to wake her up, sweet sisters! Look at where the world is now. It’s going to take all of us to create a meaningful, life-saving shift. So STOP hiding behind smallness. Break that mirror. All it holds is the illusion that we have to wait for someone else to give us power.

3. Stop Apologizing: I’m not talking about not owning it if you’ve genuinely hurt someone. I am talking about the apologetic way of being that thousands of years of patriarchy has ingrained in us and convinced us is “right.” STOP apologizing, and START owning your power — every woman, everywhere, every day. If this pisses people off, that’s on them. Don’t stay inside the box of who they told you to be. Each time you apologize, it erodes your power. Using a humorous approach start fining yourself $0.25 each time an apology slips out. You might be surprised at how often it happens, and will be motivated to break the habit.

4. Redirect the Media: Ask for and tune in to more women-driven news stories. Women are changing the world right here, right now, today. Champion women’s stories from all walks of life. Broaden your sources far outside the mainstream to support the growth of citizen journalists. Become the catalyst for a new level of excellence in media. Make a conscious choice to shape the media instead of letting it shape you!

5. Demand Change: From local and national politicians, to business leaders, to community leaders, to store managers — use your voice and your hard-won vote (thanks to our sisters 100 years ago) to demand change. The time is now. Whether it is boldly working to overturn the 1947 National Security Act (which has become a shield covering abuse) or speaking out at a

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local county council meeting about the COVID vaccines, let your voice be heard.

I made a startling discovery when I uncovered the mental models and beliefs that were holding women back. There was an unspoken expectation that someday, somehow an authority outside of themselves was going to give them the authority to speak out. I noticed this phenomenon when I was with mid-career corporate leaders, high level healthcare leaders, international economists and even Ph.D. holders in the world of academia. I finally realized it did not matter how many accolades we received. There is no degree, certification, or tap on the shoulder from a fairy godmother that will give you what you will not give yourself. In your reflection IS the answer you seek.

The time has come to rise above the conditioned fears that have been passed down to us all. Remember, power begins where your fear ends.

Systems thinking expert, futurist, and thought leader Kimberly Faith is the author of the award-winning book, “Your Lion Inside: Discover the Power Within & Live Your Fullest Life.” Her podcast, “The Sisterhood Report,” is a leadership portal for women to connect the dots between past, present, and future. Kim has trained and coached over thirty thousand leaders from Fortune 500 companies.

She translated her coaching experience into a system known as Breakthru Branding™ and now offers an online course to inspire leaders to take ownership of their signature personal brand.

To learn more, visit www.KimberlyFaith.com.

Visit www.YourLionInside.com for more information specifically about the book.

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Michael

Canalé

Hollywood's most sought-after colorist and co-creator of The Rachel charactr in TV Show Friends for Jennifer Aniston is a MAN behind the PRODUCTS

M

ichael Canalé, best known for being Jennifer Aniston's longtime colorist, along with stylist Chris McMillan, created the coif that later became known simply as the "Rachel." Canalé is frequently called upon by celebs, models, and industry elite for his innovative technique and a keen eye. Highly regarded for his corrective color method, he focuses on hair's natural beauty, making sure to protect and prevent damage.

Since the beginning of his career, Canalé has been a true pioneer of his style, leaving clients with healthy hair as it is gorgeous.

Michael voted "Best-of-the-Best" by Allure Magazine 14 years in a row. He's touted by Vogue, as "not only really good, he's really fast," Canalé travels between locations in Rancho Santa Fe, San Francisco, Dallas, New York, Washington DC, and Beverly Hills, making sure that each of his clients gets the hands-on attention they need to look and feel their very best. With over 30 years' experience, Michael Canalé is a rare talent and indeed among the best in the industry; his work has been published in Allure, Vogue, Vanity Fair, Women's Health, Elle, Marie Claire, Redbook, Glamour, and New Beauty, to name a few.

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Thank you, Michael, for your time. Your outstanding work in the past 30 years as a colorist for many recognizable faces in the entertainment business keeps you very busy. Please share with our readers, how your life path started?

In my early years as a hairdresser, I was a technician working in the chemical world of permanent waves and color theory (and yes, permanents were a big thing in the 80s – you can look it up!) I’d moved from the San Fernando Valley to Beverly Hills, as I knew that to be the best, I needed to work with the best.

I was working in a higher-end salon, watching and learning.

One day, the colorist did not show up to work. The make-up artist pulled me aside and told me that today, I needed to step it up. I genuinely wasn’t scared. I knew I could do it.

That was my moment of “discovery,” and 30 years later, I’ve never looked back, working in eight locations around the country. I’m having a blast!

As life has many challenges, please share how you have overcome any obstacles?

During the late 70’s all the engineers were being furloughed.

Few people were majoring in engineering. I knew some very established hairdressers that were in the chemical side of the business. It was a perfect opportunity for me to enter the beauty industry.

When did your career path of working with celebrities take off and how did that come about?

I became one of the top permanent wave technicians in the country while working with color theory. I focused on new strategies that made healthier hair choices. I always worked for the top haircutters. They loved my new techniques and started easing their clientele into my world. I truly enjoy making people happy. creating the trend, while working to bring out my client's personal best. The right color is an accessory, use it to your advantage. People can always tell my work, enhancing a person's natural complexion and eye color, this trend never goes out of style. I draw inspiration from the people who walk through my door and sit in my chair. They’re all different – some very famous, and most not – but I honestly see the beauty in all of them. I have appreciated the opportunity to share my work over the years with multiple generations of the most powerful woman, true icons.

You have worked with Jennifer Aniston, Kate Hudson, Shakira, and many others, is it more of a challenge to work with such high-profile clients?

I’ve been working on high profile clients since the 80's. I design color for every individual. The most important client I have is the one in my chair at the time.

Many times, it is up to me to create a new look, this gives the actress or actor the confidence to move forward in their role.

Please give us tips on how to keep maintaining hair color between visits.

People would come to me and ask, "how can I keep my hair looking fresh until I see you again?" So, I created a product line that is proven to maintain and restore the integrity of treated hair from the inside out and the outside in! Canalé CLEANSE Shampoo for all types of hair is a gentle, mild shampoo that fully cleans and restores your hair without fading color. A refreshing blend of lavender oil, shea butter, and grapefruit extract with scents of bamboo, jasmine and oriental woods. Used with either SOFTEN or SOFTEN PLUS to condition, rebuild, and strengthen the hair shaft, together they preserve your hair color and restore shine and luster. Rich in revitalizing antioxidants, this beautifying conditioner addresses the specific needs of colored hair by providing key nutrients and coating the hair shaft to visibly improve the quality and overall health of your hair, leaving it soft and shiny.

In your opinion, does our personality play a role, in the color we choose?

I always produce the healthiest ways to satisfy the client . I always bring out the best features, work with the color undertones of the skin and accent their eye color. A happy client is a confident client.

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Please tell us more about your new color gloss line.

Canalé SIGNATURE GLOSS is my NEW color enhancer to refresh and preserve hair color and shine, my SIGNATURE GLOSSES work with your skin undertones. For cool undertones, MIDNIGHT BLUE helps remove the unwanted brassy, gold tones in blonde hair, reduces the reddish tones in brunettes and helps achieve and maintain the rich, cool tones in your hair. COOL BLUE helps preserve and maintain the desired cool tones in your hair. For warm tones, SUNKISSED GOLD helps preserve and maintain the desired golden tones in your hair. All SIGNATURE GLOSSES enhance and extend hair color and shine while protecting from the elements and sun.

This at home treatment is recommended for use every 2 weeks.

How can we choose the best color to match our natural skin tone?

The best way to find your undertone is to look under the wrist, closest to the palm and you will see a blue vein meaning COOL or a green vein meaning WARM. Cool tones usually have ashy bases and the highlights are more Scandinavian, white blonde.

Warm or golden undertones are golden browns, strawberry blondes, and reddish hair colors. It’s like make up for your hair!

It is the most technologically advanced product in the line. Our patented, ingestible vitamin REPLENISH taken with REPLENISH BOOST, for maximum benefit, feeds the hair, skin, and nails, contains all natural, vegan, super food, blue green algae and other key nutrients that are absorbed at the cellular level to help stimulate and promote healthy, stronger hair.

Before coloring our hair, what is the most important thing we need to consider?

Choose a color that naturally enhances your skin undertone. If your skin undertone is cool, ash bases work well and cool highlights, no yellows, or reds. Warm, golden undertones work well with golden auburn and reddish base colors. Highlights range from baby blonde to golden blonde, reddish blonde and caramel highlights.

Are there any tips that you can share for men who wish to color their hair or only cover the gray hairs?

I recommend using concealer's like spray and powders that cover gray hair. These last until you wash it out. Another option is Demi or Semi-permanent. This will keep the base color from altering while blending the gray away. Demi will last up to 2 weeks, while Semi can last up to 6 weeks when using the right hair products. Lastly, would be to highlight some dark hair back into the gray both techniques will provide a youthful appearance. Which charities are close to your heart, and why?

I work with many different charities most notably, "Stand Up to Cancer". I work side-by-side with Naam Yoga practice and have a passion for mental health issues, and health in general. I most recently completed a charity with Naam Yoga called #LoveHeels.

This was in support of mental health month in May. I also work with the homeless, a charity in Houston called "I Am Waters".

We hydrate the shelters with bottled water, so people can leave the shelter during the day. Finally, I recently produced a documentary to motivate children to graduate high school in South Central Los Angeles! Globally, more people are becoming aware of Conscious living. How do you feel each of us can make a difference?

There’s definitely a global consciousness expanding right now on how we can take care of the earth. The pendulum is swinging back to love they neighbor.

You have created a 100% vegan Replenish and Replenish Boost. Please tell us why going vegan is essential for you?

I have created three scientifically formulated supplements, one topical and two ingestible. After shampooing with CLEANSE Shampoo, apply NOURISH Topical Vitamin Foam to the scalp and root of the hair, it absorbs into the follicle and hair shaft providing essential vitamins and nutrients that help to improve fullness, cuticle integrity, and strength. A revitalizing blend of antioxidants and vitamins that promote vibrant, natural hair growth and hold before and after coloring your hair.

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What is Michael Canalé's vision for the future?

The promises of the 60's has become a reality and people are moving forward on taking care of the earth and their neighbors.

I am working on a new program for mentorship to improve the mentor. This will prepare the mentor with many answers to many questions a child might ask their mentor. This is called performance drilling!  Where can our readers purchase your Product line?

All Canalé hair products are available worldwide at: www.colorbycanale.com or www.amazon.com. Try them all, they are Amazing! Healthy, vibrant, shiny, stronger hair that is what everyone wants!

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I Choose to Inhale and Exhale Clean Air Air pollution is made up of various quantities of substances. Particulate matter includes dust, smoke, pollen, tobacco smoke, animal dander, dust mites, molds, bacteria, and viruses. Gaseous pollutants are a result of the combustion process and come from sources including gas cooking stoves, vehicle exhaust, tobacco smoke, adhesives, paints, varnishes, cleaning products, and pesticides. Outdoor air pollution is visible; you can see the smog and know it exists. However, indoor air pollutants are mostly invisible. And while our highly industrialized society makes it challenging to control the quality of our outdoor air, there is much we can do to improve the air that we breathe indoors.

There are lots of little steps you can take to improve the quality of the air you breathe, indoors and out.

Filtering Out Those Nasty Particulates The dirty secret of outdoor air pollution is that outdoor air is brought into our buildings and the majority of our exposure to air pollution actually occurs within our homes and buildings. You may be surprised to learn that, according to the EPA, our indoor environment is two to five times more toxic than the outdoors. While that figure is startling, in a way it’s good news because you have more control over the air you breathe indoors. Keeping your home clean, well ventilated, and free of dust particles is a good start. You also want to use an air cleaning filter.

There are two types of air cleaning devices for indoor use. If you have access to the source of the air supply in your home or workplace, the best way is to install an overall filtration system in the heating and air conditioning units. However, if this is not possible, the easiest way is to buy a portable HEPA and carbon filter. HEPA stands for “high-efficiency particulate air,” which is a fancy way of saying that the filter works to capture particulates like dust mites and smoke and pull them out of the air. A certified HEPA or carbon filter will remove at least 99.97 percent of particles 0.3 microns or larger in diameter.

There are many portable HEPA and carbon filter options that you can move from room to room and range in price from $50 to more than $1,000. It is important to check in with Consumer Reports or the EPA website for up-to-date information on the best brands. Also, look at the filter’s MERV (Minimum Efficiency Reporting Value), which can be found in the label or in the product description. The MERV rat-

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ing should be an eleven or higher to safely remove unwanted particulates.

Some filters use electrostatic precipitators or ionizer technology, which may make the problem worse by producing ozone—a lung irritant. If you have an air purifier of any sort, please make sure that you clean or change the filter on it at the recommended intervals. Also make sure the filter is the right size for the space it will be used in; what’s suitable for a 150 square-foot bedroom might not be best for a 350 square-foot great room.

Houseplants Help A plant added to your living room decor not only looks pretty, it can also increase the humidity and decrease the levels of carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide (CO2) in the air.

Scientists at NASA, Pennsylvania State University, and the University of Georgia found that common houseplants can absorb a long list of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) through their leaves and roots, including benzene found in plastics, fabrics, and pesticides and formaldehyde-releasing preservatives found in some cosmetics and dish detergents.

The plants that were the most effective include Japanese royal ferns, spider plants, Boston ferns, purple waffle plants, English ivy, areca palms, golden pothos, aloe vera, snake plants, and peace lilies.

Plants are natural filters and have the added benefit of looking beautiful, so preserving those outside your home and bringing more into your home are great ways of ensuring good air filtration. It is important to note that any of these benefits will be negated if the plant is overwatered; overwatered plants cause mold. Also, often what is most effective in house plants removing chemicals isn’t necessarily the plant itself, but what it is potted in, such as activated charcoal.

Take the Bus or Train To help cut down on the outside pollutants, when possible take public transportation, carpool, and take advantage of new shared riding services such as Zip Car. This sounds small, but by using less energy and fuel you are helping to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Public transportation is the most cost-effective, energy-efficient thing you can do, other than walking or riding a bike. It’s also a good way to feel a part of the larger human whole.

The Air That You Breathe

Photo by Nika Sidor

By Gay Browne

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Plant a Tree It’s not just houseplants that help improve air quality. Trees do, too! They absorb potentially harmful gases, including carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, and sulfur dioxide. It has been reported that residential proximity to vegetation is associated with lower levels of stress, aggression, diabetes, stroke, and cardiovascular disease. Studies have shown that children living in greener areas have lower levels of asthma, blood pressure, and insulin resistance.

Trees and their canopies are not only linked to better air quality but also have been proven to reduce violence. A 10 percent increase in tree canopy area is associated with a 12 percent decrease in crime. So, the next time you want to breathe better and feel safer, stand under a tree or, better yet, go plant one. Picnicking under trees with a friend is one of my favorite ways to dine.

According to One Tree Planted, a global reforestation group based in Vermont, when you plant trees you are directly cleaning the air. As a tree matures, it can consume forty-eight pounds of CO2 per year as it turns that CO2 into parts of itself. It also releases enough oxygen to supply your needs for two years. These two effects help to give the Earth a healthier climate.

Pay a Visit to Mother Nature The best way to breathe clean air is still to go out into nature. Every day, Mother Nature brings out the sun, grows new trees and plants, and delivers clean fresh air for the world. A walk in the park, a hike in the mountains, or just finding a tree to sit next to not only helps improve the quality of the air you take in, it has also been shown to improve your overall well-being by relieving stress, sharpening your thinking, and boosting your memory.

“Forest bathing,” a popular activity started in Japan, is now gaining in popularity all over the world. Forest bathing is not about getting naked and running through the woods, but it is about going out into nature, taking off your shoes, and putting your feet in water to alleviate the stress of our daily lives and get closer to nature.

Check the Air Quality in Your Area I didn’t pay much attention to daily air quality levels until I moved to Los Angeles in 1983, at the height of the city’s smog problems. At that time, reporting on the PM 2.5—a metric that measures atmospheric particulate matter that has a diameter of less than 2.5 microns—was something every network news anchor and disc jockey included in their daily broadcasts. This number was important because it meant that a particulate was so small and light there was a greater chance of inhaling it. For me, it meant never leaving home without my inhaler and avoiding being outdoors on poor air quality days. The air quality was so poor that

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despite having built a green home, I eventually ended up moving to Santa Barbara because my airflow was steadily decreasing at the rate of 5 percent a year. After twenty years, that was a significant loss and one that might have had me hooked up to an oxygen tank by the time I was sixty.

To check air quality levels in your area, look up the most recent American Lung Association State of the Air report at www.lung.org/ our- initiatives/healthy-air/sota. Two good apps are Breezeometer and Purple Air, which is becoming a popular outdoor air quality measuring device.

Green Heart Actions • Install a HEPA or carbon filter in your home and office.

• Purchase safer products—including building materials, cleaning supplies, and personal care products.

• Add more plants to your indoor environments and make sure to water them properly.

• Plant more trees: check with community organizations like Tree People and The Nature Conservancy to help you get started. • Conserve energy by carpooling and using mass transit.

• Avoid exercising on high pollution days or in areas with high levels of air pollution, such as near busy roadways.

Gay Browne is a Personal Environmental Health Advisor, Author, and Founder of Greenopia: a comprehensive city guide of sustainable businesses to help consumers eat, shop, and live green.

Greenopia was launched in 2005 as a print series for Los Angeles, San Francisco, and New York and rapidly expanded nationwide through Greenopia.com.

Greenopia.com and its accompanying mobile app will re-launch in First Quarter 2020.

Prior to her work with Greenopia, Gay enjoyed a successful 15-year career in advertising and public relations. Gay is a contributing editor to The Huffington Post and Thrive Global. She served on boards and is involved with multiple environmental and humanitarian non-profits and is working on her first book. She has a deep personal commitment to personal environmental health and helping people lead toxic-free lives.

In her spare time, Gay enjoys hiking, yoga, meditation, art restoration, and her three children.

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G

rief has always been an essential emotion of humanity, in every place and every time. Yet for many of us, there has been an upswell in grief during this crucible of the Covid-19 pandemic, as well as racist atrocities fueling Black Lives Matter. Grief, always there below the surface, has now broken through the veil to the forefront of our consciousness.

Many have experienced the quintessential grief of losing a loved one to coronavirus, or watching people we care about struggle to recover. Others confront grief and suffering on a daily basis in their work on the front lines. Coping with the loss of personal freedom, loneliness, worry about getting infected or infecting, unemployment and business loss—the list is endless, and Covid is a virulent incubator of grief on all levels.

Compounding this season of grief, we witnessed the horror of George Floyd’s death and other racially motivated murders, forcing eyes, ears, minds and hearts to awaken to the stench of racism in a way that we cannot turn away from.

Frustration compounds grief as many people feel helpless and don't know how they can make a meaningful difference.

Fear, hate and grief fills the body. There is so much that needs airing, that needs to be felt and heard and seen and moved through.

THE HEALING POWER

of the Grief Ritual

By Bernadette Pleasant & Sara Nics

By making time to grieve, we acknowledge the depths of feeling that are part of human life. Setting aside time to encounter and express grief allows us to get clear on what might be confusing and find movement where we might be stuck.

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In response to all of what has happened in 2020, we have created the Grief Ritual.

This virtual practice brings us together to hold space for one another as we move through the emotions we are experiencing, from new sorrows triggered by recent events to old grief that is coming to the surface. Whether grief is fresh and raw or has been smoldering for decades, whether it is interpersonal or existential, ecological or ancestral, the Grief Ritual facilitates its expression and release.

Healing begins in community. This embodied, somatic work invites you to access and express emotion in a supportive community. It gives you the safe space to release grief, sorrow, anger, fear and numbness—a cathartic and deeply transformative experience.

The True Nature of Grief

Grief is natural, normal and universal. Everyone grieves: for people we’ve lost, life changes, ecological crises, old traumas, ancestral suffering, community challenges, experiences of rupture, disappointment and existential concerns. We may find ourselves grieving as a result of death, illness or injury, disconnection, estrangement or heartbreak, poverty, racism or political upheaval. The causes of grief are limitless, like nature, and just as impossible to predict or control.

Yet despite its universality, grief often goes underexpressed in American culture. With a relentless pressure to be “happy” that defies reality, grief is not given its due respect. There are often cultural expectations and limitations defining what we ought to grieve about, how that grief should be expressed and how long it can last— without someone being considered weak, negative or depressed. But grief is not rational, circumscribed or simple. And if our grief remains unexpressed or unreleased, parts of us stay frozen or stagnant.

When grief is expressed, it can take the form of tears, shaking, rage, vocalization and movement, or silence, numbness and despair. The faces and manifestations of grief are multitudinous. But one element is constant: grief must be released and transformed to make space for new energy and new life. This is the inspiration for the Grief Ritual.

By making time to grieve, we acknowledge the depths of feeling that are part of human life. Setting aside time to encounter and express grief allows us to get clear on what might be confusing and find movement where we might be stuck. We accept ourselves and one another more fully. And we free ourselves to shed the heavy mantle of grief and begin to heal.

Moving through grief helps us reawaken creativity and renew parts of our lives that have gone dormant. We grow in self-love and compassion for others and deepen intimacy in myriad relationships. We find that we can experience life more fully, that we are more dynamically responsive in the here and now. We get clear on what is at the core of our grief and awaken to ways to heal the pain.

The Power of Ritual

Ritual is often sadly absent in our modern age-especially during the social distancing of the pandemic. Older civilizations knew the power of ritual and it was woven into their culture. This is tragically lost in the bustle of the 21st century, with its emphasis on surface success and screens. Now, quarantining has driven us even further apart. Yet even now we can be creative and resilient, and find ways to come together safely.

During the Grief Ritual, we come together to express, embody and release our grief. We hold one another in care and community, whatever and however we may be grieving. Together, we create a safe container for emotion to move through us both as individuals and as a group. We hold space for one another to acknowledge and release the grief, pain, anger, regret, despair, fear and sadness that we have been carrying. We can drop what weighs us down and prevent us from living fully.

Grieving together helps us discover previously unrecognized and even unknown aspects of our grief. Bearing witness to the grief of others helps us to find more compassion for ourselves as well as people around us. It empowers us to shed our armor and soften, to understand that we are not alone, and to release any shame we might be carrying about our feelings. Supporting and being supported by people who are also committed to accessing and expressing their grief, we find deeper connection and healing, both individually and collectively.

Bernadette Pleasant is the founder of Femme!, a fusion movement experience and The Emotional Institute®, an online resource and educational center that offers courses, workshops, and interactive experiences that provide pathways to cultivate emotional wellbeing and gain insights that bring about a balanced mind/body connection. Bernadette has spent a lifetime exploring celebrations of the mind and body, from sensual dance to somatic healing. As a woman of color who comes from an esteemed tradition of natural healers, she is recognized as a leader in the mind-body wellness realm. For more information, please visit www. theemotionalinstitute.com.

Sara Nics has been working with the somatic sphere for 20 years, through ecstatic dance, authentic movement, contact improvisation and yoga. Sara is a poem hunter. By day she makes podcasts. She was the founding producer of the New Yorker Radio Hour. She is currently managing editor at Transmitter Media, where she guides the development of a suite of shows, including: "Finding Fred", a 10-part series about Mr. Rogers that asks what it means to be a good neighbor in contemporary America; "Rebel Eaters Club", a show about food, pleasure and revolutionary relationships with the body; and the New York Times opinion podcast called "The Argument".

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Dr. Albert Ahn DVM A passionate advocate and voice in the animal wellness industry for over 25 years

Dr. Albert Ahn graduated from Tufts University School of Veterinary Medicine with a DVM degree. Following an internship in small animal medicine and surgery at the Animal Medical Center in New York City, he completed a small animal medicine residency at Tufts University School of Veterinary Medicine Foster Hospital for Small Animals.

An experienced veterinarian and a seasoned industry veteran, Dr Ahn has since held several senior managerial positions at Sumitomo Corporation of America (formerly JW Childs), Merial (a division of Merck and Sanofi-Aventis), and Hill's Pet Nutrition, Inc. (a division of Colgate Palmolive). In June 2008, AB Science launched the US division of its company under the leadership of Dr. Ahn, president of U.S. operations. Dr Ahn has extensive experience dealing with governmental agencies, starting with his work with Frontline, then Vectra, and more recently, KinaVet, and Veterinary Advisor for MYOS Pet.

Oral health is also very important, so I’d recommend asking your veterinarian if your dog has tartar, gingivitis, or even periodontitis. If so, dental cleaning would help maintain good oral health.

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Doctor Ahn, thank you for your time; you have been practicing as a Veterinarian for over 25 years. What are the best tips you can share with our reads who have a senior pet?

There are a few major tips I’d like to share for senior pet health. For starters, exercise, exercise, exercise! It is so essential to help keep our pets strong so that they can live healthier lives. Exercise helps promote good muscle tone, which is crucial for good health. If exercise is not an option, or if it’s not proving to be enough to maintain strength, there are additional ways to boost muscle strength. For example, dogs can benefit from a natural supplement called Fortetropin, which is one that has been clinically proven to help rebuild lost muscle mass.

I recommend it to dogs who may have lost muscle mass due to injury, orthopedic surgery, or even aging, all of which can make exercise challenging.

Oral health is also very important, so I’d recommend asking your veterinarian if your dog has tartar, gingivitis, or even periodontitis. If so, dental cleaning would help maintain good oral health.

cle-building nutritional supplements. These innovations are helping dogs recover quicker while boosting overall vitality, leading to longer lifespans.

Many people seeking Holistic treatment for their pet and seeing a great result, how you feel a Holistic treatment for our pet?

Holistic veterinary medicine has become very popular with pet parents who are looking to balance traditional veterinary medicine with the benefits of holistic veterinary elements. For example, some pet parents worry about vaccinating their older dog with the common core vaccines. Many holistic veterinarians offer vaccine titer testing with in-clinic kits, such as VacciCheck. This kit allows veterinarians to advise the pet owner if there is adequate titer present to allow the pet to skip vaccination. Another example of holistic veterinary medicine’s popularity can be seen through the increased use of natural and herbal supplements. These natural alternatives are helping pets with a wide variety of health conditions, often with a reduced risk of side effects.

Lastly, your pet’s nutrition needs to be a part of the discussion that you have with your veterinarian. For example, a dog with chronic kidney disease may benefit from being put on a formulated kidney diet. Your veterinarian can also help advise you on which nutritional product(s) will be valuable for specific conditions.

What type of Pain Management, medications, natural solutions, and remedies to alleviate age-related health concerns?

Of all the age-related health conditions for senior pets, joint and muscle disorders are one of the most common, which means that pain management is usually a high priority for pet parents. Some natural solutions and remedies can be taken to help relieve inflammation and support healing. You may have heard of glucosamine, chondroitin, vitamin C, alfalfa, and Omega-3 essential fatty acids. These natural remedies are well-known joint supplements that are often incorporated into treatment protocols for age-related health concerns involving the joints. Fortetropin is a natural supplement derived from eggs that can help senior pets due to their muscle-building and muscle atrophy-reducing capabilities. It is imperative for older dogs to maintain proper muscle health because muscles support the major systems of the body.

They are integrally involved in movement, weight, metabolism, and bone health, just to name a few of these key interactions. Without strong muscles, the potential risk of disease and injuries can increase.

How is modern medicine helping our pets to live longer now?

Major advances are helping pets live longer and healthier lives are happening in all aspects of veterinary medicine, especially in cancer, endocrinology, cardiology, parasitology, dermatology, and orthopedics. In the case of the latter, a branch that’s no stranger to senior pets, there are now more advanced surgical techniques (like a shave that helps dogs when they rupture their cruciate ligament), sophisticated braces, and clinically-proven, mus-

To further manage pain and reduce related symptoms involving the joints, additional lifestyle changes can be made. Nutrition plays a big role, so your veterinarian should assess diet if weight loss or weight gain is an issue. Exercise should be done regularly, but only if it is not causing further pain. This may mean taking shorter, more frequent walks or turning to low-impact forms of exercise like swimming. Therapies like physical therapy, hydrotherapy, acupuncture, and massage could also be very beneficial when addressing age-related problems.

Next, protect them from heartworm disease, fleas, and ticks by using an appropriate product provided by your veterinarian. Different parts of the country have varying levels of parasite burden, which means that recommendations will vary by location. For example, warm, humid climates (such as Florida) may require that dogs be on year-round heartworm, flea, and tick protection to best protect from these parasites.

Additionally, commit to an annual senior screening by your veterinarian. This allows for a comprehensive evaluation of your dog and his different organ systems to help ensure that everything is functioning properly. For example, it will check the thyroid gland.

38 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM e November 2020

What are the signs of aging in dogs, and how we know there is no underlying illness?

When dogs begin to age, you’ll likely notice that they’re slower-moving and less mobile (as a result of muscle stiffness or tightness, often from joint disease), are less active (as a result of decreased energy, muscle loss, and/or pain-related conditions), and are losing weight or gaining weight (due to muscle loss, decreased appetite, and minimized exercise). Additionally, they may develop signs of oral health issues, ranging from bad breath to gingivitis or even a more serious condition involving the gums called periodontitis, as well as signs of cognitive dysfunction. Whether or not your dog has an underlying condition that is causing these symptoms, it is important to have your veterinarian regularly perform a physical examination to determine the best treatment(s) to help keep your four-legged friend healthy.

CBD is a new remedy. How are you recommending the use of this cannabis for our pets?

For now, I am advising that pet parents hold off on using CBD. While it is true that two prominent veterinary schools have conducted small preliminary trials that suggest that there could be a role for CBD in treating certain patients, we need a lot more robust scientific data to better understand what conditions and what dosages of CBD would be appropriate.

We also need to understand what potential toxicity may be associated with excessive doses of this product. I am eagerly awaiting the results of the large study, which is being sponsored by the American Kennel Club Canine Health Foundation to better understand what role CBD can play in helping our four-legged friends. It is also important to note that the American Veterinary Medical Association has advised veterinarians against prescribing or recommending CBD to their clients until the FDA has granted approval. One final cautionary note that I would share with our audience is that a recent Cornell University study found that some products claiming to have CBD in them had

none virtually when tested by researchers.

For now, I recommend that my clients who have dogs with pain-related conditions and limited mobility consider using traditional pain medications along with supplements that contain glucosamine, chondroitin, Omega-3 fatty acids, and Fortetropin. The combination can help the patient maintain joint function, muscle mass, and mobility.

How can we help our pets with arthritis and dementia?

To help our pets with arthritis, the most common degenerative condition in senior pets, pet owners should work to reduce pain and inflammation levels with the help of supplementation (glucosamine, chondroitin, and Omega-3 fatty acids), focus on joint and muscle health (Fortetropin will help support the joints and as mentioned, will reduce the risk of muscle atrophy), and implement a nutrition plan that is specific for your dog’s breed and size to ensure proper weight maintenance.

I also recommend looking into alternative therapies like hydrotherapy or acupuncture, as well as utilizing a well-cushioned, supportive, orthopedic bed to keep pressure off the joints during long periods of rest. Arthritis is not curable, but the modern medicine and innovative therapies currently available are really impactful, helping to make this condition less debilitating and more manageable.

If dementia is an issue, behavioral management, diet, and medication can be helpful. Dedicating time to exercising, especially outdoors in the sunlight, and playing cognitive-boosting games (hide treats for your dog to find or give him/ her food puzzles). Implement a diet rich in whole foods and antioxidants to ensure your dog is getting brain-supporting vitamins and minerals. Nutritional supplements such as vitamin E, choline, lecithin, Omega-3 fatty acids, and medium-chain triglycerides (MCTs) can also be helpful in supporting brain health.

How can our readers contact you?

Readers can best contact me at info@myospet.com.

You may have heard of glucosamine, chondroitin, vitamin C, alfalfa, and Omega-3 essential fatty acids.

These natural remedies are well-known joint supplements that are often incorporated into treatment protocols for age-related health concerns involving the joints. Fortetropin is a natural supplement derived from eggs that can help senior pets due to their muscle-building and muscle atrophyreducing capabilities.

It is imperative for older dogs to maintain proper muscle health because muscles support the major systems of the body.

39 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM e November 2020

40 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM e October 2020

Photo by katerina plotnikova photography

The following is adapted from JOY ALWAYS: Pocket Wisdom That Will Change Your Life

Living in the Present is the Best Way to Fight Fear

By Joya L. Ways

F

ear isn’t just the stuff of scary movies and idiosyncratic phobias. It’s a more complex, pervasive, and powerful emotion, which fuels humans’ most destructive states of being. Anger, greed, pride, and obsession are all rooted in fear: the fear of failing, the fear of never measuring up, the fear of not having our expectations met or meeting those of others.

From the earliest stages of childhood development, humans are steeped in fear. Sometimes that fear is self-protective, but all too often, it’s unnecessary. Our fearful mind drags us out of the present and causes us to fixate on past challenges or future worries. When that happens, the intensity of pain increases proportionally to the amount of time we’re drawn out of the current moment.

The best way to escape the vicious cycle of fear is to live in the present more often. In this article, I’ll explain how fear emerges, why living in the present is such a powerful solution, and how you can appreciate the “now” and reject a life of fear.

How Fear Emerges Fear originates early in our lives, and its lessons linger well into adulthood. Contrary to what you may imagine, though, fear isn’t a newborn’s natural state. Newborn babies live in the present.

They don’t have a plan. When they fall, they get up and try again.

They don’t complain, and they don’t give up. Of course, babies also have fears, but only physiological ones—when they cry because they are hungry or want to claim parental attention, which are reactions related to survival instincts.

Between the ages of one and one-and-a-half, humans become functional, and fear comes to the fore. As babies become increasingly functional, their parents begin to focus on other things. Babies experience pain, fear, and anxiety in moments when they no longer have their parents’ full attention.

We experience the same feeling as adults—for example when a relationship breaks up, and we are left heartbroken. Losing love triggers fear and pain. We move out of the zone of “experiencing” (i.e., being in the moment) and into a phase of thought.

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Thinking can help us avoid pain, but often, our thoughts are not productive. We tell ourselves false narratives about ourselves or other people.

We dwell on the things we could have said or done. We worry about how history might repeat itself. We try to be “perfect” because if we aren’t, people will think less of us.

This behavior might work at the age of one but is not productive at the age of thirty or sixty.

Psychological fear, once simply the fear of the loss of parental love, suddenly gets very complicated. The mind is powered by fear.

We should use conscious thought to learn from the past and to complete tasks, so we don’t repeat mistakes.

We should also consciously use our minds when we do practical things like planning, strategizing,

We can’t change the mind, but we can become aware of what the mind is doing, and we can reject it in favor of living in the present.

How Present-Mindedness Combats Fear Emotionally, adults are still babies. We want to eat, sleep, play, and celebrate, but instead, we become distracted by fear and worry. The mind worries out of a good intention; it wants to fix the situation. Unfortunately, fear dominates every emotion and takes priority. Think of it like an overanxious parent. It means well, but it overwhelms our joyful nature.

Happily, there are situations when fear is overthrown by the heart, body, or emotions. For example, when we do what we love doing when we feel loved when we fall in love, and when we’re emotionally connected.

Do you notice what all those situations have in common? They are all about living in the present! When we’re connected, loved, or stimulated, it means we’re engaged. We’re experiencing life to the fullest, and we aren’t worrying about the past or the future. The solution to living with fear is to stop letting your past and future expectations occupy your mind and learn to live in the present.

We should use conscious thought to learn from the past and to complete tasks, so we don’t repeat mistakes. We should also consciously use our minds when we do practical things like planning, strategizing, and calculating. Our mind strengthens when we use it, and our thoughts become more focused and sharper. But once we have completed our tasks, we should switch back to the present, so there’s no accumulation of “psychological time.”

Here’s the radical truth about the present: even

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if it seems unpleasant, the present just is. It’s our minds that decide whether the present is ugly or uncomfortable or whether we suffer.

We should be aware of feelings of angst and grasp them the moment they arise—not fight them but let them hit us, become aware of them, and accept them. We should not dwell on them, though, as this feeds and strengthens them. The here and now is the only thing that really is—and it is what you make it. Immerse yourself in it. Don’t let fear take control. We must accept the here and now first, and then act.

Appreciate the “Now” and Reject Fear If you want to appreciate the “now” and reject fear, you need to update your software. You can’t live like a one-year-old anymore. You need to take care of yourself and take control of your fear. The best way to do that is to approach your fear with a present-minded attitude.

Think of it this way: there are a lot of reasons to go to the gym. You paid your membership, you want to look good for others, or maybe you enjoy working out. The same action takes on a very different resonance, depending on your attitude.

Similarly, fighting fear is a matter of attitude and perspective. Full consciousness frees us from fear, fear-related emotions, and a preoccupation with the future. We are much less likely to be unhappy when we are living fully in the present moment.

For more advice on fighting fear and other core topics, you can find JOY ALWAYS: Pocket Wisdom That Will Change Your Life on Amazon.

Joya L. Ways has long been fascinated by the ways in which our lives unfold.

She has interviewed hundreds of wise people from every background throughout the world and has spent thousands of hours reflecting on their insights and her experiences. The collection of wisdom within this book that came from these interviews and reflections has dramatically increased the energy and joy in her life, and it will do the same for you.

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FOR SPARING TREES, THESE KENYAN FARMERS NOW COUNT BLESSINGS

Photo by David Clode

In the arid north of Kenya, local herders are using an advanced technique to reclaim land from the desert.

This story originally appeared in "CLIMATETRACKER ” It is republished here as part of The Eden Magazine partnership with Covering Climate Now, a global journalistic collaboration to strengthen coverage of the climate story.

By Dominic Kirui

O

The 30-year-old father of six says that after receiving training from World Vision Kenya — an international non-governmental organization working in the area — he and his villagers decided to close an area of land within the village so they could regenerate trees and grow grass.

Lemowonapi is the land caretaker for Maekari, a group of 20 women and 4 men who are actively involved in reclaiming the dry and bare sandy land in their village. They have enclosed anarea of land in their village and allowed tree seeds to grow from the ground. They have sowed grass as well. And because the trees and grass have flourished, the group is now setting up beehives in the enclosed area.

Photo by Harshil Gudka

n a sweltering mid-morning at Lontolio village, in dry northern Kenya’s Marsabit County, Peter Lemowonapi cuts a few branches from a young acacia tree and puts them on a hedge. Before, he would cut down the whole tree and feed it to his animals during dry seasons, but he soon found out that this worsened the drought situation.

(FMNR), an innovative climate change mitigation and adaptation technique that focuses on promoting the growth of trees from already existing tree stumps or naturally-occurring tree seeds.

The technique was pioneered by Tony Rinaudo, a 63-year-old Australian agronomist who came up with the idea in the 1980s while travelling through barren land in Niger, West Africa. As tree-planting efforts were failing, he discovered root systems remained alive underground, even in the harshest, desert-like landscapes. remained alive underground, even in the harshest, desert-like landscapes.

Rinaudo’s work has been replicated in 23 African and Asian countries after he successfully reclaimed 6 million hectares of Innovative techniques This method is called farmer-managed natural regeneration land across the Niger Republic alone.

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During the training, Lemowonapi was taught that it is wrong to fell a whole tree to feed the animals during a dry spell like he had grown up seeing his father do. “I had also started felling trees for the animals when I was a moran (warrior among the Samburu who’s mandated with herding) because I could not watch as they were decimated by hunger and thirst”, he says.

Shade and fodder are not the only boons of the new technique.

As the residents are managing the growth of acacia trees, they also harvest a special type of gum that they can sell for money. When the branches they prune dry up at the fence, they remove them and use them as wood fuel before pruning fresh branches and removing the pods that they later feed to their animals.

Looking for food Africa is already struggling to feed its population as a consequence of climate change, which has seen a decline in food production. The continent’s population is also rising sharply.

It’s expected to grow from 937 million people in 2014 to 2.1 billion people by 2050, a much higher rate than any other region. As the population rises, so does the demand for food and the resources needed to produce it.

According to a study released last year by the International Institute for Environment and Development, Africa is home to 25% of the world’s remaining rainforests and 17% of all forests, and these provide habitat for much of the region’s biodiversity. But the continent lost an estimated 15.6 million hectares of forest between 2010 and 2015, driven largely by agricultural expansion.

they prevent them from being decomposed to release carbon to the ground but instead release biomass through the dung, which can be used in energy production or as manure”, he says.

Photo by Tucker Tangeman

“We recently started growing grass here after we found out that the trees would be able to provide shade because we had stopped felling them. The shade would ensure that there is no fast water loss from the soil and so the grass would mature before the severe drought”, Lemowonapi explains.

On the downside, Waswala warns that care should be taken to ensure that the trees are not over-harvested and that younger trees are allowed to mature before their branches can be cut.

“Our women and children don’t suffer during the dry season anymore. Our lives have changed as we now have green spaces on our land, we can earn money and save our animals from trees that we were destroying before”, Lemowonapi concludes.

Lavender Ondere, a technical specialist for natural resource management working with World Vision Kenya in Marsabit County says that FMNR not only involves pruning tree branches but also managing an area of land that is already seed bank and allowing trees and grass to grow because these are the ones most adopted to grow in these areas.

Brian Waswala, an environmental science lecturer at Maasai Mara University says that this method is good as long as it can be sustained through the years, as it allows trees to regenerate and rejuvenate.

“When the animals eat the leaves and pods from the branches,

Photo by Sneha

“We now have 1,296 resident farmers actively engaged in protection and management of an area of land that is about 156.44 hectares across Marsabit County, and since we introduced the practice here in 2017, we have been able to successfully sustain the milking herd that remain behind at homesteads with the women and children.”, Ondere says.

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THE WAY I SEE IT

Difference Between

The

Photo by Yasin Yusuf

By Joey Santos, Jr.

The Butterfly & The Moth‌

T

he world we live in, and in the way in which we live in it nowadays, may need a closer inspection.

How many of us have become fooled, confused, and unaware of our own reflection? It's understandable why and how with so many opinions and images being thrown at us constantly by news outlets, social media, television, magazines, "what's hot, what's not," "who wore it best," "fix this, fix that', "say yes to this, say no to that," "marry him, marry her"! It's exhausting!

How about we find ourselves first? What are we trying to change, and why? For whom? Who are we looking at? And

46 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM e November 2020

who do we see? Are we listening to our inner voice, or are we simply mimicking the noise we hear around us? How can we learn to look deeper, listen closer, and begin to love ourselves completely if the sounds and images that surround us are unclear? How do we begin to rebuild ourselves? A smaller nose for some, a bigger chest and butt for another, a scalp reduction, a lip injection, chemical peel, liposuction perhaps? How about a piercing, a tattoo? There's always the option of changing our skin color, applying fake hair, fake nails, fake lashes, fake teeth, and on and on and on, and eventually, what you become at the end of it all is exactly what you paid for. FAKE! We lose ourselves in the end because we never see ourselves from the beginning.

The safest way to achieve success with any sort of “re-construction” is to ensure it’s foundation. Let's face it, no matter how much glue, paint, spackle, brick, and mortar we apply, it simply isn't gonna hold until we are "held." Loving ourselves from within is our foundation. Until that is secure, all else crumbles. We go through great lengths to create an image for the world to see and "like" through our IG or FB profiles, then we enter each day with the fantasy of what and who we think we are only to return and the end of it to the reality of who and what we are not. When do we realize that what we are trying to change may not be changed at all? Maybe, it just needs some attention.

Our quiet is our truth. Ask in silence. Listen in silence. Apply the answers in silence.

Then make decisions based on who we are within. Our choices will be better revealed, and the steps we take forward will lead us to an ultimate destination toward confidence, self-awareness, self-esteem, and common sense. By seeing ourselves in truth, it will allow us to recognize the truth in others.

Help us to become better people, make better choices, and ultimately find happiness in our lives. Listen, I'm not saying that a little nip/tuck here and there is "off the table" I'm saying be sure we get a second opinion before and let that second opinion come from oneself!

truth.

Our quiet is our en in Ask in silence. List e ansilence. Apply th Then swers in silence. based make decisions ithin. on who we are w

When I was growing up, my parents were free with their advice and opinions, often relaying them to me through metaphors, stories, and "what ifs." One such thing was the concept of "The Difference Between The Butterfly And The Moth." My mother told me once, and I never forgot it. She said, "My son, I love you. I want you to know that you were created from light. A great bright, shining, warm light. A light so warm and so bright that it will guide your way in this life toward the most beautiful of places, surrounded by the most beautiful of people. You must protect this light. As you journey along and take in the sights, sounds, and surrounding beauty, be aware of those that are not who and what they seem. They may only be attracted to your light and warmth to use in their darkness.

Steer clear. Their sole purpose is to dim your light while claiming it as their own.

Look deeply, listen intently, and choose wisely. Soar as the beautiful Butterfly that you are, breathing life into every flower you touch. Never let a moth fool you and leave its dust to cloud your way." In other words, everything we do comes from who we are. Look deep, love deeper, accentuate the positive, eliminate the negative. Know the difference.

Joey Santos Jr. was raised in NYC, Malibu, and West Hollywood Hills.

He is son to Film & Television Actor Joe Santos. His Mother, Mary, was a former Showgirl who became a "stay at home Mom," and a wonderful cook who loved hosting lavish parties in their homes.

Joey's Grandfather is World-Renowned Latin Singer Daniel Santos, and his Grandmother Rose was a Business Woman who owned Nightclubs in NYC, Havana, Miami, and LA. She also started a Record Label and a Film Studio. Early on, Joey worked as an actor. He had a recurring role in NYPD Blue's, as Officer Aiello, and also performed on stage doing live theater. He then embarked on a singing career, recorded a couple of CDs, and performed in various venues throughout the US. His ultimate passion, however, was the result of following in both his Grandmother's and Mother's footsteps.

He became a Restauranteur - (Co-owned the El Mocambo in LA, Owner and Chef of JoJo's Americana Supper-club in Saugatuck, and JoJo's Juke Joint in West Hollywood). This experience would lead Joey to embark on his own very successful private business of catering/hosting events for the Hollywood elite.

For the past four years, he as been Private Chef to Brad Pitt. Since 2016, Joey writes a monthly column, "The Way I See It " for The Eden Magazine. He is teaming up with life-long friend ( Literary Agent ) Alan Nevins, to develop a PodCast called, "Two Guys From Hollywood" where they will talk about everything you always "didn't want to know!"

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WOMEN'S EMPOWERMENT

Amber Nash

Photo by Stacey Bode Photography

Actress, philanthropist & board member of Project Chimps

A

mber Nash is a passionate philanthropist. She serves on the board of Project Chimps, a Georgia-based sanctuary dedicated to providing care for retired research chimpanzees. Green Day’s Billie Joe Armstrong and his wife Adrienne are also board members. When she is not working with Project Chimps, Nash also donates to the no-kill animal shelter PAWS Atlanta as well as The Giving Kitchen.

Nash also co-created and hosted the Facebook Live show Archer After Hours alongside co-star Lucky Yates. The three episode series debuted following the Season 10 premiere on Archer’s Facebook page and featured special guest interviews, behind-the-scenes commentary, cosplay spotlights, and more.

She is also making her foray into the world of film with her lead role in the upcoming adult indie comedy How to Ruin the Holidays alongside Colin Mochrie. Written by Nash’s husband, Kevin Gillese, the movie offers a hilarious take on love, disability, and those family gatherings that test your patience.

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A sanctuary is different from a zoo in that it's not open to the public; the chimps just get to live their lives and be chimps.

Photo courtesy byProject Chimps

Nash is currently the lead voice of Pam Poovey in the hit FX/FXX animated adult series Archer. Her character is the former head of an international spy agency and has become a fan-favorite on the show. The series has been honored with two Primetime Emmy Awards including Outstanding Animated Program and a Critics Choice Television Award for Best Animated Series as well as a Gold Derby TV Award to name just a few. Nash’s character has garnered a lot of buzz and is referred to as “real hero of Archer” by BuzzFeed.

Chimpanzees are highly intelligent creatures that need to be treated with respect and allowed to live free from cruelty. They need to be stimulated and enriched like we do, and need to be social and live with other chimps. They are not pets or entertainers. I want to help get all the chimps still in research facilities to the sanctuary where they can live their lives.

Project Chimps is a sanctuary based in Georgia dedicated to providing care for retired chimpanzees. Please tell our readers more about it.

These chimps have been in research their entire lives; they were born into

Places like Project Chimps opened to fill the need. These chimps couldn't be reintroduced into the wild because they have never lived in the wild and would be unable to survive. A sanctuary is different from a zoo in that it's not open to the public; the chimps just get to live their lives and be chimps. Nearly every chimp that comes to Project Chimps has never been outside, has never felt grass on their feet or a breeze on their backs. Every time a new group goes outdoors for the first time, it's a big event, and there are lots of tears. Many of the chimps are afraid, some are brave, and they are all curious about what's out there. They have a large six-acre outdoor habitat that they can explore, and each group has its own villa where they live when they aren't in the habitat.

We still have many chimps waiting in a lab to come to Project Chimps. We have fundraising to do to build more villas and more habitat areas. We can't wait to get them all here safe and sound.

Where are these chimpanzees coming from to the sanctuary?

They keep this information confidential.

Photo courtesy of Amber Nash

As a philanthropist and board member of Project Chimps, how do you hope to make a difference in the lives of chimps?

Project Chimps is such a special place.

The first time I went up there (it's in north Georgia), I could hear the hoots of the chimps echoing off the hills, and it brought me to tears. I'm so happy that the chimps we have at the sanctuary now finally have the opportunity to live out the remainder of their years being chimps, doing what they want to do, and living their best chimp lives. All of the sanctuary chimps are retired from being research animals, and many have experienced unthinkable things. I want to help raise awareness that these animals are in the world and need our help.

captivity for research purposes. Thankfully, it is now illegal to use chimpanzees in research, so many facilities had chimps that could no longer use them for research, and the chimps had nowhere to go.

Chimpanzees are highly intelligent creatures that need to be treated with respect and allowed to live free from cruelty.

They need to be stimulated and enriched like we do, and need to be social and live with other chimps. They are not pets or entertainers. I want to help get all the chimps still in research facilities to the sanctuary where they can live their lives.

Photo courtesy byProject Chimps

Hello, Amber, thank you for taking the time to speak to us. You are an actress, voice-over artist, and animal activist. Please tell us more about yourself.

I'm southern. I grew up in Georgia and still live in Atlanta with my husband Kevin (he's Canadian), my dog Carol (she's a brindle Pitbull mix), and my cat Rubby Chuthers (I rescued him from behind the theatre I do comedy at). I'm an improviser as well. I got my start in comedy and acting, taking improv classes, and doing comedy improv shows wherever I could. I'm still very involved with Dad's Garage Theatre Company, which has been my artistic home for over 20 years. I've taught and performed improv all over Europe and Canada. I have a degree in Psychology from Georgia State University, and that is where I first became interested in working with chimps.

49 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM e November 2020

Please tell us about your upcoming adult indie comedy How to Ruin the Holidays with Colin Mochrie.

We are so excited about this project. It's on hold for now due to the pandemic, but we will begin crowdfunding when it makes sense and hopefully get to shoot next December. It was written by my husband, Kevin Gillese, and is so wonderful. It's sweet and also very funny with a dash of sass; it's got a Little Miss Sunshine vibe. It's about a struggling comedian (me) who goes home for Christmas to see her dysfunctional family. Her Dad (Colin Mochrie) has kind of lost it. Her adult brother with special needs (Luke Davis) is doing his best to keep the ship sailing, but everything falls apart because it's the holidays. We worked with Luke on a short film we made a few years ago called That Was Awesome, and we fell in love with him. We knew we had to do another project with him. You can watch That Was Awesome on the DadsGarageTV YouTube page.

Photo courtesy by Project Chimps

Please tell us about your current projects.

Archer season 11 is airing now on FXX. Archer is out of his coma, so you'll have to tune in to see all the crazy stuff that happens!

How do you feel the pandemic has affected Hollywood?

I think everyone has had just to slow down, and that can be very good. I think things will evolve because of this, hopefully in a good way. I like the gut punch that has been created and that we are all on even footing. We are all just people trying to survive. Maybe red carpets and the pedestal that celebrities are put on are all ridiculous; there is much more important stuff we could all be doing with our time.

What message would you like to share with our readers about saving animals' lives, our crisis with global warming, and how we can make our world a better place?

I would like to live in a world with less suffering: the suffering of people, suffering from animals, the suffering of our environment.

I think every little step helps, so do your part. Be less dependent of animal products; be less dependent on products that negatively impact our environment. Also, make sure you vote.

Special thanks to; Amber Nash Project Chimps

Who would you like to work with in the future?

I really love working with my husband, I know that may sound crazy to some married people, but it's true. I'd love to keep getting to do cool projects with him. And of course, there are many others. I'd love to work with Jordan Peele, Lily Tomlin, and Wes Anderson. I feel like that would also make for an exceptional dinner party.

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WIS DOM FROM HOSPICE PATIENTS FOR A TIME OF CRISIS

Photo by aron Andrew Ang

By Karen Wyatt MD

Forgiveness is one of the most powerful actions we can take and frees up energy that we have invested in keeping old bitter memories alive. When we let go of our old anger and resentment, we experience an increase in wellbeing and vitality and can focus more on the present moment instead of living in the past. During a crisis, we benefit from maintaining a forgiving attitude because we can focus on love rather than blame for others.

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e are living through challenging times in the midst of a global pandemic, economic instability, and climate change that is rapidly altering the planet. Many of us have not previously faced a crisis of this magnitude and may be struggling to cope with all of the changes and losses that are occurring simultaneously.

deathbed, that love is the only thing that really matters in life, and many other patients had a similar epiphany.

During times of great stress, it is helpful to remember that love deserves our greatest attention and focus. It may seem as if negativity is rampant in the world, but if you look for evidence of love, you will begin to find it wherever you go.

As a hospice doctor, I have had the privilege throughout my medical career of sitting at the bedsides of hundreds of patients who themselves are facing the ultimate crisis as their lives draw to a close. Through listening to their stories and sharing in their journeys, I discovered that many of my dying patients learned lessons in their final days that totally changed the way they looked at life.

And the wisdom they shared with me has allowed me to change my own perspective on life as well.

Set an intention to bring as much love as possible to your life and be willing to share small acts of kindness with others. Gradually you will see more light and positivity in the world around you.

Find love everywhere

I began my hospice career in the midst of my own crisis after the suicide death of my father. This tragedy devastated me, and from day-to-day, I wasn’t sure that I could go on. But I found that my patients and their families also wondered on some days if they had the strength to face the challenges in front of them. As they described their pain and fear, I knew that I was not alone in my suffering.

Life brings difficulties to all of us, and—as I eventually discovered—the key to a meaningful existence is learning to navigate those difficult times. As we look ahead to an uncertain future, the wisdom gathered from my hospice patients about coping with crisis seems particularly relevant. Here are the lessons they shared with me that helped me live with my grief and can guide us all during these difficult days: Embrace rather than resist your pain At the time I started hospice work, I was trying to ignore my grief over my father’s death, hoping that it would one day just go away. Then my patients taught me that we could not transform our pain unless we face it, feel it, and go through it. In our pleasure-seeking society, we are often encouraged to avoid suffering at all costs.

But the only way to navigate our challenges is to face them head-on and experience all of the emotions that arise within us.

Resisting discomfort just leads to more discomfort. So it’s important to allow and accept all of your feelings about what is happening in the world—anger, fear, sadness, guilt, or even curiosity and joy. Acknowledge your feelings without judgment, and you will find a way to greater peace and equanimity with life just as it is.

Find love everywhere My patient Ted told me that he had just realized, on his 54 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM e November 2020

My patient Ted told me that he had just realized, on his deathbed, that love is the only thing that really matters in life, and many other patients had a similar epiphany.

During times of great stress, it is helpful to remember that love deserves our greatest attention and focus. It may seem as if negativity is rampant in the world, but if you look for evidence of love, you will begin to find it wherever you go.

Set an intention to bring as much love as possible to your life and be willing to share small acts of kindness with others. Gradually you will see more light and positivity in the world around you.

Let go of past resentments.

Most of my hospice patients were working on the practice of forgiveness as they faced their last days. They told me they wanted to be at peace and couldn’t get there without forgiving others, being forgiven by people they had harmed, and forgiving themselves for mistakes.

Forgiveness is one of the most powerful actions we can take and frees up energy that we have invested in keeping old bitter memories alive. When we let go of our old anger and resentment, we experience an increase in wellbeing and vitality and can focus more on the present moment instead of living in the past. During a crisis, we benefit from maintaining a forgiving attitude because we can focus on love rather than blame for others.

Enjoy the present moment.

Hospice patients quickly learn to focus on the present moment because their future is limited, and the past doesn’t matter to them anymore. The rest of us usually spend our time shifting back and forth between worrying about what the future holds or reliving things that happened in the past. But life can only actually be lived in this present moment, right here and right now. Love, creativity, and joy only exist in the present moment, and my patients showed me that if you make the most of each and every moment, you can enjoy life no matter what is happening.

So if you are washing dishes, focus on just that task; if you are eating ice cream, think about nothing except the ice cream; if you are talking to a friend, give your full attention to every word that is shared. By being more present, you can recognize that life is actually okay right where you are, right now—there is nothing to fear or worry about in the present moment.

Learn from every experience One of the most life-changing ideas that a hospice patient shared with me was that everything she experienced in her last weeks of life was her teacher. No matter what changes took place, she saw each new development as another opportunity to learn something. When I began to embrace that attitude, I found that I became upset far less often if something went “wrong” in my life. By focusing on learning as much as I can from the situation, I am less likely to judge events as negative and more likely to simply be curious: What can I take away from this?

There is actually much to learn from all of the changes occurring in the world right now. Remember to be a student of your own life and always look for more knowledge or wisdom to come from your experiences.

Ride the waves of life Ultimately we have little control over most of the things that happen in life. Many of my patients laughed at their younger selves for believing that they could plan out their lives just as they wanted them to be. They talked about the peace they felt once they stopped trying to control things, let go of their plans, and just accepted life as it is. When they surrendered to life, they had been given; they were much more able to practice forgiveness and enjoy the present moment. oseph Campbell expressed this idea clearly when he wrote: “You must give up the life you’ve planned in order to have the life that is waiting for you.” This idea of letting go of our need to control things and learning instead to “ride the waves” that come our way is key to coping with crisis. When you accept that you can’t change what is happening, you can finally focus on making the best of how things are right now.

Let life change you This was the final lesson I learned about living with my father’s death. For years I tried to return to my old self—the person I was before he died. I thought that my grief would not be healed until I was “back to normal.”

But my hospice patients taught me that life is constantly changing, and you cannot go backward. In fact, the events of life are meant to shape you into who you came here to be, your True Self. When I allowed my life to shift to a new path, I was finally able to come to terms

with my grief. I became a new and more authentic person.

Recognize that the current situation of this planet is unprecedented. These events are life-altering, and things will never go back to the way they were. We have to be willing to grow and evolve along with our world and accept the changes that have come to our lives. Then we can truly embrace our feelings, love freely, forgive, be present, learn, surrender, and become our best possible selves.

To fully adapt to this changing world, it is necessary to embody the spiritual wisdom that we have learned.

Here are some practices that can serve your growth during this time: 1. Spend time in solitude every day using meditation or centering prayer on going within 2. Journal about emotional shifts and insights that become apparent 3. Do one act of kindness every day 4. Practice forgiveness on a daily basis for all the little annoyances in your life 5. Find something to be grateful for each evening before bed 6. Practice deep breathing to return to the present moment 7. Be curious about everything that happens and ask what you can learn Remember that these difficulties we are facing will one day pass, only to be replaced by some other challenging situation. Life is a rich tapestry of experience with many different threads woven together to create the final pattern. Appreciate the picture of your life that is emerging day-by-day: unique, precious, and wonderful in so many ways. You are here to be part of a historical moment in time, so make the most of it and know that you are in the right place at just the right time.

Karen Wyatt, MD, is a family physician who has spent much of her 25-year career as a hospice medical director, caring for dying patients in their homes. The author of 7 Lessons for Living from the Dying: How to Nurture What Really Matters and The Tao of Death, Dr. Wyatt has lectured and written extensively on end-of-life issues with an emphasis on the spiritual aspect of illness and dying. www.karenwyattmd.com 55 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM e November 2020

LANGUAGE OF SPACE

Photo by LOGAN WEAVER

By Michael White Ryan

I only want to be…

ME

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Life as a miracle has been well established, yet the pursuit of self as one's purpose in life leaves everything out in the open and everything closed off at the same time. It's a double-blind alive and active. It was a recently overheard counter conversation, I only want to be to be me, that prompted this article. Seemingly to abandon avoid further interaction, I don't want to play this game anymore. Acts of engagement are the essence of experiencing one's abilities, so as to observe after the fact of how one functioned at the moment.

Seeking one's existence has confronted confounded humans since all of the yesterdays. During one's lifetime, one has the opportunity to follow many pathways or be a 10. In the background lay an idea of constantly traveling as one day I will arrive. This arrival for each individual will vary, yet in the end, one ends up where exactly? I dream, I only want to find me?

Time acts as a blessing and a curse. In mind, time lingers, as if standing still, while on the outer, it moves at speed only recognizable, noticed, in the latter time. For the curious, it questions upon questions. What to do, where to live, how to act, who will I be this year, and so on? For the steadfast, its career eternal, safe, specialize, established, easy peasy, you don't have to think, just follow, it's all in the rule book. In the case of your fringe dweller nomads, one is constantly being grounded by an inner personal foundation, which has the ability to move in keeping with each new experience. Always knowing, around the next corner exists uncertainty, yet one is covered in the knowledge that all unknown experiences are sourced from the existence of familiarity.

ing out, fear, risk, engagement, and carefully controlled acceptable expressions of compassion. All of which feeds one's ego when reaching for results from any strategically orientated venture.

Enroll in Your Journey Whatever one's next role may be, it always appears easier said than done if uncertainty or insecurity is in the house. Don't wish, just start, even if one may feel they are traveling alone. Finding a companion who wants to go on this journey with you may be the easy part of any quest for personal identification. Staying the path, release holding onto, owning personal preferences will test the strength of any s/he.

Today, one can find self through the quest for success! It's easy, sit on a beach, you pay the repeating-fee, "An I" does it for you. To speak the lingo, you pay for the weekend jumping up and down mastermind, its bingo transformation, problem solved. Charities, non-profits are also open to receiving; I only want to be me, persons; it's a no brainer. You're accepted, the cause is worthy, friendship abounds, a sense of self elevates the soul, and all is good.

It basically comes down to finding and settling into one's tribe or a tribe that feels comfortable for now. The jungle where we hone our skills has given over to the modern mall, where we hunt for the goods, clothes, accessories, lifestyle to fit into one's chosen identity. It's our personal forest-home, along with coffee shops, where we exchange friendships, laughter, joy, tears, gossip, all the good stuff which ensures we are human, all that gives life meaning.

Yes, there are a multitude substitutes, copies, variations in ways of being "I." only one thing to ask, do I want to know?

Please be mindful, I only want to be me, I only want to find me, are identities of choice.

It pays to acknowledge remember, all thoughts are manmade, and as such, is grounded in bondage to the past. Regardless of possibility, all thoughts one has of one's self, limit the ability to choose differently. Therefore, the strength of opportunities presenting themselves to you is limited, accepted only by your motives on how you want to be perceived by others—encouraged by what you wish to achieve through gain, status, change, act-

The loss of identity is now transformed in 2020, promoted via the measure of happiness one can experience, have, by engaging in a predetermined exercise. And there are many actions to choose from, mindfulness, cooking, sport, wellness, exercise, coaching, chess, crochet, collectibles, the list is unlimited. There is no reason not to be engaged other than an idea that was incorrect in its making. An idea unchecked, cemented in

57 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM e November 2020

belief, will leave s/he chasing its tail in circles for a lifetime. Is this a new definition of waste? The question, what is your choice of poison, freedom, or happiness?

In this new environment, we speak of change while thinking in the past. Who you think you are may have been given to you by someone or some experience, yet it's only you who is the keeper of what it is you settled for and what you have become to own.

Without change, the human remains!

As one moves through life, realizations appear, comes as, it's impossible ever to know, I just wanna be me. One's identity flows and ebbs over time, through its evolution, as change and relationships up the ante at every turn. In order to never know who we are, we hang onto to owning false ideas, we perpetrate on ourselves, thus overriding the natural process of discovery. The trials and tribulations we put ourselves through are manmade, nothing more than false interpretations we got wrong!

Photo be Hunter Newton

Today, in this hour, greater than ever before, we repeat the past, follow in the footsteps of the pied piper, or undo that has gone before, turn, and bid our shadow-self goodbye. Remember, all shadows are not real; they only live because we constantly feed them with what we assume are our mistakes. Interestingly, the tipping point to engage any change only lasts for the length of one solitary second. The hardest one second you will ever have to face.

Did you ever watch the "Downsizing" movie, Matt Damon? Is it about saving the planet, less pollution by being small in size? Or is it really about a person never being BIG enough to live their potential, choosing to remain small in stature, and always admire in other's achievements? Most of humanity go through life and live "downsizing" and never know we live in a world designed to downsize.

As one moves through life, realizations appear, comes as, it's impossible ever to know," I just wanna be me."

One's identity flows and ebbs over time, through its evolution, as change and relationships up the ante at every turn. In order to never know who we are, we hang onto to owning false ideas, we perpetrate on ourselves, thus overriding the natural process of discovery.

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I only want to be me, it can be temporary, it can be permanent, it could be a lesson, it could be an illusion, it could be nothing more than an idea never born, it could belong to another. Makes no difference, it exists, and that's all it is, a manmade idea interpreted falsely, cocooned as a long term, mummified-belief‌..!

Michael White Ryan is a co-founder with his wife Pamela Edwards of Language of Space.

They are leaders in sustainable business growth via Performance Design and Performance Code.

Sustainable design encompasses both Western and Easternphilosophies including advanced Feng Shui principles, \Environmental Design, Buildings, Alternative Health, Business Advisory Consultants and 20 plus years as entrepreneurs.

Recognized in the top 100 globally and are Americas Leading Feng Shui BusinessConsultants.They are on faculty at CEO Space International one of the oldest business organizations in America today, currently operate in 7 countries and reside in Australia. www.languageofspace.com

Have you seen Gretchen?!

Missing since 11/11/2016 Please contact us

info@theedenmagazine.com

S

o many times, we forget to appreciate the small things in life. We tend to move from one thing to another so quickly that we forget to stop and smell those beautiful roses along the way. In our rush, we may overlook the gifts we've been given by the universe and often forget to say "Thank you."

Let's consider the amazing variety of gifts that can come from the universe or our personal guidance system!

Gifts from the universe can come in many different ways, so how can you identify them? Here are some guidelines to look for.

Gifts are: • tangible and/or intangible, • unique to your situation • designed to enhance your life’s experiences • way beyond what you could have done (and/or) on your own Different types of gifts are, but not limited to: • friendships • homes • pets • customers • unexpected events • the special assistance we receive

Gifts can come in all shapes and sizes and are not just limited to the physical. They can arrive frequently and unexpectedly, and we're not required to offer something in return. I believe that many of the gifts from the universe have been willingly given to us. Often, they come in response to our requests. They also are designed to acknowledge our efforts and given us a way to support us.

It seems to me like the greatest reason we receive gifts from the universe is "Just because!"

• "Just because" they were thinking of us!

• "Just because" they cared!

• "Just because" they wanted us to succeed!

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Photos by Tamara Bellis

G

Gifts can be as simple as a phone call or a compliment, a flower that just bloomed, or a little bird that chirps to say "hello," and brighten your day. These gifts may seem small, but they can dramatically enrich our lives. Gifts can lift our souls, and it's important to acknowledge them.

Yesterday's the past, tomorrow's the future, but today is a gift. That's why it's called the present. ~Bill Keane

IFTS

By Joan Spencer

Become aware of the many gifts you've been given. It will simply amaze you.

Once again, don't forget to say, "Thank you!" Good manners will rarely get you in trouble!

A good way to recognize the gifts that you're being given is to acknowledge them on a daily basis. At the end of the day, make a point of recognizing the many gifts you've received.

You may even want to keep a gratitude journal! It's a good practice to review the positives of the day and remind yourself just how well you've been taken care of.

For example, today, while I was at home diligently working on my book, my day had seemed to be ordinary and uneventful. I didn't see any of my friends, but on further reflection, I realized that I'd actually received many special gifts. For example: • A red finch flew in front of my window and then perched on a branch looking right at me.

• My sister called to chat, and we had a lovely conversation.

• When I went to feed the chickens, one of them escaped from the enclosure! In our area, chickens can easily become someone's lunch, so I've learned how to remain calm and out-smart them. Today, the escape produced a comedy of errors, but the interruption was a "gift" that lightened my day.

• I saw a coyote running playfully behind our corral.

It was a good thing I caught our chicken!

• I picked up a book, randomly opened it, and found a story that was a perfect fit for my book.

• A friend called, just to visit and see how I was doing.

None of the above had been planned, but my day was just full of "little gifts" that brought me happiness. Below are three stories that illustrate this idea of gifts.

Photo by Tamara Bellis

Gifts can be as simple as a phone call or a compliment, a flower that just bloomed, or a little bird that chirps to say "hello," and brighten your day.

These gifts may seem small, but they can dramatically enrich our lives.

Gifts can lift our souls, and it's important to acknowledge them.

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Shelter We're now in the month of November, and my husband and I are having a three-sided shelter built to house our two new horses.

card to the company that was selling the book. (I had previously filled out a survey for them!) I decided that this gift card was a message, and I decided to use the money to purchase that book.

I've been a little concerned because the days are getting shorter and the nights are getting colder. I've never owned horses before, so I know that I tend to be overprotective and always want them to be comfortable.

Note: I purchased the book. I thoroughly enjoyed it and was grateful for the insights it brought to my life!

Our construction crew had been working as fast asthey could, but there were some unavoidable delays.Still, their work was completed on December 1st and not a day too soon.

Three days after the shelter was completed, a major storm moved into our area. The skies dropped buckets of water, and the wind blew fiercely. I was so thankful to have the structure completed and grateful that our horses could be protected from the storm. Both horses found refuge in the shelter and seemed to appreciate that it was there. The timing of that construction being completed was such a gift, and I am deeply grateful!

The shelter also brought another unexpected gift. When we were planning where and deciding how to build the shelter, we had only one viable location, and it only offered one option for the opening of the structure.

We didn't realize it at the time, but the shelter had been placed in a perfect place, and our horses have been protected from all of the storms that have moved through our area!

The book and email One day while shopping online, I considered purchasing a book that would cost $10.87. I hesitated because I really didn't know if I wanted to spend that much on the book. I could afford it, but I put off purchasing it, thinking I'd revisit the decision at a later time.

The very next day, while reading my emails, I saw that I'd received a $10 gift 62 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM e November 2020

Unexpected Traits Jet and Lacey are the horses I purchased for my healing center. I had never owned a horse and didn't know much. But I feel as if the universe absolutely helped me find my perfect pair. In the emotional therapy work we do, the fact that I have both a male and a female have been useful. Jet is very masculine in stature, while Lacey is feminine in her build.

They also have very different personalities and temperaments; Jet tends to be calm and relaxed, and Lacey is also relaxed but can also be easily spooked.

However, she is also very nurturing, while Jet stands tall in his power. Fortunately, both horses are very gentle and easy to be with.

With such contrasting personalities, my horses can aid and help many clients.

The people who come for horse therapy hail from a wide variety of backgrounds, and Jet & Lacey can always find positive ways to interact with each individual.

I could not have found a more perfect pair of horses anywhere.

Thank you, universe!!

RECOGNIZING THE GIFTS THAT YOU RECEIVE At the end of the day, reflect back on your days’ events. What gifts and/or special moments did you experience that day? It may be a friend you saw, a special meal you received, or the opportunity to create something wonderful.

Consider practicing this exercise on a daily basis. It should help increase your awareness of the messages and gifts that regularly come your way.

Joan Spencer has lived a varied life, from working as a CPA and president of a multi-million dollar school to practicing Chinese medicine.

Through following her personal guidance system, she was drawn towards Chinese medicine.

She received her Master’s in Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine from the Arizona School of Acupuncture & Oriental Medicine. Spencer wrote Your Personal Guidance System to help readers create soul satisfying lives. Currently, the author resides in Cornville, Arizona, where she spends time with her horses and works in the healing field.

To learn more, visit joanspencer.com.

Buddha Board

This blank slate offers you a chance to paint away the daily stressors that sap us of our creativity and energy without needing a long list of supplies or a lengthy chunk of time.

Simply grab your board when things start to get overwhelming and let the act of putting brush to tablet absorb your focus. Water “paint” in the abstract, make a picture, or give shape to your feelings. As the water evaporates you’ll be left with a clean slate and a clearer mind.

Buddha Board Highlights:

• Designed with a sleek, modern aesthetic • Reusable • Quick to set up • Painting is truly MESS FREE • Encourages mindfulness • Doesn’t add to your digital footprint • Taps into your creative side • Fun for all ages • Helps kids explore the creative process judgment free • Perfect for relieving stress at home, in the office, or when traveling • Original Buddha Board measures 12” x 9.5” x 1/4”

Take care of yourself, and you’ll help take care of the world with a little help from Buddha Board 63 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM e October 2020

RECLAMING YOUR TRUE SELF

Photo by katerina plotnikova photography

By Angela Dunning

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Trusting

Your Gut Instinct

Lessons From The Horses

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A

s a species, modern humans have become so detached from their bodies that it is something of a Herculean task to reconnect to our most basic, fundamental instincts.

One of the most important and primal of these is our gut instinct, which is often referred to as our “sixth sense” or intuition. This alerts us that something isn’t quite right; that there is a potential or actual danger nearby, or more benignly, we just get a feeling about something or someone or a hint about a particular decision or direction that would be best for us to take.

Gut instinct can be either loud, clear and strong, or vague, subtle, and diffuse, and therein lies the challenge in listening to it. The other important thing to remember about gut instinct is that it isn’t always 100% right. So, the knack is to listen and then discern how to respond. For example, our bad feeling about someone on first meeting them might be because they are having a bad day, or we are. We might need to give them one more chance. At other times, that first recoil from someone is spot-on, and we should run for the hills. It’s tricky, therefore, knowing which is which and how best to respond. It takes practice, and it can be really helpful to get support as we learn this art from those we know have walked this path already, like a good therapist, wise-woman healer, or coach.

In my work with horses and people, I am regularly reminded of the vital importance of being connected to our gut instinct. Horses are much more in touch with this instinct, as it is nothing less than life-saving for them. In the wild, it is their gut that alerts them, long before they see anything, that there might be a potential danger approaching or one lurking hidden somewhere. It is what keeps such non-predatory herd animals alive.

As humans have evolved into more solitary creatures,

tucked up in our warm, safe houses and places of work, we need this life-saving inner alarm less and less.

However, we have retained this instinct and for a good reason. For although we mostly no longer have to flee dangers like lack of food, somewhere to shelter, and to and approaching predators who could kill us for dinner, there are new, modern life dangers that we still need to be alert to. And on a less survival basis, our gut instinct helps to guide us in so many areas of our life that I have learned it is a vital and very helpful internal warning system.

Many women, in particular, suffer from what Jungian analyst and author Clarissa Pinkola Estés describe in Women Who Run With The Wolves as being “instinct-injured”. We have a shut-down connection to our body, our emotions, and our needs and desires in order to please, fit in, be acceptable, be loved, and/or keep ourselves safe, particularly during childhood. This results in us growing up into adulthood with very little internal support. We struggle to make decisions, and when we do, they are often not in our best interests. We marry the wrong person; we embark on the wrong career; we allow ourselves to be persuaded into situations, even potentially dangerous ones because our inner alarm is so remote from our awareness that we can’t hear or feel it. Or, we may have got into the survival habit of smothering and deadening it through alcohol, drugs, food, work, or any other form of addictive, compulsive behaviors.

Much of my work with women involves helping them slowly reconnect to their bodies. With the help of horses who emulate such exquisite gut connection in every moment, they begin to learn how to listen again to their intuitions, to stop immediately dismissing them out of hand as nonsense imaginings, irrational or stupid notions. All that society has drummed into us for hundreds of years, men and women,

but particularly in our patriarchal society, this is continuously repeated, which we, of course, internalize and thus stop ourselves listening to our own bodies. Instead, we are told to only use our rational intellect to guide us, or practical and especially financial reasons to help us make decisions, choices, even enormous life decisions like who to marry, what work to do, and generally how to behave to be acceptable. And we are also told to dismiss our bodies, our feelings, our needs, and our very own nature, which is trying to speak to us all of the time.

These recent experiences have been opportunities to practice listening to my intuition. I’ve listened carefully to my body, my energy, and my gut feeling about all of these choices. Most notably, it seems to be where my energy and enthusiasm want to go or not, which has helped me determine which choice to go with. When my energy level dropped right down, and I felt I had to force myself to go ahead, then I knew it was not right for me. And when I released the option from my life, my energy came back up along with my peace of mind and enthusiasm again for life.

Yet, when we start to reconnect and learn to trust this quiet inner voice and feeling, which is trying so hard to nudge us in the right direction, it is so utterly empowering when we DO listen and find that we HAVE made the best decision. Such relief floods our mind and body, followed soon after by peace and a renewed energy. We learn that we are now speaking our truth and acting in our best interests. We have listened to ourselves and our own inner-guidance system; we have stood on our own two feet this time and not gone looking outside of ourselves for answers, guidance, and expectations. We have honored what our body is saying to us. We have valued our feelings and needs, perhaps for the first time in a very long time. Ultimately, we are in alignment with what’s best for ourselves on all levels and with our true-self.

Often we make choices based on what might enhance our career chances, income levels, reputations, and the like, but these aren’t always necessarily what our soul also needs.

Our soul knows where we need to be heading and when it’s the right time to move and act, or when it’s better that we stay still and wait, and then wait some more,

I’ve recently had a number of experiences where I’ve felt torn about which direction to take and whether certain courses of action were right for me, or whether the timing was right or not. My old habit is so strongly imbalanced towards both needing usually dominant others in my life to guide and reassure me as well as towards letting my own overly dominant rational and practical side push me into directions which only seek to continue making me fit in, and which really are not in my whole best interests. Usually, when I go with this, I end up in situations where I feel pressured, hurried, uncomfortable, out of my true place, and imbalanced again.

I find that listening to our gut instinct is one sure way of following our soul and, therefore, our true path in life.

And often, that is in quite another direction from career advancement, promotion, a new qualification, or more money. Learning to honor our gut and our soul, therefore, is truly a lifelong practice but one which is still a vital part of being a human and acting in our best interests.

Angela Dunning is a regular contributor to The Eden Magazine. She is the author of The Horse Leads the Way: Honoring the True Role of the Horse in Equine Facilitated Practice. Angela writes regularly on Facebook: www.facebook.com/ thehorsestruth/and Patreon: www. patreon.com/angeladunning.

You can learn more about Angela and her work helping people and horses at: www.thehorsestruth.co.uk.

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Photos by Alexandru Zdrobău

EYE YOGA EXPERT SHOWS FIVE EASY EXERCISES

TO IMPROVE EYE STRAIN WHILE WORKING FROM HOME Online contact lens retailer and vision care experts, Lenstore, has partnered with an eye yoga specialist to highlight exercises for decreasing eye strain whilst working from home

By Lenstore & Phoebe Greenacre Struggle to keep your eyes open? Find yourself squinting at excel? Keep complaining you have headaches? Staring at screens all day can have a bigger impact on your eyes than you might think, and unlike any other part of our body, our eyes are somewhat neglected when it comes to relaxing and de-stressing.

So how can we rectify this? When we feel stressed, some of us pick up the yoga mat and tune into YouTube to unwind and relax our bodies. Which poses the question: Why don’t we consider yoga for our eyes?

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Lenstore has collaborated with holistic therapist, yoga, and meditation teacher Phoebe Greenacre to produce a video illustrating some eye yoga exercises to try out while working from home that will help reduce fatigue and strain. In addition, the contact lens retailer has recreated these eye yoga exercises as gifs for anyone to follow if they need a break from their screens.

The initiative, commissioned by Lenstore, wants to offer support to people spending a long time staring at screens, as well as provide those working from home with a few easy eye yoga movements that will help to fight eye fatigue.

Five easy eye yoga exercises to reduce eye strain If you can’t wait until the live class, here are the five exercises to try out in the meantime:

wise and anti-clockwise. It is particularly good as it may help with strengthening the eye muscles and enhance the shape of both eyes.

1. Palming This exercise consists of rubbing your palms together to create heat and placing your hands over your eyes for 10 seconds.

This will allow any tension accumulated in the back of the eye to slowly decrease.

4. Zooming This exercise is great for focusing on and strengthening eye muscles. It consists of focusing on an object in the distance and staying there for a few seconds. Then move the focus onto an object closer to you and gaze at it for a few seconds. Finally reverse the gaze, starting from the middle object moving to the faraway one, and repeating these movements for a couple of minutes.

2. Rapid Blinking This exercise consists of blinking very fast for 10-15 seconds and then allowing the eyes to close, settle, and soften. This exercise is particularly helpful for releasing the eyes from dryness and overuse.

3. Eye-rolling This third exercise consists of rolling the eyes repeatedly clock-

Roshni Patel, BSc (Hons) MCOptom, Professional Services Manager at Lenstore comments: “Based on my experience, I always recommend that people take regular breaks away from their screens whilst working from home. It is important to release the eyes not only from the blue light of digital devices but also from fatigue, which can be caused by the eye enduring high tension and strain from working with technology.

“Another great way to prevent eye fatigue is to follow the 20-20-20 rule, highly recommended by Optometrists and Opticians. This rule consists of looking at something 20 feet away, for a duration of 20 seconds for every 20 minutes spent staring at screens. It has been proved to be effective in helping to prevent digital eye strain.”

5. Figure of Eight This exercise consists of raising a hand in front of the eye level, extending a thumb, and focusing on it while drawing a figure of eight shape in the air. After 30 seconds, switch directions.

Lenstore has been changing the way consumers buy contact lenses since 2008 by making contact lenses fast, faff-free, and affordable.

We offer the big brand lenses our customers want, at small prices, delivered to their door. But our service doesn’t end here, our team of opticians and eye care experts are on hand to help you get the most out of your vision. Whether that’s help finding the right lenses, how to practice proper lens hygiene or even tips for how to manage hay fever. And we provide all our customers with free eye tests and contact lens checks.

Lenstore is here to help you manage your eye health in a way that suits you.

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70 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM e November 2020

TRAUMA AND POST TRAUMATIC GROWTH

By Tara Lal

It is estimated that up to 500 million people worldwide are affected by exposure to suicide each year *.

This powerful memoir speaks to anyone touched by suicide, mental health and grief and is written by a sister left behind. Through her exploration of resilience, post-traumatic growth and forgiveness, Tara Lal hopes to change the public narrative around suicide.

Tara's childhood was scarred by her father’s debilitating mental health and her mother's death from cancer when she was just thirteen. Caught up in bereavement and despair, Tara and her older brother, Adam developed a deep bond, but Adam struggled silently with anxiety and depression and couldn’t reconcile his life of privilege with the disparity of poverty he witnessed on his travels through India.

Four years after their mother’s death whilst studying at Oxford University, he took his own life.

Grief, guilt and shame threatened to engulf Tara, who felt shewasn’t enough to save either her brother or mother. Eventually she finds, within her brother's diaries, her reason to survive. In a DH Lawrence excerpt, which Adam had transcribed, were the words, ‘TJ he put his hope in her’. Tara seized those words - she would live the life he could not.

Standing on my Brother’s Shoulders includes a foreword by Alex Garland, Oscar-nominated director and best-selling author of The Beach and includes tools for post-traumatic growth and speaking to those with suicidal thoughts.Trained in suicide prevention and using her PhD studies to investigate the impact of suicide on firefighters, Tara hopes that her story will bring hope to those facing their own struggles with grief, trauma or mental ill health and inspire them to usetheir suffering to grow and lead a more meaningful life.

When a psychologist first mentioned to me that what I had experienced during my childhood was trauma, I didn’t believe her. In my head, a few people had died and I grieved. That was it. I have since come to understand that my childhood experiences were, in fact, deeply traumatic. Trauma comes in many forms: suicide, sudden loss and parental illness in childhood are just some of them. In fact, trauma can be any event or ongoing intense stress that shatters our sense of safety and trust in the world. Despite what we hear in the media, trauma is equally if not more likely to manifest itself as depression, anxiety or substance misuse as it is in post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Whilst I didn’t ever suffer from PTSD, I did suffer the effects of trauma in my childhood and they played themselves out throughout my life, in terms of my behaviour, thought patterns and emotions.

Adverse childhood events are one of the primary risk factors for subsequent mental illness because of the way that they change how our brains develop, impacting on the reactivity of certain areas in our brains and the neural pathways and connections that are laid down. Learning this made me realize that I had not simply imagined my hypersensitivity to stress and rejection. It was hard wired in my brain. It gave me compassion for myself as to why I had to work so hard to form secure attachments in my relationships and to change some of my destructive behaviours.

The upside of trauma is the potential for post traumatic growth (PTG). PTG has been defined as the positive psychological changes that can occur in the wake of trauma as a result of the struggle with highly challenging and stressful life circumstances.

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It is not merely the return to normal functioning after a period of adversity. It is essentially a transformational process which results in fundamental changes in the self, in relationships and in one’s outlook on life. It is characterized by some or all of the following: a greater appreciation of life, an increased sense of personal strength, closer relationships, an openness to more meaning and possibilities in life and spiritual development.

The negative or most challenging experiences in our lives are the most powerful propellers to finding our meaning and purpose.

Ask yourself ‘what could I learn from what has happened and how can I use it to make a difference to the lives of others?’ This is the guide for the work and research that I now do in mental health and suicide.

It is a powerful driver of growth and it helps keep us psychologically safe.

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Recently I came across some research that suggested there is an inverse relationship between resilience and post traumatic growth, meaning that those individuals that are resilient are less likely to experience growth after trauma because they don’t struggle enough to drive it. It is the struggle to accommodate the trauma into one’s life view that creates the growth. I hope that anyone reading this who may be in the midst of their fight can draw hope and courage from this. I was not what I consider to be a resilient child and I struggled for many years. I often think that the depth and extent of my struggle was directly proportionate to the growth that I now feel. Only now do.

I bear the fruits of my labour. It’s never too late. Research has demonstrated that PTG can and does continue to evolve many years after the event.

been found to be one of the key processes that facilitates PTG. I had and have no family in Australia, so I invested in building one – from my friendships. We all have the capacity to do that.

Belonging and community: By undertaking community work, such as surf lifesaving and other charity work, I found a sense of belonging which helped me to feel like I had a place in the world. This was especially important, being a migrant and moving to a new country where I didn’t have any direct family.

Social support and belonging are at the foundation of psychological wellbeing and resilience. Seek out voluntary work or organizations in your community that engage your passions and strengths.

Finding my truth: Making meaning from my experiences has been fundamental to driving a sense of purpose in my life. The negative or most challenging experiences in our lives are the most powerful propellers to finding our meaning and purpose. Ask yourself ‘what could I learn from what has happened and how can I use it to make a difference to the lives of others?’ This is the guide for the work and research that I now do in mental health and suicide. It is a powerful driver of growth and it helps keep us psychologically safe.

The tools that fertilize the ground:

Gratitude: I kept a little book of blessings by my bedside and every night before I went to bed, I would write down three things to be grateful for that day. Just small things like the sun shining, or a lovely cup of coffee. With time, I believe this helped shift my mindset from pessimism toward optimism. We all have a natural negativity bias. Focusing on and savouring the things that we can be grateful for helps to shift that.

Friendships: I invested a lot of time and energy in nurturing and building my closest friendships. Friendships where I could fully disclose my feelings with people I trust and I know love me. Self disclosure has

Tara Lal is an author, firefighter and mental health first aid instructor. She was born in London but now lives in Sydney, Australia.

Tara is a PhD candidate and works with various leading mental health charities to conduct research and raise awareness of suicide and mental illness. Tara’s book, Standing on my Brother’s Shoulders: Making Peace with Grief and Suicide priced is published on September 8th and is available at all good book stores and on Amazon.

An Excerpt From

Photo by Charles Etoroma

Perception:

Seeing Is Not Believing

By James & Steph Purpura 74 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM e November 2020

In this excerpt from Perception: Seeing Is Not Believing James and Steph Purpura explore survival instincts and the outdated primal fear of rejection.

Our Biggest Fear Let's go back to the time when we existed in packs and our only safety was in numbers. It took five people with sticks to fight off a bear or many other predators. You could not survive on your own. If you got kicked out of the pack, it meant you were going to die in a short period of time, likely from being eaten, which was going to be excruciatingly painful.

Our biggest fear is ugly death, but the experience that makes the fear real is rejection. Deep in our mind, rejection dooms us to a fate much worse than certain death.

The first time we suffer a notable rejection, this fear kicks in and we feel vulnerable and alone. This sets off another program, and the fight for our survival has just begun. In ancient times when we were rejected from the pack we could only survive in one of two ways: either by regaining the acceptance of the pack, in the hope they would let us back in, or through asserting domination and control by conquering the pack leader and becoming the new leader. If these two-options sound familiar, it’s because they resemble what we still do today. We are either seeking validation from others or to dominate and control them. Most of the major issues we deal with in the world today stem from those two dynamics.

Now you understand an underlying reason why it is so scary to be rejected. This is also why we are constantly trying to prove ourselves or control others. If you go back through your life, you will most likely see this fear as the underlying force behind almost everything you do. You were either moving toward validation or trying to exert control while, at the same time, trying to avoid rejection at all costs. Sometimes, to avoid the pain, you might even have turned to addiction and checked out of playing the game. This is when we adopt the belief that we are not good enough.

But this whole process is based on a lie. Rejection does not put our survival at risk—not even close. Almost nothing in modern times threatens our survival. You could be stripped of all your possessions and money and be kicked out of your house, and you would likely still survive. Your survival is rarely at stake, but your mind believes that it is. That is why we feel like life is a fight because deep down we think we are always fighting for our survival.

If your survival is not really at risk, life does not have to be a fight. That means you are free to do anything you would like, depending on the quality of life you seek.

We mistakenly believe it’s the rejection that puts our survival at risk, but in reality, the lie that sits underneath is fear itself. Being scared from time to time is perfectly normal, but if you are constantly living in fear, you are living a lie.

Before James and Steph Purpura met 15 years ago, they were financially, emotionally, and spiritually bankrupt.

Life had beaten them down and shattered their self-esteem. At the lowest point in their lives, they met and were united by a shared vision of creating and becoming more. They started the only place they could by working on themselves and helping each other grow. They challenged each other every step of the way, and never settled. Fast forward fifteen years, after many ups and downs and a lot of hard work, Steph and James sold their tech company, one of the world’s largest construction software companies and live an extraordinary life. Through this journey of self-creation, they developed a personal philosophy centered around perception.

Their mission is to provide a roadmap for people to master their perceptions and their emotions to become conscious creators of their lives. According to James and Steph, “Everything you see and experience is determined by your perception, and your emotions give your life the only meaning it has.” Their goal is to inspire fellow seekers to tap into their unlimited potential, through a personalized combination of philosophy, science, technology, and community. After confirming that their philosophy works, James and Steph created their company, Powerful U. This was a way for them to give back their knowledge to the world and help as many people as possible evolve their lives.

Learn more at https://powerful-u.com.

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ALL GOOD THINGS COME FROM THE DIRT, AND THAT INCLUDES OUR COMPANY Just like your gut needs good bacteria to thrive, so does your skin it turns out. If you’ve struggled with the “Big 5:” dry, oily, rough, uneven, or unclear skin, then chances are your skin microbiome could use a tune up.

At Mother Dirt, they’ve got natural skincare down to a science and have created an entirely new approach to skincare.

Created by an MIT trained chemical engineer, their groundbreaking AO+ Mist uses the super probiotic Ammonia-Oxidizing Bacteria (AOB) to restore what our skin has lost thanks to harsh chemicals in our soaps and less time spent outdoors. Before modern hygiene wiped it out, AOB kept the skin biome in harmony.

Mother Dirt’s AOB & probiotic formulas balance all skin types by working with your skin biome, instead of against it. Confucius was really on to something when he said; “Life is really simple, but we insist on making it complicated.”

So whether you’re acne prone or dry, oily or sensitive, you’ll see the same results - improved clarity and glowing, healthier-looking skin.

What’s the best way to get the most out of A+O Mist? Spray 76 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM e November 2020

twice a day, as the last step in your morning routine and in the evening before bed and after you’ve washed your face.

With each spritz, this Mist replenishes our store of good bacteria. This bacteria consume the ammonia and urea in our sweat, keeping our skin from trying to overcompensate with excess oil, dryness, redness, and more. Mist yourself anywhere your skin needs help: scalp, face, arms, legs, back, underarms, feet...just go for it!

The results? Softer, smoother, healthier and more vibrant skin without the use of questionable or unnatural ingredients.

Jasmina Aganovic Founder and President

Made without added preservatives

"There’s an important dynamic at play between consumers and scientists right now.

This is especially evident in the field of the microbiome, which is about the natural microorganisms and microbes present in the human body. Never before has a topic been spoken about so publicly and marketed ahead of extensive clinical and scientific validation.

The microbiome is the ultimate underdog story — most of us grew up having been told that bacteria cause bad things: breakouts, illness, bad smells, etc. Bacteria was simply something to get rid of to ensure we’re our cleanest, healthiest selves.

Plant-based formulations

Won’t disrupt your skin microbiome

Research & science driven

And so, we cleaned and scrubbed our way to health, or so we thought. Statistics relating to skin health (and health in general) present compelling evidence that our skin is less healthy than it was a generation ago.

80 million Americans suffer from acne, and 1 in 6 children have eczema. Over 50% of adults claim to have sensitive skin, and it’s the fastest-growing category in skincare. We’re cleaner than ever and have more products than ever, yet we also have more skin issues than ever. What were we missing that made our body react so poorly? The answer lies in your skin biome, but it wasn’t an easy subject to approach.

In 2014, even though we thought the concept of our skin needing bacteria was going to be a stretch for most people. Our minds were changed when Julia Scott wrote a provocative article for the NY Times called, “My No-Soap, No-Shampoo, Bacteria-Rich Experiment.” It detailed her experience in our early cosmetic clinical study, where she abandoned all modern personal care products, took water-only showers, and applied a live culture of the bacteria found in our AO+ Mist live probiotic spray to her skin twice a day. She shared what she had noticed about the change in her skin, hair, and body odor (lovely!). Her firsthand,

unfiltered review was forwarded and shared with millions of people. It created a wave of unanticipated interest and discussion in live probiotics for the skin.

That’s when we took a step back to understand why we had underestimated public interest in the microbiome of people’s skin and why the article generated the response it did. The skincare article challenged many norms we’ve believed our entire lives — hygiene norms we’ve followed dutifully and continued despite not getting the health and beauty results we expected or hoped for. That article by Julia Scott introduced our research as an entirely new belief system that could also explain why their previous one was not working.

It’s one thing to read words on a page, and another thing to actually experience the results yourself as Julia Scott did. This is the genesis of Mother Dirt. Starting a customer-facing aspect of our research was not part of our original plan, but the review article showed us that a physical product gives people something to interact directly with. It is their personal journey that can challenge cultural bias.

The result is our skincare products creating a powerful vehicle for driving this conversation in public health.

And the public interest in skin biome-friendly formulas with live probiotics for the skin has helped push the gas pedal on the scientific progress. As we continue making progress in new discoveries in the field, it will be increasingly important that the science remains rigorous and we temper expectations — giving you the results you expect where previous routines to maintain your skin haven’t.

Keep asking questions, keep challenging the norm, and keep pushing for more. Together, we’ll create a world where clean comes with healthy."

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HIGH ROAD TO HUMANITY

By Nancy Yearout

New The

Mind set

My hope is that all who read this will be open to receive my message lovingly, with grace, and with ease.

For some time, I, like many of you, have witnessed a lack of respect for one another and an entitlement mindset that is growing in our world. I am sure many of you have observed that manners, morals, integrity, and respect—along with core values—are missing in our current society. There is a mindset that this behavior is acceptable.

Our need for instant gratification and the hunger to make money and gain status has overridden saying and doing what is proper—at the expense of our own society and each other.

This behavior has created quite a bit of havoc in our world, and it is not okay! The act of common courtesy has nearly slipped away, not to mention respect for other human beings. There is a mindset that you can do whatever you want whenever you want with no rules applied.

Consider the number of shootings in the world today. This behavior is completely out of control, with no solution in sight.

Unfortunately, this behavior ends up on television and social media, with no censorship applied. Many of our information sources use the shock effect to raise their ratings and to bring 78 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM e November 2020

in more revenue. The hype is what entices us to tune in, and ratings soar. As a result, money is collected, the media's revenue increases, and the destruction of our civilized society continues.

We need to change today's mindset and concentrate on projecting a positive example for ourselves and our children. A good example is the scary movies of today. They aren't scary; they are twisted, sick, and dark! What happened to use our imaginations to create interesting and intriguing shows that don't have naked people, foul language, and gruesome and grotesque scenes!

Many of us grew up watching Halloween and The Shining.

These movies were scary, yet had a storyline that kept you on the edge of your seat. Music, television, movies, and computer games, and YouTube videos are shaping the youth of today.

Life lessons about the importance of honesty, respect, kindness, love, and integrity should be integrated into our schools and in all forms of our media. This way, not just our youth, but all of us will be exposed to these core values' importance in our own lives. It is important to understand why these principles work.

Photo by Levi Stute

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Wouldn't it be great to flip on the tube and learn just one simple thing that would make our lives a little bit better today?

The television and the Internet are all that some kids have when they get home from school. It is difficult to monitor all the outrageous YouTube videos and television programs at their fingertips. The reality is that most people work to make a living and do not have the luxury of meeting their child at the door when they return from school.

Changing our media's content to reflect positive, useful information that's interesting for kids would help change the mindset. We all need to help with this change.

Years ago, TV shows such as Touched by an Angel, Full House, Seventh Heaven, and The Andy Griffith Show held important wisdom in every show. Those clever shows have become a thing of the past. Those old shows always portrayed a positive life lesson. The great thing about these old shows is that each story held a lesson that remains true today. They are timeless.

It is sad to write, but today there is little or no respect for our elders, law enforcement officials, teachers, or political leaders. This lack of respect for each other, coupled with an entitlement attitude, has changed how we interact with one another. Why have we allowed this behavior to flourish and grow around us? And what are we as a people going to do about it? Doing nothing is not an option and here is why: When we are not respectful of each other, we are not strong, happy, prosperous people. The "anything goes" obnoxious behavior has gotten completely out of control!

There are now several generations of men and women with this mindset. A belief that they will get what they are after at any cost. Values and morals have been tossed to the side by many. There has become a mindset that says, "I deserve the best because I'm special." They have an entitlement mindset. Some people have the mindset that they are owed.

help others, a sense of joy will come over you and elevate your soul.

However, on the other side of the spectrum, there are many of us who do have integrity and hold morals, values, and respect close to our hearts. The world is filled with many hardworking people with backbone who remember where they came from and remain kind and giving people. We are the ones who will teach others these core principles that make us come together as a people.

We cannot leave it up to somebody else. Today it's time to make a change. You have the power to contribute to the change. If we can change the mindset of just one person, we have made a difference.

Nancy Yearout is an Psychic Reader, Intuitive Life Coach, Author and Inspirational Speaker. Her religious and spiritual work has enabled her to help many people to live the life they desire!

It's up to us to make a change. Few people in today's world are willing to stand up for old-fashioned morals and values; the simple rules that make us a civilized people are vanishing quickly. We as a people have gone too far and have accepted the "anything goes" attitude.

The negative thoughts and actions of people are outweighing the good.

Nancy feels inspired to share the wisdom and the messages she receives with others. Her real-life experiences are shared each week on her Radio Show/Podcast, High Road to Humanity where insightful, spiritual guests share their story. This is Nancy’s way of each sharing new insight about raising the vibration and consciousness for all of us to create a healthy, Loving and kinder people as well as a safe harmonious place to live. My Credentials: Sales Coordinator for General Motors Corporation, Sales Manager for multiple, Owner and Qualifying Broker of The Harville Estates Real Estate & Development LLC, Owner of Energy Girl Publishing LLC., Author of, Wake Up! The Universe Is Speaking to You, Author of Monthly Contributor to Eden Magazine, Motivational/Inspirational Speaker, Intuitive Personal Coach Intuitive card reader, Energy Healer, Radio Host/ Podcast High Road to Humanity.

If you feel this way too, please help guide others in the proper direction. We all have a choice. We can go about our lives and not share our knowledge from the lessons we have learned, or we can all help each other with what we know. No judgment, no arrogance, just pure love of helping another person along life's journey; when you

Today she is happily married to the love of her life.

Nancy Yearout Hosts a Radio Show/ Podcast every week on Toginet radio and iTunes called High Road to Humanity.

Visit her website www.NancyYearout.com or her Podcast www.Highroadtohumanity.com

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One Minute Meditation

Photo by Dave Hoefler

Take this moment to close your eyes and consider the following possibility...

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• EVALUATE YOUR ENERGY • TRUST WHAT YOU KNOW • LETTING GO OF BEING A VICTIM • TURN PROBLEMS INTO CHALLENGES

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Photo by Hannah Vu

An Excerpt from Slay Your Dragons with Compassion

Create a Sangha

By Malcolm Stern

At this particular time in evolution, when there is so much chaos around us, I see a great need for the company of fellow pilgrims on our journey through life. We need to surround ourselves with people who truly meet us, who allow us to speak our truth. People with whom we feel safe, with whom we can be uncertain in our footing and stumble in our speech in the knowledge that we won't be trashed. We need to fortify ourselves by making sure we choose friends with whom we feel aligned, whom we can trust.

Until we reach a certain stage in our evolution, not only do we need the support of others of like mind, we have a duty to seek that support. ~Adapted from the I Ching

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For me, this is the essence of the sangha. Sangha is a Buddhist term, and the sangha was originally a group of followers of the Buddha who renounced their worldly life in order to follow him around and assimilate his teachings. Thich Nhat Hanh brilliantly explains it in his Friends on the Path: Living Spiritual Communities:

Sangha is more than a community. It's a deep spiritual practice. A sangha is a community of friends practicing the dharma together in order to bring about and contain awareness. The essence of a sangha is awareness, understanding, acceptance, harmony, and love. When you do not see this in a community, it is not a true sangha, and you should have the courage to say so. But when you find these elements are present in a community, you know that you have the happiness and fortune of being in a real sangha.

The practice of sangha is about experiencing heart connection with others, with people who light our fire.

We feel vibrantly alive in their presence. We rejoice in creative dialogue. Our conversations make us feel that everything is possible and that the trials that we endure have the potential to strengthen us. Sangha is about tuning in and finding those traveling a similar path (wherever they may be) and strengthening that connection.

dedicated time given to building a place of depth between you.

If you're psychologically minded, then perhaps a therapy group, or men's and women's groups, may work for you.

If you are creatively minded, maybe you could join an amateur dramatics association or a pottery, writing, or painting group. If you are a physical, hands-on person, a walking and running group could be the scene for your sangha. If you are spiritually minded, a meditation or yoga group could work.

But sangha is not just about being kind to each other. The rigorous challenge is the essence of a deep relationship – but a challenge as opposed to criticism.

We need people who compassionately and wisely call us into question when we are deluded. In our sangha, what doesn't kill us makes us stronger.

Ultimately, we need places where we can take off our armor and be who we are. This takes a lot of effort.

Exercise: Invest in your sangha Commit to the practice of sangha and get conscious about your relationships.

Where do you feel a heart connection?

Where can you be honest?

With whom can you be vulnerable?

Decide who in your life you want to invest in and where there is a call to expand your circle of friends.

See if you can go deeper with the relationships you want to nurture. When you meet people who are important to you, make sure you talk about what really matters rather than pass the time. Be willing to release your mask of being "fine" and be daring in your willingness to communicate in a more authentic way.

Could you find one other person who is on your wavelength and who you feel supported by and supportive of? Suggest formalizing that relationship, so there is

This extract was taken from Malcom Stern's upcoming book, Slay Your Dragons with Compassion, out on September 29th, which has been endorsed by best-selling authors Eckhart Tolle and Elizabeth Gilbert.

Malcolm Stern has worked as a group and individual psychotherapist for nearly 30 years. He is co-founder and co-director of Alternatives at St James's Church, London's most important spiritual events platform, since 1982.

Stern also teaches and runs groups internationally.

His first book Falling in Love, Staying in Love, was published in 2004. Malcolm also co-presented with Vanessa Lloyd Platt, the Channel 4 series on relationships Made for Each Other in 2003 and 2004.

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Abundance Corner

By Phyllis King

#1 Abundance Tip:

Raise Your Inner Stock Market Do not chase, attract. What belongs to you will simply find you. This is a mantra we should memorize and live by at all times. It represents a truth about the perfection of the organizational quality of life. It reminds us that what we seek is seeking us. Plain and simple that we need to stay out of the way and allow this organizing quality of life to do what it does anyway, without our intervention.

Many Law of Attraction articles and ideas in the public domain insist we need to be “doing� something to find our happily ever after or to attract our perfect mate. The truth of the matter is that more often than not, we need to stop doing things that are impeding our ability to receive, rather than add in things to an already jumbled and confused energetic formula.

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It is important to remember that we all have a history.

Some even purport that we have lived many lives.

If that premise is even remotely true, none of us are born with a clean slate. That topic set aside for another offering; what is not in question is that in this life, various people have written on the slate of who we are. Many have done so at a time when we have had no filters. We were completely open and vulnerable. Those opinions, ideas, and behaviors others projected onto us were seared into our very consciousness and became part of who we are. From that point of origin came an inner narrative. The inner narrative is the voice that tells us who we are, what we believe is true, and what we believe is possible. Most of us present a vastly different person to the world than the person than the inner narrative we repeat to ourselves over and over again.

The inner narrative holds the key to success or failure with the Law of Attraction. We can make vision boards all day long. If we do not believe we are worthy and do not believe good things can happen for us, they will not happen. The beliefs we hold create an energetic wall that effectively pushes away the very things we say we want. They act as a repellent.

How can this be? It can be because we live in an energetic universe. Everything is energy. Every thought, belief, or emotion corresponds to a frequency or vibration. Each of us is a powerful creative being, with dignity, purpose, and intention. We are master creators and manifesters. Those nagging thoughts about when will they discover I’m not as good as I act like I am” or, I’m a fake” or “I’m not really smart I’m just fooling people or fill in the blank with the self-limiting language that runs in your mind. We unintentionally negate what we want to occur and create the opposite of what we want to occur.

For many reasons, negative thought patterns carry enormous potency.

Any of us can attest to the fact that 25 people can tell us we did a good job on something. Yet, it is the one person who shares a criticism that we remember.

For every negative thought, we tell ourselves we must immerse ourselves in 10 times the amount of positive energy to dissipate that negative thought.

At the core of abundance and the Law of Attraction is trust. If we do not trust ourselves, we cannot trust life to deliver to us what we need. We feel we need

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to go out in the world and earn value. So long as our value is seen as something external, we remain the cart pulling the horse. There is no way around caring for ourselves properly, including our inner narrative. The organizing quality of life wants us to be balanced and to know our wholeness. When the awareness of our innate wholeness dominates our thoughts, we no longer chase; we receive the abundance life wants to bestow upon us.

The best way to attract joy, love, abundance and anything else you desire is to not chase it. Rather create and foster a resting state of being that is abundant that is grounded in the awareness of wholeness. We accomplish this through self-care, self-love, and eradicating, limiting beliefs from our inner narrative. The cleaner our inner world becomes, then we can act, if necessary, knowing that it is the correct choice in the attraction game.

Most of the time, tending to our inner world will solve all our abundance needs. Love will find us. Money shows up. Opportunities reveal themselves, and life flows without worry. We create an energetic balance to the creative wealth that is the universe we live in.

Master the inner game, and you will succeed in the outer world.

Your energy, your time, and your love are much more wisely invested in raising your inner stock market than any other activity.

Known as the Common Sense Psychic (tm), Phyllis King has worked with tens of thousands of peoplein 25 countries. She is known for her practical and down to earth approach. She has been featured on, ABC, CBS and NBC TV, radio programs across the country, and has been published in over 70 print and online publications.

She has four books, including Bouncing Back, Thriving in Changing Times, with Dr. Wayne Dyer.

Her latest book The Energy of Abundance is available in bookstores now. Phyllis holds a B.A. in Sociology. www.phyllisking.com

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Embracing an Attitude of Gratitude

Gratitude and attitude are not challenges; they are choices. ~ Robert Braathe

By Shelly Wilson

2020 has offered its share of challenges, including those

related to the environment, weather, health, and finances.

While overcoming the proverbial storms, we have weathered and those that continue to arise, we are also being shown the contrasting experience and the silver lining. Throughout it all, we must remember that everything is energy, and awareness is everything. Choosing to see each experience from a Higher soul perspective also enables us to view the lesson being presented within the challenge. Embracing an attitude of gratitude assists us with this process.

Reflect upon your present blessings, of which every man has plenty; not on your past misfortunes, of which all men have some. ~ Charles Dickens Everything is Energy Energy vibrates in frequencies. We are essentially walking vibrations. Like a radio station, the frequency we vibrate at is what we broadcast out to the world around us. This energetic emission includes our thoughts, words, actions, and emotions.

Whether it be ours or those around us, this emission can affect our physical health and mental/emotional well-being. If we are vibrating with fear, worry, stress, or lack of trust, the energy is being focused in a lower vibrational way and resisting flow.

Higher or lighter vibrations are powerful and tend to feel good. Higher vibrations are easy to identify since they are heart-centered, light, bright, playful, loving, grateful, peaceful, and giving as well as many others. Gratitude energy is one of high-vibration and assists with creating more abundance, which includes financial prosperity, health, happiness and well-being. We can intentionally tune into the vibes of our surroundings, including people, places, and things. Doing so will continue to remind us that everything is energy. When we change our perspective, we change our vibration, which changes our life. We have the power to transmute and shift 90 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM e November 2020

energy based on our viewpoint and how we choose to respond.

Gratitude is a powerful catalyst for happiness.

It’s the spark that lights a fire of joy in your soul. ~ Amy Collette The Power of Choice Moreover, we must also begin to realize the value of the power of choice. Instead of imagining how choices are ways to control outcomes or manipulate reality, we can see each choice from a Higher perspective. Each of our choices correlates to a vibrational frequency - love or fear. Choices aligned with a high vibration often bring excitement, ease, and relaxation into our body. The choices reflecting low vibration or heavy energy feel contracted, heavy, and fill us with doubt, shame, guilt, worry, or resentment.

Moment by moment, our lives change with our choices; choosing to be conscious of those choices while staying in the heart-space of love rather than fear is essential to create consciously. Understanding intention, heightening our awareness, cultivating our intuition, expressing gratitude, practicing forgiveness, being compassionate, and recognizing synchronicity are ways to improve all areas of our life.

Gratitude turns what we have into enough and more.

It turns denial into acceptance, chaos into order, and confusion into clarity.

It makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow. ~ Melody Beattie

Blessings Abound The month of November is often associated with giving thanks. Although the Thanksgiving holiday may have varying connotations depending on culture and perception, the overall intent is to celebrate blessings. The word thanksgiving means an expression of gratitude. Therefore, November is the perfect time to implement a conscious gratitude practice.

Photo by Marcos Paulo

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Gratitude is an expression of thankfulness. The simple words, thank you, extend far beyond their utterance.

They are an acknowledgment of appreciation. Thanking another individual for having completed a task, the extension of a hand in friendship, and even the recognition of a compliment will reflect the gratitude we are feeling.

When we emit the high-vibrational energy of gratitude, we open ourselves to being in the flow of creation and abundance, so the blessings will abound.

We can only be said to be alive in those moments when our hearts are conscious of our treasures. ~ Thornton Wilder

Tools to Assist with Embracing an Attitude of Gratitude 1. Identify the Challenges - Choose to identify any experiences that were challenging and see them as opportunities for learning and growth. These experiences do not define us but have undoubtedly had an impact and affected us to some degree.

2. Spend Time in Reflection - After acknowledging these experiences, spend some quiet time in reflection and honor any emotions as they surface. Pay attention to bodily sensations as well.

Write down your thoughts, feelings, and emotions as you spend time in reflection if you are guided to do so.

3. Give Thanks for the Experience - When the time feels appropriate, express gratitude with sincerity for having the experiences. There is nothing to be gained by blaming anyone else for our life’s circumstances and the choices we make. When we take ownership of the experience and see the blessings within the challenges, we can more easily move forward from experience with grace and ease. In addition, the Ho’oponopono prayer invites us to recognize and accept responsibility for internal aspects of ourselves as well as external situations that are beyond our control.

This ancient Hawaiian practice will assist with clearing any residual energy from a challenging situation. Simply state the following as a prayer or mantra: I’m sorry. Please forgive me. Thank you. I love you.

Cultivate the habit of being grateful for every good thing that comes to you, and to give thanks continuously.

And because all things have contributed to your advancement, you should include all things in your gratitude. ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

4. Recognize the Blessings - In addition to identifying the challenges, we can also recognize the blessings within our lives and give thanks for all of our experiences, even if they are different than what we had originally planned or are not really to our liking. When circumstances occur 92 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM e November 2020

beyond our control and appear to be or feel less than desirable, we can choose to focus on the positive rather than the negative. Every experience lends itself to having another experience. Each day is a new beginning and an opportunity to have numerous experiences for personal growth and learning.

5. Create a Gratitude Journal - Journaling regularly, whether it be daily or as you feel led to do so, reminds us of the blessings we experience. Keep in mind that there is no right way or wrong way to journal – only your preferred way. When journaling, you may opt to keep a handwritten notebook or maintain a document on your computer or even both if that resonates. Do not constrain your expression by feeling obligated to write for a specific amount of time. Simply allow the words to flow.

Gratitude bestows reverence. They were changing forever how we experience life and the world. ~ John Milton

Begin this Month with 30 Days of Blessings November is the perfect time to consciously and actively embrace an attitude of gratitude. There are many ways to implement this practice. One suggestion is to acknowledge the unexpected blessings that appear in our life as well as to recognize the blessings within the challenges.

This may also involve taking note of how others have blessed us in one way or another. Subsequently, we may be guided to seek opportunities where we can bestow blessings on others. While we are at the store, we can take a moment to pause in the aisle, look someone in the eyes, and smile.

Exchanging words aren’t necessary, but we may feel inclined to offer a kind word, compliment, or simple greeting. When we do this, we are creating a ripple of magic.

Whenever possible, choose to see the blessings within the challenges. When we embrace an attitude of gratitude, it is always possible.

Shelly Wilson is an author, intuitive medium and conscious creator who is passionate about helping people wake up to their greatness. She supports others as they navigate their own journey into consciousness to experience aliveness. Shelly’s books, 28 Days to a New YOU, Connect to the YOU Within, Journey into Consciousness and Embracing the Magic Within are available in paperback and eBook.

She is also the creator of Cards of Empowerment and Clarity Cards. ShellyRWilson.com EmbracingTheMagicWithin.com

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BREAD CRUMBS

Photo by Noah Buscher

OF THE LAW OF CO-CREATION

By Lavandaia & Marco Nunzio Alati

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In our daily life, we are constantly supported by our "Staff of light": Elohim, Higher intelligence, and Light forces.

These "helpers" are always with us with the clear purpose of helping co-creating the reality we deeply desire. Our job is simply to be aware of their immense support and honor their precious role in our existence. The more we consider them and interact with them in our daily routine, the more we give them the capability of intervening. That's when magical synchronicities and opportunities start showing up for us, allowing us to grow and evolve with ease and harmony.

Especially during such a pivotal moment for our Planet, we all need to reach out to our own heart, soul, and our Staff of Light with love and pure intent; How? You may ask. Well, fasten your belt and allow yourself to explore a boundless journey into the quanta. Let's access the field of endless possibilities through these simple tips around the law of Co-creation: - Prerequisite: Love and appreciation for life - the Principle of Life. Develop it as much as you can with a firm will.

- Today, write down your dream story and your wishes.

What would you like for this Co-Creation? Please write it down, everything! Then bring more details every day, be creative, and crystal clear.

- Align your thoughts; thoughts must be directed. Give importance to what you want in a specific way and not in an approximate way.

- Don't play other people's games.

- You create based on your emitted thoughts. You choose in every moment whether to have thoughts of well-being or not. Know this, and only seek out joy. Let go of problems, so you will always be in the energy flow of the Source, pure Source. Do not get out of the energy flow due to deceits, betrayals, or pain.

- Happiness depends only on You, so practice happiness at any cost. Do not give others responsibility for your discomfort; it is just an excuse.

- Resistance is the ONLY thing that prevents the realization of things.

- Emotions are the yardstick for understanding what flow of energy you are in, and the Universe will respond to that flow by the Law of Attraction.

- Do not think you have to change places, friends, or situations to begin to connect to the energetic flow of well-being intentionally. Just start now! There is no competition; however, endless Universal resources as long as you can imagine what you want. Ask, and you shall receive.

- When you wake up in the morning, focus on positive thoughts, and stay focused for the entirety of your day.

Have clear, pure, and simple thoughts, not saboteurs. Clarity is key.

- Thoughts are energy. Have pure and precise thoughts that generate a clear intention. The ATTENTION then creates the intensity of that intention, which in turn produces the manifestation.

- Once you have the intention through pure and precise thoughts, maintain the focus on it for a short period of time without contradiction. This first thought will then be followed by another one of greater intensity, but of the same Matrix, and so on.

- At this point, the feeling must be added to the intention.

FALL IN LOVE with the intention to generate great energy!

- Remember, always be aware of the words you are using; words are energy, fractals, and geometry within the fabric of our own reality. Speak positively at all costs all day long!

After graduation in Industrial Biotechnology, Marco played a key role in international research projects in Canada, Austria and Spain. He stumbled upon the Reconnection by mere chance and it enlightened him in ways he hadn't realized he needed. Three months after that unique experience, he left his job in biotechnology and embarked on his journey to become a full time Reconnective Healing Practitioner, and one of the two Italian Mentors and Teaching Assistants of Eric Pearl’s direct Team. He is currently living in Los Angeles and collaborating with a number of independent scientific studies that are exploring Reconnective Healing and its extraordinary benefits.

For info contact: marco.alati@gmail.com 323-617-2289 “Description” is all in the eyes of that who is experiencing, thus “description” of “who” becomes irrelevant. And the truth is, that describing Lavandaia using “words” is like trying to catch a fragrance. Scent cannot be caught, it can only be enjoyed and discovered through the experience itself. Who Lavandaia “is” is her mission, Giving clarity and divine knowledge to those who are willing to move forward in life and explore how to express their highest self.

For more information visit www.lavandaia.org, or contact us at paola.seed@gmail.com 95 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM e November 2020

What Cloud Is My Mommy In?

By Kim Vesey

H

i, my name is Kim. I have had the privilege of caring for the dying as a hospice nurse for thirty-five years. I have watched many families struggle through the grief that comes with the loss of a loved one. One of the most significant struggles in addressing the loss and offering support is when there are young children involved. I have also experienced significant losses in my life. My husband, Les, died of cancer in 2006 at the age of forty-nine. My dad died unexpectedly in 2015.

My twenty-nine-year-old daughter, Sarah, died in 2017 from complications of an asthma attack, leaving behind her threeyear-old son Warren. I’ve chosen to write this book specifically as a way of helping a parent or grandparents to cope with and support the child following the death of his or her mother.

To the Surviving Parent and Those Supporting the Child/ Children: This is a child’s storybook designed to highlight common experiences related to loss and grief through the eyes of a young turtle, namely: There are numerous people in the child’s life who can—and do—offer him or her support and care (the surviving parent, grandparents, teachers, aunts, uncles, and so on). It’s okay to lean on them. Grief is like a roller coaster. Some days are sad and hard. There are other days filled with laughter and joy.

All these feelings are okay and normal. The challenge is the unpredictability of the ups and downs. Each page has a theme that can be used to start a discussion with the child as appropriate. For example, on page 8, you might ask, “What did you have fun doing with your mom?” Or on page 11, you could ask, “What do you do when you feel sad?” If the child seems to struggle with reading page after page in the book, consider offering him or her the distraction of looking for some items, which can be found on nearly every page in the story. These include a dog, a brown stuffed puppy, and three characters often

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associated with loss and grief (a red cardinal, a butterfly, and a ladybug). Special days can increase the sense of longing for the deceased person. Throughout the book are several simple ideas for working with the child to honor his or her grief while making tangible remembrances. These are summarized in the back of this book as well. It’s okay for adults to allow the child to see them grieve.

It teaches the child that crying and sadness are okay, as are laughing and happiness. In our family, we call tears related to grief and loss “love tears.” And love tears are always okay.

Naming them love tears differentiates them from other types of tears. When someone is crying, and we ask, “Are you okay?” the person can respond, “I just have some love tears,” and we understand.

It is perfectly okay to read through this book as you would any other book. It may also be helpful to go back to the book for special times (holidays, birthdays, and so on) and discuss ways to honor the child’s mother on these special dates. Additionally, if you are having a difficult, grief-filled day or days, you may find you do not want to discuss this with your child.

It is important to honor your feelings and grief during this time as well. It is okay to delay discussions about grief for brief periods (days) during times like this. If you find you are avoiding discussing it at all, it is important to engage the support and help of friends, family, and/or professionals to help ensure your child has the support needed to get through this difficult experience. Your child’s significant grief experience at a young age and the support he or she receives in processing it can and will affect how your child reacts and responds to future grief and loss experiences. Lastly, in this story, the mother died following an illness.

I love my mommy! We do lots of fun things together.

One of my favorite things to do with her is flying kites.

She helps me get the kite so high in the sky.

My mommy isn’t feeling well today. She had to go to the hospital. Daddy said her body is not working the way it is supposed to. I left my stuffed puppy so she wouldn’t be scared.

Daddy looked sad when he came into my room. He told me that my mommy died. He said she is now living in heaven with God. I don’t know what that means. He explained I wouldn’t get to see her or hear her voice anymore. I asked him where heaven was, and he said, “In the clouds.” I wonder if Mommy likes living in a cloud.

I miss Mommy a lot. I feel sad, and I sometimes cry.

I wish I could hug her again, but I can’t, so I hug my favorite stuffed puppy. It is the same one I let my mommy use at the hospital.

I was at my grandma’s, and we were looking at the sky and talking about my mommy. I saw a heart-shaped cloud. Grandma said my mom was sending her love to me, and that made me feel happy.

I asked my grandma, “What cloud is my mommy in?”

Grandma said she didn’t know which cloud she is in, but she knows whatever cloud it is, my mommy can always see me and will always be watching over me. I waved to the clouds and said, “Hi, Mommy!”

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My mommy used to like to play with me in the colorful leaves when they fell from the trees. I miss my mommy, but on fall days, I still have fun playing in the leaves. The leaves fell from the tree that we planted in mom’s memory. Our dog had fun playing in them too. I hope Mommy knows I still love her.

My aunt cooked our Thanksgiving dinner. She is a good cook, like my mom was. The food made my tummy happy.

Soon it was time to get ready for Halloween. I got to carve my own pumpkin. I felt happy about that, even though Mommy was not here. My dad and grandma took me trick-or-treating. It was a big orange pumpkin.

I wonder if someone cooked a turkey in the clouds for my mommy.

Kim Vesey believes she was put on earth to companion the dying and comfort the grieving. She is a nurse who has worked in the field of hospice care for over 35 years. In 2006, Vesey was widowed at the age of 45, when her husband, Les, died of colon cancer. Since 2010, she has facilitated a Young Widow Support Group. In 2017, Vesey’s 29-year-old daughter, Sarah, died from complications of an asthma attack, leaving her 3-year-old son, Warren, behind. She is an inspirational speaker on the topics of end of life, death, grief and faith. Vesey has spoken nationally and has given a TED talk entitled "First Breath, Final Breath." She is now an author of four books in a series of children's books on familial loss. The two books in process are “What Cloud Is My Sister In?” and “What Cloud Is My Brother In?” Vesey has an adult son, Patrick and her grandson, Warren, who is now six.

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Thank you for

10 Years Supporting us

99 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM e October 2020

Reclaiming Your Voice in the Realm of Relationships

By Jayita Bhattacharjee

A

re you running the risk of chronic depression, loneliness? Can you even look at yourself in the mirror eye to eye and pronounce your happiness? Or does facing yourself take a long, uncomfortable stare?

Do you merely exist in such a relationship? Is there any room for you to thrive? Are you seen enough, heard enough, felt enough, and, most importantly, understood enough? There comes a time when we cease to ask ourselves these questions and seal our lips and tongues for the sake of holding onto. And from that desperate need comes the sacrifice on one’s part. Ultimately, the relationship dynamics lose its health and take a turn for the worse- case scenario, the devastating abuse.

You live from your heart, but you have been hit where you live. From the perpetrator of abuse stems the torrent of slander and you become desecrated. The debasement that the abuser displays are beyond acceptance, but you accept, the defilement that is exhibited is beyond any tolerance, but there you are tolerating, pushing it away as you give your relationship one more chance, holding onto it with just a little hope, wondering what if daylight comes at the end of the night. You fail to recognize, and rarely do you confess that you are being abused by your significant other. The abuser traps you into the blame of not being able to trust and living in insecurities, whereas behind the blames lie the wrongdoings and the betrayal.

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Photo by engin Akyurt

Emotional abuse and its devastating effects need to be immediately recognized before the clock starts ticking, and it becomes a silenced pain seeping deep inside you. You live with this sting of fear, this denial as you long to make things work. Your heartstrings get pulled, yet you plunge in silent sobs because your fear makes silence your very language.

You are taught to question your sanity. Your ability to assess gets lost as you look through the lens of fear and not reality. The relationship ultimately gets reduced to a position where bargaining becomes the mode of survival.

You are taught to question your sanity. Your ability to assess gets lost as you look through the lens of fear and not reality.

The relationship ultimately gets reduced to a position where bargaining becomes the mode of survival. The bargaining takes the shape of if/then. Now, when does a situation gets defined as emotionally abusive? What crosses the line of civility to be classified as abusive? Does yelling fall into that category? No, as everybody yells sometimes, and that is the truth of all times.

To get into an argument, to react to your doings does not classify other’s behavior as abusive. Rather it is a typical norm;

an expected response be that in a calmer or an agitated tone.

The underlying tone may be louder than you expect, depending on the personality of your significant other, but it is okay to be reactive and speak out loud. But there is a fine line of yelling. If that screaming becomes outrageous, almost hysterical, and engages verbally assaulting language, then the yelling crosses all the fine lines of civility. And that’s when it becomes a defining abusive situation. An occasional yelling is a normal display of emotions, as no sane person can stay calm at all times of his/her life. An occasional divergence is a norm, but it cannot be an all-time situation. Once an outlet has been reached, it would be wise for the sake of sanity to sit down and discuss the situation, so in the future, such yelling can be prevented for the betterment of the relationship. But if such an attempt is not taken, then it clearly becomes a sign of power and control. Emotional abuse then comes into play as it becomes a question, a desire to exert power and influence.

Ultimately it became a powerplay between the abuser and abused.

Emotional assault happens when the abuser fails in impulse control, and consequently, the abused becomes the target of the abuser’s uncontrollable impulse. The offender’s failings show up as the rising violence in a domestic setting, and the fire sees its flames. The abused is coerced into a silenced pain compelled into the acceptance of personal failings. The abused loses the voice, whereas the abuser screeches with a volcanic outrage and the fireworks begin. In extreme cases, the abused loses the sense of self, closeness to one’s own spirit, and it leads to a gradual loss of identity, confidence, and processing of emotions.

Photo by Sinitta Leunen

Where once walked two souls bathed in love, now that floor witness some broken pieces of yesterday’s promise, some splintered glasses as facets of emotional abuse. That trauma never really leaves you, rather chases you unwanted, uninvited as what you long to leave behind is an unfinished phase of your life, an unwritten chapter of your book. Don’t you think you owe it to yourself to walk through the silenced pain, pick up the pieces, examine them in detail and ask yourself why and how you let yourself becomes the continual victim of the abuser’s psychopathic game? Your rights have been distorted; your happiness trespassed, your joy crushed undeniably.

Yet there is not the least bit remorse in the abuser. You walk more and more into the abuser’s pathological lies, and the more you walk in, the intricate becomes the web around you. You are ensnared, entrapped into a seemingly dark hole, and the light shows no sign. You are loaded with guilt upon guilt due to your inability to trust and possibly mental incapacitation.

A time comes when you actually begin to believe those piles of accusations and start slipping away from your own spirit.

The farther you walk away from your soul, the bigger and broader becomes your messiness.

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You lose the resilience while engaging in constant wallowing of the abuses that you took. The firmness gets lost as you transition from what you can do to what you are reduced to. Your clarity gets dimmed. You lose track of light and get in the wrong lanes of life. The voice inside your head murmurs all the time, and you fail to listen to your heart. The desire inside you slowly wanes, and you focus on loss rather than healing, damage rather than growth, and weakness rather than strength.

You are caught in a spiral of chronic animosity. Your eyes flash with resentment, and they supplant your desire and interest, your will, and purpose. The malice becomes your predominant emotional state, and your happiness flies out of the window. The abuser succeeds in imprinting a victim’s identity on the grounds of your soul, and you lose your authentic identity.

Relationships become abusive, driven by insecurity, and there comes the inconsistency, the play of push and pull.

An abuser desperately attempts to gain and regain control in the relationship dynamics. They are chased by fears of being unlovable and appearing as a weak persona, the abuser screeches on top of the voice, driven by morbid insecurities. When the abused gives in to the demand for submission, and thus the abuser gets the attention for being loved and venerated. Though a twisted way of getting veneration from the abused, yet this distorted mental perception dwells in the abuser’s mind simply out of grisly fears. In such a manner, the sense of domination is maintained.

You may wonder how to effectively communicate to the other person so as to prevent a relationship take a turn towards a powerplay. Before even this point arrives, an openness is so very desired. Take the other person’s input into consideration and stay away from taking any sort of claim. While you take her/his input, do give your input. This gives and takes strategy to make communication an effective mode in resolving the unresolved issues.

That leads to better communication skills, which consequently leads to increased satisfaction compared to the withholding of yourself.

Engage in active listening and be comfortable and broach in the topic with comfort. It will induce the needed familiarity where you can talk from the trivial to the significant hurts, from the slightest to the deepest wounds.

Own your hurt and wound, your feelings and emotions, the places where you felt the betrayal, and turning away.

Make yourself eloquent in language, as words can relate deeply to one another and can unleash the hidden closeness that you thought never existed. Instead of throwing questions at one another, invite the other into sharing his/her views so that it will be no hurling of questions at one another but a sharing of two minds and hearts. A communication with attention induces the connection, 102 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM e November 2020

and as the bonding is felt, it rebuilds a better relationship. Share with your partner about what you think of his feelings. Reveal it to him in the most caring manner, speaking like,” If I hear you correctly, then I think you are feeling…”, or” I am beginning to understand you and my understanding says, you are feeling….” This lets your other half know that you just didn’t hear the words but the entire message behind the words. Sometimes, the message comes out in not just what is spoken but also in what stays unspoken. You heard the entire thing, and you share your hearing about it, which consequently makes the other feel heard and understood. Be collaborative and not competitive. If there is an issue that both of you are keen to resolve, then come up with suggestions, not a definitive order. This way, communication becomes a flow, a dynamic phase, and not a static one. It helps you both to come out of the stuck position and be in the flow of a relationship as the powerplay disappears.

At times, someone from an external source can be very assistive in a therapeutic and intervening manner that can break down the walls and create a bridge between the once madly in love couples.

At times, the landscape of relationships goes beyond the hope as the other undergoes through silent woundedness inside and abuse becomes the picture of the relationship realm. The relationship dynamics ten come to crossroads, where you get compelled to accept a painful yet inevitable reality for a life-altering journey. Acceptance of unhealthiness becomes the turning point from insanity to sanity. You either try to do something about it, change it, or get out of it as it deems fit.

Jayita Bhattacharjee was born in Calcutta, India and later on pursued education from University of Houston in Economics, she had chosen her career as a trustee and teacher. Her Indian residence is in the vicinity of the famous Belurmath.

Currently, she is settled in Tampa, Florida. Her love for writing on a journey of heart and soul was hidden all within. Looking at the moments captured in love and pain, joy and grief, the hidden tragedies of life...it was a calling of her soul to write.

Her books "The Ecstatic Dance of Life', " Sacred Sanctuary", " Light of Consciousness", "Dewdrops of Compassion" are meant to shed light on what guides a person to respond to the mystical voice hidden inside, to soar in a boundless expansion with the limitless freedom of spirit."It is in the deepest joy that I write with every breath of mine."