The eden magazine december 2017 by Maryam Morrison

EDEN T h e

Magazine

The Eden Achievement Award

SHAKE YOUR JOY WITH OTHERS THIS

CHRISTMAS

By Nancy E. Yearout

WHAT DREAMS MADE OF By Jonson Miller

THE CHILDHOOD CONCLUSIONS FIX TURNING NEGATIVE SELF-TALK AROUND By Lisette Schuienmaker December 2017

THE GREATEST GIFT By Tara-jenelle Walsch THE MAGIC WITHIN Jan Diana

FINDING JOY, LOVE & ANSWERS ON THE SACRED RIVER GANGES By Ray Brooks

Table of Contents 8

THE EDEN ACHIEVENMENT AWARD By Gigi DeMarco

SHAKE YOUR JOY WITH OTHERS THIS CHRISTMAS

By Nancy E, Yearout

DON'T UNDERESTIMATE THE POWER OF CONDITIONING By Ellen Tadd

THE ENDLESS CIRCLE OF GRACE By Maresha Ducharme

TRUE LOVE ONLY COMES FROM SELF-LOVE By Roxana Jones

THE IMPORTNACE OF LOOKING GREAT FOR HOLIDAYS By Margaret Tomaszewicz

WHAT DREAMS ARE MADE OF By Jonson Miller

TREASURE HUNTS: FOLLOW YOUR INNER CLUES TO FIND TRUE SUCCESS By Rizwan Virk

FINDING JOY, LOVE & ANSWERS ON THE SACRED RIVER GANGS By Ray Brooks

THE CHILDHOOD CONCLUSIONS FIX.... By Lisette Schuienmaker

Cover Photo by Randy Tarango Edited by BRENDA SAINT HILAIRE PHOTOGRAPHY

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EDEN

Photo by Artin Mardirosian

T H E

MAGAZINE

Spreading compassion to all Sentient Beings and Lliving in healing and peaceful world

FOUNDER & EDITOR-IN-CHIEF MARYAM MORRISON

Maryam Morrison

CONTRIBUTING EDITOR DINA MORRONE PUBLIC RELATIONS MARIA ELENA INFANTINO SOCIALITE DIRECTOR GLORIA KISEL-HOLLIS CONTRIBUTING WRITERS JAN DIANA TARA-JENELLE WALSCH MICHAEL WHITE RYAN ANGELA DUNNING ROXANA JONES & ARNAUD SAINT-PAUL GRAPHICS ARTIPHICS PHOTOGRAPHY BRENDA SAINT HILAIRE PHOTOGRAPHY EVENT PHOTOGRAPHY SHERI DETERMAN CONTRIBUTING STYLISTS + MAKEUP ARTIST EDWARD HAKOPIAN WEBSITE www.theedenmagazine.com FACEBOOK www.facebook.com/TheEdenMagazine To have a copy visit us in www.magcloud.com

Eden Magazine is an independent monthly online magazine. Our aim is to create a better environment where we live among other living being in peace and harmony. We support artists that their work match 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

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ACHIEVEMENT

THE EDEN ACHIEVEMENT AWARD 2017 By Gigi DeMarco

The first annual The Eden Achievement Awards were held on Sunday, December 3, 2017, at the prestigious and historic Beverly Hills Hotel, in Beverly Hills, California. Over the last eight years at the helm of The Eden Magazine, Maryam Morrison decided it was time to launch the first annual The Eden Achievement Awards. Morrison was interviewed for this piece and asked how she came up with the idea for this Award. “The idea for the Award came to me one day while I reflected on just how many fascinating people from all over the world, with diverse backgrounds and skill sets, I have met over the years and continue to meet daily. My job is all about research and discovery. I like to travel and I also like to think outside the box when I am looking for prospective people to feature in my magazine. I am very selective and thorough in my choices and labor through the process with extensive research, discussion and attention to detail.” She went on to say, “The thing I notice time and time again is that most of the prospective candidates have one thing in common, and that is their passion for giving back; the humanitarian aspect of giving back, the love of fellow man, of animals, children, of all creatures, the planet, our neighbor and of our art.”

AWARD

HEROES AND HUMANITARIANS

Morrison said she feels that by creating this Award, she is introducing her readers and people around the world, some heroes and humanitarians who live amongst us, who most people may have not even heard of but who deserve to be recognized and awarded for helping make the world a better place for all. She couldn’t be more proud to be celebrating with so many very deserving winners from all over the world. The winners of the first annual The Eden Magazine Awards are: *Marcus Giers, the very first recipient of The Eden Achievement Award, is a Speaker and Brand Expert. He received his award for his charity work in Kenya and Haiti. The award also went to Giers' wife Claudia, who supports and promotes the joint charity projects. "I am immensely proud to be receiving this award today," said Giers. “The Eden Magazine which draws attention to socially engaged personalities as well as to important parts of the world has created a beautiful award to bestow upon us. It's a great honor for me and my wife Claudia to receive this.” Morrison and film producer Tarantino presented Giers with the award. *Carlo Ponti Jr., who was born in Switzerland to Italian parents, Academy Award-winning Producer Carlo Ponti and Academy Award winner Sophia Loren, is the conductor of the San Bernardino Orchestra. Ponti received the Charity National Award for his social commitment to art and giving back through his music and various charities. The gifts Ponti imparts to young people through teaching music is immeasurable. “Music fosters creativity, teaches cooperation, builds self-esteem, and helps students to stay in school, especially at-risk students,” Ponti said. He then went on to say, "This award is a symbol of recognition for the work we do so that we can continue to engage in social projects to change this world to the positive.” *Astrid Arens, a well-known neuroscientist from Germany, and known in Europe as “The Voice in the World of Business,” received The Eden Achievement Award for her countless hours of charity work. Arens has supported social projects for children both financially and personally for many years and she has been especially valuable to the helpers of these projects by being on site as a source of strength. Another focus of her social commitment is her extraordinary commitment to Women's Rights. Like the other winners, she also gave an emotional acceptance speech. "Recognizing the need to fight for the rights of children and women, it's an unbelievable honor for me to take this award home," said Arens. The neuroscientist and speaker is a hope for children and a role model for women. She brings "a breath of fresh air into the global economic markets" and turns the image of women and career completely upside down. 10 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM e December 2017

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*Bruno Serato, originally from San Bonifacio, in Northern Italy, is a celebrity Chef, entrepreneur, and Philanthropist, and was named CNN Hero. He received the Philanthropist Hero Award for his social commitment and fight against poverty and hunger. Morrison presented him with the award that also went to his foundation, Caterina’s Club, named after his late mother, Caterina, which was started by Serato several years ago to feed underprivileged children in southern California. “It was a great honor,” Serato said in his speech. Serato, recently launched his own cookbook, The Power of Pasta, and is donating the proceeds of the sales of his book to Caterina’s Club. German entrepreneur *Christoph Ulrich Mayer was also one of the recipients of The Eden Magazine Award. Morrison honored this very special person who has great vision and creativity, and whose outstanding patents and successes help people around the world. His goal in life is to leave the world a little better than how he found it. Mayer and his team are working day by day to find solutions that make life easier for people around the world, with scientific achievements and incredible optimism to live healthier lives. Not only has he achieved a number of great successes, but he has also won numerous international awards and his expertise is in demand around the globe to change this world for the better. The Heroes for Children Award went to two very deserving people: *Keith Mitchell who hails from Los Angeles, is a former NFL football star and started The Light It Up Foundation which works with communities, schools, and organizations to introduce mindfulness, meditation, and movement -- with a yoga focus -- first and foremost to children. The foundation also serves to educate first responders, police and doctors, veterans and people who suffer mental disorders. Mitchell also had the honor of going to the White House during the Obama administration to meet President and Michelle Obama. *Gerhard Matthes, a self-made Entrepreneur from Germany, and philanthropist, who runs a non-profit origination, which teaches, cares, and supplies hot meals to children every day. Through his charity GertiGutperle Foundation, he supplied X-ray machines for the Childcare Center in India, near the town of Nagercoil. Both Mitchell and Mathese received their award for their

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daily commitment and dedication to children. “The suffering and poverty of the children is an incredible tragedy,” they both said. “Children who live on the margins of society, who are not accepted, are the adults of tomorrow, without success and without future prospects.” *Marcus Rübbe received an award for his social commitment. Rübbe, a successful entrepreneur, speaker and university lecturer is also a philanthropist. When he is not working, instead of relaxing, Rübbe supports social engagements around the world, visits children in need and helps the poorest of the poor. Some people invest money, others donate time and some donate when needed. Rübbe does everything, invests money and donates a lot of his time. "With my work, I want to encourage others to share with less favored people so that they can live happier and healthier lives." *Dina Morrone, Italian/Canadian actress, playwright, and voice-over performer, dedicates her time to the Arts. Her passion is theater. Among the many organizations, she is involved with she likes to single out that she sits on the Artistic Board of Theatre West, a non-profit and the longest continually running theater in Los Angeles, and also home to Storybook Theatre, award winning Children’s Theater for the past 35 years. She loves to entertain people by making them laugh. “I like when adults and children walk away from my shows or the theater in general and feel better than they did when they walked it. To make people laugh, move them, or have them take their mind off of things and be transported to another place and time, that is golden and my way of giving back.“ Dina also gives to numerous Charities in the US and Canada as well as other Arts Organizations. Morrison would like to thank all who helped support the event, those who helped with the planning, the staff at the Beverly Hills Hotel, and all who attended, for making the first annual The Eden Achievement Awards a success. For more information about the winners or The Eden Achievement Awards please go the website; www.theedenmagazine.com or www.the-eden-achievement-award.com Photography by Randy Tarango www.people-photography.de Location Berlin, Germany, Beverly Hills, Calilfornia

The Eden Achievement Awards

Held at the Beverly Hills Hotel Photography by Martin Ehleben

Speical thanks to our sponsors. guests and all the staff at the Beverly Hills Hotel, that made the first The Eden Achievement Award a total Success.

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Share Your Joy with Others This Christmas By Nancy E. Yearout

Christmas is a time for giving of gifts to people we love and often to people we have never met. It’s that one time of year that we seem to forgive a bit easier and love even stronger. It’s a time when families and friends join together to celebrate the birth of the baby Jesus. The Holiday season brings joy to people that may not have held any joy in their hearts all year long. This is the one time of the year that you have an open door to do something kind for another person. Someone who is less fortunate than yourself. It really doesn’t matter what you do, the point is to do something to bring joy to another human being. If only for one day. You can visit a retirement home in your area and read to the elderly and bring them some goodies. Stop by your local food bank and donate some canned goods. Listen for the sounds of the Salvation Army workers ringing their bells as you go about town and give to the needy. I know that the Salvation Army is always in need of small toiletries, clothing and volunteers. It is sad for me to say but your local food bank will consistently need donations. There are numerous things that you can do to bring joy to another person’s life this Holiday Season. A kind word, a smile, or a compliment to a stranger can mean the world to a person who is going through a tough time in their life. Many people are alone this time of year, and no one should be alone at Christmas time. We should all make sure our family, friends and neighbors have somewhere to go this Holiday. We should all be here for each other and love one another as love is the most powerful gift one can give. And if you don’t have any plans this Christmas and there a chance that you might be alone, know that you don’t have to be. Stop by your neighbors with a bottle of wine or dessert. Go by your local church and pray with

the community, they won’t turn you away. Volunteer for Meals on Wheels and take food to the elderly, they can always use the help. This Christmas give thanks that you’re alive and spread your Joy to the world! Merry Christmas

1 Nancy E. Yearout is an author, a spiritual life coach, and a motivational speaker. Nancy has enjoyed an extensive corporate career as a sales coordinator with one of the Big Three automakers in Detroit. Her sales, management, and marketing skills have grown with each step of her business. Her success has blessed her with the real life experience, knowledge, and common sense that is required to help others through life’s challenges. Nancy has been fortunate to acquire hands-on energy healing skills from an Aztec healer from Mexico, and she has helped many balance their energy fields. She has received guidance from religious and spiritual teachers along the way, resulting in the development of her skills as an intuitive, a tarot card reader, and a life coach. She utilizes these tools to guide her clients to joyful and successful lives. Nancy is the author of Wake Up! The Universe Is Speaking To You. www.TheEnergyProphet.com 19 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM e December 2017

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Don’t Underestimate the Power of Conditioning By Ellen Tadd

Before I had a spiritual awakening at age nineteen, I thought I was going to be a child psychologist. Watching children and following their development was endlessly interesting to me. But this plan quickly and radically changed when my diseased mother came to me after she died, opening me up to clairvoyance and clairaudience and the world beyond the physical. When my son was born I was able to clairvoyantly watch the process of a soul incarnating into his next life. A life as my child, but as I learned, he was really an individual on his on life’s path. I was able to recognize through meeting my future son in etheric form before his birth, that he had his own character before joining my family. Culturally we are taught that we are a product of genetics and our environment, that we don’t exist until the physical body is formed and that our consciousness resides in our brain.

But I know this conditioning to be inaccurate. It’s not unusual for a society or a group of people to have commonly held beliefs that over time become proven wrong. After all we no longer believe the world is flat. I have had out of body experiences where my spirit is looking down on my body asleep on my bed, yet in the midst of these experiences I am conscious of what is happening to me, even though my brain is still contained in my body. I am certainly not the only person who can report such an experience, there are many books written about this subject. But what I am most interested to discuss here in this article is the power of conditioning from education, media, parents, and society at large that dramatically influences what people believe to be true. As a quote from Aristotle said, “Give me a child until he is seven and I will show you the man.”

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Our cultural conditioning can be our biggest obstacle in gaining clarity and actualizing our deepest and most pure nature, our Spirit’s essence. A Christian child growing up in Nazi Germany has very different conditioning then an African American child growing up in a southern state in the United States during the time of slavery. We should not be so sure that the conditioning we are exposed to from parents, media, or our education is correct. The important lesson here is to not just conform, but to develop the skill of discernment in the midst of the complexity of many strong opinions, some of which bombard us over and over again. The need for personal clarity is why I”m a proponent of meditation. Stilling brain chatter and quieting our preconceived notions allows us to listen to a source that is deeper than the written word, or any verbal opinions. I often think of meditation as going into the closet and closing the door. While being deeply with ourselves we can listen to what resonates, what rings true and what does not without being distracted. For me meditation is more than a relaxation exercise. It is a way of connecting with my inner wisdom and the energetic wellspring of life. If we embrace concepts and ideas without reflection and without taking them into ourselves for finally confirmation, then we make ourselves vulnerable to letting the confusion of others guide our life. This is not to say that we can’t learn from others, but many experts disagree. Ultimately we are responsibility for our choices even when we have little knowledge about a subject or circumstance, because we must live with the consequence of our decisions. I have taught meditation for many years, guiding people to listen deeply, even in the midst of their daily interactions. It’s not uncommon for me to listen to someone talk and hear the ring of accuracy and then the dull thud of confusion intermingled within a single conversation. Just because someone is confident does not make them accurate or wise. I would like to suggest daily meditation for the purpose of developing and maintaining clarity, as a tool for navigating our very complex world. Meditation is now commonly talked about or practiced, but it means different things to different people. The way I teach meditation is like an X. The bottom part of the X is

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everyday thought, the point in the center is stillness. How do you get to the middle of the X? First focus on something that inspires you. It can be a memory, a person, a concept. Once you feel genuine inspiration you will feel an expansive openness. This is a prerequisite to receiving access to insight beyond our current state of consciousness. Next repeat one sentence as a way to focus your mind, sometimes referred to as a mantra or positive affirmation. Some simple examples are “I am light” or “I am Spirit.” Repeat the one phrase a number of times, then pause, holding your mind still, gradually extending the pause, using the affirmation as much as you need it. Achieving stillness may take practice, but once you can hold stillness for an extended period of time your ability to listen will deepen and along with this skill will come greater clarity and confidence. This process is both simple and profound. Try this technique and see what happens for you.

f Ellen Tadd is an internationally known clairvoyant counselor who has been teaching and counseling for more than forty years. She is widely respected for the integrity of her work, the accuracy of her perceptions and guidance, and the clarity and usefulness of her teaching. Her work has been supported by the Edgar Cayce Foundation, the Marion Institute, Deepak Chopra, Child Spirit Institute, the Institute of Noetic Sciences, and the Boston Center for Adult Education, among others. Her work has been covered in Newsweek, and Tadd has lectured across the country at colleges, universities, hospitals, and community groups. Tadd’s first book, Death and Letting Go, appeared on the Boston Globe bestseller list. Her latest book The Infinite View: A Guidebook for Life on Earth was published in March by Tarcher Perigee.

How To Overcome Fear By Dr. Nauman Naeem

In his fascinating book, Healing From The Inside Out: Overcome Chronic Disease And Radically Change Your Life, Dr. Nauman Naeem explains the how fear is the most crippling emotion most people can experience and how to rationally deal with and overcome fear.

Fear is one of the most fascinating and crippling human emotions. All of us, at one time or another, have been overcome with fear. As I have mentioned earlier, there are two kinds of fear: actual fear and psychological fear. Actual fear involves a true danger, one that is often life threatening. An example of this is if a masked criminal holds you up at gunpoint in a dark alley in the slums of the city in which you live. In this case, there is a legitimate threat to your life, and the fear is warranted. Psychological fear, however, is a misperceived danger or threat in a situation in which there is none. An example of this is coming to work on a Monday morning and being completely ignored by your boss as he walks by you in the hallway outside your office. Most people would ascribe all sorts of meaning to such an event, with no evidence of any truth behind their interpretation.

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For example, you may think that your boss is upset with something you did or your recent performance at work. This could evolve into worry and stress over where you went wrong. This could lead to fear of potentially losing your job which could lead to the fear of how you will support your family and pay your bills. You will then begin dwelling on how you will ever find another job and what you now have to do prove your worth to another employer. This may lead to a change in your behavior at work with your colleagues and the boss who snubbed you, which could create an issue where none ever existed. Now, there is a possibility that all you believe about this event is true. However, if your performance at work to that point has been exemplary, and your boss and colleagues have previously been pleased with you, it is unlikely that any of your fears are warranted. Another possible interpretation of this event is that your boss is so preoccupied with another issue that has nothing to do with you that he failed to notice you as he walked by you. He may be preoccupied with a personal issue at home, another employee, a difficult client, last quarter profits, a new product launch, a new direction that the business is taking, or any number of issues that have nothing to do with you. But because our minds have a tendency to misinterpret events before they have all the facts, the situation is interpreted in a way that creates unwarranted fear, which can lead to chronic stress and, eventually, illness. I call this psychological fear because it is created by the mind and is not an actual danger or threat. Other situations in which we feel psychological fear is when we aspire to goals that weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re not sure we can achieve. A classic example is that you want to ask someone out on a date but are afraid of being rejected. Another example is asking your boss for a salary increase. In both cases, you have a goal in mind, but before you even know what the outcome will be your mind has created fear around this goal. The truth of the matter is that it is natural to feel such psychological fear because it is often a learned response from situations in our early childhood and youth in which we may not have always gotten what we desired. Our ego latches onto these memories and reinforces our fears. It does this in order to keep us safe from rejection and disappointment because the egoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s role, in our evolution, has been to help us survive.

The problem with this is that even though our ego has been integral to our survival, it often keeps us from taking the necessary steps to achieve great things in our lives. The problem is not the feeling of psychological fear but what we do with the feeling. If we dwell on psychological fear and let it pollute our thoughts and affect our daily routine, it will eventually lead to chronic stress and illness, as I have already mentioned. What we need to realize is that psychological fear is usually a threshold that we have to face on the path to our goals and ambitions, a gate that we must pass through in order to achieve these. Fear usually arises out of some sort of risk, and there are many kinds of risk we can face. In physical risk, there is a threat to your physical body and well-being. An example of this is mountain climbing or skydiving, where there is a potential risk to life. Emotional risk usually involves our dealings with other people and our relationships. An example of this is telling someone you care deeply about that you love them. The risk here is that the feelings will not be reciprocated. Intellectual risk involves seeking to learn and apply a new body of knowledge or skill. Spiritual risk can take several forms. One type of spiritual risk is when you go against your religious upbringing and choose a different religious or spiritual path. The risk here is that you will be shunned and condemned by your parents, siblings, and extended family members. Another type of spiritual risk is trusting in a Higher Power. The risk here is that the existence of a Higher Power cannot be rationally proven and is based solely on faith or belief. There is the potential that your beliefs in a Higher Power are not true. Existential risk involves beginning to question the reasons behind the creation of the universe and your own very existence. The risk here is that you could create a crisis of identity and meaning that could dramatically alter the current course of your life situation. I would like to give you a rational approach to dealing with any fear that you may experience in your life, actual or psychological. But no matter what is causing the fear you are experiencing, action is always a must. This will become more clear as I discuss the steps to dealing with any fear that you face.

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The first step is to assess the situation: the source of the fear. Is there an actual threat or danger to your life? If this is the case, then you are dealing with an actual fear, and you must take any immediate action possible to remove yourself from the source of the threat or anger. For example, if you are being confronted by an armed gunman, you either give him what he wants, so that he will leave you alone, or you go along with his demands until you can find an opening in the situation to escape. If there is no actual threat or danger, you must then ask yourself, what is the source of my psychological fear? It may be that you are imagining the worst possible outcome of the situation. For example, in the case of asking out an attractive person on a date, your mind may fear the potential outcome of rejection. The problem is that your mind is imagining the worst possible outcome from of a spectrum of potential outcomes. One possible outcome could be that they agree to go out with you. Another possible outcome is that they do not become a love interest but a friend who you can spend time with. Another possible outcome is that they are not romantically interested in you but by going through the process of asking them out, you gain the courage to ask out someone else. Our minds have a tendency to latch onto the worst possible outcome and make this a reality before the actual situation has a chance to unfold naturally. The way to deal with this is to let your mind experience the emotional outcome of the worst possible situation. For example, in the case of asking out an attractive person on a date, let your mind experience rejection and feel this outcome fully. Then ask your mind, what is the worst possible thing that could happen? Will you die? Of course not! Will you be embarrassed? Potentially. Will your ego or your pride be temporarily bruised from this rejection? Possibly, but this is not the end of the world. You will, eventually, get over this rejection and realize that there are many other people you could potentially date. What you are doing here is putting the worst possible outcome into perspective and realizing that the emotional fallout from this outcome is probably not as bad as your mind may have imagined it. You are also telling your mind that the worst possible outcome is only one out of a spectrum of other possible outcomes, many of which may be desirable. The issue at hand is that you will never know the eventual outcome if you do not take action on the issue that causes the psychological fear. 26 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM e December 2017

What this means is that psychological fear is not an insurmountable obstacle that you should retreat from but a threshold that you need to cross if you are to grow and evolve. Think about it. Some of our greatest accomplishments have been achieved despite our fears about taking action. When a baby is first learning to walk, they hesitate, stumble many times, and may even get hurt while trying. But the baby does not give up and keeps on trying despite their fear until they are finally able to walk with full balance. This is how we should handle our psychological fears. As long as there is no imminent threat to our lives, we need to move toward our fears and through them. This is the only way we will achieve the spectrum of desirable outcomes that can come out of the situation. It is where real inner growth and wisdom occurs. This is why fear is a signpost on your journey that guides you to the greatest possibilities for your life. The other thing to realize is that courage is not the absence of fear but the ability to do what needs to be done in spite of fear. If you give in to the fear, then you are allowing your ego to dictate the course of your life, which thinks it is keeping you safe from disappointment. If you move toward and through your fear, then you are living from the highest aspect of who you are, namely your consciousness, being, or spirit, which cannot be threatened by anything. Fear is simply your higher self calling you to live the greatest version of who you are in order to open yourself up to experience the best possible outcome in any situation. So feel the fear, and do it anyway!

e Dr. Nauman Naeem specializes in critical care, pulmonary medicine, and palliative care. His unique insights into healing stem from caring for tens of thousands of chronically and critically ill patients for nearly two decades. He lives with his wife and three children in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada. https://naumannaeem.com Healing From the Inside Out, Findhorn Press, Distributed by Legato Publishers Group (a division of Ingram Content Group)

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Reclaming Your True Self

with Angela Dunning

Poetry as Healing Agent The Role of Poetry in Discovering and Reclaiming the Fragmented Self By Angela Dunning

A few years ago, following a spiritually uplifting and very healing holiday in the West of Ireland, I found myself having the sudden urge to write poems. Inspired by the outrageously stunning and wild scenery of Western Ireland, out of nowhere, words began to tumble out of my mind and form into poems on the page, as if by their own volition. As I started to embrace my new-found creativity and allow this free-flowing energy to run down my arms and into my hands, I discovered several things in quick succession: One: There was such freedom in writing poetry. I could let go of sentence structure, paragraphs and even, to some extent, punctuation and logic. Unlike any other written form, poetry allows, if not encourages, a bending of the rules, urging this free-form style to run free. It was possible, therefore, to allow my creative imaginings and metaphors to take on a life of their own, as this energy danced quite gaily out of my fingertips by itself. Two: As someone committed to my own personal healing and growth, I learned that writing poems allowed me to express some very difficult personal experiences and feel28 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM e December 2017

ing-states. For example, to my astonishment, it was often during or immediately after a bout of deep depression that most of my poems would suddenly spring to life, quickly forming their words on the page and seemingly from out of the darkness of the abyss I had just found myself in once again. I found this to be doubly beneficial as it helped me make conscious sense of what I had just been through (another unwanted visit to the Underworld), and it seemed to help clear away the stuck, de-pressed energy from my system. It seems I had found both an outlet and an agent to help me deal with my periods of depression. Three â&#x20AC;&#x201C; And this is so often the case when you are brave enough to write down some of your most personal experiences: A lot of people resonated with my poems and said they found them supportive and comforting. Finally, I discovered, much to my utter joy, that I really enjoyed writing poems. A whole new playfulness arose in me at times as I conjured up imagery and symbolism, allowing the poem to almost write itself much of the time. I had found a new creative form of expression which was simultaneously healing and enjoyable.

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As my confidence grew I found at times that I was writing a new poem each day. Many a morning I would be showering or driving my car and suddenly a word, or a phrase would spring into my awareness and, like a golden thread, I would follow wherever it wanted to take me, showing me lands and feeling-states I had never before explored through words. My personal journey of healing has found a voice in writing these poems. Furthermore, I am now finding the courage to share my ups and downs and challenges with others by publically sharing my poems online. And in turn, my readers find a safe haven to offer their own troubled-selves, as they read and connect with my words. If we think of some truly great contemporary poets in the self-help and spirituality field, I’m sure we have all had a similar experience, where the writer has somehow found the words and imagery to reflect on their own journey, which in turn, shines a new light on our own struggles. One only has to read the poems of John O’Donohue, David Whyte, Mary Oliver or Oriah Mountain Dreamer to find a deep resonance and sense of immediate comfort in their beautiful words and metaphors. I now also include writing and poetry in my workshops and one-to-one work with people who are also on a journey of personal exploration. In the safe space of our work together my clients can allow their subconscious and imagination to run wild, allowing words to tumble freeform onto the paper; rather than worrying about whether it makes sense or is logical. Poetry gives us permission, in fact it demands, that we ask our controlling left-brain to take a break and instead allow our more gentle, right-brain to take over for a while. Like a spiral or a labyrinth, our pen or keyboard can trace a shape which is intuitive, non-linear and curious for a change. One last word about writing poetry that I’d like to share with you is this: You don’t need to be a good writer or trained in writing poetry to begin. That is the other beautiful thing about poetry: You can simply allow your own thoughts, feelings and imaginings to form and flow. Even if no one else sees what you have written, what is important is that you allow and facilitate this flow through a desire to express yourself, releasing blocked energy and even traumatic experiences in the process. To finish I’d like to finish by sharing one of my earliest poems with you; I hope you enjoy it. 30 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM e December 2017

Reclaiming My Power Slowly, little by little I re-find parts of myself Buried, forgotten and lost I unearth them into being. Arching my spine Like a majestic horse I stretch into my new self Feeling them slowly become Part of the new me. Hints of memories Flashes of insight Words of wisdom That just suddenly take flight Out of my mouth. Re-finding myself A little more each day No one-off workshop Not one technique. But a steady gathering Of pieces slot by slot Bringing me together Joining the dots And the threads That I follow. That's all that's required I now find No magic power from Outside of my own hand But a deep revealing That my truth lies quietly inside.

Angela Dunning is the author of The Horse Leads the Way: Honoring the True Role of the Horse in Equine Facilitated Practice. You can learn more about Angela; her work helping people and horses reclaim their wildness, and read more of her articles at: www. thehorsestruth.co.uk You can also connect with Angela on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thehorsestruth | www.thehorsestruth.co.uk

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How To Tap Into Your Intuitive Heart For Love By Lisa K.

If you really want to know the right things to do in your love relationships you need to pay attention to the messages your intuition is giving you through your heart. What does it mean to get messages through your heart? You often hear, “Go into your heart” or “listen to your heart.” When I first heard this, I had no idea what it meant. I would go into my heart if I knew how to do that; is there a door to the heart that I missed? Listening to my heart was even harder. I soon learned how to listen directly to my intuitive heart. Your Heart Feelings You already know how to listen to your heart because when you are in love with someone, or just love someone there are a lot of strong feelings that you feel going through your relationship. Those feelings are easy to identify if you think back on it. You might easily remember the excitement you feel when you’re newly in love. Feeling passionate when they love you back, exuberant when your relationship is riding high. Perhaps you felt nervous anticipation over what they may say or think about you next. The warming comfort knowing they love you unconditionally, or deflating disappointment when your loved one doesn’t respond the way you wanted. Sometimes those feelings hit you like a ton of bricks and you really know they are there. At other times the feelings are subtle. All of those feelings are connected to what is known as your heart speaking to you. Those heart feelings are partly how your intuition speaks to you. The feelings may not be located physically where your heart is. Sometimes the feeling seems to start in your chest and then drops to your stomach. At other times it is a whole body feeling. Anguish seems to hit you in your chest. A feeling of great love and happiness also seems to be where our hearts are located. Shock and the feeling of being stunned also seems to hit us in our chest. If you notice that when you have those feelings your hands automatically go to where your heart is located in the center of your chest. These are universal feelings. While we think that women feel more than men, men have these feelings too. Perhaps men don’t talk about it as much. Those feelings are also the feelings that your loved one feels too when relating to you. Because of this, you can tap into your own intuitive feelings to sense what they are feeling about you. You can tap into your intuitive heart. 33 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM e December 2017

The Heart Organ The heart is an interesting organ. It has it’s own nervous system and it can remember and learn. It holds information that it can process. Energetically it is also connected to your heart chakra, which is the energy portal that takes in and sends out energy from your body’s energy system. It is through that energy that we can energetically connect to others. Theoretically, it is also how we pick up intuitively how others are feeling about us. You can move this energy to connect to others simply with your intention and thoughts. Your thoughts are also what trigger your intuition to act and give you messages through responding to your wanting to know something. Why Your Heart Is Always Right Your heart doesn’t think; it just reacts honestly. Your heart may be a more truthful barometer, not only of what you are feeling but also of what others are experiencing. You can use your heart to find out the truth of what others are feeling. You can do this by using your intuition technique to find out what your heart is saying. How To Connect With Your Heart You can connect to your heart by tapping into your intuitive feelings. The way you do this is to use my intuition on demand technique by initially asking your intuition a question and be open to the intuitive response you get through your feelings. Step by Step The way this works is to ask your intuition questions and see how your intuition makes you feel in response. Then imagine you are your loved one and see what feelings come up in response to the question you posed your intuition. I will show you some example questions you can ask your intuition, which by the way, you are asking in your mind. In the questions, it is important to use your loved one’s name since it can trigger and focus your intuition’s response more clearly. I have put in “insert name” where you should put the name of the person you love whose feelings you want to find out about. Imagine that you are energetically connecting to your loved one through your hearts. Ask your intuitive heart the questions listed. Once you ask your intuition these questions, not yourself, then pause and see what feelings arise. Imagine you are asking your intuitive heart to tell you the answer to the questions. Pay attention to your immediate feelings.

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Here are the questions you can ask your intuition to respond to: 1. How does [insert name] feel about the way I love him or her? 2. Show me the same feelings [insert name] has when he or she feels love for me. 3. Show me [insert name]’s feelings for me when they are away from me for a long time or at a far distance. 4. How does [insert name] feel when I give him or her a gift for a special occasion? 5. Show me how [insert name] feels when we are together. Remember you can do this with anyone. It doesn’t have to be with someone close to you. The best time to do this is when you are not too emotional and you are relaxed. Pay attention when you are not querying your intuition. You know your intuitive heart is talking to you even when you are doing other things or you’re talking with your loved one. So when you are with them and your talking or interacting together, pay attention to your intuitive heart’s feelings because it may be telling you something you need to know about them. Your intuitive heart’s messages are not hard to interpret if you pay attention to your own feelings and then see when they arise when you employ your intuition to give you information. Then you can tap into your intuitive heart any time for love.

d Lisa K. PhD, is a teacher, author and speaker specializing in intuition and creator of Developing Your Intuition. Known as the intuition expert, Lisa has taught hundreds of people in workshops and seminars. Lisa K.’s public appearances reach people around the world through guest speaking and online media. Lisa’s latest book Intuition On Demand is now available with free gifts when you order. For more information go to www.IntuitionOnDemandBook.com

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LANGUAGE OF SPACE

with Michael White Ryan

HUMAN EMERGENCE WE COME FROM SOME WHERE.... BUT WE KNOW NOT WHERE By Michael White Ryan

A new era has been silently emerging this past decade, well forever in-fact, and now it is quietly bursting forth into the mainstream portals of the human mind. It’s refreshing to see this emergence among our over polarized existing cemented fabricated pieces of knowledge, of which “we have the vaguest idea of their energetic hold upon us”.

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The human focus in most cases has always been on the human emergence, via defining both the positives and the negatives within our experiences. This is totally understandable, as the struggle and challenges within the “who am I’ begs the many continued repeated questionings! It’s a self-fulfilling prophecy of which it appears we have no control over. For better or for worse, we continually evolveback to where we started from. Inevitably speaking, and so it is, a construct once programed can only deliver its true nature. It’s no wonder we continue to arrive back at the beginning, where we become the servant to all external sources to “save me”. Where we come from, is a debate better left up for those who are educated to think they know!!! Responsibility…the evolution of self Now that we have arrived in this materialistic form, it may be best to start with one single question, what are our options? Out of the voidness we appeared, singular pioneers capable of crossing over into-becoming this thinking-physical object, supposedly with skills? As within nature, nothing expands while remaining alone or separated. When singularity emerges into plurality, if and when, then and only then will personal evolution ever occur. It may appear otherwise to those who have total control of their wants and desires, but that is only the foolishness and short comings of a thinking ego! And so, the journey has begun, we were birthed from complete unity, where one plus one equals one, into this imaginary physical world of duality where one plus one equals two, where separation has remained until now, the name of the game. Pondering where to next, as one does. Read here, and ask, does any of the following fit with you. Here I exist in my logo canvas shoes, in line at my special chosen abode for my morning coffee kick. Then my song that I love chimes in, could it be that synchronicity is on my side, it’s John Lennon “Imagine, and the world is one”. Happiness floods my beingness. Ask the question, what is “my world” looking like these days? In a world where I educate my-self, the insights and understandings learnt of positive and negative, right from wrong, good from bad, have now given clarity and meaning to my life. In my practice of self-discovering unity with all that is, I embrace together with my thinking unconditional love, choices of that which I like and that which I dislike. I practice duality, I am a practicing 3D material creature, I am made for this world!!! Today the sun is shining, as I step from Buzz, favor-

ite coffee in hand. I feel the heat upon my skin, music acompainied by the sounds of active voices fills the air, I am at peace and fulfilled, experience is good. Legacy has given us value from the past to guarantee the present moments of our actions has a solid foundation of worthiness. And yet, for some, still there exists a struggle internally, devoid of any personal connection to that which feeds our spirit, therefore we indulge! We surrogate life with personal choice ownerships, in the hope that “happy” is the end goal. Add to this the need for an accepted social purpose and bingo, life is fulfilling, as we dance the illusion in the light, fandango. We live in a pool, flooded with a multitude of the unexplained. Within life exists a myriad of answer-solutions, that may be correct or incorrect and yet for most, they offer an explanation, an answer to validate one’s existence. Whatever the case may be, it gives us a platform of stabilization, from which, coupled with faith and courage, we can begin a journey into our own unique “human emergence”. Allow yourself to be the adventure, then begin to travel all of these numerous rivers of experience, to discover life in one’s existence, unimpeded and unafraid. Know this, you are the Kings and Queens of this timely journey. Blessed are we all.

t Michael White Ryan is a co-founder with his wife Pamela Edwards of Language of Space. They are leaders in sustainable business growth via Performance Design and Performance Code. Sustainable design encompasses both Western and Eastern philosophies including advanced Feng Shui principles, Environmental Design, Buildings, Alternative Health, Business Advisory Consultants and 20 plus years as entrepreneurs. Recognized in the top 100 globally and are Americas Leading Feng Shui Business Consultants. They are on faculty at CEO Space International one of the oldest business organizations in America today, currently operate in 7 countries and reside in Henderson NV. www.languageofspace.com

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JUAN BASTOS CALIFORNIA PORTRAITS By Caroline Cushing Graham

The "Juan Bastos: California Portraits" exhibition of 40 portraits of prominent Californians painted by the Bolivi an-American artist was on show at a private lunch on No vember 2nd, hosted by Stuart and Beverly Denenberg of the Denenberg Fine Arts gallery in West Hollywood. Amongst those attending the lunch at the gallery were: HRH Princess Michael of Kent visiting from London with lady-in-waiting Lyn Rothman, Consul General of Bolivia Marco Valverde, actress Carla Ortiz, actor Renaldo Pacheco, Holly Palance, and Prince Veriand Windisch-Graetz. Guests with portraits in the show were: Audrey Bahr, Maryl Georgi, Nehama Jacobs, Synne Miller and poodle Baloo, actress Patri cia Morison, Lawrence Platt, Valerie Sobel, Carol Shapiro, and Hutton and Ruth Wilkinson. The Bastos retrospective exhibit portraits were painted in California from 1996 to 2017. Bastos moved to the US from Bolivia over thirty years ago. A few of the guests at lunch who lent their portraits wore the same clothes they had worn for the painting. Synne Miller, who brought her poodle, Baloo, to the lunch, explained that Bastos added her poodle into the portrait later.

Stuart Denenberg, Juan Bastos, Synne Miller, Beverly Denenberg

HRH Princess Michael of Kent toured the exhibit with Bastos and admired the portraits of art collectors, families with chil dren, dogs, and even a rabbit. The Juan Bastos exhibit opened on November 4th with a reception for 300 guests and friends. The show ran for two weeks as part of Pacific Standard Time: LA/LA - Latin American & Latino Art in LA. Bastos has lived and worked in Los Angeles for 22 years and has been featured in the New York Times as one of the few artists working today to be recognized in the re-emergence of traditional portraiture.

Valerie Sobel, Juan Bastos

Portraits of Richard Harrison, Sir Ian McKellen, the children of Jimmy and Vicki Iovine, Rudolph Nureyev, Patricia Morison, Lawrence Platt, Don Bachardy, Dr. Alan Shabo, Valerie Sobel, Susan Sontag, Charlize Theron, Gore Vidal, Maria Vidal, Andrew and Erna Viterbi, Hutton and Ruth Wilkinson were amongst the 40 works on display. The portraits were lent by the sitters who live in California, as well as several corporate portrait commissions painted by Bastos over the years. Selim Zilkha, whose portrait hangs at the USC Keck School of Medicine, was delighted to be united with his portrait that was painted with his faithful dog beside him at his Bel Air estate. 38 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM e December 2017

Carol Shapiro. Juan Bastos

Juan Bastos, a Bolivian-American, was born in Caracas, VenÂezuela, in 1958, Juan and his family returned to Bolivia, their homeland, 11 years later. He came to the United States where he enrolled at Georgetown University in 1979. He later obtained a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the MaryÂland Institute College of Art and a Master of Fine Arts from Towson University.

Valerie Sobel, Juan Bastos, and HRH Princess Michael of Kent attend the lunch

Antonia Hutt & Pinni with her portrait of Pinni & Juan Bastos

Juan Bastos and his portraits of the Elias-Rosenberg children

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Photo by Katerina Plotnikova Photography 40 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM e October 2017

The Endless Circle Of Grace By Maresha Ducharme

The divine low is waiting for you to merge with its essence. The divine flow is waiting for you to discover yourself as soul. As you discover yourself as soul, you realize you are the divine flow.This is a great mystery that reveals the amazing desire of the soul, which longs to give freely because its natural state of consciousness is to give. As you merge with the divine essence and begin to give and love, you unlock the door to the cycle of grace. All is received and all is given in an endless circle of blessing.

What are your demands or challenges right now? Reoccurring demands and challenges can be particularly frustrating. Everyone knows what it feels like to go two steps forward and one step back. Your frustrations are actually the key to finding inner freedom. Each one requires surrender and acceptance. Each one is a stepping-stone, a jewel that is the fuel for the fire of transformation. Surrender and acceptance are gateways to the state of grace. Wherever you have to surrender, whatever you have to accept, is how you realize grace. You may often think of grace as something outside of yourself, which is mysteriously bestowed upon you. You may think it is good luck, or an unexpected bounty. You feel good. But somehow there is a sense that it happens to you, from the outside in. Gracefulness (being full of grace) is the result of how adaptable and flexible you allow yourself to be as you

rise to any situation without resistance. In order to live in a state of grace, you must accept everything, because grace is born from the places that are the most challenging and the most difficult. You have the power to choose the consciousness which gives birth to the flow of grace. By sustaining the inner practices of surrender and acceptance you open the door of your heart. As you open the door of your heart, you will find that grace has been living within you all along. Grace is the natural result of living life in the spirit of acceptance with an open heart. Accept everything, just as it is, as you cultivate living a life full of grace. Once a clear choice to do so has been made, every encounter and interaction becomes the fuel for deeper spiritual awareness. Every moment becomes the potential for clear insight and pure awareness. 41 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM e December 2017

Before that choice is made, you may face your challenges with resistance, negativism, martyrdom or victimization. At the very least, disdain. This choice is so big because it requires that you take responsibility for yourself and everything about your life. When you do not take responsibility, your reactions are held inside, allowing an internal struggle to set up camp in your body and mind. Your mind may engage in ongoing chatter as you defend, justify and project your thoughts onto the situation and person. Each thought is designed to entrench yourself in righteousness concerning your own feelings. While the mind is busily engaged in self-terrorism (terrorizing others as well, as we know that our thought forms are real and affect the object of our focus), the body is also under fire. The intensity of reaction can result in muscle tension, a stomach ache, a tight chest or a lump in the throat. The longer we engage in suppression, the more serious physical problems manifest. Without the ability, or CHOICE, to let go into the light of consciousness, you are in the full ravages of suppression. Repeatedly indulging in karmic reactions to life causes great pain physically, emotionally and spiritually, yet, most continue to do so. The commitment to spiritual growth, and to bring more consciousness and awareness into your life, can purify and transform these reactions into a more subtle response, which allows your energies to continue flowing in your body, and allows the mind to retain an emptiness (space if you will), for awareness without judgment. It is like turning the ugly duckling into a swan. From the compost of challenge emerges the fertile soil of awareness, communion and growth. It is the stuff in the deepest part of yourself that you yearn for. You want to see and feel the beauty all around you. You want to shine your light in joy. In conscious awareness you witness or watch everything. You witness your emotions rolling through the body. You witness your thoughts streaming through the mind. From the place of witness you experience everything while practicing becoming nothing. When there is no holding of an emotion or thought, it is free to flow through. Paradoxically, you see and feel everything, but hold nothing. Through this ever-deepening practice to allow life to move through you, all of the holding of the past slowly starts to melt and release, making room for more awareness to meet every moment more fully. A peaceful grace is the result from the willingness to 42 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM e December 2017

engage in surrender. Surrender is the practice of allowing spirit to do its will through you. Practice this by surrendering to the situation, surrendering to the thoughts and feelings, surrendering to the moment. While you may feel the charge of reaction and anger, you can simultaneously allow yourself to witness and not hold. This practice becomes the fire which burns through your suppressions and holdings and purifies your being with its heat. With commitment and practice, the seeds of allowance, acceptance and peace begin to grow within your heart and mind. As you realize the everyday irritations and challenges are the fuel for transformation, a natural willingness emerges to accept, look forward to, and be thankful for every single moment of every single day. Surrendering to what is, allows spirit’s light to shine upon you. This infusion of light penetrates the depths of your open heart. Your open heart is the gateway for grace. This is how you live a life full of grace and realize the circle of continued blessing. May you be full of grace.

n A unique combination of mystic, teacher, author and modern day messenger, Maresha Donna Ducharme has devoted her life to inspiring people to awaken and has helped people to live in conscious connection to the divine. She is the author of The Way Home To Love: A Guide To Peace In Turbulent Times, and publishes monthly discourses on her blog “Dragon’s Fire”. Her writings, which explore the sacred mysteries and esoteric principles of spiritual living, offer pathways and practices that provide the tools to deal with subjects such as fear, suffering, turbulent times, and the practice of meditation. Her teachings of unity consciousness have inspired countless students over many years. Maresha is also the founder of Snow Dragon Sanctuary, a non-profit charitable organization for contemplative practice and spiritual living. She can be reached at www.snowdragonsanctuary.com or www.mareshaducharme.com.

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Photo by Britt Nielsen LiveYourTrueNature.com 44 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM e December 2017

True love only comes from

Self-Love By Roxana Jones

We long so much for that love that will completely embrace us and enable us to live “happily ever after” that throughout the course of history we have identified true love with that crazy and blind romantic love we see in so many films and read about in so many books only to discover that that kind of love… is not the love we truly deserve. In my wanderings through the life I call “mine”, which surely has so much of the lives of others, I have learned one thing: romantic love does not exist. If we look through all the dictionaries defining it, we find that is synonymous with that which is ideal or fictitious, and even with a historical trend known as Romanticism, associated with an epoch that among other things, no longer exists. I spent many years along my path searching for that romantic love and the truth is that I never found it because it never existed and also because, without knowing it, I set out to find true love from the time I was born. For many years I felt empty inside and that happened because I was looking for love outside of myself. Until I finally realized that love had always been inside of me. Love had been and it will always be the same essence I am made of. It had been in me all along while I had spent all that time searching for it in all the wrong places! What a marvelous discovery that was… When you turn yourself into love, your world finally transforms itself into a place of joy, peace and harmony. You begin to live in the most magical manner. It is magical because once you understand that a romantic or emotional attraction towards another person is only a minute part of that love that you turn into, nothing is impossible anymore as from that kind of love you are able to create newer, better realities for you.

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Where to begin? Here are some few steps that will successfully guide you toward your own true love: 1. From outer to inner Go within, find your unresolved sorrows, pains and wounds, forgive all your past, go from victimhood to empowerment by healing and loving yourself so much that you can finally turn into love. This is what self-love is all about. 2. From ego-mind to Self Understand that your ego-mind is not your true Self. Your ego-mind is incapable of offering you true love so you must be willing to learn to live from the Self, because the Self is the only one that can provide you with the love you deserve. This is why true love is self-love. 3. From Self to oneness with the other The third step is a consequence of the two previous ones. Some decide to experience it, others prefer not to. While feeling and radiating self-love as your new way of being, another person can manifest and enter your reality as a true reflection of the love you have become. This is a manifestation of true love, the real and unconditional type of love where two beings who are completely self-empowered and free, join to live in oneness. This is why romantic love is not necessary once you discover the greater meaning of love. Once you understand that true love is self-sourced you don’t need to stay attached to the idea of romantic love. Why would you continue to believe in such a limited concept when you have already realized that you have within ALL the love you could desire and more? It is time to move beyond outworn Hollywood romantic movies and corny jewelry store ads. It is time to change illusion for truth and ask yourself whether that love which you deserve “to be” really exists in your life. Say YES to going beyond romantic love and all the disappointment it may have caused you in your life. Say YES to experiencing self-love and as result, living the freedom and empowerment you deserve. Last but not least, say YES to live as the Self that can source you with all the love and happiness that nobody else on the outside can.

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Feel free to comment, or share any insights you might have. I’m sure you know a bit or a lot about love and it’s together that we’re creating the new world. If you need more privacy and you feel I can help you on your personal path feel free to send me a note to roxana@roxanajones.com Until next time!

, Roxana Jones and Arnaud Saint-Paul are successful copreneurs and philanthropists who have been working together since 2009. Through their different online ventures, Roxana and Arnaud empower individuals and businesses through the common goal of promoting the growth and expansion of positivity around the world. Up to now, Roxana and Arnaud have inspired 40M people on social media and their HealThruWords® online community counts with 200,000+ members. Please visit healthruwords.com

Be Mindful, Be Heartful, Be Empowered

Roxana Jones Arnaud Saint-Paul

with Margaret Tomaszewicz

LOOKING GOOD & FEELING GREAT

The importance of looking great for Holidays By Margaret Tomaszewicz

Photo by DAPHNE

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The Holiday Season is here! We are reminded of that right after Halloween when we see Christmas trees and Holiday decorative displays in the stores. We are inundated with television commercials recommending the best toys and gifts to buy. We become stressed out and anxious thinking how to please everybody.

or just with my eyes closed listening to relaxing music.

In my opinion this time of a year became so commercialized that we forgot its true meaning which should be about getting together with our families and friends and giving thanks for all the wonderful things that are in our lives.

Getting a massage and a facial treatment. In my salon the most popular treatment during this time is a 24 Karat Gold Facial. Gold is an anti-aging ingredient, which helps brighten the skin. Great way to prepare before Holiday parties!

After I realized that few years ago, I decided to do something about this very thing. First instead of cooking everything myself, my family and friends now gather for a potluck. We stopped worrying about making tons of decorations. Instead we decorate the tree with sentimental ornaments that were meaningful in life’s journey. Each of us brings a dish to share and we give gifts only to children and to our closest relatives. We enjoy each others company and catch up on what is going on in our lives. We sing Christmas carols and watch children when they open their presents. Less stress during the Holidays will give you more time to relax and take care of yourself. After all, we like to look younger and happier for the seasonal festivities. So what to do to make yourself more relaxed and really enjoy this wonderful season? Here is my listTaking a hot yoga class. Practicing hot yoga will increase your metabolism and that will help you to burn a lot of calories. Sweating will help to flush out the toxins out of your body. I say those are fantastic benefits for body and mind during the time when we indulge in extra eating and drinking! Going for a nice long walk to look for signs of the changing season. Even in Los Angeles where I live, weather gets cooler and leaves change their colors. I love finding yellow, orange and and golden brown leaves on the ground. Getting out warm sweaters and coats from the back of the closet and wrapping myself in soft scarfs. And if in need, treating myself to a new cashmere sweater! Starting a fire in the fireplace. Sitting with my dogs next to the warm fire reading a book

Watching classic Holiday movies. Everyone has his or her favorite and every year in my house every year we watch the “Elf ”, “A Christmas Story” and of course “It’s a Wonderful Life”.

Doing something good for others. So many possibilities! Maybe serving food in the local homeless shelter or donating not needed clothes to those that can use them more, inviting a friend without a family to dinner. Being grateful for everything in your life. The key is to remove stress by taking care of yourself so you can take care of others and truly appreciate every wonderful thing that life has to offer. I am very grateful to share my thoughts with you in this column and I wish all of you a very wonderful Holiday Season. May your dreams come true in the upcoming New Year! To your health!

f Margaret Tomaszewicz is a licensed esthetician with over 25 years of experience. She is the owner of European Skin and Massage Studio in Santa Monica, California and has developed the Organic WODA European Natural Skin Care Line. Her products are available on wodaskincare.com and on Amazon.com For every product sold WODA Skin Care plants a tree. Margaret can be reached at 424-279-9771 or europeanskinandmassagestudio@gmail.com wodaskincare.com 49 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM e December 2017

Message from the Goddess Mother

with JAN DIANA

THE MAGIC WITHIN By Jan Diana

My Beloved Children of Heart, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Greetings, from the Heart of the One. May you be blessed with a sweet knowing of our loving presence. In the story of time, there are many opportunities to grow and expand your conscious awareness. Elevating your consciousness levels is a very delightful experience. As you notice little witnesses of truth unfolding ,it feels as if something magical is happening, like little sparkling lights illuminating your life with pleasure. Each discovery brings with it the seeds of joyful promises. These promises offer a greater awareness of the nature of self and what is possible. With greater awareness the possibilities expand into the infinite. Though we may speak about these promises using words, the truer, deeper understanding comes from a sensing of truth. The truth of the divine is held within your heart and known through the language of the heart. Each awareness will light the fires of passion for more. You have a natural thirst for the truth. You desire to remember the divine nature of yourself and of all that is. With each step of new awareness comes a desire for more. This is the plan you see. It is your fondest desire to reach beyond what appears as

your reality now, into the realms of infinite possibilities. You are drawn to the light. You desire the sweetness. You know it is there and you know you are capable of reaching it and more. To remember your divine nature is a journey to the heart of self. Within your heart there is access to all divine truth. It is a process of discovery. You receive a clue here, a piece there, as you gather up these gems to add into your treasure box. Focus on these gems, allowing them to bless you and prepare you for the next steps in your advancements. Imagine the possibilities that are here for your discovery. Life on Earth is the grandest of adventures. Each step takes you to the next phases of expansion. As you recognize more, it will be easier to let go of what is not your truth. You will just know as it doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t feel like it resonates anymore. Then you can set it aside and focus on building your greater vision which is continually expanding before you. You are great masters in the process of remembering your sacred truth. You came here to Earth excited and prepared for this grand adventure. Yes you forgot who you are, that was part of the plan. However you also knew you would find your way back to yourself.

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And here you are now, doing just that. The veils are falling away. The lighter energies of Earth are making it easier for you to let go of all that is not your truth. It is a process, a journey and you are doing it magnificently. Take pleasure in your accomplishments both as an individual and as part of the evolving collective of Earth. This is an individual journey and yet one shared by us all. As you elevate and expand, you assist the collective. As all of Earth elevates, it blesses you in your own life and journey. We experience this journey as individuals and as a collective. This is the grand plan for us all and embraces each one with their uniqueness as well as the collective of all, our family of heart. There is great love and wisdom in the creation of this grand plan. There is great love and wisdom that made up your own plan, as you created it from your knowing state of being. Blessed ones, you are simply magnificent. You are gifted. You have everything within your reach to take the next steps. You are guided. You are loved and supported. The steps are simple. Open to your heart and allow the light to shine. Let yourself receive the love and wisdom from your heart. Love yourself, your life and your journey. You are ready to move into the next stages of your advancement. Celebrate this. Accept this truth and know there is magic unfolding. The magic is with you, within your sacred heart. Feel the message of my heart bearing truth to you through your heart. In the quiet moments, you will find the song of our heart. It is a sweet song, always playing in joyful notes of love and adoration. As you listen to the song of our heart, remember you are loved. Recognize the wonder of you. Let your light shine and watch how the magic unfolds before you. You are the magic. Shamon.” With great love, Your Beloved Mother

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FREE CLASS: As a Gift I am offering you a Free Tele- Class, “Remember Who you are”. -Restore pathways to remembering the truth of yourself using the tools of SVH, a prayer modality that can shift the old stories, old beliefs and perceptions that are not relevant to your truth. -Receive tools that you can utilize in your life to further free yourself from the veils of forgetting -Take a journey to meet your true self and receive a priceless gift You will leave this class filled a greater vision of yourself and what is now possible for you. This class is a great joy bringer! Note: Register by subscribing by email at: www.jandiana.com (if the time is not convenient, register to receive the recording when available)

2 Jan Diana is an intuitive healer, spiritual teacher, and master practitioner. Her mission is to assist clients & students in creating harmony, balance, heightened levels of clarity, develop innate gifts & abilities, empowering them on their personal evolution to create the dreams of their heart. She utilizes several modalities including SVH L3M, Animal healing, GHM, Language of love, Reiki Master, and more. Free meditation journeys, articles, & classes. http://www.jandiana.com Sessions and Classes by phone. You can reach her at website http://www.jandiana.com or by email sunsinyourheart@aol.com.

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Dream Patterns

What Dreams are Made of By Jonson Miller

There is no sharp boundary between waking consciousness and dream consciousness. The level of consciousness exists on a spectrum from passive dreaming without any of what we might think of as waking consciousness to being fully aware that you are dreaming and having complete control over that dream. There is plenty of space in between those two extremes. Within that space, some level of waking consciousness can contribute to the sculpting of your dreams. The lack of clear boundary between the two forms of consciousness is most clearly demonstrated by the phenomenon of lucid dreaming. Lucid means clear, rational, or intelligible. During a lucid dream, the dreamer gains awareness of the fact that he or she is dreaming. This opens up many possibilities for the dreamer, including the capacity to deliberately direct the dream. In the most lucid of lucid dreams, the dreamer has complete control over the dream. He or she can instantaneously change the setting and can make decisions as clearly and deliberately as if awake. Such dreams are, of course, of no more use for interpretation than are the daily events of our waking lives. Take that to mean what you will.

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Perhaps even more interesting is the fact that the extent of control and lucidity can vary greatly. I have experienced lucid dreams in which, although I was aware of the fact that I was dreaming, I was still carried along by the current of the dream as if I was not conscious at all. What this shows is that the level of consciousness in a dream exists on a spectrum, not just as “on” and “off.” This spectrum slides further into “sub-lucid” dreams, in which your conscious mind is operating but is not aware of the fact that it is dreaming. I have become increasingly aware of the influence of my conscious mind on my dreams over the last few years. This awareness has greatly improved my dream analysis by allowing me to avoid attributing meaning to meaningless elements. The influence of consciousness often creates a sense of confusion. If you recognize the source of this confusion, it will not tempt you to interpret that confusion as one of your dream patterns. Confusion seems to arise for one of two reasons. Confusion may occur as a result of some object or person in the dream being different from how it appears in your waking life. For me, this frequently occurs in relation to mechanical devices. In one dream, I was in a warzone with my father, a veteran. I selected a pistol to carry with me and tried to load it. I had some difficulty with this and I had a sense that something was wrong with the gun, but I didn’t know what. I experienced confusion, but did not pursue the issue. I put the gun in my pocket. In fact, as I understood upon recalling the dream later, the gun’s parts had enormous gaps between them as if the gun was nearly falling apart. I knew, in the dream, that something was wrong, but I couldn’t place it. Consider also the example of the toilets I gave in the “Sensory Stimuli” section of this chapter. Toilets almost always have some oddity about them in my dreams. I’m not alone. I’ve read similar reports from other dreamers. Upon encountering these toilets, my limited consciousness tries to make sense of their oddities. I fail to and am often left confused. Another way confusion enters is through trying to remember things in dreams. Just last week, I dreamt of talking with a small group of men. At one point in the dream, I was speaking to just a single remaining man. I was sufficiently conscious to realize that the other men were no longer there. I remembered that they had been there. I tried to remember who they were and when and how they had left. Really, they had simply disappeared from the dream, which is not how people normal-

ly leave your presence. My limited consciousness recognized this discrepancy, tried to remember the prior events that could explain the situation, and failed to do so satisfactorily, leaving me confused. Such cases of confusion are the result of one’s waking consciousness trying to make sense of the nonsensical or of oddities. In such cases, we are conscious enough to recognize that something is amiss, even if we can’t figure out what it is. But this awareness can create changes in the dream. In the case of the toilets, this confusion often results in me seeking out other toilets that do work. Does a search for a working toilet have some profound meaning that I need to uncover? No. I probably just had to urinate, which created a dream with toilets. These toilets were odd because they were dream toilets and dreams are weird. My consciousness tried to make sense of their strangeness. That’s all. My awareness led me to make changes to the dream. Would the dream, the one with symbolic meaning that represents something I need to learn about myself, have gone in the direction of a search for a working toilet if it hadn’t been for either the need to urinate or the intrusion of my consciousness? Probably not. Does the confusion itself have any meaning? Again, probably not. So don’t get hung up on trying to interpret the meaning of so many dreams in which you are confused. It doesn’t necessarily reflect, as an example, confusion during your waking life. Examine the source of the confusion in your dreams to see if you can identify the intrusion of your conscious mind into your dreams. If so, then make a note of it in your journal after the entry for that dream.

g Jonson Miller has practiced dream interpretation for over 25 years. He is a member of the International Association for the Study of Dreams. He teaches history at Drexel University and lives in Langhorne, Pennsylvania, USA. https://jonsonmiller.wordpress.com

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Treasure Hunt: Follow Your Inner Clues to Find True Success By Rizwan Virk

One of my favorite scenarios related to communication with the future is from the sci-fi/horror director John Carpenter, in the film Prince of Darkness.

what would happen if the Prince of Darkness is released; their future selves are sending back this message to warn their past selves not to take a certain course of action!

In the film, a team of physicists from Caltech is investigating a series of anomalies near a church for their professor. They have come to believe that the anomalous physical phenomena happening around the church are arising from something (or someone) buried in a unique relic in the basement of the church.

How do they send a message back in time? They don’t have an artificial receiver; the only receiver they have that can get messages from the future is . . . their brain. And their brains interpret these incoming messages as dreams.

Because it’s a horror film, you know something bad is going to happen. It turns out that the relic is actually some kind of a prison, like an ancient phantom zone, and inside this prison is the Prince of Darkness himself. The team is in danger of setting him loose on the world . . . and if that occurs . . . well . . . you guessed it . . . something very bad will happen! OK, that doesn’t sound very scientific but this is where it gets interesting. One of the participants starts to have a repeating dream. Then, as the film progresses, we realize that other participants are also having the same dream! Eventually, the team realizes that the dream isn’t just a dream, and what’s important is not just the fact that they’re all seeing the same thing. The communal dream is actually a message from the future, sent back to the team as a warning not to “unlock” the Prince of Darkness. They are seeing

The Flow of Time in Common Sense and Quantum Physics While this scenario is obviously science fiction, it brings up some very interesting concepts about the present, the future, and consciousness as the link between them. Could a scientific team send back messages to themselves to be received by the only instrument capable of interpreting these messages: their own brains? Let’s start with some common-sense problems with this scenario. For one thing, if it was possible to send messages from the future to the past, then this would create the potential that the past can be changed. This creates a set of paradoxes that physicists hate, summed up by the grandfather paradox: if a person were to go back and kill their own grandfather, they would never be born. And if they are never born, how is it possible that they went back to kill their grandfather?

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Even if you could send information from the future to the past rather than actually go back in time, you could essentially accomplish the same thing—change the past so that the future doesn’t happen! Most of us experience time in one way: flowing from the past to the present to the future. In this way, we often think of time as a river with a current that flows in only one direction. However, in quantum physics and in many mystical traditions, this view is seen as incomplete. Time is one of the only non-observables in physics. Unlike position or length, which can be observed directly, the flow of time cannot be observed directly. Instead, we rely on external clocks and use them to measure time: the earth around the sun (years), the rotation of the earth (days), the cycle of the moon, the motion of a pendulum, the turning of gears, down to the atomic clocks that are used for very high precision.

In this model, there is then a corresponding echo wave coming from the future to the present, which is traveling backwards in time. When these waves meet, the points at which they “coincide” with high probabilities become points where the waves superpose each other and a “real” event occurs rather than a “probable event.”

If time only flowed one way, like the current of a river, then the past would contain the causes of the present, and the past combined with choices made in the present would determine the future. This makes sense to us from the perspective of our everyday world. I made a choice to go to college at MIT in the past, which led to my eventual graduation and getting a degree from that university.

This is a startling interpretation of quantum physics, where information is traveling not just from the past to the future, but raises the possibility of information coming from the future, which can influence the present. In fact, it turns out there is nothing in the quantum equations which prohibits an event at time t2 from influencing an event at time t1 (which occurs before t2).

Messages From the Future But in quantum physics, things are not so simple, particularly at the subatomic level. In quantum mechanics, the future is described not as a single point, but as a Quantum Probability Wave, which contains a set of probabilities of future outcomes.

In his book, Parallel Universes, Fred Alan Wolf summarizes the flow of time: “The best picture, according to quantum physics, is that information flows in both directions simultaneously. The river of time has two counter-streaming currents. Information coming from the future as well as from the past influences the present.”

When a choice is made (for example to measure the location or speed of a particle), the most common description in quantum physics is that a probability wave is said to collapse and we get an actual event out of many probable futures.

How does this collapse occur? No one knows for sure, not even the quantum physicists. But there is considerable suspicion that the probability wave collapses based on mental choices we make. Physicist John Cramer postulated the transactional interpretation of quantum physics, in which all events that are possible are contained in an offer wave, a wave of probability based on the present moment. This offer wave travels forward in time from the present to the future.

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Rizwan Virk is a successful entrepreneur, film producer, venture capitalist, and bestselling author of Zen Entrepreneurship: Walking the Path of the Career Warrior. His software products have been used by the largest enterprises in the world, and his video games have been downloaded millions of times, including Tap Fish and Penny Dreadful: Demimonde. He studied at MIT and Stanford, and is currently Executive Director of Play Labs @ MIT, a startup accelerator. Riz lives in Mountain View, CA and Cambridge, MA.

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Finding Joy, Love and Answers on the sacred River Ganges By Ray Brooks

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Above all else we long for peace and happiness seeking those delectable interludes within the realm of our experience of objects, activities and relationships. When our brief moments of happiness come to an end we move on to the next pursuit that will gives us temporary relief, never questioning the origins of our suffering. My own inquiry, ending the search once and for all, led me away from the pubs and nightclubs of London on to the banks of the river Ganges where I was to have one of the most important meetings of my life. The Shadow that Seeks the Sun (excerpt below), tells this story with the hope that the reader might inquire into a more direct path to freedom—which is another name for peace and happiness “Ray, before we begin this morning, I’d like to make a few suggestions. It seems that you’re looking for more than just knowledge of your true nature?” “Yes. There really isn’t anything more important to me.” “Then, I must ask you, for the purpose of our talk, to forget everything you know. Forget about your ideas of spiritual awakening or enlightenment and what this or that teacher has said. Do you think you can do that? If you can, then there is the possibility of recognizing a peace and freedom that is limitless and doesn’t require any change in normal, everyday life. What do you say?” “Yes, I can do that. I’ve been caught in the intellectual understanding for so long, but since our last talk I realize that what I know is useless.” “Yes. You’ve had some potent experiences that have apparently changed your life in positive ways but, regardless of this, regardless of how grand or transcendental these experiences were, they have always ended, leaving you fragmented and still searching for the idea of some kind of wholeness.” “Unfortunately all true. All my efforts have been unsuccessful.” “Okay then. This is an excellent place to begin. No effort is necessary, Ray, no new knowledge required or acquired. No transcendental experience or higher consciousness needs to be achieved. When the recognition of what you are is seen – nothing at all happens. Why would it? You simply find yourself as you already are. Let me give you an example. When you see clearly that an oasis in the desert is a mirage, the appearance of the mirage doesn’t go away, but now you are certain that it is not an oasis. It takes a little adjustment to get used to the new perception, but once you see a mirage for what it is, you cannot be fooled into seeing it as an oasis again. The idea of a separate self is no different.

Ray, please look and listen with openness and innocence to see what is actually true. This may be difficult to do at first but I can assure you, all your concepts, theories and beliefs will be challenged. Are you fine with this?” “I am.” “If what I say cannot be confirmed in actual experience, then it is a belief. What I am pointing to must be self-evident and beyond doubt. Do you know what I mean by actual experience?” “Yes. What is happening right now” Yes. The direct and immediate experience of sights, images, sounds, tastes, sensations, thoughts. Rather than a story about them. So, can we agree from the onset not to move out of our actual experience into belief?” “Agreed.” “The belief and identification in a person, acting in the world, is deeply rooted in us. Since all those around us believe themselves to be personal entities, it’s natural to not question this. We are going to scrutinize and dispute this very belief to see that it is the origin of all our misery and unhappiness. You cannot take my word on this. You have to look for yourself.” “I’m fine with that. I want to be completely open and honest with my answers.” “Good. Then together we can explore and discover that the indivisible, timeless nature of awareness does not share the same destiny and limits as the body and thoughts. We are going to look in one place and one place only – this experience, this very aware-presence. You may find yourself wandering off like the prodigal son and getting lost, but I will keep bringing you back home to the certainty and obviousness of this timeless presence. Of course, in reality, you couldn’t even take one step away from yourself, never mind get lost. Nor could I possibly bring you back to a home you have never left.”

g Ray Brooks, a writer, musician and recording artist is internationally known in the world of shakuhachi music. Born and raised in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, England, Ray at age sixteen moved to London. His second book is a memoir, The Shadow that Seeks the Sun, finding joy, love and answers on the sacred river Ganges. Available on Amazon and all good book stores. 61 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM e December 2017

The Childhood Conclusions Fix: Turning Negative Self-Talk Around By Lisette Schuitemaker

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In her new book, The Childhood Conclusions Fix: Turning Negative Self-Talk Around, Lisette Schuitemaker describes the five conclusions we come to about ourselves as we grow through childhood into adulthood. Our childhood conclusions mirror our greatest gifts. Where we feel the most insecure is where we hide our truest treasures. We all come into this world bearing gifts. Within us as tiny babies lie innate abilities to open our hearts and connect to others, to make people come alive through our mere presence. As divine creations of consciousness in formation we harbor the gifts to feel and excite joy, to laugh and be funny, to experience deep concern and empathy, to be inspired as well as inspiring. We are born with the capacity to feel exuberance, to act autonomously, to relish reverence and gratitude and, most of all, to show and share love. In the end, our connection with others and advancing their well-being is what makes a good life. Growing up to get to that point of contributing in our very own way, however, bears liking to the game of hide and seek. Through painful experiences we resolve to hide part of our inner riches, as bringing them out in the open feels too risky. We’ll be damaged and hurt or even ridiculed and banished if we show our true colors. At least, that is what we come to believe on the basis of experiences in our young years. Yet, our innate urge to meet our life’s purpose has us seek exactly what we’re trying to hide so we may bring out our gifts and fulfil the promise of our lives. Do we dare to fully incarnate, assume that we are enough, live our own life, put our trust in others and embrace our quirkiness? We may be inclined to shrug our shoulders as if this is not a big deal. Our life, however, is one big string of choices made moment to moment. These choices are the object of the inner conversations that we are conducting with ourselves. There is no person in the world we talk to as much as we talk to ourselves. We may be lecturers or teachers or work behind a count-

er or a cash register that has people on the other side all day; our profession may be waiting tables, tending bars or being talk-show hosts, we may discuss every little detail of our lives with our partner or garrulous girlfriends – but still, the extent of our talking to others pales compared to how much we talk to ourselves. Once we start to pay attention to our ongoing inner conversations, we will soon notice that we are not speaking with one voice only. A wide variety of characters take it in turns to claim center stage when they are triggered to come to the fore. We may notice that we whine inwardly like a small child who feels not at all up to the demands of life. Moments later, we can find ourselves in a different mood as another inner voice starts to rant and rave that we need to be in control of our destiny, of other people, of life itself. Another inner part of ourselves may be given to bitter berating of ourselves for not behaving well, having said the wrong thing – again! We are on repeat most of the time, telling ourselves the same stories over and over again, getting into the same inner arguments, blaming the same people, cautioning ourselves to hold together, hold on, hold in, hold up or hold back. The trouble is that we tend to believe what we think. Our most adamant inner voices shrink our awareness until we think what they tell us is true. Yet, we are not our inner voices, we just have them. Thoughts are just thoughts and there is no need to believe everything we think. Especially not when our thoughts arise from the perspective of the small child we once were who felt they didn’t belong or weren’t good enough. As a child we may have felt we had no power over our life or that we needed to keep life under control and fit in at all times. Even if we have entertained such a thought a thousand times, that doesn’t mean it’s true. There is no need to believe everything we think. Insight into our basic childhood conclusions provides better understanding of our own reactions as well as those of others. A positive present begins with comprehension of the distinct elements of our negative self-talk and the childhood conclusions they arise from. On that basis, we can turn around self-deprecating thoughts, heal those early wounds and allow our gifts to burgeon.

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2. “There isn’t enough, I am not enough.” “I’m not good, smart, fit and savvy enough. I never get back as much as I give, but I don’t want to ask people for anything. I will only be disappointed. Again. I have to be able to do everything for myself. If only I had more time, money, capacity – there is never enough.”

According to the author Lisette Schuitemaker, “there is no one in the world we talk to as much as we talk to ourselves.” Unfortunately, we often talk to ourselves from negative assumptions we have made about who we are and what we are capable of. In her new book, The Childhood Conclusions Fix: Turning Negative Self-Talk Around, she identifies the five conclusions in the order in which they are usually drawn at the ages of a newborn, a baby, a toddler and a young child. 1. “I’m not welcome, I must go elsewhere.” “If only I were somewhere else, in another place, another time – maybe then I’d belong and feel welcome and safe. I find the world harsh, hard and unpleasant. I don’t know if I really want to be here. I take refuge in the world of dreams, in higher spheres where it’s quiet, beautiful and harmonious. The contact with those domains keeps me alive.” The first childhood conclusion arises from the existential terror of the newborn. Are we even welcome on this planet? Maybe our mother lacked confidence, unsure if she really wanted the baby or if she could cope. An infant may be alarmed by a door slamming, a voice shouting. In fright, our small body tenses up. The first neural pathways being laid down in the brain record these initial, adversarial physical reactions. People with this childhood conclusion are often highly original and gifted. We have maintained our natural connection with the realms of spirit that we hail from and may have a hard time being down to earth. With our heads in the clouds, we may find it difficult to keep our lives together. More often than we’d like, we feel we don’t truly belong – which is a false notion as we are here, so of course we belong.

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The mainspring of the second childhood conclusion is fear of deficiency. A small baby suffers agonies if someone doesn’t show up to feed it when it has woken up hungry, or when it is returned to the crib before it feels wholly satisfied. The little body craves more food, more time being held and cuddled and touched. The impression arises that there isn’t enough: not enough food, not enough time, not enough attention for me: I am not enough. These babies grow into adults who are forever plagued by thoughts that we don’t have enough time, have not read enough, are not funny, skinny or accomplished enough. We become adored performers, actors, anchors. People with this childhood conclusion are endlessly curious scientists and journalists with the gift of the gab. Seeking to stand out in some way, we succeed in getting the attention we long for. Trouble is, it’s never enough, because that insatiable hunger for more will return – until we realize we have always been and will always be enough. 3. “What do I know – have it your way.” “I’ll just go along with the others, that’ll be the easiest. I don’t really know what I want, so I’d rather let the others choose. That way I won’t make any enemies. It does make me feel powerless, though. As if I’m a nobody. I tend to play the innocent – I can’t help it, and it’s safer, if you know what I mean. But then, I end up feeling stupid, and that sucks too. So, I’m stuck, I guess.” Underlying the third childhood conclusion are feelings of confusion and impotence. Toddlers like to keep their parents and other grown-ups happy but in our innocence, we do things that make them angry. Some of us as young children had things happen to us that we didn’t want but were powerless to prevent. We are furious that our boundaries were not respected by someone we knew, but, afraid to jeopardize the love of our parents, we kept quiet. We swallowed our frustration and fury, resigned ourselves to our fate and consoled ourselves by eating and cracking jokes at our own expense. Beyond our apparent lethargy lies a well of creativity. Feeling like a victim ourselves, we have developed huge empathy and behind our happy face lies deep compassion for the plight of others. The false image this childhood

conclusion paints is that we have no power over our lives, and so we tend to give up even before we’ve begun. In truth, all of us are ultimately the directors of our own lives. We are free to live our own destiny. Becoming aware of that freedom is an inner job that begins with the question “What if my body, my creativity and my life were truly mine?” 4. “I must be in control.” NEGATIVE SELF-TALK “In the end no one is fully trustworthy. I love people and I have many friends but I also keep an eye on everybody, so I know exactly where they’re at. Never again will I be betrayed by someone I trusted as I make a point of always knowing what comes next. I like being ahead of the game as it gives me a sense of control.” In childhood games we assume grandiose roles. We can easily imagine ourselves as princes and heroines, saving the world and everyone in it, or as the true partner of Mummy or Daddy, whom we will later, of course, marry. We take a caress or a look as proof of this bond and then feel betrayed when the parent turns out not to see us as their life partner. Our hearts break for the first time: our naive trust is dented and this is so painful that we resolve never to let that happen again. Cultivating our sensitivity to other people’s motives, we become superb strategists, people who look ahead and like to keep things under control. No matter how commanding we are, however, life takes unexpected turns and control remains elusive, which creates stress and tension even though we continue to look self-assured. We have big hearts that can easily fit our whole family, wide circle of friends and worthy causes to fight for. Our strategic insight and our charisma make people achieve more than they thought themselves capable of, and have a great time too. We are well-loved and if we could find it in ourselves to begin to trust life, we could do even much more good than we are already doing. 5. “I must conform to fit in.” “What should I wear to show the world I know the codes? Others think I am competent, but I am afraid to be found out as a fake. I have learned to get on well with people in all situations, yet I can’t help but keep a distance. Outwardly, my life looks perfect. Inside I feel empty and cold. I just don’t feel as much as other people. Is this all there is to life? I’d better keep up the false facade so at least people think I’m capable.” For some of us, the way our parents shaped their lives

doesn’t resonate, and as the odd one out we conclude we must be a bit off. It may come to pass that we have wanted to show our parents how much we loved them, but that at an age of budding sexuality we did so in a way that created embarrassment. As a child, we sensed we had overstepped a boundary without ever having known it was there. We take fright as we think we might do so again, and so decide instead to follow suit and produce only desired ways of behaving. We fret endlessly over our appearance, what to wear and what to say, and scrutinize our behaviors long after anyone continues to remember what we said or did. We become keen observers of others and, as chameleons, put in any situation we can “do as the Romans do”. The challenge is to give up trying to be perfect as that is unattainable anyway, to thaw and get in touch again with our emotions and our very own quirkiness. A positive present begins with our rediscovery of our authentic selves. We can be who we are, quirks and all. Life is quirky anyway.

Lisette Schuitemaker founded, ran and sold a communications company before becoming a healer, life coach and personal development author. She studied the work of Wilhelm Reich as part of obtaining her BSc in Brennan Healing Science. She is the co-author of "The Eldest Daughter Effect". Lisette lives and works in Amsterdam, Netherlands. For more information see: http://en.lisetteschuitemaker.nl

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Pareli Amirkhanian

Pareli was born in Esfahan, Iran to a musical family. Her father is a guitar player-singer, and her mother is a classical soloist singer. Pareli was taught singing and playing the piano by her father at the age of four. She entered the local arts competition in the city of Esfahan at eleven as a last minute contestant, where she won first place in her category. At the age of thirteen she was selected by her high school to enter an international contest named DO-RE-MI in Armenia where she gained the second place. She also performed as a soloist singer in school productions during her academic life. She moved to Armenia in order to continue her education in music. She entered the Yerevan State Komitas Conservatory in 2006. In addition to studying and receiving vocal lessons in Conservatory, she participated in 2007 Komitas contest sponsored by Maestro Orbelyan. In the same year, Pareli singed up as a contestant for Entsa International Armenian Singing contest, which was held in Gharabagh, Armenia. After becoming one of twenty-five finalists from two hundred contestants, the Grand prize of the singing competition was received by Pareli. In addition, an honorary achievement award was given to her by Varduhi Vardanyan, a famous singer foundation. The judges were surprised with Pareli’s strong performance and her techniques in singing. In 2010 she entered Hay Super star4 contest program and after three months cooperation due to some problems in the program pareli preferred to leave the program. In 2011 Pareli graduated from Conservatory and got her Master’s degree. In the same year she won the first place in Mazmur Persian-Christian contest. Pareli also performed and serve God as a soloist singer and piano player in several churches and Christian events in Iran. She moved with her parents to the U.S in 2013. She participated in Hovsepians’s ministry as a singer. Currently, Pareli has been cooperating with CBN under Dr. Sasan Tavasoli’s leadership in house church TV program for Iranian-Christian people in Iran.

Carlos Rodgarman Carlos Rodgarman born in Vigo, Spain who has toured the world as a Musical Director, Arranger and Pianist with International Latin Star Juan Gabriel and as a Pianist/Band Member for Grammy Award winning R&B group All-4-One. His expertise in Pop, Latin and Jazz musical styles has seen him work with renowned Artists such as Sheila E., Celine Dion, the late Jenni Rivera, David Bisbal, Shaila Durcal, La India, Laura Pausini, Jonathan Butler, Antonio Carmona, Isabel Pantoja and Prince Royce amongst others. Rodgarman composed all original music and lead an all-star band for “The Floor Show” which brought together the best of L.A.’s musicians and dancers in a captivating display of original live music and jaw-dropping dance performances in a one-of-a-kind immersive experience for all ages. His work has also appeared in film, TV and commercial productions such as Ray Donovan, Dinner for Schmucks and the upcoming Mexican film Pura Sangre. His mentors include Chucho Valdes (Latin-Jazz Grammy Award Pianist), Hollywood Film Composer Christopher Young (Spiderman 3), and Felix Santos (Berklee College of Music). Carlos lives in Los Angeles, he believes music is the universal language.

Carlos is a proud Board Member of The Open Floor Society,) is a non-profit organization formed to create opportunities for the learning and practice of multi-cultural music and dance with an emphasis on improvisation, for the youth of Los Angeles who would not otherwise have access to these arts. Recently, Rodgarman released his debut solo project titled “The Rodgar Band” which is a musical collective featuring established Artists playing alongside a new generation of talent, with Carlos as the Composer and Pianist. “The Rodgar Band" album, includes 12 songs in a mélange of musical styles which are sewn together through Jazz. Carlos Rodgarman is now featuring Pareli Amirkhanian jazz/ pop singer on a Christmas album about to released end of November. It is a project that showcases a new instrument called the Harpejji made by Marcodi Musical Instruments. The project will also feature Soprano Barbara Padilla, Tap Dancer’s Sarah Reich, cellist Artyom Manukyan, Grammy winning All-4-One and the Dukes of DooWoop. www.TheRodgarBand.com www.CarlosRodgarman.com

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E TH

T S E T A E R G

GIFT By Tara-jenelle Walsch

Every Fall when I was little, Mom would set the Sears & Roebuck “Wish Book” down in front of my sister and me, asking us to circle what we wanted for Christmas. With no internet back then, this was the ultimate dream catalog for kids to browse through and jump-start their holiday wish list. “Now, I’m not guaranteeing you’ll get these things.” she’d say. “Santa just asked me for a few ideas.” . . . or something like that. Her words were a bit of a blur once we got our little hands on that chunky gift bible. To say it was fun is an understatement. We were kneedeep in the zone as soon as those freshly inked pages of toys started to flip, and the race was on to spot the coolest things first. Naturally, this level of excitement between siblings led to a bit of poking and prodding, and occasionally a match of Tug of War, pulling and yanking until pages got ripped. “One. At. A. Time!” Mom would say, breaking our exhilarated frenzy by hot-wiring each word with staccato charge. For years, my sister got to “go first” since she was older, and would hog the catalog for-ever. So, it wasn’t long before a viewing limit was put into place, full on with the sturdy kitchen dinger. “You have 20-minutes each!” the judge appealed, smiling at the untethered anticipation of our young hearts as she whooshed the dinger down like a gavel on a sound block. One of the many joyful things about children is that they 68 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM e December 2017

rarely contain their excitement. It’s beautiful to witness such pure expression and almost always brings a smile to the face of an adult, as they are reminded of the freedom in expressing emotions so openly. The holiday season, in particular, is universally a time filled with gleeful screams and millions of little stomachs filled with butterflies. Yet, as enthusiastic as we are when we’re young, we aren’t as vocal with our joy when we get older. This can leave us feeling slightly confused as adults when we realize that our enthusiasm for the holidays isn’t what it used to be. Initially, the realization may even leave us feeling empty or melancholy because it carries a suggestion of loss. The loss being that most of us associate holiday exuberance with our childhood, which may lead to the thought that if the exuberance disappears, so, too, do the days of yore. But we haven’t lost anything. In fact, quite the opposite, we have gained. We have gained so much experience and knowledge that it has shifted and redefined who we are and what is important to us. And when our values change like this, it surely changes the way we express ourselves and our emotions. When we’re younger, the holiday focus is on gift exchange. As we age, we’re essentially able to buy whatever we want, which alters our value of material gifts. Through the years we discover the value of love and our focus gradually begins to shift to something more meaningful; being with family and friends. Joy is still experienced, but the focus of what brings us joy shifts—all which changes the way we express our joy.

Holiday butterflies don’t disappear altogether; they simply transform throughout our lifetime. Their flutter gradually shifts from a Tigger-like bounding excitement as children, to elevated happiness in our teens and twenties, to an enthusiastic, heart-felt bliss in our adult years, and finally, to a pure state of peace and memory reflection as seniors. You can see this transformation more notably in the elderly. They are delighted around the holidays, but the energy of their delight is vastly different from that of their grandchildren’s. An older person will sit in the room with family, softly smiling in a place of peace, remembering holidays from years past simultaneously as they take in the present experience. They are no longer interested in materials gifts; only hugs, conversation, smiles and watching the excitement of the young. I had a recent experience that illustrates this beautifully. One day I arrived home to an unexpected package sitting outside my doorstep. Upon opening the package, I discovered it was a thoughtful gift from an ex-boyfriend of mine.

thoughts and opinions were locking us into a narrow vision and holding us back from truly connecting with others. Holding us back from love. We may have always believed that love and relationships were the priority over material things, yet still found ourselves allocating so much time and energy to accumulation. Eventually we reach a place of new-found clarity around values. After years of filling our home with treasures, we are one day filled with the realization that none of it really matters anymore. Our once belief that love is the priority is now a grounded knowing and we see that the real treasure is each other. We sit back with our heart in our eyes and on our lips, and we feel, in a new way, the joy and exuberance of all that is. As we age and evolve through the years, our body changes, our mind changes, our priorities change—and our soul finally feels what it has known all along; that love and unity are the greatest gift ever there was.

The card explained that he was down-sizing his mother’s belongings to move her in a nursing facility when he came across two old cameos among her jewelry. Knowing my fondness for this particular antique, he pulled them aside. When I called to thank him, I got the full story and was surprised to hear how his mother’s possessions had little or no value to her anymore. All she truly wanted now were visits from her family. I, too, have felt a decrease in attachment to personal belongings through the years, but mostly with items of less significance. I have yet to surrender fully letting go of treasured family heirlooms or anything of great sentiment. All this made me recognize that so often, we wait until the end of our lives to offload material things and pare down to a simplistic way of living. So often, we wait until the end of our lives to ask ourselves, “What is really important to me now?” It is then that we begin to reevaluate everything. Not just things, but also relationships. Relationships with others and the relationship with ourselves. Any pettiness, righteousness or ego we may have once carried seems to effortlessly fade away. And we realize so many of our past

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p Are you in a soul quandary? Feel free to ask Tara-jenelle for courageous insight. Submit your question to https://www.facebook.com/tarajenellewalsch Tara-jenelle Walsch is a monthly columnist for the Eden Magazine. She is the author of the book, Soul Courage, and the founder and spirit behind the Soulebrate greeting card company. You will also find her speaking publicly about emotional and energetic awareness, and a sacred formula which she believes has the ability to enrich the world at large. Tara-jenelle was raised in Annapolis, Maryland and received a Bachelor of Science degree in Communications from Towson University in Baltimore. She currently lives in the beautiful hills of Ashland, Oregon with her pug, Sascha. www.soulcourage.com

Ho-Ho-Holistic Holidays

Survival Tips for a Happy, Healthy Holiday Season By Patti Bartsch, Ph.D.

Some people simply love the holidays. Others utterly despise them. The rest of us fall somewhere in between. Food, family and festivities are all part of the holiday season and contribute to our own personal reasons for loving, hating or love-hating the holidays. This article will provide you with some simple, natural strategies for surviving the holidays; body, mind, spirit and planet. Body: Our bodies take a huge hit during the holidays. We definitely eat foods that we don't typically eat and we often eat more food and more often than usual. In addition, due to the chaos of holiday shopping, holiday parties, holiday cards, holiday cooking and holiday decorating, we often sacrifice our exercise routine to make time for these events. While we're on the run, taking steps to complete the tasks just mentioned, we may not take the time to prepare healthy meals. We may find ourselves eating at the drive-through or the food court. Body Tips: Pack a brown bag of easy to eat, healthy foods to eat while you're on the run. Assorted, raw nuts are a great, healthy snack that will give you energy, protein, omega-3 fats, and antioxidants to help combat the effects of stress. Throw a couple of apples or pears in there too. Baby carrots, whole grain crackers and a container of hummus also make for a quick and healthy snack. Be sure to drink plenty of water (half your body weight in ounces) to support your health and immunity - especially during times of stress. When it comes to the holiday table, as crazy as it sounds, use smaller plates and serving utensils to reduce portion size. Even using a smaller fork will help you to consume less food. The mistake many people make is they take a portion equal to what they would eat at a normal meal. The problem is there is usually about 3-5 times as much food as usual so you end up taking insane amounts of food. Using a teaspoon or tablespoon instead of a serving spoon will allow you to taste everything without over-doing it.

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Mind: The mind probably takes the biggest hit during the holidays. With so many things to remember and do, we get overwhelmed very easily. Combine this with the shorter daylight hours, and you have a recipe for holiday depression. Many of us are so busy making sure that everyone else enjoys the holidays that we over-extend and over-schedule ourselves to the brink of insanity. Mind Tips: Sit down and make a list of everything that you usually do or try to do for the holidays. Prioritize those items as: "Do", "Drop", or "Delegate". Then take the "Do" items and prioritize them as "Must Do" and "Nice to Do". Focus on the "Must-Do" items first. On the "Delegate" list, make a list of who you will delegate the task to, write the date that you delegated it, and the date they agreed to get it done by. Follow up on that date or simply trust them to get it done. This is a great time of year to edit your external influences. Stop watching or reading the news. Listen to some classical or spa-type music in the car or while cooking, cleaning or wrapping. Holiday music is fine too, as long as it puts you in a good mood. Understand that others are stressed out too and, even if they rub you the wrong way, wish them "Happy Holidays" and move on. Spirit: It's funny when people talk about the holiday spirit because from what I can tell, it's not the Spirit of Christmas Past, Present of Future; it's the Spirit of Christmas Insanity. Let me start by saying that if it doesn't enrich your holiday experience either don't do it at all or, if you feel obligated, do it to the minimal level possible to protect yourself from negative influences. Spirit Tips: If you hate your work's holiday party, don't go. If you can't afford gifts, write a note detailing a fond memory you have of that person. Thank them for being in your life. If your family drives you crazy, come late and leave early to the holiday festivities. No one will give you a hard time if you skip out to visit a nursing home, hospital, or homeless shelter. I guarantee that you will have a lot more holiday spirit by putting a smile on a sick child's face versus trading scratch-tickets and bottles of booze at the Yankee Swap. Planet: During the holidays, we create a lot of waste that will end up in landfills. We use a lot of extra fuel running around from mall to mall and having presents shipped across the country. Try to keep the planet in mind as make your holiday plans.

Planet Tips: Buy food from local farms or as local as you can get. If you live in Connecticut, buy potatoes from Maine. If you live in Colorado, buy potatoes from Idaho. Don't buy tinsel; decorate pine cones instead. String popcorn and cranberries instead of using foil garland. Send gift cards instead of heavy boxes. Grab a friend and carpool to the mall. You will have more luck finding one parking space than two and you can divide and conquer. One of you takes a list to the toy store, one of you takes a list to the department store and you rendezvous in the lobby at a certain time. If there are questions, there are cell phones. The holidays are supposed to be a time for cheer. Take a step back and evaluate your holiday schedule and ask yourself which parts enrich your life, and which parts impair your life. Make choices that will enhance your holiday experience; body, mind, spirit and planet.

e Patti Bartsch, Ph.D. is the owner of Naturally Unbridled (www.NaturallyUnbridled. com), a holistic life & wellness coaching company. She is a Certified Clinical Practitioner and Holistic Life & Wellness Coach with the American Council of Holistic Medicine as well as an Adjunct Professor for Kingdom College of Natural Health. Patti combines her unique background in biotechnology, nutrition, education and holistic wellness to empower her clients to achieve their optimal life and health through simple, natural methods. Dr. Bartsch is available for seminars, interviews, networking and individual and group coaching.

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