The Eden Magazine April 2022 by Maryam Morrison

APRIL 2022

EDEN T H E

MAGAZINE

Louis

Gossett Jr. A LEGEND OF CINEMA, TELEVISION & STAGE

94th® OSCARS ACADEMY AWARDS THE

CANCER & OTHER STRANGERS By Joe Santos jr.

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The Eden Magazine

@The Eden Magazine

Photo by Jess Bailey

@The Eden Magazine

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DINA MORRONE

Maryam Morrison

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JOE SANTOS, JR.

SASHA GARY

EDWARD HAKOPIAN

ALEXIA MELOCCHI

ARTIN MARDIROSIAN

ANGELA DUNNING

ZEE

SHERI DETERMAN

VITO TROTTA

PHYLLIS KING

GREG DOHERTY

SHERRI CORTLAND

BEN ROLLINS

GRETA PAZZAGLIA

ISABELLE RUEN

NANCY E. YEAROUT

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.

EDEN T H E

MAGAZINE

Since 2010

The Eden Magazine is a free online publication 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 CONTRIBUTING WRITERS ZEE SASHA GARY VITO TROTTA PHYLLIS KING JOE SANTOS, JR. ANGELA DUNNING NANCY E. YEAROUT SHERRI CORTLAND JAYITA BHATTACHARJEE CONTRIBUTING STYLISTS + MAKEUP ARTIST EDWARD HAKOPIAN GRAPHICS & PHOTOGRAPHY GREG DOHERTY BEN ROLLINS ISABELLE RUEN SHERI DETERMAN GRETA PAZZAGLIA ARTIN MARDIROSIAN (Nexision) 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. 5 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM e APRIL 2022

Table of Contents 10

LOUIS GOSSETT JR. By Dina Morrone

THE LAUGHTER OF CHILDREN THE ROAR OF THE OCEAN; CONCLUDING THOUGHTS & QUESTIONS By John Wiseman

94TH OSCARS® ACADEMY AWARDS

THE HUMAN EXPERIENCE; SPIRITUAL LIFE WITHIN THE VESSEL By Sally Gallot- Reeves

THE PLIGHT OF THE RIGHT WHALE By Kathleen Collins

EARTH DAY IS EVERYDAY 17 EASY-TO-DO THINGS TO HELP OUR PLANET By Sherri Cortland.

THE WAY OF ABUNDANCE & JOY By Shirley Blanke

POWERFUL CHOICES IN EACH MOMENT By Elizabeth Hamilton-Guarino

THE INNER COMPASS DECK By Teal Swan

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GO AHEAD TREAT YOURSELF, AND BE SWEET TO ANIMALS TOO WITH THESE DECADENT VEGAN DESSERTS By Lindsey Pollard-Post

Cover by BEN ROLLINS

Life is Essential, Feel it 72

CANCER AND OTHER STRANGERS By Joe Santos Jr.

WHAT IS SPERMIDINE & WHY SHOULD YOU CARE ABOUT IT By Elizabeth Yurth

WHY MIDDLE AGE IS THE BEST TIME TO CELEBRATE LIFE'S MESSES By Shari Leid

INTRODUCING JOY BACK INTO YOUR LIFE, ONE MOMENT AT A TIME By Michelle Burke & Lilamani de Silva

UNBEATABLE FORMULA FOR NEXT LEVEL SUCCESS YOUR MIND SHOULD SERVE YOU, YOU SHOULD NOT SERVE YOUR MIND By Phyllis King

LOVE.COM By ZEE

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IMAGINATIVE LITERATURE & MENTAL HEALTH By Jayita Bhattacharjee

80 86

104

THE MAGIC OF AFFIRMATION & HOW THEY WORK By Nancy E. Yearout

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"Clean water, the essence of life and a birthright for everyone, must become available to all people now"

Photo by SILA BAISCH

~Jean-Michel Cousteau

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GOSSETTJr. Louis Gossett Jr. is a legend of cinema, television, and stage, with an Academy Award for his role in An Officer and a Gentleman, an Emmy for the TV show Roots, a Golden Globe for The Josephine Baker Story, recipient of an NAACP Image Award, a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, author of his bestselling autobiography, An Actor and a Gentleman, and accomplished producer and director. A few years ago, Gossett moved away from the hustle and bustle of New York and Hollywood and happily settled in Atlanta, Georgia, a place he often visited as a child and now calls home. He continues to work as an actor and finds time to savor all that life offers. He is quite the raconteur, paying great attention to detail, and animatedly shared many fascinating and heartwarming stories about his humble beginnings in Brooklyn, extensive and colorful Hollywood career, love of music, and mission for confronting and eradicating racism with his foundation, The Eracism Foundation.

By Dina Morrone

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In February 2020, just before the pandemic, I had the privilege of seeing you in The Cuban, directed by Sergio Navaretta, at the Pan-Asian Film Festival in Los Angeles. Your performance was remarkable, a real tour-de-force. Please tell me what convinced you to take on this challenging and demanding role? I look for demanding roles, but this one, in particular, was something I really wanted to do. I had seen Robert De Niro play a character in the film Awakenings where he was in a nursing home and suffers from memory loss. My character in The Cuban suffers from Alzheimer's. DeNiro was having an Alzheimer's attack and went from 55yrs old to 15 and back to 55 in no time because of the disease. So, after seeing that movie, I said, I want to see what it feels like to play that role. So, I investigated, and suddenly, the same character came to me in my lap. It was such a pleasure working up in Canada, just outside Toronto, with the director Sergio Navaretta and Alessandra Piccione (the film's writer) and getting to know their family. They are my favorite Canadians!

I have the ability to go right into character. I can be in front of a lot of people and go right into a character. I go and hide in them and between some of them

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What are some of your memories of growing up in Brooklyn? Looking back on that time, I have to say I was blessed for how I was raised. I grew up in Brooklyn, Coney Island - Brighton Beach and attended high school in the early fifties. My neighborhood was populated by Europeans running away from Hitler - artists, intellectual cream of the crop, professors, filmmakers, and aggressive thinkers. People like Dalton Trumbo, Tallulah Bankhead, Willian Bendix, Elia Kazan. Some other people from my neighborhood that I saw growing up were the likes of Danny Kay, Arthur Miller, Neil Simon, Carol King. We were very poor - depression children. But I was not raised as a second-class citizen. My parents were, but they found this neighborhood where I grew up, and things were different. There was no racism growing up. We took care of one another. If I wasn't home in time for supper, I had a choice. I'd go upstairs and get some gefilte fish or go across the street and get some spaghetti and meatballs. When was the first time you encountered racism? In 1966, this free black kid didn't know anything about racism. I mean, I had read about Martin Luther King and all that was going on, but it felt like it had nothing to do with me. So, along came Lew Wassermann, who had opened up Universal Studios and was also an agent. He sent for me to go to Hollywood to do the first Movie of The Week at Universal, called Companions in Nightmare. I had never been to Hollywood. They flew me out first class and put me up at the Beverly Hills Hotel in the presidential suite. They gave me a rental car I had to go pick up on Sunset Blvd. in Hollywood. It was a white Ford Galaxy 500 convertible EL. So, this black kid who knew nothing about racism is driving with the top down along Sunset Boulevard from Hollywood to Beverly Hills in the middle of summer. I was playing Sam Cook music as loud as I could. Typically, it takes 20 minutes to get to the hotel from that car rental place. It took me four hours! I met every police officer along the way. They all stopped me and questioned me for some time and wanted to know who the heck I thought I was. So, after eight hours of being stopped, carded, and put face down on cars, I finally arrived at the hotel in tears. The hotel manager saw how disturbed I was and asked what was wrong. After I told him, he felt terrible for me. He handed me a booklet (Map to the Stars), then told me to get my camera and take a drive to look at movie stars' homes. Within 45 minutes of driving around, the police came and handcuffed me to a tree, where I stayed for three hours. That was my first day in California. I got on the phone and called my mother and father. They told me to get back home to New York. I then called my agent and told him what had happened and that I was thinking of going back. He said, "What are you going to do?" I said, "I guess I'm going to go to work." He said, "That's what I expect you to do!" My first day of shooting was a sum total of that experience. My heart was broken. I did the best I could. Fade out. Fade in. Poetic justice. I won an Emmy for my role in Roots. Yet, here I am, the total of all those experiences globally. That childhood convinced me even today that we need one another desperately for mutual salvation. 15 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM e APRIL 2022

In 1982, you won an Academy Award® for the role of Gunnery Sergeant Emil Foley in An Officer and a Gentleman. It was your first major nomination and win. Looking back on that time, what do you recall about that experience? Yes, it was my first major nomination and win for an Oscar, and it came right after Sidney Poitier won his. Now, most people believe Sidney Poitier was the first African American male to win, but technically, I was the first. This is because Sidney was born in Florida, on a shopping trip from the Bahamas, and so legally, he was American, but he was Bahamian. Before me, however, Hattie McDaniel was the first African American to win. You were a gifted athlete, yet you became an actor. How did you first find acting? My English teacher Gustav Bloomberg, from Czechoslovakia, was a Broadway icon but was forced to run from the Blacklist. He always read the trades. One day he said to me, "Hey, Louis, they're looking for somebody to play a part in a Broadway show. I know you've never acted. Never seen a play. Go down on Sunday. What can you lose?" So, on Sunday, my mother and I went down to the Lyceum Theater on 44th St. We walked in. It was dark—only one light on the stage. Voices were coming out of this dark area in the the16 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM e APRIL 2022

ater. Then somebody there started to giggle, which broke my feelings. I turned around, walked out, and started heading towards the subway. Someone came running after us and yelled, "wait." It was a young man who looked like he could have been family. His name was Louis S. Peterson. We stopped. He said, "Forgive me. It was me who was laughing at you. I giggled because you looked just like me when I was your age. Please come back." I went back. It turns out he and his wife, Peggy Feury, were charter members of the Actors Studio and also taught acting. We sat down and talked for about an hour. They told me all about what they did and said they would take a chance on me. I must say, I was very bored with what they were talking about because I had no idea about acting and acting classes. The only thing I did do artistically, at the time, in front of people, was sing gospel music with the intermediate choir at the First Baptist Church of Coney Island. But Louis and Peggy took me in and taught me acting through the entire summer of 1952. And then, on Labor Day, in 1953, there I was, opening in a play at the Forest in Philadelphia. I was too dumb to be nervous. It was a fullhouse, and I was playing a lead in a Broadway show called Take a Giant Step. Some of the greatest actors and actresses I've ever met were on stage with me.

I got a standing ovation and received the best newcomer award. I won it over James Dean, John Kerr, Ben Gazzara, and Anthony Franciosa. Of course, I had no idea how famous they were. For the next five to seven years, I played many wonderful roles and then acting really started getting into my system.

play many great characters in dream roles on stage, film, and television. I played Anwar Sadat, Patrice Lumumba, and even a character from another planet in Enemy Mine, to name a few. I am very grateful to have been accepted by an international group of people worldwide.

What is something that has surprised you about yourself? The thing that has surprised me the most is that as an actor, I have the ability to go right into character. I can be in front of a lot of people and go right into a character. I go and hide in those characters and in between some of them. This was all something I was a natural at, but my studies where I learned my craft was at the Actor's Studio with people like Eli Kazan and a lot of others. They gave me the instrument to go deep into the character. If I had to play a juvenile delinquent, I became a juvenile delinquent. I became anything I needed to become. I have also done a lot of Shakespeare and submerged myself involuntarily into those characters.

Are there any charities or causes that impassion you? Yes. The elimination of racism of all kinds. The name of my foundation is called ERacism. It's known internationally. The goal is to remove from existence the belief that one race is superior to another and remove racism of all kinds. We must do it together. If we don't, we're all going to lose.

Is there a role you've always wanted to play, never had the chance to, and still yearn to do so? I always wanted to play Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, Ghana's first president, and Othello. Over the years, I have gotten a chance to play

Most people don't know that you are also a singer/ songwriter. Do you find time to jam or record music? And, given the opportunity, is there someone with whom you'd like to perform and collaborate? Yes, I still play and write music. I have one album that's about 30 years old called From Me to You. I have written over 200 songs. The first song I wrote with my friend Richie Havens, a great folk singer, was called Handsome Johnny. I played guitar. It was during the time when all the folk artists were making a name for themselves. Richie and I were on our way to Woodstock to perform. We had to take a helicopter to get there because the traffic was terrible with all the people heading there. Richie's first song at Woodstock was Handsome Johnny, an antiwar song. I got goosebumps because he was singing my song first! It's on an album called Mixed Bag. The residuals from that song kept me from being homeless in California. I received the check for $70,000 on the same day I was being evicted. So basically, my music, and a song I wrote about war, kept me from being homeless in the streets. Regarding an artist I'd like to collaborate with, I'm looking forward to working with Stevie Wonder one day. Even though he doesn't know that I'm a singer/songwriter, I'd still very much like for that to happen.

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What is God to you? And, how do you experience God every day in your life? My great-grandmother raised me. She was from the south. She believed so much in God and knew that sometimes I didn't. She said some very important words to me that have stayed with me my whole life, "whenever nothing is wrong, everything goes wrong. You believe in God. And he will deliver you." I pray because there have been some negatives in my life, and I have found that I need to pray bad stuff away. On a daily basis, prayer helps me to know the difference between the devil and God. When I listen, everything is fine. When I don't, it's not fine. What's needed now for us at a soul level to raise our vibration? We need to drop the conflicts. Whatever we were raised with, the prejudices towards other cultures and races, we have to drop it all. The resentments, the stuff that makes us cry or get us upset, we've got to throw it away because the only thing we have left is one another. We have to love one another. God has sent us a gauntlet, and that gauntlet is a pandemic. The only way we can defeat it is if we do it together. Are there any sage words you'd like to impart on the youth of today? We need to drop the conflicts. Whatever we were raised with, the prejudices towards other cultures and races, we have to drop it all. The resentments, the stuff that makes us cry or get us upset, we've 18 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM e APRIL 2022

got to throw it away because the only thing we have left is one another. We have to love one another. God has sent us a gauntlet, and that gauntlet is a pandemic. The only way we can defeat it is if we do it together. Are there any sage words you'd like to impart on the youth of today? My motto to young people is, 'there is no such thing as impossible.' And 'whatever you do, do it for the benefit of the whole family.' What's next for you? I'm at a different point in my life, so I'm being offered some wonderful age-appropriate roles, and I'm having a great time playing them. It's a good time in my life. I'm busy with my foundation E-Racism, and my Podcast, called For What It's Worth. And because of that, I'm being received by these young people in universities. They put their cell phones away and let me speak for 15 minutes about this critical issue. I enjoy it a lot. I'm having a second career with it. And, of course, I continue to play my music. And I'm open to whatever God has in store. Special Thanks to: Louis Gossett Jr. Photography: Ben Rollins The Cuban images Sergio Navarretta

"Childhood convinced me even today that we need one another desperately for mutual salvation."

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Monique Morales, Actress

Ben Rollins is an award-winning photographer and artist, driven by a passion for documenting people of all backgrounds and places in hopes of bringing everyone a little closer together. John Song, Musician and Content Creater www.tfv.work

He attended Savannah College of Art & Design in Atlanta, GA, receiving an MFA in Photography and graduating as Excelsus Laureate, the highest honor given for graduate studies. Ben's work has been exhibited in Los Angeles, New York, and across the southeast. Rollins has worked with publications and organizations such as The Guardian, The New York Times, Turner Broadcasting, Fast Company, American Cancer Society, and Google, to name a few. Long-term projects have taken him worldwide, where he documents international humanitarian work.

Lauren Nossett, Author of The Resemblance

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Ben currently resides in Atlanta with his wife, three adventurous kids, and two golden retrievers, Winnie & Junebug.

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Life is your Creation

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Photo by FRANCESCO TOMMASINI & MOURAD SAADI

THE LAUGHTER OF CHILDREN, THE ROAR OF THE OCEAN:

CONCLUDING THOUGHTS AND QUESTIONS By John Wiseman

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he questions and ideas explored in this book have been informed by many hundreds of conversations with family, friends, and colleagues about hope and courage, meaning and purpose, wisdom and action in an increasingly harsh and threatening climate. Some of my earliest conversations back in 2005 were with climate scientists. Here, they said, have a close look at these graphs. Look at how fast these emissions are rising and how fast the ice is melting. And if you find our data a little dry, we suggest you watch this hurricane forming in the Gulf of Mexico. Katrina, it’s called. Hurricane Katrina. The images of families stranded on the rooves of their flooded homes as rising water surged through New Orleans were certainly confronting. As were the thousands of deaths from the unprecedented European heatwaves of 2006 and 2007. The 2007 IPCC 4th Assessment report confirms the role of human activity in triggering catastrophic climate tipping points. Cyclone Nargis sweeping through Bangladesh and Myanmar in 2008, killing over 100,000 people. Then in February 2009, far closer to home, the searing, 45-degree heat of Black Saturday with bushfires roaring through the hills and towns just north of Melbourne. OK, I agreed, climate action was clearly an urgent priority and an essential basis for handing on to our grandchildren a world at least as full of opportunities as the planet full of wonders on which I have been fortunate enough to be born. If we did not take decisive action by 2015 – perhaps 2020 at the latest – we would surely be in deep trouble. My questions at that time were focused most of all on the possibility of swift and decisive action. Did we have the technological and financial capacity to reduce emissions at the scale and speed required to prevent catastrophic climate change? The answer to this question was clearly yes—renewable energy from the sun and wind replacing coal and gas and oil.

Energy efficiency and electrification are driving down energy demand and emissions from our cars and industries, and houses. Regenerative farming and low carbon land use. The news all seemed extremely positive, with the cost of all these possibilities falling at remarkable speed. Except, of course, that emissions kept rising, global temperatures kept increasing, and the storms and floods and fires kept getting worse. The focus of my conversations began to shift from technological and financial to social and political challenges and obstacles. How could we avoid being overwhelmed and paralyzed as we came to fully understand the wealth and power of the mining, media, and finance corporations fueling and driving the politics of climate action denial and delay? And how could we align strategies for overcoming injustice and oppression with the actions and timetables required to achieve emergency speed emission reductions? The responses from climate activists, scientists, and policymakers were again remarkably consistent. Visionary and courageous leadership. Skillful communication of the most rigorous scientific evidence. The election of governments firmly committed to swift and decisive action. Massive, broadly based citizen mobilization and civil disobedience. Disruptive divestment and transformational technological and social innovation. All of these ideas and strategies will surely continue to make crucial contributions to further accelerating the transition to a just and resilient zero-carbon economy. None of them have, however, yet triggered transformational change at sufficient speed and scale. Global temperature increases of 4 degrees, and more are rapidly coming into view. So now that we have arrived in this age of consequences, we face another daunting question. What sources of wisdom and insight can strengthen our capacity to take courageous and effective action and to live meaningful and creative lives in a world of rapidly accelerating climatic and ecological risks?

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Photo by VENCAV/ADOBE STOCK

There are times, in reflecting on my responses to this question and in visualizing the content of this book, when I imagine all the friends and colleagues; scientists and activists; teachers and writers; poets and artists whose ideas and voices I have drawn on gathered together in respectful and intense debate. All the speakers are passionate and well-informed; the conversations spark and crackle with fierce, urgent energy. I turn first to my friends and colleagues from Indigenous and First Nation communities. We might usefully begin, they note, by remembering and honouring the histories of the lands on which we gather, the stories of our people and the legacies of colonialism and dispossession which have led us to this place. Climate justice is, therefore, one of the first propositions we should bring to the table. For the principle of climate justice to be more than hollow words, we will need to see substantive actions which fully acknowledge and address the sources and consequences of violence and injustice. Principles and practices of care, compassion, and respect will also be foundational: care and respect for the country, for all the creatures with whom we share this world; and for all the human beings who will follow after us. While acknowledging the wisdom of this opening contribution my colleagues from the world of science and technology; approach the question from another direction. We would like, they say to foreground the power of scientific evidence 26 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM eAPRIL 2022

analyzed through rigorous research and knowledge crystallized from data in the crucible of critical reason. Speaking truth to power with honesty and skill about the causes and consequences of the threats we face and the actions we need to take to overcome them. All of this sounds eminently reasonable. But how I wonder do they maintain their own emotional resilience in facing tough truths about the future which their evidence tells them is increasingly likely? Here the responses are more complicated and more varied. Remembering and trusting in the disruptive, game-changing power of ingenuity, creativity, and innovation is sometimes enough. And also dancing, meditation, art, and music; working together in the garden; the kindness, warmth, and joy of family and friends; walking the old dog by the ocean, watching the horizon as the waves keep rolling in. My climate activist friends seem less convinced by the promise and power of reason and innovation. Listen to science and accelerate technological innovation. Of course. There are indeed many impressive examples of the human capacity for creativity and inventiveness to overcome disease and hunger, suffering, and injustice. But how do we deploy data and evidence and reason with the speed and skill required to accelerate just and inclusive emission reduction strategies while avoiding the delusional hubris that there are always technical solutions to every problem? The historical examples that my activist colleagues turn to most of all for encouragement and

inspiration are stories of solidarity and fellowship, comradeship and reciprocity where ethically informed collective action has achieved transformational change, which once looked completely impossible: the anti-slavery movement, the Suffragettes, the overthrow of Apartheid, the fall of the Berlin Wall. More recently, School Strike 4 Climate, Pacific Climate Warriors, Extinction Rebellion, The Sunrise Movement, and Black Lives Matter. And also, crucially the struggles of Indigenous peoples in Australia and New Zealand, Canada and the United States, Bolivia and Brazil for land rights, Justice, and self-determination.

And also these abiding gifts: the laughter of children; the comfort of old friends; sunlight on the water; the wind in the trees; the silence of mountains; the roar of the ocean. An extract from Hope and Courage in the Climate Crisis by John Wiseman, published by Palgrave Macmillan, soft cover: $29.99

I am joined then by teachers and scholars from a wide array of spiritual and faith-based traditions and perspectives. The first foundational steps they suggest in times of suffering and despair are thankfulness and gratitude. Honouring and celebrating the astonishing, complex beauty of life on earth is an abiding source of strength and inspiration. Awareness and understanding of the fragile impermanence of our dewdrop world is also a constant reminder of our shared responsibility to keep paying attention, to keep turning up, to hold the line, and to keep nurturing and sustaining relationships and practices of kindness and compassion; Justice, love, and care. I turn finally to the critical theorists and writers, artists and designers who can help us imagine and create the ecologically informed paradigms and practices of resilience and regeneration we will need to navigate the wild landscapes of the long emergency. Good companions who can help us to more clearly see the patterns and textures of our interwoven world and to understand and confront the ignorance, violence, and greed threatening to tear this delicate fabric apart. Experienced guides who can assist us make well-informed and well-considered choices about pathways we should choose and places we should land. Thoughtful teachers who can help us learn the art of living well in dangerous, uncertain times, remembering that the world is always full of surprises and the future is never entirely settled. These then are some of the ideas and insights, strategies, and practices which help me answer the questions I have set myself. What sources of wisdom can strengthen our capacity to take courageous and effective action and to live meaningful lives in a world of rapidly accelerating climatic and ecological risks? Emergency speed, science-based collective action. Justice and care; respect and reciprocity. Reason, ingenuity, and technology. Attentiveness and thankfulness, kindness, and compassion. Joyfulness and beauty; creativity and imagination.

John Wiseman is a research fellow at the Melbourne Sustainable Society Institute and the Climate and Energy College, University of Melbourne, Australia. His current research and policy work focuses on strategies for restoring a safe climate and accelerating the transition to a just and resilient zero-carbon society. Hope and Courage in the Climate crisis: Wisdom and Action in the Long Emergency is a must read for anyone coming to terms with the climate crisis that the scientists tell us we cannot avoid in the coming decades. This generous book is leading the way forward, beyond the existing apocalyptic climate change literature, to offer hope and tangible solutions underpinned by a faith in humanity’s interminable capacity for restoration.”

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THE

94TH OSCARS®

ACADEMY AWARDS Biggest night in Hollywood

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All photo courtesy of ©A.M.P.A.S.® 33 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM e APRIL 2022

ACE EDDIE AWARDS

The 72nd Annual ACE Eddie Awards were presented by American Cinema Editors (ACE) in the historic Mary Pickford Theatre located inside the ACE Hotel, in downtown Los Angeles, on March 5th. The Eddie's recognize outstanding editing in 14 categories of film, television, and documentaries. In addition to the announcement of winners, American Cinema Editors also awarded the prestigious ACE Golden Eddie Award to the Sundance Institute. The Sundance Film Festival is the largest independent film festival in the United States and takes place every January in Park City, Utah. Many newcomers have received their first big break at the festival, including Quentin Tarantino, Steven Soderbergh, Robert Rodriguez, to name a select few. And many of the films first screened there went on to receive Oscar nominations. To accept the award was Michelle Satter, founding director, who was handed the award by two-time Oscar® winner and 2021 ACE Eddie nominee Chloe Zhao. Film editors Lillian E. Benson, ACE, and Richard Chew, ACE, received Career Achievement Awards for their outstanding contributions to film editing with long-time collaborators Debbie Allen presenting to Benson and Emilio Estevez presenting to Chew. Additional presenters during the event included 2021 Oscar® nominees Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson ("Summer of Soul"), Andy Garcia, writer/director/producer Danny Strong ("Dopesick" creator) and Peter Sarsgaard, director Reinaldo Marcus Green ("King Richard"), Morgan Cooper "Bel-Air" creator), Adrian Holmes ("Bel-Air") actor Tom Byth ("The Gilded Age," "Billy The Kid"), Emmy® winner Steve Young and actor Nick Wechsler ("The Boys," "Revenge"), The event was hosted by DJ Lance Rock and presided over by ACE President Kevin Tent, ACE. 34 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM e APRIL 2022

Reinaldo Marcus Green, Director of "King Richard", Golden Eddie Award Recipient, The Sundance Institute - Michelle Satter, and Oscar winning director, Chloe Zhao

Debbie Allen and Career Achievement Award Recipient Lillian E. Benson ACE

Winners of Ace Eddie Award 2022 BEST EDITED FEATURE FILM (DRAMATIC):

Career Achievement Award Recipient, Richard Chew ACE and Emilio Estevez Myron I. Kerstein, ACE and Andrew Weisblum, ACE

Joshua L. Pearson and Ahmir "QuestLove" Thompson

Peter Saarsgard, Jabez Olssen, and Danny Strong

About American Cinema Editors American Cinema Editors (ACE) is an honorary society of motion picture editors founded in 1950. Film editors are voted into membership on the basis of their professional achievements, their dedication to the education of others, and their commitment to the craft of editing. The objectives and purposes of the AMERICAN CINEMA EDITORS are to advance the art and science of the editing profession; to increase the entertainment value of motion pictures by attaining artistic preeminence and scientific achievement in the creative art of editing; to bring into close alliance those editors who desire to advance the prestige and dignity of the editing profession. ACE produces several annual events, including EditFest (an international editing festival), Invisible Art/Visible Artists (the annual panel of Oscar® nominated editors), and the ACE Eddie Awards. The organization publishes a quarterly magazine, CinemaEditor, highlighting the art, craft, and business of editing and editors.

Pamela Martin ACE

Amy E. Duddleston, ACE, Nick Wechsler

Host DJ Lance Rock

King Richard, Pamela Martin, ACE BEST EDITED FEATURE FILM (COMEDY): tick, tick…BOOM! Myron Kerstein, ACE, Andrew Weisblum, ACE BEST EDITED ANIMATED FEATURE FILM: Encanto, Jeremy Milton, ACE BEST EDITED DOCUMENTARY (FEATURE): Summer of Soul...Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised, Joshua L. Pearson BEST EDITED DOCUMENTARY (NON-THEATRICAL): The Beatles: Get Back "Episode 3", Jabez Olssen BEST EDITED SINGLECAMERA COMEDY SERIES: Hacks "1.69 Million" Susan Vaill, ACE BEST EDITED DRAMA SERIES: Succession "All the Bells Say" Ken Eluto, ACE BEST EDITED MOTION PICTURE (NON-THEATRICAL): Oslo, Jay Rabinowitz, ACE BEST EDITED LIMITED SERIES: Mare of Easttown "Illusions" Amy E. Duddleston, ACE BEST EDITED NON-SCRIPTED SERIES: Formula 1: Drive to Survive "Man on Fire" Dan Ablett, Kevin Austin, Otto Burnham, Shane McCormack, Graham Taylor BEST EDITED MULTI-CAMERA COMEDY SERIES: Kevin Can.....Himself "Live Free or Die" Daniel Schalk, ACE and Joseph Fulton BEST EDITED VARIETY TALK/ SKETCH SHOW OR SPECIAL: Bo Burnham: Inside, Bo Burnham BEST EDITED ANIMATION (NON-THEATRICAL): Bob's Burgers "Vampire Disco Death Dance" Jeremy Reuben ANNE V. COATES AWARD FOR STUDENT EDITING: Guanqing Lin - American Film Institute 35 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM e APRIL 2022

H The

uman

Experience: SPIRITUAL LIFE WITHIN THE VESSEL By Sally Gallot-Reeves

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piritually, reincarnation represents our conscious choice to purposefully be of service on earth to create and bring forth enlightenment. Your soul is you and therefore reincarnates the true essence of who you are. With each lifetime, we have the opportunity to experience illumination, ascending levels of understanding, and expansion associated with our soul's purpose. In the Ethereal… We choose life's purpose, and our soul emerges past the veil to be physically alive on the earth. Most often, we do not remember the ethereal plane. The veil closes in an amnesiac episode to allow us to be fully present as human beings, to engage in all aspects of human life with all life forms. We are given the opportunity to rediscover our authentic self as we evolve and aspire to be one with Spirit. You don't have a soul…. You are a soul. You have a body, temporarily ~Walter M. Miller Jr. In the Physical/Spiritual… In this phase of our life, the world inside of us becomes a dynamic network of vibrational communication and interpretation, channeling thoughts and messages. Energy flows to us and through us, which we utilize to grow, experience, and further develop. We expand in many dimensions, always trying to create a world we wish to live in. Conscious thoughts become our reality. Our connection with Spirit becomes our lifeline. We develop, experience, and expand as physical, mindful, spiritual beings. Our bodies are holy vessels that house our souls so we may live on the earthly plane. The body requires nourishment, respect, healing, and activities that promote its optimal functioning. We are the stewards, the caretakers, responsible for our care. Our body and mind are our connections with the physical world, while our Spirit connects us to the Ethereal/the universe. We go through our sacred heart to Spirit and to access our soul garden. In the Transitional… When the human body can no longer support our biological needs, it weakens and physically experiences death. Death is the final transition in an episode of one human lifetime, while our soul ascends to incorporate again into the Ethereal.

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Transition is a passage of change. Each human life experiences many transitions in each life on earth. Transitions bridge episodes of learnings with levels of maturity, allowing us to evolve again. In transition, we have the opportunity to release that which no longer serves us: emotions, choices, regrets, sadness. In transition, we become free to engage in new beginnings. We are able to create through recreation who we desire to be. The three phases of life, the Ethereal, the Physical/ Spiritual, and the Transitional, are continuing passageways for us to enter new dimensions of a spiritual being in human form. Possibilities are endless. We create our own reality and, therefore, the journey. Spiritual Life Within the Vessel There are three integrated forms of life energy within our human vessel: the Mind, the Body, and the Spirit. The body is a temple, a holy place that is made in the image of our creator. It is a miraculous work of art, structure, and function that nourishes our physical being and mind. The human body is a universe unto itself, wherein every organ, vessel, muscle, nerve, tissue, bone, and cell has specific capabilities and purpose. Before we were born, we were designed. Conception begins a series of miraculous processes as unique strands of infinitesimal DNA weave complex codes, the blueprints to build our structure, gender, and interconnectedness. Everything is symmetrical, balanced, and woven by Divine Plan. There is nothing by chance. In our earliest form, the embryo follows specific stages of formation, yet each of us is a unique individual. Each phase of our development enhances growth so we can functionally utilize all capabilities we are blessed with. Within the body, there are specific elements that act as messengers and receivers to initiate responses that promote optimum health and physiological balance. The mind is credited with being our primary source of intelligence. Through thinking, reasoning, and understanding, we determine our thoughts, behaviors, and actions. The Brain is an organ of the body, dense tissue and matter, which conducts and transmits signals to stimulate actions. The Mind is the culmination of that connectedness, interpreting and instructing our body actively and passively, voluntarily and involuntarily to optimize its collective reasoning.

Emotions are the products of sensory perception. Sensory receptors transmit signals through our bodies to be interpreted by the mind. Emotions are powerful stimulators of feelings. Feelings embed impressions that influence the way in which we react to sensory stimuli now and in the future. Emotions are often described as another dimension of self, an additional layer to mind~body~spirit. Different from the physical characteristics of our being, emotions begin to bridge vibrational frequencies from mind to heart, the entry to Spirit. It is through emotion that we embody the physical and mindful aspects of the world and discover the meaning they hold for our lives. Emotions frequently override logic and objectivity. The release of past emotional patterns is essential in becoming an enlarged self, the self we are meant to be.

finding your inner truth…. it has been trying to find you all your lifetimes. There are no expectations with knowing beyond its own truth. Spiritual life within the vessel integrates mind-bodyspirit into one unifying form. As integrated beings we are capable of discovering and knowing our truth and purpose.

The mind stores memory and knowledge and is an important source of learning by converting experiences into perceived reality. These perceptions and inferences guide choices, communications, behaviors, and actions. In the earthly plane, we use our minds as a navigational tool to effectively manage the physical self. Beyond ourselves, we can open our minds to receive guidance and messages from the flow of Divine Energy channeled to us. When we accept this limitless gift, the universe is able to assist us in envisioning and creating that which we desire. The Spirit is one with our higher self, our being of Light and Love within us, connecting our body and mind to greater awareness and purpose. Through our heart space, we are able to connect with Spirit and be in a place of oneness with soul, the life force energy that guides our journey and reveals all that is, all that has been, and all that will be. When we are with Spirit, we are in unity with the whole, one as infinite one. There are things we believe and things we know. The understanding, attachment, and power we give each word, believing and knowing, create commitments and expectations of ourselves and others. I Believe ….. is an act of the mind. It conveys a level of confidence upon the subject, and as a result, there is a level of faith that is generated. There is an expectation that something will come forward, something in return. I Know… is an act of the Spirit. To know is an embodiment of truth without doubt or distance. Knowing is

Sally Gallot-Reeves is a spiritual gardener planting seeds. Her life's work is dedicated to promoting the highest good for all individuals, animals, and nature kingdoms. Through her writing, she reveals her innermost thoughts and feelings to nurture and guide readers to their own discoveries and awareness. Sally believes compassion, love, and acceptance are the foundations to our living in harmony and unity. She credits her years in nursing service to illuminating her heart and mind to the core needs of all people, the sacredness of life, and her dedication to bringing Divine Light and Love into the world. Her published works include Behind the Open Door: The Book of Light, the story of a highly gifted and telepathic child and her magical adventures navigating a world she doesn't understand; and Between Shifts, a She is the author of the Soul Garden Pathway website, where she pens daily blessings out into the world that offer hope and insight into life's challenges. She currently lives in New Hampshire.

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First known entangled right whale birth in unfamiliar waters brings renewed call for policy change When a 17-year old North Atlantic right whale dubbed "Snow Cone" was spotted off the coast of Georgia in early December, an aerial tram from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission noticed something different. Besides being entangled under the weight of 20 feet of heavy rope trailing from the left side of her mouth, she amazingly had a newborn calf by her side. In fact, it's the first time that experts have seen a North Atlantic right whale successfully deliver a calf while entangled - encouraging news for a species that has recently seen its population fall to an estimated 336 individuals---its lowest rate in nearly 20 years and representing a nearly 10% drop since the prior year.

THE PLIGHT OF THE RIGHT WHALE

Last year, Snow Cone, unfortunately, lost her newborn calf due to a vessel collision. Though it is always encouraging to see a new whale, marine experts and scientists are currently unable to get close enough to Snow Cone to remove the remaining entangled debris, given the potential risk of injuring the newborn calf. Unless the gear is shed, the entangled mother will struggle to survive. And without the mother, the young newborn calf will not make it. The iconic right whale species by Kathleen Collins, Marine Campaign was largely responsible for the Manager at the International Fund for initial economic success of east Animal Welfare (IFAW) coast communities hundreds of years ago when their numbers reached the tens of thousands. Unfortunately, the North Atlantic right whale population has undergone a cataclysmic decline, setting the species on the track for functional extinction in the near future if the current trend continues. Organizations such as the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) and working together with fishermen, coastal communities, and concerned citizens to take action.

MOTHER "SNOW CONE" AND NEWBORN CALF'S STRUGGLE TO SURVIVE

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IFAW leads a comprehensive campaign across the US and Canada to protect this once thriving species by addressing the two primary causes of right whale decline, entanglement and vessel collisions – both threats are completely human-driven. This includes advocating for the adoption of cutting-edge ropeless technology that reduces the risk of entanglement and provides fishermen the opportunity to maintain their livelihoods and fishing traditions and pushing for stricter vessel speed restrictions (i.e., speed limits). This is complemented by fierce advocacy for the passage of critical legislation that can prioritize the conservation of the species. Snow Cone is one of many right

THE RIGHT WHALE IS AN INTEGRAL PART OF RICH CULTURAL HISTORY AND MUST BE ACKNOWLEDGED IF IT HAS ANY CHANCE OF BEING SAVED whales to be entangled by hundreds of pounds of commercial fishing gear - leaving her unable to move freely due to chronic stress and injury; the chance for survival is extremely low unless she's able to free herself of the gear (unlikely) or unless that gear is removed. Alarmingly, over 85% of North Atlantic right whales show signs of being entangled at least once in their lifetimes, and if left untreated, many experience a slow and excruciatingly painful death from drowning, starvation, or injury. This is an immediate and urgent threat that can and must be addressed. As referenced above, one solution to this critical problem is the use of "ropeless" fishing gear. Ropeless fishing is an innovative technology that removes the need for vertical lines in the water, except during the moment of active retrieval, therefore dramatically reducing the risk of entanglement. IFAW is actively working with fishermen to test and fund this gear, a solution that protects the right whales from entanglement while preserving the livelihoods of fishermen. By advocating for federal and state funding and legislation, IFAW seeks to facilitate a transition to ropeless fishing that allows fishermen to offer consumers a whalesafe seafood product. According to recent

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focus groups, seafood consumers revealed an intuitive sense that the government is responsible for helping to support fishermen's adoption of ropeless fishing gear - IFAW is working to make that a reality. The right whale is an integral part of rich cultural history and must be acknowledged if it has any chance of being saved. We have a very small window of opportunity to give the North Atlantic right whale, including Snow Cone and her newborn calf, a chance to thrive. One easy step is simply to become aware that this species exists and to demand better from the industry. If consumers now demand "dolphin-safe tuna," by the same token, there should be a demand for industry to deliver "whale-safe lobster". We also encourage consumers to take action now by downloading the WhaleAlert app and using citizen science to help reduce lethal whale ship strikes worldwide. Will we bring this iconic species back from the brink and acknowledge our implicit responsibility of stewardship? Humans have caused this problem, and it is up to us to fix it.

IFAW (International Fund for Animal Welfare) The International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) is global non-profit helping animals, and people thrive together. We are experts and everyday people, working across seas, oceans, and in more than 40 countries around the world. We rescue, rehabilitate, and release animals, restoring and protecting their natural habitats. The problems we're up against are urgent and complicated. To solve them, we match fresh thinking with bold action. We partner with local communities, governments, non-governmental organizations, and businesses. Together, we pioneer new and innovative ways to help all species flourish. See how at ifaw.org.

Spiritual Growth Checkpoint: By Sherri Cortland, ND

EARTH DAY17ISEASY-TO-DO EVERYTHINGS DAY TO HELP OUR PLANET

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n 1970, when Earth Day was first started, it seemed like a radical idea; and while many of us hoped it would be the beginning of a paradigm change where we would all start working together for the health of our beloved planet, it really hasn’t worked out that way.

Not when weighed against helping the planet by reducing my daily footprint.

In April 2014, I wrote a column for this magazine with the same title like this one, and I asked the question, “Are you doing everything we can to help our planet?” That was eight years ago, and with Earth Day 2022 upon us, I will ask the question again:

Here are some recycling and additional tips that I recently found online at www.believe.

Are we doing everything we can to help our planet? I believe that as individuals, and especially as Lightworkers, we can do more. Looking after the health and well-being of our planet isn’t something to think about one day of the year. It’s something that we must attune and accustom ourselves to doing every day so that we can make a difference and help save our planet. There is more we can do to help our planet than separate out the plastic in our garbage. From an evolutionary, raising the vibrational level of our planet point of view, we can help our planet by becoming more aware of what we’re personally putting into the atmosphere. Watching our thoughts, words, and actions while focusing on the here and now will help us spew out less negative energy. Creating a mindset and intention to circulate positive energy is a great thing to do for our own spiritual growth and for the evolution of planet Earth. Another mindset and intention worth creating is to do at least one nice thing for our planet every single day. Small things add up; for example--over the last few years, I’ve made several adjustments in the products I purchase based on the amount of and type of packaging they come in. I switched to my favorite orange juice brand because it only comes in plastic bottles. The same with my little vegetarian frozen dinner entrees--If they come in plastic, I don’t buy them anymore. You get the idea. Did it hurt giving up food and drink that I really like?

Another thing that we can all do reduce the formation of plastic islands is to bring our own cloth bags into every store where we’re shopping, not just the grocery store.

Earth and through other sources that might help us all do a little more for our planet a little bit at a time, and on a daily basis… • To avoid wasting water, wash your recyclables with the water you use to wash the dishes or use already-used napkins or paper towels to wipe out the items before putting them in the recycle bin. • If you can compost, do it. Compostable waste makes up 50% of all solid waste, fills up landfills, and produces methane gas. • Stop crumpling up paper. The more intact paper is, the more money it’s worth because the cellulose fibers are stronger, increasing the number of times it can be recycled. • Don’t put paper that can’t be recycled in your bin, i.e.; plasticized paper, credit card receipts, supermarket receipts, carbon paper, pizza boxes, and used paper napkins and paper towels. • Eat more plant-based “meat.” In Michelle Crouch’s article, “Serving up the Sizzle on Plant-Based Meat,” she notes that while many meatless manufacturers don’t disclose their total emissions, research indicates that they generate a lot fewer greenhouse gases compared to their meat equivalents. Crouch writes that “One study found that Beyond Burger uses 99% less water, 93% less land, and nearly 50% less energy than making a quarter-pound of beef does. • Before you throw your paper into the bin, take a look and see if you can use the backs for scrap paper; maybe even make little scrap paper pads for yourself. • Clear glass is easier to recycle than colored glass. Avoid colored glass and long neck bottles whenever possible—the processes to recycle them are complex and expensive.

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ARE WE DOING EVERYTHING WE CAN TO HELP OUR PLANET? I BELIEVE THAT AS INDIVIDUALS, AND ESPECIALLY AS LIGHTWORKERS, WE CAN DO MORE

Try the new plant-based meat replacement foods that are out there. • The more plant-based products we eat, the more we’re helping the planet. • Recycle your old cell phones. They will sit in the dump for years as their batteries exude toxic substances. There are lots of great organizations looking for cell phones—do a quick search online and see what turns up. Shop in your closet. My friend’s Mom, who lives in Germany, shared that in Germany, many make it a point to wear what they already own rather than frequently buying new clothes. A little research turned this up www.planetaid.org: •

Cans are recyclable and much better than bottles when it comes to recycling. Try to leave the little tabs on the cans. I’ve just finished talking my husband into buying drinks in cans instead of plastic bottles. He liked the bottles because he could re-cap them and finish the drink at another time. How did I win this argument? I found lids for cans that maintain the fizz in the fridge overnight. • Toothpaste containers: Squeeze out every last drop and then recycle the tube. They are made from a type of plastic. • Let’s talk about Styrofoam: Styrofoam, like the kind that comes packed around electronics, is recyclable. It has monetary value, and the process for recycling it is affordable. Those polystyrene trays that meat, fish, and vegetables come wrapped in have a low monetary value and are expensive to recycle. Use a mug or glass instead of Styrofoam cups. • Reuse gift bags and wrapping paper. • Shop at Garage and Yard sales & have Garage and Yard sales of your own—save and make money while saving space in our landfills. • If you must buy bottled water, buy a brand that uses recycled plastic for its bottles. Even better is to use a permanent water bottle. Use cotton swabs with a paperboard spindle—avoid the ones made of plastic. • According to www.50waystohelp.com, If 10% of households switched to a paperboard spindle, the petroleum energy saved would be equivalent to over 150,000 gallons of gasoline.

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“When clothes end up in landfills, they create greenhouse gases, so recycling them…helps diminish the forces that contribute to climate change. Reusing the fabric in old clothes means [using] fewer resources, both monetary and environmental, [that] are wasted in growing fiber for new ones.”

The important thing is to get started. Start by incorporating what you can from the above list; Take a look at how you currently do things, see how you can make small improvements, and share ways to help our planet become healthy again with your friends and family. The more we each do, the better off our planet will be—for our children and grandchildren and for us.

Sherri Cortland has been communicating with her Guide Group, the “GG,” since 1987 via automatic writing. Much of the information she has received is included in her four books, which were originally published by Ozark Mountain Publishing and are currently available on her website and on Amazon. On Sherri’s website, you will find several free classes and meditations, along with more articles and workshops on video. https://www.facebook.com/SherriCortlandAuthor

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Photo by MARGARITA TIMOFEEVA/ADOBE STOCK

Celebrated Spiritual Elder, Shaman, and Healer don Alberto Taxo Shares Simple Approaches for Building a Reciprocal Relationship with Nature.

Photo by Microgen/ADOBE STOCK

Recognized as a master yachak, don Alberto Taxo is a celebrated spiritual elder, shaman, and healer of the pre-Inca Atik (Kichwa) people from the Andes Mountains of Ecuador. He has been sharing ancient Andean shamanic wisdom and practices in the United States for more than 20 years—his personal quest to fulfill the Andean prophecy that the Eagle and the Condor will fly together in the same sky in harmony.

THE WAY OF

Abundance and Joy By Shirley Blancke 50 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM e APRIL 2022

Written with don Alberto’s permission and as further fulfillment of the Eagle-Condor prophecy, this book shares don Alberto’s teachings and his simple approaches for building a reciprocal relationship with nature, centered on Sumak Kausay, the way of joy and abundance. As a yachak, a shaman of the elements, don Alberto shows how to relate to and receive help from nature. When we are connected with nature on an emotional and spiritual level it creates joy that is deeply healing and can be accessed during life’s difficulties. The book discusses traditional Ecuadorian shamanic beliefs and practices, including Andean Inca cosmology; how to connect with plants, animals, air, fire, and water in sacred springs, the ocean, or your shower; and Inca concepts like pacha, the space-time era in which we live that is now transitioning to a new one of connection and love after 500 years. The book explores don Alberto’s upbringing in a family of yachaks, his initiation, and his assumption of the role of shaman for his community. It also includes reflections and essays from don Alberto’s students and others who have worked with him, including shamanic teachers Itzhak Beery and John Perkins, showing how he influenced their lives and awakened them to the path of Sumak Kausay, Abundant Life.

THE SHAMANIC TEACHINGS OF DON ALBERTO TAXO

Sumak Kausay, Abundant Life The Condor gift that don Alberto brings to the lands of the Eagle is Sumak Kausay, which means Abundant Life in Kichwa. It is the indigenous Andes' basic principle of living. It requires a kind of awareness, a living in the moment that entails a deep ability to feel connected to what is around us and appreciate the gifts nature and life bestow on us constantly. While we all have that ability, don Alberto's perception is developed more than that of most, certainly most of us who grew up in the culture of the West. What follows in this and succeeding chapters is his advice on how to live into this ability more fully.

ll of us human beings are distinct universes, with preoccupations, joys, and sadness: each of us has our own life. Because the head or the mind shoots off to one side or the other, we don't realize what we are doing. I want to talk to you about a frequency that we need to find in our lives, one that can be compared to a radio frequency we tune in to. Like radios, we human beings have frequencies also, and at times we tune in to anger and at others' sadness or euphoria. What we need to do is find a frequency that tunes in to what in Spanish is called conciencia (awareness); to find that frequency that allows each one of us to know what we are doing, to feel when the wind touches us, to feel every movement of our bodies. To be at that level of awareness is to feel to be present. I don't just teach thinking, and I teach feeling: feeling when we move, consciously feeling when we breathe, feeling everything we smell, what we see or touch, feeling our heartbeat. Our brains are all the time producing sparks and neuronal connections. This is what we are going to wake up to today; we are going to feel we are alive: I am going to know how I am, what I am doing, what I am seeing, where I am, for what purpose I do things and

why I do things. We are here and now. Kaypimi kani, kaypimi kanchik (here I am, here we are). Don't behave like robots, like automatic beings. There are various levels of connection on the path; for example, to look; another is to look and listen; another to look, listen, and smell; another to look, listen, smell, and feel what you touch, feel movements, understand, and then apart from this adopt and continue this all the time in daily practice. When this is achieved, I consider that one is at the best level of connection because it is a way of life we need to continue, to flow like the Great Cosmos, Great Pachakamak. In order to receive nature's gifts, it is important to feel the elements. We can feel water, air, fire, earth. Everyone has a special element, an element with which we identify most, and this is the one with which we have to practice. Children connect rapidly because they live in permanent contact and because they are always playing. This doesn't happen to most people because they have already decided with their minds that things are serious. We may become bitter beings. I invite you to look at yourself in the mirror from time to time and pay attention to the face you have; perhaps you'll see a strong-minded face or one that makes you laugh, or you'll see you have wrinkles, or how you pucker up your muscles. The feeling is a very important attribute in our lives. Colors become more brilliant, our eyes begin to see better and with more intentionality. Life is not the way one thinks of it; life is the way it is. For this reason, we need always to give thanks for the gifts we receive every day. And when we receive these gifts from the Cosmos, we should also, in another way, return them to the Cosmos. It is very important that this should come from the heart. Our Mother Earth gives us everything we need to live in a very generous way, and we don't either say thank you or, worse, offer any gifts in return to our mother. I want to give you an example. When we go to 51 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM e APRIL 2022

a bank and take out a loan, we give back this money with some interest, and it is the same in relationships between people: one feels happy to receive and also to give, and one knows it is right when one gives more than one receives. To feel happiness is to feel gratitude for life. Many times we are blocked because we think we must give thanks with our minds, but this doesn't flow smoothly. Happiness flows naturally from people. This is a beautiful way of giving thanks: living happily is a way of giving thanks to life. The invitation is to make a fiesta out of every day of our lives. This doesn't depend on a calendar: it is in each one of us. We don't need a government decree; we just need to be awake and say to our minds and hearts, this is another day to celebrate, and then our minds will say, what are you going to celebrate?

Photo by GAJUS/ADOBE STOCK

There are many things we can celebrate every day: the new day, one in which we may walk, feel; we can appreciate the sunset, we can drink when we feel thirsty and feel refreshed, we can make love and be loved, we can talk, laugh; all of this is gratitude, and all we human beings are doing it, but we don't realize it because for our minds these are not ways of giving thanks. What is loveliest is when our minds also enter into this circle of gratitude, when our minds understand that we are giving thanks with all our feelings and every part of our bodies: when we talk, cook, play, laugh, walk, eat, even when we give thanks for crying, when we sleep, and when we rest.

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To exist is a great gift. In other philosophies, when they speak of ecstasy, it is no other than this feeling of plenty and harmony, of happiness to be prolonged for as long as possible. In Kichwa, we call it Sumak Kausay, a life fully expanded, the fullness of feeling. I could die now, and that would be alright. In the same way that expressions of gratitude are offered when we feel things, in the same way, love arises, love toward oneself, and much love towards people one's eyes see as well as those they don't. When we experiment with this feeling of gratitude and love, there is happiness. Happiness is not an objective we must reach for but a continual expression: it is feelings from within and for what we receive from without. Happiness exists and happens. And happiness is linked to giving thanks, including giving thanks for difficult moments and for people who harm us, because this allows us to fly higher, to feel more, and have greater clarity and love. In these times many people need to receive special gifts. But they cannot receive them because they are full of things that no longer serve them, and as a result, they lose themselves. Many people carry too much baggage that has become unnecessary. The mind thinks we need to be weighed down with many things, but we need to keep in mind that if we were going to ascend a mountain, the more baggage we took, the more difficult it would be. Also, we would need to be ready to jettison entirely the things we did not need to carry further. We need not carry sorrow, preoccupations, or sufferings; whatever it might be that preoccupies us, let's hand

them over and let them go. The things we need to let go of are not necessarily bad but are not useful at this time in our lives. We need to be grateful for those things that came to us at a certain time but not to hang on to them. We must say goodbye to them and allow them to leave. When we say goodbye to what preoccupies us, we will receive the things we need. Many times we suffer because we don't understand certain circumstances. Sufferings make many people come a cropper, but they don't want to let them go. The different elements, Allpa Mama (Earth), Waira mama (Wind), Nina mama (Fire), and Yaku mama (Water), help us get rid of these difficulties. There are some difficulties and diseases that water can cure; others that the wind can help to distance; others that mother earth can change; and still other problems and illnesses that fire can transform. We can let go of unnecessary baggage in many different ways, for example, through laughter. Laughter helps us leave many things behind. To be too serious doesn't allow us to let go of things. Wind is therapeutic because it helps us to clear our minds to distance ourselves from unnecessary thoughts. The wind relaxes and frees us. When we are full of disturbances and sorrows, we can try to feel the wind. We need to allow wind to cleanse our mental blocks. It can take away many things in our souls and give us the things needed, but only when we let go of the prejudicial baggage will we be able to receive the wonderful things that life wants to give us. Water frees and cleanses us from things we don't need in the same way because it too cleans us inside and allows us to flow, and it doesn't allow us to get stagnant. Fire, too, allows us to walk away from our emotions and sad situations that we may have lived in at a given moment. This prompting that sacred fire offers us enables us to give over to it all our sorrows, illnesses, sufferings, vices, and cleanse them, that is to say, burn them, get rid of this baggage we are grasping. This will be effective if we feel how the elements are working on these things, but it must not be done in a mechanical way. We have to see, feel, listen to how the elements remove these negative conditions and turn them into things that are sublime. For Earth's help, we need to lie on her, bury ourselves in her, feel her love; she too helps us be liberated from what we need to be free of.

Shirley Blancke is an archaeologist and anthropologist who for 40 years, has been reconstructing the 10,000-year-old Native history of Concord, Massachusetts, with help from Massachusetts Native Americans. She has also learned traditional sacred dance from a Hawaiian kahuna and hosted a ceremony for an Oglala Lakota medicine man. She studied shamanic traditions with Hank Wesselman for 10 years and has worked with Ecuadorian yachak don Alberto Taxo for seven years. She lives in Concord, Massachusetts. The Way of Abundance and Joy by Shirley Blancke 2021 Destiny Books. Printed with permission from the publisher Inner Traditions International. www.InnerTraditions.com

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Wit & West Perfumes is a 100% all-natural botanical perfumery focusing on rare natural ingredients and unique scents for those who don't want to smell like everyone else. Its perfumes are handcrafted entirely in-house in small batches using only the finest, high-quality 100% natural whole botanicals and naturally derived ingredients. Unique, never boring. Follow them on Instagram @witandwest.

WIT & WEST PERFUMES Wit & West Perfumes ask, Why smell like everyone else? They answer that question by offering unique and daring scents with allure and rare 100% all-natural ingredients. You’ll stand out in the best way. Take the scent quiz and find the best all-natural fragrance for you. Featuring the must-have perfumes of 2022, the collection handcrafted by Whitney Swales (aka Wit) and her husband, West, in their Colorado artisanal perfumery studio. All fragrances are small-batch designed, formulated, and bottled in-house. Everything is carefully selected, sourced, and handmade from raw materials including from the duo’s garden. Wit has had a passion for scent and the world of perfume since childhood. What began as a modest interest led to a more refined appreciation and, ultimately, her indie brand. For her, the art of perfumery is a powerful 54 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM e APRIL 2022

connection to emotions, aromas, and memories. She even offers a Bespoke Experience for custom-made fragrances to capture one’s personalized signature scent. Wit & West Perfumes include high-quality 100% natural whole botanicals and naturally-derived ingredients, including wildcrafted and organic essential oils, CO2 extracts, absolutes, naturally derived isolates, custom handmade tinctures, and enfleurage extraits. The alcohol base used in the perfumes is three-stage filtered USDA organic grape alcohol made from the finest certified organic wines and grape varietals. All offerings are cruelty-free, phthalate-free, and paraben-free. Did you know that synthetic perfumes make up more than 95% of what is on the market today? Go all-natural with Wit & West Perfumes and never smell like everyone else again.

100% ALL-NATURAL & BOTANICAL PERFUMES

CRUELTY-FREE & VEGAN

ARTISANAL HANDCRAFTED PERFUME

Brumaire Woods Eau de Parfum • A classic Fougére invoking mystery and allure at every turn. •

Lavender, peppermint, and thyme refreshingly light the way as neroli and jasmine stay alongside in peaceful stillness.

•

Tobacco and oakmoss do not disappoint delivering a rich, earthy and lingering masculinity.

•

Price: $60 (15ml bottle), $160 (50ml bottle)

Fleur du Riad Eau de Cologne • A freshly tempered and tart green mandarin opens up to reveal an elegant white floral sanctuary built by the neroli and orange blossoms of the Moroccan bitter orange tree. •

A touch of jasmine brightens the mosaic, while in the background, a luxurious oasis of vetiver and oakmoss delivers a dry-down reminiscent of a classic eau de cologne.

•

Price: $35 (15ml bottle), $90 (50ml bottle)

• Summit Rose Eau de Parfum • Mountain-crispness that transports the traditional rose into a high-altitude oasis. •

The dry-down is a tranquil walk in the forest alongside the jam-like fir balsam that lingers on when all else is quiet.

•

Price: $60 (15ml bottle), $160 (50ml bottle)

•

Trance-like and sensual, the agarwood is steadied by smoky am- • ber swirling through the parched grassland.

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Price: $60 (15ml bottle), $160 • (50ml bottle)

La Valse Eau de Parfum • A peppery opening subtly leads into caramelized vanilla before announcHabari Eau de Parfum ing the arrival of the queen of flow• A clever spice draped with the ers – the iconic rose. sweetness of clove captivates and delights. • The rose breaks from its more conventional form with a combination • Harmony follows with the floral of rose bourbon and rose absolute vibrancy of tuberose, allowing the that projects a velvety-rich floral air star – agarwood – to rise. closely shadowed by a boozy honey. The finale showcases an artisanal vanilla tincture with a dash of patchouli, ensuring only those close can detect its whisper. Price: $65 (15ml bottle)

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POWERFUL CHOICES in Each MOMENT

Elizabeth Hamilton-Guarino

ave you been struggling with change? Let's face it: Change is hard whether you're struggling with an unexpected crisis or you are trying to improve certain areas of your life.

True change can only happen when you align your heart, truths, and your energy. Master Life Coach and change facilitator Elizabeth Hamilton-Guarino has individuals and organizations around the globe successfully navigate changes in all areas of their lives to be their best. Elizabeth will inspire you to get started and give you the tools to overcome the most common stumbling blocks. Using her unique Ten Points of Change, she shows you how to align your goals with your behaviors and then break your goals down into actionable steps.

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The Change Guidebook ends the search for self-help that works, serving as a life-long companion guide and resource to complement your life. It offers ten points for making a change or adapting to unforeseen circumstances and allows you to become a change master by using the provided solutions to change, grow, and become your bravest and boldest self. These points are a process that you can engage in and turn to in times of need, crisis, or to alter your life's course. Elizabeth Hamilton-Guarino, the founder of The Best Ever You Network, has created a framework for crafting a new way to move through the world and inhabit our lives. By using the tools provided within this book, you will experience the joy of living life as someone firmly grounded in values, anchored by a consistent moment-to-moment practice of gratitude.

CHOOSE. Everything we do cultivates and creates our amazing life. Here, we practice choosing how we spend our moments and realize we are presented with a choice in how we want to be in each moment. At this point, we act, create our new path and new reality, as well as establish real action steps toward this new you. You will commit to taking these real steps to foster lasting change. Everything we do cultivates and creates our amazing life. What are you choosing? I was once at a baseball game where a father who was a coach on another team for ten-year-olds was talking on his phone the entire time in the dugout or when he was coaching first base. He did this all season. I'm not kidding. His phone would ring, and he'd take that phone call wherever he was on the field. Life is full of choices, and when his kid hit a home run that season, he had his back turned to the game and was over on the fence looking the other way. As the kid did the celebration jog around the bases and everyone was cheering, the father still didn't move from that position or his phone call. He missed the entire thing, even when things quieted down. In the second point of change, we are going to practice how we choose to spend our moments and realize we are presented with a choice in how we want to be in each moment. We realize in the present moment that everything we do cultivates and creates our future. When we make choices, we take action to create a new path, as well as establish real steps to be our best. So much of making confident, informed, moment-to-moment choices rest with a mindset and the power of conscious choices using your powerful, positive attitude. How you view a choice may change if you decide to frame the situation with heartbased thinking. Choice can be a mindset of powerful intention and action so all that follows aligns with your heart, your truths, and your energy. There is power in choice, and that power rests with you. You are unstoppable if you choose to be. The possibilities are endless when you choose to see your life from the viewpoint of abundance.

Sometimes you need to breathe, trust, let go, and follow your heart. SUCCESS TIP: We Have a Choice in Each Moment Mindfulness of your time and energy and how you spend it is key. One thing you can't do is redo your moments. As we make some new choices and try some new things, we need to remember that some things will turn out great, perhaps with a standing ovation, and others might not; that is okay. To help you have the most peace in your moment, in your choosing and decision-making, I have six go-to questions I use for myself and in my coaching practice. These will help you properly assess the situation and guide you to make the best choice possible when you are faced with change or want to make a change. • • • • • •

Is this in line with the essence of who I am? Does this celebrate my unique gifts and talents? Do I take responsibility for my emotions, actions, and behavior? How does this impact others around me and the world as a whole? Does this moment or action contribute to my longevity and health? Is my mind at peace and my spirit content?

When you use these six questions, you align your heart and open the pathways to change. As you move into a growth mindset, it becomes important to understand that nobody can do your work for you. SUCCESS TIP: Stop Wishing For It and Start Working For It Your all-in attitude will help you succeed. When you have the best attitude you can have, combined with perspective, you have a better opportunity to frame your mindset properly to make the best choices for your moments. In these choices, some will be heart-based, and some will be brain-based, as different situations call for different ways of thinking and being. Alas, these are the choices we make.

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As we make a choice to do the work, we learn we all need one another, and we trade off moments. We all learn from one another and have the opportunity to be lifelong learners with an open mind. "But Elizabeth," you say, "I feel stuck!" I hear you. I feel you, and I know. On the flip side of an open mind with a growth mindset is a closed mind with a set of limiting beliefs. I know what it feels like to feel stuck. I can't talk about change without having a chat about feeling stuck. People are often stuck, paralyzed even. To get unstuck, you must begin to make choices and take action, but the trick is to be confident and stand behind the choices or actions you take. "Responsibility" is one of my favorite words because these moments involve taking responsibility for every aspect of your life.

to be your best, and the responsibility for each moment rests within you and how you choose to bring it from within to external action. This excerpt is adapted from Elizabeth Hamilton-Guarino's new book, "The Change Guidebook: How to Align Your Heart, Truths, and Energy to Find Success in All Areas of Your Life." Reprinted with permission from Health Communications, Inc.

You are unique and incredible. With that in mind, I believe we need to have a chat about unforeseen circumstances. It takes incredible courage, a positive mindset, and every Best Ever You tool in your toolbox to make changes or adjust positively to something negative that has happened. Because it can be so challenging to our entire being, change often feels like an incredible uphill climb with no clear direction. Where is the GPS for that? The direction is within you. It is this process. It is looking at life in an infinite-possibilities mode. It is surrounding yourself with love and community and maybe even one day having a positive impact on others with your story. I feel your struggle. I hear stories daily of overcoming struggles and impossible circumstances. I look for them, actually, as they inspire me. From the stories about overcoming what is generally regarded as impossible to what you may feel is impossible, from overcoming the death of a loved one to finding your soul mate – to dealing with a medical disability on a moment-to-moment basis to getting up off the couch for twenty minutes a day to walk to the seventy-five-year-old finishing a degree to an author first published at age sixty-four to 100 pound-weight-loss stories to people shifting from working in offices to entirely online and more, we often want to change something. Change can be anything. The trick is to take action, and the second step in taking action is to choose. You have a choice in each and every moment of contributing to how the moment plays out. In each and every moment, you have the opportunity

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Elizabeth Hamilton-Guarino is the founder of The Best Ever You Network and co-founder of Compliance4. She is the author of the award-winning book Percolate: Let Your Best Self Filter Through and multiple children's books as a contributor and author. Elizabeth and her husband live in Maine with their four sons, two dogs, and three cats. Visit her website at besteveryou.com.

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WOMEN'S EMPOWERMENT

Michelle GOODLOE Michelle Goodloe is a licensed clinical social worker and an experienced project manager dedicated to helping make self-care practical and accessible for busy, caring people. With a professional background in providing clinical interventions, compassion-based services, and statewide advocacy for people impacted by domestic violence, child abuse, and stress-related conflict, the focus of Michelle's career has been to develop and institute accessible and resourceful avenues of support.

"FOR GENERATIONS, BLACK WOMEN HAVE BEEN EXPECTED TO BE STRONG—FOR THEMSELVES AND OTHERS—AND IN THIS JOURNAL, I WANT TO GIVE YOU PERMISSION TO FEEL SOFT. THIS JOURNAL INVITES YOU TO GENTLY PUT DOWN THE BURDENS, HARDSHIPS, AND ADVERSITIES THAT YOU HAVE BEEN CARRYING AND TO BE AND FEEL SEEN."

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Michelle is the owner and psychotherapist with The Essence of Healing LLC, a private therapeutic practice based in Atlanta, Georgia. She is also the creator of the wellness-resource website, gmichelle.com. Michelle facilitates interactive workshops for non-profit and private organizations that experience challenges with addressing self-care, compassion fatigue, and professional burnout. Michelle lives in Atlanta, Georgia, with her husband and son.

WHAT'S BEEN GETTING IN THE WAY OF YOU GETTING THE REST YOU NEED? By Michelle Goodloe LCSW

his is a question I often ask busy, hardworking Black women. It's an important question, as there are usually responsibilities, behaviors, social constructions, and even mindset issues that get in the way of you getting the rest that you need (and deserve). I often hear: "I don't have time. There's just too much on my plate." "I really feel bad when taking time out for me to rest." " know I'm tired, but I'd rather push through it and just get this done." Sound familiar? Many of us struggle with getting the rest we need. Our schedules are packed, and our task lists are overflowing. From parenting to working, to studying and adulting, instead of intentionally creating space for rest, our bodies just shut down a lot of times. One of the most important reasons is to make sure you have your rest to avoid reaching the point of burnout. Burnout occurs when you're exhausted, disconnected, and have reached the breaking point of your working role, your caregiving role, or both. This feeling of burnout happens over a period of time and can occur in your professional role, in a parenting role, or in any role where you are taking care of others. The last time I felt significant burnout was when I was working one full-time and two part-time jobs at the same time. I was trying my best to earn my clinical social work license with the hopes of opening my own therapy practice one day. I worked over fifty hours every week to fulfill my responsibilities and felt completely drained at the end of each workday. The weekends were never long enough, and my vacation time always felt too short. In an effort to do all things, I was burning out faster than I could imagine. And at this stage in my career, I knew I was reaching my breaking point. Most of my waking hours were dedicated to working. I had trouble focusing and felt guilty when I was not working.

I knew I needed to make a change, but I was terrified to decide what was best for me. I knew I couldn't go through another week working the hours that I did. I needed to figure out how in the world I would be able to create space for my rest. So I put a plan together to quit my full-time job. Quitting jobs as a social worker has never been easy for me. I usually feel emotionally connected to the professional roles that I'veI've held, and this particular job was very special to me. This job taught me so much as a social worker, and I was motivated to help fulfill the mission of the organization. In all honesty, I loved the work and was good at it. And, of course, the income was consistent and steady. 61 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM e APRIL 2022

What more could a girl ask for? And sometimes, that's the toughest part—for me, I had to recognize that just because I could do something did not mean I had to do it. I had to learn to reprioritize my rest and place my basic needs higher on the to-do list.

Affirmation Choosing to let go of what's no longer valuable to me gives me space, energy, and time to focus on what is.

In choosing to quit this job, I was intentionally creating space for my rest to be a top priority. I crunched the numbers and did the math. I could financially afford to make this move and create the space I needed to improve my well-being. I had to muster the courage to leave this job that I cared so much about. With some thoughtful planning and the support of my therapist, I presented my letter of resignation and bravely moved forward with leaving my job and the burnout that came with it behind. SELF-REFLECT Creating space for your rest may require you to take some brave steps forward. You may need to plan for it, schedule it, ask for help, or make adjustments to make sure that you are not consistently reaching the point of exhaustion on a regular basis. Reflect on your experiences with burnout below. •

Have you felt burned out lately? What does it look like when you're feeling burnout?

•

How do you know when you're feeling burnout? How do you know when your body is feeling burnout?

•

When was the last time you felt burnout? What did you do?

•

What helps you prevent burnout?

Rest is a form of your resistance. Similar to the historical trauma generations before we have experienced, many Black women have been denied the grace, time, and respect to rest our bodies. Instead, many Black women were historically punished for having the human need for rest. Give yourself permission to unlearn that you do not deserve rest—you are entitled to the rest that you need. We need rest because we are exhausted from surviving as Black women's physical, mental, and emotional experiences. Acknowledging your need for rest is not a sign of weakness— it is human. Making sure that you can receive the type of rest that restores you is essential for your self-care. There are many ways we, as Black women, can receive rest to cope with all that we have been exposed to. Rest can include intentional and voluntary moments of peace and freedom from experiencing or witnessing traumatic events and interactions. 62 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM e APRIL 2022

I Own My Magic: Self-Talk for Black Women: Affirmations for Self-Care and Empowerment by G. Michelle Goodloe, LCSW, is a book and guided journal filled with practices of self-care that will encourage the readers to honor their true power, live life to the fullest, and show strength in everything you do. A celebration of Black female identity, I Own My Magic: Self-Talk for Black Women: Affirmations for Self-Care and Empowerment contains a huge dose of confidence in a small, convenient package and includes quotes to empower you and fuel you for success, reflective prompts that challenge you to live as your most authentic self, and inspiring words of wisdom on today's Black female experience. As you read I Own My Magic: Self-Talk for Black Women, you'll learn how to care for your health, free your Black Superwoman cape, celebrate your Black Womanhood, reclaim your culture, and ultimately, recognize how incredible you are. I Own My Magic: Self-Talk for Black Women is the perfect motivator for overcoming your negative thoughts and uplifting yourself so you can proudly announce, "Yes, I deserve to own my magic!"

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THE INNER COMPASS DECK By Teal Swan

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The new, beautifully designed The Inner Compass Deck by Teal Swan has a very simple yet crucial aim: to help you discover what matters most to you. We all deserve to live unconditionally according to our values, applying them to our work, relationships, mental health, and everyday life. Think of your honest, authentic self as true north, and this values deck as your compass, guiding you to what you want to be in the world, what you want to do, and how you want to go about doing it.

HE NORTH STAR (also known as Polaris or the Pole Star) is famous for holding nearly still in the sky. It appears this way to us because it is located so close to the north celestial pole, which is the point around which the entire northern sky turns. The North Star, as its name suggests, marks the way due north and, as such, acts as a guiding light for many. Travellers have used its brightness and prominence in the sky as a navigational tool for centuries. Like the North Star, your values can be used to guide you and keep you on the right path. When you do so, you allow your inner compass to point you to a destination that is both purposeful and uniquely meant for you. Overall, life experiencing satisfaction, happiness, wellbeing, and fulfillment really boil down to figuring out what you value in life. Prioritizing and then living unconditionally according to those values – no matter what. You can think of this process as following your own personal North Star or inner compass. Each card in The Inner Compass Deck represents a different value, along with a description of that value, and is designed to help you to locate your own inner compass. Later in this booklet, I will give you some specific ways of using the cards, but for now, let us consider what we mean by “values.”

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When we live our life in accordance with our values, we are sending out a message to the universe about what we really want, about our actual commitment, and about where we are choosing to put our energy

WHAT ARE VALUES? A value is something you believe to be most important, worth something, and useful at your deepest, most authentic core. YOUR VALUES ARE about how you want to be in the world relative to others and to yourself, what you want to do, and how you want to go about doing it. In your heart of hearts, what do you really want? What really has it worth? When the things we do and the way we behave in the world – toward others and ourselves – match our values, we experience life satisfaction. The complications fall away as we purify and streamline our lives in the direction of our true values. For most of us, there is a big difference between what we value doing and what we are actually doing; how we value acting and how we actually act. We feel as if something is wrong but can’t put our finger on exactly what, and so we don’t know what to do about it. If we value spending time connecting with our family, for example, but we work a 70-hour week, we are not living according to our values. If we value being creative and artistic but take a job in accounting, we are not living according to our values. If we value being useful to others and doing something of meaning but sit on the couch binge-watching TV shows, we are not living according to our values. If we value pouring all of ourselves into the pursuit of an achievement, but we give up on our goals to please someone else in our life, we are not living according to our values. The people who are happy on this earth are the ones

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who are actually doing what they value doing and acting how they value acting. They do not have the experience of being pulled in many different directions because they are able to acknowledge their values, prioritize their actions accordingly and let the chips fall where they may. When we are clear about our values, everything in our lives becomes simpler. The hardest part about defining your values (so as to live according to them) is to be brutally honest with yourself about what they really are. We live in a society that tells us that some values are more acceptable than others. Some make us “good,” while others make us selfish or “bad”. As a result, we have lost touch with our actual values and are failing to follow our own inner compass, our own North Star. To realign with our inner compass, we need to be willing to consider that we may have values that we have been conditioned to believe are not acceptable to have in comparison to others. This is especially true when we are expected to self-sacrifice. Essentially, other people expect us to have the same values that they have and thus prioritize our actions according to their values. Value conflicts within couples are one of the main causes of incompatibility. Obviously, if values are reflective of our true desires, and our true desires are taking two people in opposite directions, and toward opposite ends, there is no way to keep the relationship together. The conflict will just keep mounting until there is a rupture beyond repair. This is yet another reason that it is so critical to figure out your values so that you can find a partner whose values are consistent with your own, instead of trying to talk people into having the same values as you. PRIORITIZING YOUR VALUES Ideally, we would all design a life in which we are able to make space for all our values, where we could engage in one without taking away from another. Values are all about clarifying our priorities. However, they dictate what we decide to do and not do. This universe, being a time-space reality of expansion and, therefore, growth, loves to put us in a pinch and make us decide what we really want, to choose between our priorities. And if we don’t make this choice consciously, we will make it subconsciously. The problem is our subconscious often prioritizes what provides safety as opposed to what gives us the most

personal fulfillment. For this reason, in order to experience life satisfaction, we not only need to prioritize our top values but, when push comes to shove, we need to ask ourselves: “If I could only satisfy one of these values, which would I choose?”

the effort, however: your values are the foundation of who you are and what you stand for. Knowing them and living by them is the difference between just going through the motions and really living.

So, look at your life and be really honest about how you are not living in alignment with your top value or values. What changes could you make today to fix this? If you don’t know what your true values are, life will teach you. It will put you in all kinds of value-clarifying situations and, one by one, they will show you what it is you don’t want and, consequently, highlight what you do want with glaring colour. LIVING IN ALIGNMENT WITH YOUR VALUES Changing your life to live according to your values (and therefore priorities) involves risk, and for this reason, it is tempting to put it off and tell yourself that you will do so at some point in the future. For example, imagine that you value spending time connecting with your romantic partner. In order to really do that, however, you believe you have to make enough money to be able to quit your job. This situation requires that you live out of alignment with your values today, constantly working to make enough money to quit so that you can live in alignment with your values one day in the future. This will not work. There is no true future in this universe; there is only now. When we live our life in accordance with our values, we are sending out a message to the universe about what we really want, about our actual commitment, and about where we are choosing to put our energy. When we do this, the universe will respond by committing those things to you in return, not tomorrow, not next year – today. For this reason, we must do today as we would do in the future. That is the only way the future will look different and be the one that reflects our genuine values. There must be no conditions set on living in alignment with our values. No exceptions. Keep in mind that your values may alter over the course of your life in response to your experiences and your changing desires. As such, you must let them change and alter your life accordingly. Living unconditionally in alignment with your true values is a lifelong practice – meaning it never ends. You will constantly have to check your inner compass and make sure that you are heading in the direction of your North Star. It’s worth

Teal Swan is a personal transformation revolutionary who was born highly intuitive. A renowned author, speaker and modern spiritual leader, she travels the world teaching about self-awareness and inspiring millions of people towards authenticity, freedom and joy. She is the bestselling author of three books, including The Anatomy of Loneliness.

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GO AHEAD,

TREAT YOURSELF

AND BE SWEET TO ANIMALS, TOO with these decadent

Vegan Desserts

By Lindsay Pollard-Post

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“Treat yourself!” has become a mantra for celebrating every day and saying “yes” to life’s little indulgences. It’s a philosophy that we can wholeheartedly embrace—as long as our treats are sweet in every sense of the word. Having your cruelty-free cake and eating it, too, is now easier (and tastier!) than ever. A growing number of bakeries and restaurants are serving up decadent desserts made without eggs, dairy, or anything else taken from animals. By choosing treats that are vegan, we can spare animals immense suffering: In the dairy industry, calves are torn away from their mothers shortly after birth, and in the egg industry, a part of chickens’ sensitive beaks is cut off with a hot blade when they’re just a few days old. Choosing vegan treats is kinder to our hearts, too: Vegan foods are free of saturated animal fat and cholesterol, and people who eat vegan have a lower risk of dying from heart disease compared with those who eat animal-based foods. While sweet treats are best enjoyed as an occasional indulgence, eating healthy vegan foods has been shown to prevent and reverse heart disease, reduce cholesterol, and lower blood pressure, among other health benefits. It’s no wonder that more and more people are going vegan every day: A Nielsen survey found that 39% of Americans are making an effort to eat more vegan foods. Restaurants are racing to meet the rising demand: In 2020, vegan food sales grew twice as fast as overall food sales, and last year, vegan food sales skyrocketed two and a half times faster than they did from 2018 to 2020. To celebrate the delicious abundance of vegan treats that are popping up on menus from coast to coast, PETA has named the Top Vegan Sweet Treats of 2022. All these mouthwatering desserts are free of animal-derived ingredients—making it easy to treat yourself while treating chickens and cows with kindness, too.

COCONUT CARAMEL CRUFFIN—L’ARTISANE CREATIVE BAKERY, CORAL GABLES, FLORIDA Can’t decide between a croissant or a muffin? Why not have both? The vegan Coconut Caramel Cruffin at L’Artisane Creative Bakery is filled with coconut dulce de leche made in-house with caramelized coconut milk. The first French vegan bakery in the U.S., it serves not only decadent desserts but also all-day brunch and savory entrées, too. Ooh, là là! CLASSIC SCONE—SCONEGROWN, BELLINGHAM, WASHINGTON What could be more comforting than a steaming cup of tea and a freshly baked scone from SconeGrown? The bakery’s Classic Scone is a crumbly vanilla-flavored delight, served with clotted coconut cream and strawberry jam. Blueberry, Chocolate Chip, and Golden Mylk scones are also available, along with gluten-free baked goods and savory lunch items.

CUPCAKES—INSPIRED CRAVINGS, GAINESVILLE, VIRGINIA With more than 20 creative cupcake flavors to choose from at Inspired Cravings, you’ll want to go back to treat yourself again and again! Standouts include Love Strawberry Swirls, Boldness Triple Chocolate, and Forgiveness Honey (bee-free, of course!) Raspberry. The bakery also offers several variety packs for nationwide shipping, as well as gluten-free options.

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CHOCOLATE CAKE—CHAUMONT VEGAN, LOS ANGELES Chaumont Vegan brings French elegance to Los Angeles, and its Chocolate Cake is as delightful to behold as it is to devour. Made with cacao powder, organic flour, and house-made organic cultured Proud Vegan butter and topped with dollops of rich chocolate pastry cream, this decadent dessert is sure to make anyone say “oui!”

RED VELVET POUND CAKE—ESTELLA’S VEGAN CUISINE & DESSERTS, DETROIT Estella’s is the first Black-owned vegan bakery in Motown, and its sweet treats hit all the right notes. The Red Velvet Pound Cake has a luscious chocolate flavor and a vegan cream cheese glaze drizzled on top for the perfect finishing touch. The bakery offers four other delicious pound cake flavors, too: Lemon, Turtle, Sock It To Me, and Carrot.

TIRAMISU TRIFLE—HALELIFE BAKERY, CLEARWATER/TAMPA/ST. PETERSBURG, FLORIDA Ready for the ultimate in indulgence? HaleLife Bakery’s Tiramisu Trifle features a homemade vanilla streusel base, silky marshmallow fluff, and the bakery’s famous pastry cream—all layered between cubes of made-from-scratch, gluten-free vanilla sponge cake and topped with layers of espresso vegan cheesecake, espresso crumble, and chocolate ganache sauce. Best of all, like everything else at HaleLife, it’s cruelty-free and hypoallergenic!

The proof is in the (vegan) pudding: There’s simply no need to harm animals to make decadent desserts. Even if you don’t live near one of these vegan bakeries, it’s so easy to be sweet to yourself and animals—many vegan bakeries will ship treats right to your doorstep. If you enjoy baking, put on your apron and whip up your own cruelty-free confections at home (there’s an abundance of free vegan dessert recipes available online). Or for a quick fix to satisfy your sweet tooth, stop by your local grocery store and pick up a pint of dairy-free ice cream. And while you’re at it, don’t stop at treating yourself—treat a friend, coworker, neighbor, or another lucky person in your life, too, and show them just how easy (and delicious!) it is to eat with kindness.

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THE WAY I SEE IT By Joey Santos, Jr.

ancer. Yep, that word. That dreaded disease. So many of us think about it or have thought about it as something that happens to other people. Well, one of those other people it happened to was my Mother. She was diagnosed in January 1988 and died in August 1988. Seven months. Gone. From healthy, vibrant, and beautiful to frail, weak, and physically broken. What was not broken was her spirit, her hope, her faith. She communicated every day about how much she loved us. Despite however long she had left, it was not going to be spent in the negative or the deficit. We were going to spend it in plenty, with humor. Strength, courage, miracles, positivity, beauty were the focus. She was creating moments out of seconds to last a lifetime. That was her way. Her say.

photo by MANUEL BONADEO

Fall of 2020, Cancer came looking for me and found me. There are so many reactions and emotions I can say I experienced in hearing its name. None of them were predictable. None expected, and none of them prepared! More on that later.

CANCER

When I was told of my Mother's diagnosis, I fell apart. I ran from it. I couldn't fathom how my life would be without her. However, it was my Father who, upon learning of her illness, brought the family back together for the light, for the fight. (My parents had been divorced for ten years). The funny thing about fighting a battle, no matter how strong the soldier, how sophisticated the weaponry, it's the uncommon valor we are left with that determines the success of the war. We, as a family, fought the fight together and lost that fight together. But we, as a family, have learned perseverance.

AND

OTHER STRANGERS

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My Father called a Family meeting. His plan was simple. Together we can find the miracle. He moved us all into his sprawling home in the Hollywood Hills. My Mother had a suite on the first floor, my Brother took one on the second floor, and our chosen Brother Philip and I shared the guesthouse by the pool. We were armed forbear! I was working on my third film (on set) as Private Chef to one of my favorite actor/clients. As usual, our days are long. I was starting early and ending late. I'm blessed with natural energy and no stranger to hard work. I thrive in it. The shoot was three months long. By the middle of month two, I started feeling fatigued and irritable. My concentration and focus were off. But I'm not a complainer and thought to myself, Ok boy, slow down! You are either overdoing it or feeling your age! So, I talked myself into it being only another month, and then I'll take a vacation to relax and reset once we wrap. And I did exactly that. By the time I got back from a month-long vacation, I knew something was up. I can't stress enough the importance of listening to one's body. Upon my return, I saw my doctor and took a series of blood tests, examinations, and scans. An MRI showed concern, followed by a PET and then a biopsy. The dreaded disease, the most frightening word in any language, is still CANCER. There it was spoken again—this time, about me. I still don't have the words to adequately describe what it felt like hearing it (let alone what the deafening silence felt like, sounded like). I must have replayed it over and over in my head 100 times. You have Cancer. You have Cancer. As familiar as that word was/is/has become, it was now a total stranger. Cancer. I have Cancer. Shit, now what? Just as my life has come together, finding success, contentment, true love, reflection, purpose. How do I share this with my family? My partner? My best friends? What about my career? My goals, dreams? Is this it? How long will I have if I choose not to have treatment? Will I be hooked up to machines and wither away? Oh, no thanks! Do I empty my accounts, sell all my stuff, hop a midnight flight and have one last fabulous "Night in Dixie"? I breathed. I breathed. I breathed. Then, I exhaled. I left any thoughts of drama to Netflix. I sat down with my partner and my loved ones. I consulted my Doctors and my Doctor friends! I sought advice and options. I spoke with friends and friends of friends and close family members who have been through it and not only survived but championed. I decided, ok, let's do this. After discussing and revising options ( I was fortunate to be allowed choices),

I opted for surgery. I was lucky. I was in stage one. The surgery was 6.5 hours long and a complete success, although painful with a slow but steady recovery and some not so attractive side effects. But I've been assured that they are temporary. What is lifelong from here is my gratitude, to God, to Buddha, the Universe, my Doctors, Nurses, family, friends, and strangers who continue to renew my faith and reward me with their gifts of kindness, patience, understanding, and love. This time, we found the miracle my Parents taught us to look for. To them, and to all, I say, Thank you. If I can say anything that may help in the thought process ( and this is very much a thought process ), do whatever you can to find and sit in the positivity of the situation. Listen to your silence, your Doctors, your body, and its soul. Find your resolve, find your peace. Then, get off your ass and challenge it with everything you've got! Surround yourself with like-minded people who can support and love you. Fill your everyday with emotional soldiers who are always there to help you reload when you are out of "amo". Build your army! Win or lose, the HERO never dies! The Hero never dies because the Hero is the fight, the light. The Hero is our faith, and the determination, the focus, and the courage to see beyond the forest. Push yourself to see beyond the dark, beyond the unknown. Blessings come to us as we learn the lessons to which they are attached. Take nothing and no one for granted. Respect the process—search knowledge. Maybe some of us are only supposed to be here for a short time, others for long. We don't know. But we are undoubtedly here to learn, teach and grow. So, whatever life has in store, make your impression. Leave your impression.

Joey Santos is a Celebrity Chef, Life Stylist & Co-Host of The Two Guys From Hollywood Podcast on iHeart Radio. A Columnist for The Eden Magazine since 2016. Joey was raised in NYC, Malibu, and West Hollywood. He is the son of Film & Television Actor Joe Santos, and his Grandfather is World-Renowned Latin Singer Daniel Santos. To follow Joey on IG: @jojoboy13 To contact Joey; whynotjoe@gmail.com 73 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM e APRIL 2022

Photo by YANA HURSKAYA

RECLAMING YOUR TRUE SELF By Angela Dunning

DESPAIR CAN BE A BRIDGE TO CHANGE

ot many people let themselves feel despair. They stave it off in any way they can, fearing its darkness and an all-pervasive sinking feeling that pulls them down out of normal life. The biggest thing people fear with despair is that they will never return back to the surface, that they will be taken under forever. It feels very risky and scary to let yourself feel despair. Yet, in my experience, this is not always the case. Rather, I've found that letting myself feel despair when it comes calling is

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usually a way to a deeper understanding of myself, as down in that dark pit, I meet all of my demons; all of those negative thoughts and voices that want to pull me down and tell me to give up; that it's hopeless and that things will never get better. But, it's precisely in those face-to-face meetings with all that I fear that I find the seeds of new life, change, and renewed energy. These encounters revivify me, and as I come back up, I bring this new energy and compassion with me, not just in terms of my own life but also towards the world.

People with chronic pain, depression, or long-term or terminal illness know the territory of despair intimately because they visit its landscape frequently and become deeply familiar with it. Their fear lessens, and they're often much braver and hardier than people who avoid this feeling state, leading to a deepening of their self-awareness and compassion for themselves, their plight, and that of others. I've written in the past about how my own experiences of depression and living with chronic pain have taken me down many times and that each time I return with new insights and perspectives and a deeper love for myself, my body, and my soul. Therefore, letting ourselves feel despair can soften our often hardened perspective on life and help us to see both ourselves and others in a clearer light. The other thing that despair does is it shatters our illusions, which are usually self-created and self-perpetuated beliefs based on a longing for the idyllic life of childhood once more, where we want external situations and people to be exactly as we'd like them to be. Yet, feeling our despair as each illusion fails to meet our expectations is vital as it breaks the illusion down into what can only be described as an encounter with reality, like glass shattering beneath our feet, down we plunge into the dark ground of despair and often its close companion, grief. As the author Philip Elliot Slater says: Despair ... is the only cure for illusion. Without despair we cannot transfer our allegiance to reality - it's a kind of mourning period for our fantasies. Some people do not survive this despair, but no major change within a person can occur without it. This deep, dark soil then can become new fertile material for our change in attitude to ourselves, others, and life in general, if we are willing to go there. If we are brave enough to let go and relinquish our ego control on life, which of course in itself is the biggest illusion of all, and if we dare to risk admitting, we feel sad, down, helpless, and at times, also hopeless. It's easy to feel despair in these seemingly never-ending turbulent times, where we are battered from pillar to post by major world events on top of our own life challenges, losses, and struggles. On two levels, we are tasked with coping and facing fear, pain, and loss on a daily basis. Two years ago, a global pandemic brought the world and its usually busy inattentiveness to a standstill, and we all struggled to blindly find our way through in a new and surreal world. Then, no sooner did the winds of the disease begin to

abate and we began to tentatively return to our normal lives, but now the world teeters on the brink of war, and yet again, panic and despair rise up, claiming our attention and rattling our nervous systems with a continual state of fear. And well, it can just all feel too much, and so it's tempting to look for ways to avoid such depths of anxiety and despair at the state of the world. However, running from our feelings only makes things worse in the long run as it saps us of energy and it prevents us from really living in the present. To let ourselves feel despair and helplessness is not for the faint-hearted, and as Slater says, some don't survive this; it takes them under, and they succumb to its darkness, failing to see that in the dark is also the glimmering hint of hope and renewal.

RUNNING FROM OUR FEELINGS ONLY MAKES THINGS WORSE IN THE LONG RUN AS IT SAPS US OF ENERGY AND IT PREVENTS US FROM REALLY LIVING IN THE PRESENT Irish mystic and writer John O'Donohue says it best in his beautiful poem 'Beannacht/Blessing' which is full of hope for times when we find ourselves in despair: On the day when the weight deadens on your shoulders, and you stumble, may the clay dance to balance you. Ultimately, all emotions are informative, purposeful and require some corrective action if we let ourselves feel them and welcome the experience, and despair is no exception. Quotation references: Excerpt from 'Beannacht' published in Anam Cara by John O'Donohue, Bantam Press, 1998. Quote by Philip Elliot Slater from his book 'Earthwalk.'

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

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WHAT IS SPERMIDINE & WHY SHOULD

YOU CARE ABOUT IT By Elizabeth Yurth, MD, ABPMR, ABAARM, FAARM, FAARFM

What is Spermidine? Spermidine is a polyamine. Polyamines are essential to cell growth and critical to cellular homeostasis. Discovered in 1678 alongside the invention of the microscope, this natural chemical, present in all living organisms, has been found to impact many vital biological processes and has been extensively researched over the last half-century. What makes spermidine worth paying attention to is its link to aging and its ability to naturally induce a process known as autophagy. Why Does Spermidine Decline with Age? Spermidine decline is directly related to age. While the level of polyamines, including spermidine, varies between organisms, a common characteristic across species is the notable drop in spermidine levels with age. Various theories have arisen to explain why spermidine declines with age. Research has demonstrated that age-induced factors such as reduced uptake, diminished transport processes, an altered microbiome, reduced intracellular biosynthesis, and increased degradation all lead to a lower level of available spermidine in our bodies.

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A decline in spermidine can also be seen through changes in physical characteristics, including thinning hair, reduced nail strength, and skin aging. Studies show spermidine encourages the upregulation of epithelial stem cell-associated keratins, meaning that spermidine is essential to epithelial stem cell utilization, including in the renewal of hair follicles and skin cells. Spermidine, Autophagy, and Skin Health The reason spermidine impacts signs of aging, such as the growth of hair, skin, and nails outwards, is its role in cellular regeneration and clean-up. Spermidine directly impacts skin health via upregulation of epithelial stem cells. This is a cellular turnover process called autophagy (aa·taa·fuh·jee). Our bodies perform cellular housekeeping through autophagy. Autophagy means "self-eating." It is the way our cells clean out and recycle unwanted cellular debris. As we age, autophagy is dysregulated, increasing damaged cells that can cause aging and disease. Improving autophagy is critical to healthy aging. By removing these toxic and damaged cells, cellular regeneration can occur. Without autophagy, these "bad" cells remain and proliferate, ultimately leading to disease and decline in many biological processes. As we age, there is a decline in autophagy, which likely explains why age tends to bring various signs of degradation, including outward manifestations of aging like brittle hair or wrinkled skin. The signs of aging, including disease, physical decline, and skin degradation, are all related to the collection of toxic debris in our cells. Autophagy is directly responsible for removing toxins and cells exhibiting signs of toxicity, resulting in slowing the aging process. Research shows that increasing the uptake of spermidine leads to increased autophagy and, by extension, slows the aging process, including the physical, outward signs of aging. How to Increase Spermidine in the Body Spermidine is generated in our bodies from putrescine and the oxidative degradation of spermine. It has also been discovered that the gut microbiome generates relevant amounts of spermidine. Approximately one-third of bioavailable spermidine comes from each of our tissue, our gut, and our diet. There are several approaches to increasing spermidine in the body mainly through supporting the natural production of spermidine in our cells, our gut, and our diet. The health of the gut impacts the bioavailability of spermidine. A healthy intestinal microbiome is important to many elements of health, including the promotion of spermidine availability and autophagy. Recent research indicates that we might be able to improve the bioavailability of spermidine by improving our gut health. Preclinical studies have shown that the introduction of a certain probiotic, LKM512, results in suppressing inflammation that damages gut health. Additionally, the introduction of arginine in combination with LKM512 resulted in an increase in available spermidine. 77 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM e APRIL 2022

spine medicine, Dr. Yurth has made it her mission to learn and share the latest scientific research on how to truly heal the body at the cellular level. She is Fellowship trained in Anti-Aging and Regenerative Medicine and has completed +500 hours of CME training focused on Longevity, Nutrition, Epigenetics, Bioidentical Hormone Replacement Therapy, Regenerative Peptide Treatments, and Regenerative Orthopedic Procedures.

Eating a spermidine-rich diet can help increase spermidine levels in our bodies, though getting substantial amounts of spermidine from our diets can be difficult given the levels of spermidine in readily available foods. Spermidine is found in many foods, but popular sources are shitake mushroom, wheat germ, and amaranth grain. Other sources of spermidine include items that have undergone a fermentation process. Spermidine can be upregulated via ingesting foods or products rich in the compound or by an intake of foods that improve the gut microbiota. However, to achieve clinical levels of spermidine consumption in the diet (levels at which research was conducted), it may be necessary to take supplemental spermidine. Spermidine can be supplemented with natural, plant-based products like SpermidineLIFE. This supplementation helps address spermidine deficiency by offering an easy way to get high doses of spermidine in your diet. As we age, the unfortunate reality is that spermidine levels decline, leading to a loss of autophagy and ultimately manifesting in outward physical signs like skin aging - wrinkles, dullness, unevenness, dryness, spots, and roughness. The good news is that equipped with this knowledge; we can take our health into our own hands and fight off this aging process. Increasing spermidine levels through diet, focused gut health, and supplemental spermidine products could be vital to overall skin health and aging beautifully. Elizabeth Yurth, MD, is Co-Founder and Medical Director of Boulder Longevity Institute, where she has been providing Tomorrow's Medicine Today to her clients since 2006. Along with her 25-plus years as a practicing orthopedist specializing in sports and 78 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM e APRIL 2022

Longevity Labs brings scientific and tested solutions inspired by nature to prolong healthy lifespan. Leading the world in the development of natural spermidine products to support cellular rejuvenation and renewal, Longevity Labs introduced spermidineLIFE® to Europe in 2019 and the U.S. in 2020. As the world’s scientists, researchers, universities, and clinicians expand clinical testing into spermidine, spermidineLIFE® by Longevity Labs has become the worldwide research standard used to expand upon the list of transformational health benefits found in all-natural wheat germ-derived spermidine. Longevity Labs is headquartered in Vienna, Austria, and Denver, Colorado, with production facilities in Graz, Austria. For more information, visit https://spermidinelife.us/pages/about

Elizabeth Yurth has dedicated her life to longevity. She is double board-certified in Physical Medicine, Rehabilitation and Anti-Aging/ Regenerative Medicine. Dr. Yurth also completed a fellowship in Interventional Spine and Sports Medicine from Stanford School of Medicine. In addition, Dr. Yurth has a dual-Fellowship in Anti-Aging and Regenerative Medicine (FAARM), and Anti-Aging, Regenerative and Functional Medicine (FAARFM) through the American Academy of Anti-Aging Medicine (A4M), and more recently completed a Fellowship in Human Potential and Epigenetic Medicine. An active athlete herself, Dr. Yurth has consulted with numerous professional and collegiate sports teams, including the San Francisco 49ers, Stanford University, and the San Jose/Cleveland Ballet. Dr. Yurth resides in Boulder, Colorado with her husband and five children.

79 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM e FEBRUARY 2022

WHY

MIDDLE AGE

is the

BEST TIME TO CELEBRATE LIFE’S MESSES By Shari Leid

If today were the last day of your life, would you be doing what you are doing now? ~ Anonymous

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his is a quote that pops into my head daily. It happens to be my favorite quote. It acts as my beacon, giving me pause when things get hard. It prompts me to take a breath, take a step back, and remind myself that I always have a choice about how I wish to spend my time, how I wish to feel, and how I want to show up in the world. At 52 years of age, undeniably in my second half of life, being mindful of the way I’m spending my gift of time is of utmost importance to me. Midlife is such an important time in life. As a life coach who specializes in midlife coaching, I’ve dedicated my life’s work to guiding women who are navigating their tricky middle-aged years. In addition to coaching, I’ve interviewed nearly 150 middle-aged women from very diverse backgrounds for the Friendship book series I’ve authored during the past three years. Given my vast experience working with women in their 40s, 50s, and early 60s, I can say with absolute certainty that midlife is the time of life for women when the greatest growth and learning happens. It is a time when women recognize the importance of letting go of prior beliefs and feelings of judgment that held them back in their younger years. Unfortunately, midlife does not come up all roses. We can’t ignore the other thorny side of the coin. As glorious and as exciting as middle age is, it can also be a very difficult time of life. Middle age is when many people take care of elderly parents or lose their parents, become empty nesters, and find that their relationships are changing. In fact, the percentage of divorces in middle age has doubled since the 1990s. Life can get messy. The good news is that through life’s messes, something great can emerge. I was recently interviewed for the UNLIKELY LEADERSHIP with Audrey podcast, and host Audrey Cavencia shared a lesson her colleague, Seattle Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll, learned from his mom. When things weren’t going well, it simply meant that something good was about to happen. I love this mindset that focuses on looking at challenges and notices

that something good is just around the corner. Think back to all the messes that you’ve had in your life. A lost job opportunity, a lost promotion at work, an apartment that you didn’t receive, a house that you were outbid on, or a romantic relationship that ended. When you look back at those messes, I’ll bet that 9 times out of 10, those messes led you to something greater—a better job, a different opportunity at work, a more affordable apartment, a house in a better neighborhood, or a more fulfilling relationship. One of the women I interviewed for the second book in the Friendship series, Make Your Mess Your Message – More Life Lessons From And For My Girlfriends, is Rose Wetzel, a professional obstacle course racer who turns 40 this year. If you follow obstacle course racing, you may recognize her name from American Ninja Warrior fame. She shared with me that the good obstacle course racers generally tend to be a little older than the accomplished track racers. She observed that the older racers often handle obstacles better than some of the younger racers. Older racers know obstacles are going to appear. And because of their experience with obstacles in the past, they trust their ability to navigate these obstacles when they do appear, rather than spending time worrying about obstacles that have not yet presented themselves. Rose’s example of obstacle course racing is such a great analogy for life. As you’ve gotten older, you’ve undoubtedly dealt with your share of obstacles. Like I said, life can get messy. The difference between experiencing life’s messes in midlife versus as a younger adult is that with enough years under your belt, you can reflect on the beauty of life’s past messes, find the messages you received in those messes, and take account of where those messes led you. Acknowledging life’s past messes not only provides you with the strength and courage to get you through your current and next life mess, but it can also provide you with the positive mindset that

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you need to help you move forward and see opportunity. Instead of looking at a life mess as a roadblock, you can look at it as a detour to something greater and find the opportunity in a mess.

your manifestation practice, and feel the joy and freedom that comes with living your life by design.

A buzzword in coaching is manifestation. While I am fully on board with the power of manifesting your own destiny, I strongly believe that when our manifestations fall short, it is because we are trying to manifest something into reality without believing in ourselves. We need to believe that we possess the skill, training, and talents to make our manifestation a reality. Simply put, we need to believe in our ability to conquer messes and overcome life’s obstacles. It is imperative that you reflect on your own life messes and acknowledge the skills, tools, and strength that you have that got you from your mess to your message.

MIDLIFE IS SUCH AN IMPORTANT TIME IN LIFE. AS A LIFE COACH WHO SPECIALIZES IN MIDLIFE COACHING, I’VE DEDICATED MY LIFE’S WORK TO GUIDING WOMEN WHO ARE NAVIGATING THEIR TRICKY MIDDLE-AGED YEARS By taking this reflective look at your past life messes, you start to see your life messes as a blessing rather than a hardship. You begin to truly see your strength and believe in your skills so that you can take the next step and manifest what you want your life to look like and what you want to happen in your life. When we do the work and use the tools we have been given, the universe will meet us halfway. And that is the exciting thing about middle age. We have more tools in our toolbox than we ever had before, along with the wisdom and grace to live the second half of our life by design. Use the following 5 steps as a guide to using your past life messes as a tool to move forward, manifest, and live your life—especially your second half of life—by design: Step 1. Make a list of your past life messes. Step 2. Next to those life messes, write the message you learned or where those life messes took you (i.e., a better job, a more fulfilling relationship.) Step 3. Identify the skills, tools, and strengths that you used to get you through your past life messes. Step 4. Say this mantra every morning, “Every day I am getting better and stronger.” Step 5. Now, believe in your skills and talents based on your past experiences of getting through life’s messes, begin

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Former litigator Shari Leid currently operates An Imperfectly Perfect Life, LLC, a professional mindset coaching business primarily serving clients who are in those tricky middle-age years, helping them create the life of their dreams. She is a national speaker and author of The 50/50 Friendship Flow: Life Lessons From and For My Girlfriends and Make Your Mess Your Message: More Life Lessons From and For My Girlfriends. Her third and final book in The Friendship series is scheduled for Fall 2022. Follow Shari on Facebook @animperfectlyperfectlife or Instagram @an_imperfectly_perfect_life

www.sodastream.com TURN PLAIN WATER INTO FRESH SPARKLING WATER IN SECONDS

WE BELIEVE THAT SOMETHING AS SMALL AS SPARKLING YOUR WATER AT HOME CAN SPARK A HUGE CHANGE IN THE WORLD

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Excerpt from the Joy Cards

ike so many others, at various times, we’ve faced unexpected family losses, overcome serious illness and near-death accidents, had failed relationships and financial hardships, and yes, been stuck in a rut. Despite these unforeseen circumstances in our own lives, we’ve had to find ways to move forward. We took time to reflect, learn, and grow from these challenges and discovered that joy shows up in unexpected ways. We learned to be more grateful for what we have, value and express love to those who matter and look for the good in whatever hardships pop up. Over time, we noticed that we became more resilient, appreciative, and optimistic, even in the face of life’s curveballs, and that joy was ever-present. In short, we found what we call joy gems.

Introducing JOY

BACK INTO YOUR LIFE

Noticing life’s little pleasures and acts of kindness is an evolving practice wherever we go. Fortunately, joy gems are everywhere if we look for them. They can appear at any time, like a ray of sunshine, a cup of coffee in the morning, flowers from a friend, a hug from a loved one, or a good night’s sleep. They are the little things in life that are often taken for granted and, therefore, go unnoticed. Joy-filled moments give us energy and resilience to cope with life’s demands. And so, we purposefully continue to look for joy gems and engage in activities that make us feel good. Play, Dabble, and Spark Joy The purpose of Joy Cards is to take you on a joy journey to discover and experience simple pleasures (joy gems) that lift you up, make you laugh out loud, and add spontaneity back into your life. When you are joyful at your core, it radiates out. The Joy Cards act as a catalyst to spark fun in unexpected ways. Get your joy back. Joy Cards are a long-term solution for managing stress and anxiety if practiced regularly. These activities, including Be Grateful, Travel Light, Love to Love, Manifest Positive Vibes, Joy Pages, and Smile, to name a few, have been tried and tested both personally by us and professionally with thousands of participants during Michelle’s coaching and training sessions. They have proven to be hugely successful.

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One MOMENT at A TIME By Michelle Burke and Lilamani de Silva

Participants rave about these creative and unusual activities, sharing that they gain the positive results of feeling more energized, becoming more grateful, and noticing how to minimize the negative mind chatter. One specific example is from an engineer who wrote a love letter to his wife during an activity in a training program, and on the next day of training, he shared that his wife was overwhelmed with joy and how it reignited a spark in their twenty-year marriage. Another client started smiling at every person she saw on her evening walks. She noticed that people smiled back, and even when they didn’t, she still felt good inside. Participant evaluations showed that these activities helped them recognize more joy and feel less stressed. Many declared that they would continue to practice these activities at home because it was making a positive difference in their mood, relationships, and energy levels. Our research and personal experience show that being joy-filled is essential for our self-care and well-being. The deck of Joy Cards is divided into four categories: mind, heart, body, and soul (twelve cards in each category). Each category focuses on a different aspect of our lives, using a holistic approach to promote positivity and well-being. The cards feature a variety of activities ranging from whimsical to energizing, along with content highlighting the health benefits. The Joy Card activities encourage various ways to experience joy. It’s an opportunity to fill our lives with more love, laughter, and fun. Joy makes our busy days better. A description of each card includes the scientifically proven health benefits of that joy activity. The purpose is to give you a greater understanding of the value of practicing joy-filled activities. Learn how the mere act of doing, thinking, and engaging in a daily joy ritual (even for as little as fifteen minutes) has the power to boost the immune system and your mood, rewire neural pathways, and inspire a positive outlook to experience more joy. Our physiology is linked to our emotions; therefore, engaging in activities that feel good naturally brings us to a state of contentment. Our hope is that the Joy Cards inspire you to find joy in your daily life and, in return, spread joy to as many people as possible.

Michelle Burke is a soughtafter leadership coach, facilitator, speaker, and founder and CEO of Energy Catalyst Group, a consulting and training company for well-being. Over her twenty-year career, she gained a deep appreciation and perspective working with people and cultures from all walks of life. Michelle has trained thousands of participants to make positive change—bridging communication gaps getting in the way of a thriving workplace and a joy-filled life. Her mindfulness coaching helps women to be empowered and promoted into leadership roles. Garnering rave reviews, clients include Stanford University, Microsoft, Sony PlayStation, Snap Inc., and HP. She’s been featured in Business Week Magazine, Los Angeles Times, San Francisco Chronicle, and Wall Street Journal. Michelle is author of The Valuable Office Professional and coauthor of 15 Minute Pause: A Radical Reboot for Busy People. She partnered with coauthor Lilamani de Silva to create Joy Cards, Personalogy™ games, and Teambuilder™, a card game to build collaboration. Michelle enjoys time with loved ones, cooking, fun adventures, reading, sports, and walking her dog Jadie.

NOTICING LIFE’S LITTLE PLEASURES AND ACTS OF KINDNESS IS AN EVOLVING PRACTICE WHEREVER WE GO. Lilamani de Silva, MSc, has had an eclectic career across multiple industries, including media relations, TV production, and the creation of innovative products for home, work, and play with coauthor Michelle Burke. She also worked for BBC World and has helped produce documentaries for Discovery, Animal Planet, and ITV. An avid self-taught painter, Lilamani has sold her artwork worldwide. Her paintings illustrate Joy Cards. Her many experiences have opened her mind to different cultures and perspectives, which are reflected in her artwork and other projects. In her spare time, Lilamani enjoys being active, traveling, reading, painting, and spending time with loved ones. Learn more about the authors Michelle Burke and Lilamani de Silva and the Joy Cards by visiting: https://energycatalystgroup.com/joy-cards/.

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Abundance Corner By Phyllis King

Photo by PHOTOCREO BEDNAREK/ADOBE STOCK

Unbeatable Formula for Next Level Success

YOUR MIND SHOULD SERVE YOU YOU SHOULD NOT SERVE

YOUR MIND

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hen we want to achieve the next level of abundance, we must confront limiting beliefs and thoughts. Eckhart Tolle says this about our thoughts “The voice in the head has a life of its own. Most people are at the mercy of that voice; they are possessed by thought, by the mind ‘” For most of us, our thoughts are like background noise. We are so accustomed to our background noise we do not even realize it is there. It performs like white noise. It puts us to sleep while we are living. We unconsciously act upon limiting thoughts and beliefs to our detriment. We are at the mercy of the choices our limiting beliefs produce. Moreover, we do not acknowledge any difference between our thoughts and who we are at our core. At our core, we are not our thoughts. We are limitless beings. Consciousness takes the form of experiencing physicality. When we master the awareness of this difference, we get lifted off in life like never before. We become conscious. The physical experience needs thoughts because it is a finite reality. It has a beginning, a middle, and an end. It needs a finite form of consciousness to assist us on this earth. That is the purpose of the mind. To quantity, qualify, and measure. However, when we want to expand, the answer is not to engage the mind first. Rather we want the mind to serve what higher wisdom determines is the correct course of action. Our higher wisdom knows no boundaries. The expansion comes when we engage our higher wisdom and allow it to be the master. Then we can instruct the mind to execute tasks we require to assist us in achieving our outcomes. Make no mistake if great success is to be had, the mind must be the servant and remain the servant. What follows is an example of how and when limiting thoughts creep in and sabotage us: We want to expand our business, and we

have a vision. To do so, we must think and act with a future mindset if we want to be a millionaire. We must think like one and ask ourselves, “how would a millionaire behave in this circumstance?” “What decision would a millionaire make at this moment?” We must make our decisions based upon who we will be when we get to the next level. This can be very scary. We are not there yet. We do not have the experience of a millionaire. But we have been preparing and learning. When we conceive the vision, that is the signal we are ready to take our next steps. The only thing that stands in our way is our mind. The mind will create worst-case scenario options of why we should not proceed at this time. We will not get to the “next level” using a mindset that created our status quo. We must adopt a future mindset that will take us out of our comfort zone, which is where all growth occurs. We may need to hire people and spend money to expand when we use our future mindset. Often in business, when we want to expand, its because we need or want more money. Suddenly we have to spend money. It can be scary. It is more than money. It is the belief and commitment to ourselves and our vision that must become rock solid. Absent that commitment; we will abandon our dreams and goals. When our commitment is rock solid, we will continue to execute tasks brick by brick until we get to our goal. As we engage our future mindset, selfdoubt and negative thoughts will come in and attempt to stop our growth. The mindset must withstand the onslaught of false beliefs in limitation that may want to persuade us to abandon our goals.

THE MINDSET THAT HOLDS FAST TO THE VISION YOU FEEL IN YOUR GUT IS CORRECT FOR YOU IS WHAT YOU MUST DEVELOP THE STRENGTH TO HONOR. WE MUST DEVELOP A TOLERANCE FOR RISK AND CHANGE. THESE ARE ALL ELEMENTS OF SUCCESS THAT WILL CARRY US TO THE NEXT LEVEL OF ABUNDANCE

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Or, if we face criticism and doubt from others when they weigh in negatively on our choices, which they often do, it can be very scary and unnerving. Again, another opportunity for the mind to silence our dreams. If your parent or best friend or lover tells you they do not support you, then what? Will you abandon your vision? Is that a reason? No. It is not a reason. The only reason to abandon a vision is when you evolve in such a way a new vision superior to the existing vision takes hold. Absent that commitment; we will abandon our dreams and goals. When our commitment is rock solid, we will continue to execute tasks brick by brick until we get to our goal. As we engage our future mindset, self-doubt and

The mindset that holds fast to the vision you feel in your gut is correct for you is what you must develop the strength to honor. We must develop a tolerance for risk and change. These are all elements of success that will carry us to the next level of abundance. If we use our status quo mindset and do not push the comfort zone, we will not make progress. We will simply create more of what we have. Discomfort is a sign of growth and opportunity. If we can see discomfort as an opportunity rather than a deterrent, we are destined for the greatness we aspire to realize. Train yourself to recognize the difference between mind and higher wisdom. Honor your vision with courage and tenacity. Develop a mindset that sees no limitation, only oppor88 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM e APRIL 2022

negative thoughts will come in and attempt to stop our growth. The mindset must withstand the onslaught of false beliefs in limitation that may want to persuade us to abandon our goals. Or, if we face criticism and doubt from others when they weigh in negatively on our choices, which they often do, it can be very scary and unnerving. Again, another opportunity for the mind to silence our dreams. If your parent or best friend or lover tells you they do not support you, then what? Will you abandon your vision? Is that a reason? No. It is not a reason. The only reason to abandon a vision is when you evolve in such a way a new vision superior to the existing vision takes hold.

tunity. Put your mind to work for you, not against you. Therein lies your unbeatable formula for next-level success. 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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LOVE.COM

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By ZEE Love is a thousand light-years beyond all the definitions you have heard, whispered, experienced, and imagined. Love has no end; Love is a limitless source. When you hear the statement "I love dancing," is that Love or a momentary intensive like? Those feelings and emotions, while dancing, is, no doubt, all-consuming. While in motion, one is fixated, stranded in a pure flow of self-suspended freedom. When describing Love, is this not thinking a thought? And if so, the expression of how one is feeling is only a crude version of what love actually is. The fact that one expresses a fulfilling desirable outcome makes it a mindset ideal. Poets, scholars, and lovers throughout the ages have in vain tried to verbalize the meaning of Love, and to this day, Love remains unable to be captured by mere words. Mankind remains clueless about what love actually is. LOVE.COM IS….. It was the first night of an effective confidence class and first meeting with the gentleman, "I am a professor of mathematics at the university for 15 years, and I come here to develop my confidence." first reply, "is the divorce still in process or has the divorce been finalized." Surprised, he spoke softly and soulfully," we are still in the process." they reply, "you can't make love to your wife as if it is a mathematical equation." He stayed the 12week class; his marriage was saved. Love is possible. Love is as boundless as our cosmos and exists as does the smallest creatures that walk upon this earth. Greater than all the oceans in the universe combined, greater than every grain of sand, is Love. Light as a feather, love dances about like the winds of change, and Love can be as heavy as this earth we stand upon.

Love.com is our living energy personal internet, an open-source network designed to connect every human on this planet. When entered, Love is a vast ocean that allows the experience to encapsulate the complete human. One now knows, not by some limited definition, not by previous expectations, rather by good old-fashioned experience. Yeah, baby, and it feels so light and tasty. In a NY bestseller, you may have heard or read that one can never love until they first love the self. This may or may not be true, as anyone in a lasting relationship knows, living and caring for another individual certainly teaches one how to live with LoveLove. It acts as our personal trainer instructs us automatically on how one can express this profound understanding out into the world in so many different ways, how one relates with another human. Love is not a feeling love is a universal spirit How well can you describe that emotion when you hold your baby for the very first time? If LoveLove is a totally open force, by definition, Love has the capacity to go anywhere, in any direction, at any strength. Unfortunately, for some, LoveLove is never birthed. Fear can bind one to not reveal emotion; it's a learned conditioned response, leaving one emotionally unavailable, that hides one's ability to release LoveLove. We as humans know Love, but only at the level we have experienced LoveLove in our past, through that Love we have given and that Love which has been taken. It's individualistic; therefore, it has varied boundaries, according to how one has responded to our experiences. Experience is the confirmation, personally, collectively.

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What is Love? Our knowledge of Love is conditioned, limited by a mindset that thinks it knows what LoveLove is. Again, if, in fact, Love is an open spirit source, what is the meaning of Love for a human? As every intelligent human knows, a spirit without a boundary, no, we can't have that, so we mechanically mindlessly define what it is and capture it with multiple definitions. Now it has meaning, imprisoned in the definition. Many have placed upon it a closet ideal, thus creating, giving it a physical substance, the rest of us follow suit and copy the expression that fits one's personal needs. And that's exactly what humans have done throughout the ages in order to describe Love. Have we fallen short by a thousand light-years, yes, siree? Think about this for a moment, how dark can Love's openness be? We want Love so deeply, and yet the risk is like stepping off the plank, and…..then what? Simply put, it feels like nothing else exists. When one moves into Love's boundless state of being, the euphoria can be so overwhelming one feels unable to connect back with the practical world? It's almost impossible; we feel Love's beauty and it's scary, big time. Firstly knowing and being true to your inner foundations sounds simple enough. Rituals create boundaries; there are many classes and different schools of thought. Tradition offers many answers, and there are lots of books. Experience will bring up those hidden issues. Ask yourself if you are mature enough to go beyond thoughts, emotions, doubts, anger, and frustrations, and keep going with selfdiscovery. The thing is, can you allow the other person their gig? It's all part of being human, entering into an open-source experience. You will have to drop all your garbage; that's another risk one must take to discover what. LOVE IS….. Love is an improvisation event. This is the very reason why not to have any expectations. It's an unfortunate mindset-custom we humans have developed that when we fall in LoveLove, an idea of how one is supposed to function already exists. And so we fall in line, follow past

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interpretations to fit the appropriate model, not for Love's sake but for securities sake. After an appropriate length of time, we throw in a party, a ring, a couple of howdy doody's, and bingo, we have made a binding safety contract. Absolutely false, the old saying, "all is fair in love and war," allows reason and logic to cause pain against another human. The saying justifies a logical mindset idea against finding expressing any form of "compassion." One's a natural human function when communicating.

IF LOVELOVE IS A TOTALLY OPEN FORCE, BY DEFINITION, LOVELOVE HAS THE CAPACITY TO GO ANYWHERE, IN ANY DIRECTION, AT ANY STRENGTH That begs the next question is Love is merely a deeper friendship. Where one can exhibit all their inhibitions, and the other accepts, in the hope that when this solitary moment is birthed, somehow all is turned into the LoveLove of my life, the soul partner born to be my one and only. Does the LoveLove receive from another the only reason to exist, as one is unable to give Love to self? We spend our lives looking for LoveLove from another as if we are inadequate in self-providing. The one who gives Love openly and fully remains vulnerable to their choice of a partner and the outside world. At the same time, without this vulnerability with self, how can one explore the deepest expressions of openness the human body-mind has to offer? As we move within a relationship, or through many relationships, do we harden up, or do expand away from fear and become the human we prefer to know, trust, and Love?

The author's opinions, beliefs, and viewpoints on this article do not reflect the opinions, beliefs, and viewpoints of The Eden Magazine. and strickly is the author's opinion.

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Photo by HOUCINE NCIB

Just Breathe

The Healthstyle Emporium Sasha Gary

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e take for granted our breath each and every day. We have become so used to breathing subconsciously we don't put much value on how beautiful our breath is. When you begin a breathwork routine, you become more intentional and conscious. There are many different types of Breathwork to try. You will have to try different ones to see which one resonates with you. There are many different health benefits to having a Breathwork practice. It can help to process your emotions, and you will develop more self-awareness; it reduces stress, you feel more positive. Overall, it helps to reduce stress and feel less anxious and calms your nervous system. Breathing influences nearly every organ in the body. As you breathe, you are connecting to your body's parasympathetic nervous system. This is what reduces stress and gets you out of fight or flight. Oxygen is being sent through the blood to the body's vital organs. We average 20,000 breaths per day, and we don't even think about it. Your breath is your life force energy, also known as Pranayama from yoga. Create your own practice by incorporating some relaxing music adding essential oils. Relax and just Breathe. That's how powerful having a breathwork practice can be for your body. I feel grateful for my breath and my lungs, especially when I had Covid. The tightness I felt in my chest, luckily I, didn't have any longterm effects like some people but the awareness of my breathing and being conscious of not taking it for granted. "When you think about your breath, your breath is life! When you inhale, air enters your lungs, and oxygen from the air moves from your lungs to your blood. At the same time, carbon dioxide, a waste gas, moves from your blood to the lungs and is exhaled. This process is essential to life." NIH There are five types of Breathwork. Holotropic Breathwork, Shamanic Breathwork, Rebirthing Breathwork, Transformational Breathwork, and Wim Hof Method. There are other types of Breathwork that you may experience. Dr. Andrew Weil has spoken about the 4-7-8 technique for years and how he has seen so many changes in his client's health—breathing in for 4 seconds, holding the breath for 7 seconds, and exhaling for 8 seconds. This is a simple enough practice for you to begin your new Breathwork routine. "Conscious breath control is a useful tool

for achieving a relaxed, clear state of mind." Dr. Andrew Weil. If you have never tried Breathwork, you can find an amazing class in person or online. Even a video on Youtube by many reputable teachers. I once took a class at Michael Stone's home, who teaches Holotropic Breathwork. I couldn't have found a better place to be, connected to my breath, under a rainforest, on Earth Day! The magical moment I will never forget. You might light down or sit up, depending on your practice. I enjoyed my morning routine to experience a session because I feel energized throughout the day. You are changing your physical state. It feels very uplifting. Set an intention for your practice. What do you want to get out of it? Self-love, focus, releasing anxiety? I also have a mantra I like to use when I think of my breath. Inhale love, exhale gratitude. It's a wonderful mantra that helps you bring that awareness to the beauty of your breath and your body— taking a moment to be grateful for everything we have. Next time you need to decompress, get back to quiet stillness, breathe in love, and exhale gratitude. This is the simplest practice you can begin today, and explore the world of Breathwork and see how it transforms your life. Breathwork is certainly trending right now. But it has been around for a long time. This is a free technique; it has significant health benefits that modern medicine will not recommend to its patients. This is up to you to begin practice for yourself in holistic preventative health. Just breathe!

Sasha Gary is Gratitude Life Coach. actress, and writerin The Healthstyle Emporium www.theHSE.net. at is a 16 week online health program for women that shows you how to implement small sustainable changes one by one to help you with whole food nutrition, self-love and a conscious movement. Sasha is a yogi of 25 years, a crystal healer, and an avid sound bowl meditation participant and lives in Venice California!

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IMAGINATIVE

literature

and MENTAL HEALTH By Jayita Bhattacharjee

o how are literature and emotions connected? Books are a perfect place to hide away from the world, but in such a hide-out, you discover yourself as it is the healing place of your very soul, and the moment your eyes roll over a story, you instinctively recognize the transformational power of it, as reading becomes a journey of healing. From this perspective, imaginative literature can be very therapeutic and can offer solace and comfort for emotional disorders. Speaking of fiction, fiction is more than a story; it is a lot more than some hours of entertainment and amusement as reading becomes a journey of enlightenment. What does a story do to us? How does it add anything to our lives? The poet or a novelist captures the truth of emotions in conflict or attuned in the characters and thus is brilliantly revealed a greater truth with which we resonate in our deeps.

Photo by SAEED KARIMI

But the novelist can brilliantly catch the truth as they can offer the reader a mirror image of the society. With brilliance, the novelist creates a picture so rich with characters and their compelling traits the events and circumstances are so wisely woven that the bigger truth goes behind the façade, deep beneath the surface. It then becomes as a questioning picture, inviting the reader to explore not only what is on the surface but also the spaces in between, the gaps invisibly visible and the ambiguities, the contradictions, the torments, the pleasure and pain, the opposing forces at play. Story reading then becomes a process that pulls you to unearth a hidden truth that just facts can never lead to. 100 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM e APRIL 2022

That is the larger picture where a reader is ultimately headed. Now the specific question is what does the novel do to the author and reader? From a writer's perspective, a novelist gives the reader a story not just to give them a mere escape for a few hours, but he/she is urged by something deep within, the restless mad soul seeking a flight out into this world on the wings of a pen. By the time the story has been written to the last chapter, the writer is amazed at her own creativity, unbelievably glancing at the pages where the story now sits. How could he/she create a piece like that, living in a pretend world and bring out something so brilliant and vivid that it almost felt real? But all the while, the journey of that creativity was transformational for the novelist. This is an undeniable feeling on a profound level. On a conscious level, the novel is born out of continual questions that challenge the writer's mind, e.g., turmoil and confusion. As a novelist writes down, they can identify what was disturbing inside. The realization only strikes in the process of creating it. And what seemed to be in a haze emerges in the clarity of thoughts. Your own conflicted thoughts your own tormented feelings get shaped in a healthy manner that then is ready to be read by readers around the world. And the writer feels unburdened as the conflicts find the words; the mystery inside gets demystified. Writing about the childhood experiences that continue to haunt silently even in the later years of life brings a novelist to come to terms with them as by converting those experiences, they can finally put them behind. By recreating those times, those diverse characters, the days are relived, and the writer is brought face to face with the unanswered questions. And the tormented episodes gradually seem to ease as writing those emotions gives a clearer picture. As that writing then becomes a journey of ecstasy and putting the tormented feelings into words begins to cut through the depression. Writing then becomes a madness of soul, and as the novel proceeds, those characters are pulled up from the past, and what was left unresolved is now gradually accommodated in life as a healed past. Through this integration of the unresolved past, the healing begins as the novel gives it a home shape. Tilling the memories is not so for uprooting them but for a cause to heal what stayed emotionally unhealed. Prior to what the writer was refusing to look back at, through the novel, the conflicted ending of the past now returns as a peace-making ending of a story that began years ago. But along the way of writing a novel, a novelist realizes that it becomes a voyage of discovery as the

novelist does not begin with any discovery of anything. Neither do they have any remote idea for unearthing a bigger truth? But certain things need to be known. As if a writer has to lay out a story in front of the world, then you need to have detailed knowledge about all the characters, about their lifestyles, the places where they lived, the things they did about their friends and families, their past lives and so on. And in addition, a writer needs to have read their minds, their hopes and dreams, their fears, and thoughts, what dimmed their spirits and what ignited them, their bright as well as not so bright sides. As a writer has to understand the type of people they are and, why they do the things that they do, what justifies their actions. And in the process of penning down every single detail, you know them once again, only this time, you know them better. Along the road of telling others' stories, sometimes you find yourself, and this becomes a journey of self-discovery that happens completely unplanned. In the process of writing and finding the voices of other female characters in the novel, you may very well find your own voice. As you end the novel, you are no longer the person you used to be when you first started writing it. Because along the way, you have lived many lives, and each life is of a different character. You have encountered various experiences as the characters have gone through them. The cumulative experience of all these cannot leave you untouched. So through the terrains of the novel, the reader and writer walk together hand in hand, and it becomes a journey of discovery for the reader as much as it does for the writer. From that perspective, imaginative literature becomes very liberating and takes the reader on the road to healing. A reader goes deeply through a whole range of experiences, traveling through the entire gamut of experiences of diverse characters, and feels the simplicities, complexities, and multiplicities of all possible ways of human thoughts and actions, the finer shades, the detailed gradation of human behavior. As in imaginative literature, a novel, a writer is pushed to become more open and vulnerable, as it raises the sensitivity to other people, heightens the finer emotions of a soul, and makes a writer more sensitive to diverse people and predicaments. What it means is that a writer will no longer be confined to just one way of thinking. They will no longer remain as a one-track-minded individual, rather will extend their ways of thinking will no longer consider that their way is the right way and the only 101 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM e APRIL 2022

way and that no other way can exist. Rather, the writer will broaden the range of thinking and will, be inclusive of the diverse thought patterns, and will emerge as a respectful person who has learned to respect diversity. From this perspective, the novel crafting gives the writer several venues to enrich their imagination by offering characters with contrasting personalities, diverse routes, diverse destinies. And ultimately, it brings out the finer version of a novelist. From this perspective, imaginative literature is expansive and not constrictive. And ultimately, from this expansion, a novel heals a tormented soul, be it of a reader or a writer. Without a shadow of a doubt, sharing a plethora of experiences broadens the reader's emotional and experiential realm, heightening the reader's understanding of the innate nature of diverse people. In addition, it gives the reader tolerance for diversity. It ranges from an arrogant, tyrannical man full of humbug to people of monumental personalities. From this rich plethora, a reader is driven to fury, perplexity, madness, pathos, anguish, agony, and ecstasy. The reader travels all the way intricately, moving through the entire gamut of feelings and experiences, absorbing every emotion in the fiber of his/her being. So at times, the reader sympathizes with the characters and sees themselves in the characters, and at the end, after shifting from feeling to feeling, attuned with diverse people, he/she emerges as a different person. As if he has undergone a major identity transformation. The affiliation that a reader develops with the story's characters ultimately takes them to an identification with their struggles and problems, and their loss becomes a reader's loss; their triumph becomes a reader's triumph. Their struggles, hopes, and emotions become the reader. Together, they move, working towards the resolution as there is an instantaneous recognition of the similarities between the story characters and the readers. The reader might think of applying the ideas and teachings from the fictional piece to their own life. The reader is not the same person they used to be. Something moved the rocks in the reader significantly, and in that tremendous trembling, he/she underwent a colossal transformation. It's the capturing of those details in a pretend world so vividly that a reader feels so compelled to feel with them and for them. It is not a reader's frailty; rather, it is the evocative quality captured so brilliantly in the plot and word crafting. This makes the reader rich in the knowledge of how a human mind works, knowing the intricate details by profoundly feeling

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for them. This reading of a novel then becomes a journey of transformation. Along the way, it becomes a journey of healing, unknowingly, as a novel brings a reader to a place of confrontation, an impassable place where a reader sees no escape. That piece of imaginative literature then becomes a place of amazement that takes us into the hearts, souls, and minds of lovable as well as unlovable people. Thus, reading enlarges the senses and feelings and makes us expansive and receptive. The reader emerges with a feeling that the story becomes his/her story, and it comes from the identification with the characters. As the novel lays out with complete openness, a reader gets to move through their frights and dreams and identifies his/her feelings with theirs. And suddenly, the concealed self is no longer concealed anymore. It is brought in a place of total openness where a reader meets themselves. That is a place of open confrontation .and from such a confrontation, a transformation begins. What stayed as unanswered now comes to light and sees a possible answer. There was a frozen brook deep within a reader, but the story made a breakthrough, breaking the ice and carrying them through it. From this perspective, fiction breaks the walls between the people and takes them on a journey of deep healing.

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."

Stories Worth Telling

www.deborahkobylt.com

Deborah Kobylt LIVE, diving deep into the change makers in society, from authors to philanthropists, moms, tech wizards, actors, athletes, and more. I'm proud to say our show has millions of views and downloads, and has brought attention to a variety of causes. Being proud of my Italian heritage, I decided to start a second show, and founded The Little Italy of LA Podcast, interviewing Italians from the world of opera, art, travel, food, science, and film who have made authentic contributions to Italian-American culture. I’m deeply proud of both programs, and the significant impact each guest has made to community and society.

Deborah Zara Kobylt

JOURNALIST, CREATOR & HOST

HIGH ROAD TO HUMANITY By Nancy Yearout

THE MAGIC OF AFFIRMATIONS AND HOW THEY WORK

s I delved into the Real Estate world many years ago, I realized that many seminars were offered to our industry. Motivational speakers to help grow your Real Estate business. There were financial planners to assist you when you made the big bucks, organizers to assist you, technology gurus to show you the latest and greatest; the list was endless. I saw wonderful motivational speakers like Zig Ziegler, Tony Robins, and Barbara Bush the first couple of years. I wanted to learn the true secrets of success in the sales industry. I was also interested in what message these successful people were conveying. They all spoke about having a positive attitude in your body language and your speech. I started to hear about positive affirmations and visualizations. What were these, and how do you visualize what you want?

This was not magic. The spoken word holds energy. This was not a new concept.

How do you stay positive and upbeat all the time in this crazy world we live in?

Remember your words have POWER! They are full of energy. Do not say, “I will never be successful,” or you won’t be. Self-defeating words are just that.

I researched this new sales technique called affirmations. I studied many books to understand how this magic works. I learned that affirmations are short sentences that you say out loud, telling the Universe what you want. I realized that the words you say and how you say them are of the utmost importance. 104 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM e APRIL 2022

I began to understand that whatever you put out to the Universe is what you will receive back. It’s karma. If you speak positive words, you will receive a positive outcome. This is what the scriptures are trying to teach us in ancient times. If you speak negatively, the energy of your words will bounce back to you. It is verbal karma. The same goes for your actions, or should I say your intention. The Universe gives you exactly what you ask for, so be careful what you say to people or about yourself.

When I realized the power of the spoken word, I started to say things like, “I sell Real Estate immediately and constantly, and I accept the abundance” or “money flows immediately and constantly to me, and I accept the wealth.”

I began to say positive affirmations in the car on my way to work. I figured out that you must say your affirmations in the present tense and ask for it NOW! Always believe that you will receive what you are asking for in your heart and soul. You must know in your heart and soul that you will receive your request and be able to imagine the feeling you will have once your goal is achieved. This is key. You must believe it and feel it for your request to materialize. I continued to say my affirmations. The more I said them, the better my business became. I would say my Real Estate affirmations at least 3-5 times daily. When I realized this was working, I created affirmations involving my personal life. For example: “my children are happy and successful. “Yes, you can say positive affirmations to help others if your intentions are pure and good. Your result will be as powerful as your intention is. In other words, how strong the energy of the intention is. My daughters would tease me about speaking my goals out loud, but I didn’t care because it worked for me and paid our bills. Now don’t get me wrong, the Universe only brought me the business. It was up to me to take care of my customers and close the Real Estate deals myself. I am a professional and do the best job I possibly can for my clients. As my grandmother used to say to me, “Treat others as you would want to be treated.” So, I treated every sale like it was my own home purchase or land sale, and I still do. There are many wonderful books written about affirmations that you can use and focus upon. I make up my own affirmations. The subject depends on what is going on in my life at the time. I believe that is what you should try to do also. The rules are simple in creating affirmations. Pretend you are rubbing a magic lamp and that you are asking a Genie for a wish. Here are five simple steps to follow: 1. Tell the Universe what you want to receive out loud. (Put the energy out there.) Write down your affirmations so that you can remember them. I write my affirmations on 3 x 5 cards and stick them in my purse or briefcase when traveling. It would help if you said your affirmations first thing in the morning and before you go to sleep. When you read them before you fall asleep, your subconscious seems to absorb the information. Reading

them out loud speeds up the energetic process of manifestation. 2. It is important to be specific with your affirmation. Choose your words wisely. Ask for it now! Always work in the present tense, like it’s already yours. 3. I make some of my affirmations rhyme; the rhyming fuels the intention with more power. When your affirmations rhyme, you feel the meaning of the words more intensely, and you can also remember the affirmations more easily and light-heartedly. I have fun saying my affirmations when they rhyme. Here are a couple of my favorites: “I am healthy, wealthy, and wise; I have sparkling blue eyes.” “Everything is going my way; I have time to play.” “All my needs are met; I am thankful for what I get.” 4. Repeat your affirmation out loud at least 3 times a day and mean it! Repeat daily until you receive your wish. 5. Always give thanks to our Creator after you say your affirmation. Be grateful. Nancy Yearout is the voice behind the popular podcast High Road to Humanity. www.HighRoadtoHumanity. com On YouTube and Bit chute, you will find her video resence on Nancy Yearout’s High Road to Humanity. This is the platform that she uses to interview experts from across the globe in various fields of expertise, health, religion, energy healing, yoga, dream experts, astrologers, mediums, psychics, and seekers of the truth. She is the author of Wake Up! The Universe is Speaking to You. Nancy is a psychic empath and an energy healer offering assistance to all who seek the truth. You can book a session with Nancy on her website to ask her questions. She will provide insight to enhance your journey in life and guide you in creating your dreams. www.NancyYearout.com. Nancy is an Inspirational speaker and will book by appointment. Nancy is also the owner and qualifying broker of a real estate company in New Mexico. 105 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM e APRIL 2022

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