The Eden Magazine December 2023

DECEMBER 2023

EDEN T H E

LIVING SIMPLY WHEREEVER

YOU ARE

by POLLY WIRUM THE ART OF LIVING

by SUSANNA SCHROADTER

J

A renowned jewelry designer and her love for animals & environment

es

MaHarry

The Eden Magazine

@The Eden Magazine

Photo by Jess Bailey

@The Eden Magazine

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DINA MORRONE

Maryam Morrison

ZEE

Susanna Schroadter

JOE SANTOS, JR.

Polly Wirum

EDWARD HAKOPIAN

ALEXIA MELOCCHI

DULCE GARCIA-MORMAN

NIKKI PATTILLO

ARTIN MARDIROSIAN

BRAD WALLACE

SHERRI CORTLAND

JAN WAKEFIELD

LISA JOY WALTON

JOE MAGNANI & JARED SCHLACHET JSQUARED PHOTOGRAPHY

SHERI DETERMAN

BEN ROLLINS

GREG DOHERTY

ISABELLE RUEN

GRETA PAZZAGLIA

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PHILIP SMITH

MEET OUR TEAM

Photo by ISABELLE RUEN

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

EDEN T H E

MAGAZINE

Since 2010 The Eden Magazine is a free online publication focuses on spreading compassion to all Sentient Beings living in a healing and peaceful world FOUNDER & EDITOR-IN-CHIEF MARYAM MORRISON EXECUTIVE EDITOR/ CONTRIBUTING WRITER DINA MORRONE COMMUNICATION DIRECTOR/ CONTRIBUTING WRITER ALEXIA MELOCCHI CONTRIBUTING WRITERS SUSANNA SCHROADTER DULCE GARCIA-MORMAN SHERRI CORTLAND JOE SANTOS, JR. JAN WAKEFILED NIKKI PATTILLO POLLY WIRUM ZEE GUEST WRITER PHILIP SMITH CONTRIBUTING STYLISTS + MAKEUP ARTIST EDWARD HAKOPIAN LISA JOY WALTON GRAPHICS & PHOTOGRAPHY JSQUARED PHOTOGRAPHY @J2PIX ARTIN MARDIROSIAN (Nexision) SHERI DETERMAN GRETA PAZZAGLIA GREG DOHERTY BEN ROLLINS ISABELLE RUEN WEB DEVELOPER BRAD WALLACE https://bradwallacedesign.com/ 325 N. Maple Dr. Po Box 5132 Beverly Hills, CA 90209

To purchase a copy visit us in www.theedenmagazine.com Eden Magazine is a non-profit monthly online magazine. We aim to create a better environment where we live among other living beings in peace and harmony.

We support artists that their work matches our criteria. If you would like to submit your artwork, article or/and your photography for our future issues please contact Maryam Morrison at; maryammorrison@theedenmagazine.com The Eden Magazine reviews article content for accuracy before the date of publication. The views expressed in the articles reflect the author(s) opinions and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher and editor. The published material, adverts, editorials, and all other content is published in good faith.

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Table of Contents 8

PHOENIX: UNRAVELING A RELATIONSHIP AND THE BUSINESS OF REBUILDING

by Nikol Roger

36

12

IN THE CHRISTMAS SPIRIT WITH ARTIST CHRISTOPHER RADKO OF HEARTFULLY YOURS An interview by Alexia Melocchi

18

THE POWERFUL MAGIC OF JES MAHARRY

by Polly Wirum

28

CHOOSING YOUR PATH ANEW EACH DAY

by Steve Farrell

8

40

32

5 REASON WHY YOU SHOULDN'T BE SNAKING BETWEEN MEALS

by Isha Foundationn

36

COMPELLING EVIDENCE FOR AFTERLIFE MESSAGES BACKED

BY SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH: A GROUND BREAKING EXPLORATION

by Mark Ireland

40

50

2024 RESOLUTION; TRANSFORMATIVE, SIMPLE WAYS TO LIGHTEN YOUR LIFE, AND SAVE THE PLANET

by Julia Rockwell

50

MIDNIGHT WATER

by Katherine MacLean

54

WALKING WARNING PROTECT YOUR POOCH FROM THESE 7 POISONOUS PLANTS

by Quotezone.co.uk

28

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54

Cover photography by Mariana Schulze

Life is Essential, Feel it 60

LIVING SIMPLY WHEREEVER YOU ARE

by Polly Wirum

66

60

THE MAGIC OF HONGKONG

by Jan Wakefiled, M.A.

70

EVERY HUMAN IS ALREADY WHOLE

by Zee

74

A LITTLE JOURNEY OF REDEMPTION

by Dulce Garcia-Morman

80

THE ART OF LIVING

by Susanna Schroadter

84

66 70

80

94 84

ARE ANGELS AMONG US

by Nikki Pattillos

94

FROM THE PARROT PERSPECTIVE

98

74

DON'T SLEEP ON SOOT IT'S DAMAGING TO OUR LUNGS AND THE CLIMATE, AND IT'S EVERYWHERE

by Tree Meinch Covering Climate Now

98

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An excerpt from book 13 One Woman's Sacred Journey to Discovering Her Greatest Power

Un raveling a Relationship

PHOENIX:

and The Business of Rebuilding

by Nikól Rogers

SETTLING IN IS PROVING HARDER than I hoped. I feel

strange here. I feel lonely and constantly confused by the pieces of furniture that were bought with a vision of a life together.

And I've got to clean out my computer. I actually went onto social media, deleted all the photos that had Jon in them, and blocked him. While it was necessary, it felt like I had opened the wound back up and poured salt on it, rubbing it in with painful vigor. My dear friend Stacy, who is a tech wiz, helped me to pick out an external hard drive so I would have all the information that was on the shared drive from my marriage. Except when I got it back after mediation, it didn't have all my photos on it. Years' worth of photos were gone, and I was resolute not to reach out to Jon. I received the hard drive months ago; I just haven't had the emotional capacity to look at it until now.

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Photo by Shahin Khalaji

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Except it appears I don't have the capacity now either. The apartment doesn't feel like my home. It feels like a stranger.

I'm making the trek every Sunday to Zen service in Brooklyn from Queens and finding great solace there. I don't speak to anyone, really, but I feel safe there. Sitting in meditation with a group feels like a refuge. And the Abbott of the temple has become a shining beacon. His talks go right through me as if he is speaking directly to me.

I had created a belief that not only could I control things but that things were permanent and non-changing.

And now, with the help of Zen, I am really seeing how this is causing me and has caused me so much suffering in my career and my marriage.

Last week, he spoke of the walls we create in our minds and offered the invitation to stand in front of the wall and take it down piece by piece.

This felt like such a relief, and as I sat in meditation, I saw the image of carefully removing one stone at a time, my hands gingerly removing a heavy, rounded mass. As I stared at the gray matter, I knew this first stone was my mind. Beginning with the step of having a daily meditation practice, I had tools around the thoughts and beliefs that had driven my life for years for the first time.

As my therapy continues, I am really beginning to see there was a lot that led up to the divorce. There is a lot unraveling within me and actually coming to light. This isn't about smashing a wall to pieces in one swoop; this is going to be a process. Smashing the wall feels horrible, anyway. I tried that for years. It never worked.

And I have no idea how long it will take to dismantle the wall. Some days, I'm ok with that, although most days, I re-

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ally struggle with the enormity of it and desperately want it to go faster. This hurts. A lot.

While I feel too shy to speak to the other practitioners who come weekly to Zen service, I feel safe to speak to the Abbott and share with him where I am, what brought me to Zen, and my profound experience at the intro to Zen Training weekend. He always makes space for me, taking me in with his big, calm eyes and offering words of support.

I'm learning about impermanence and Buddha nature. Both of these feel like a healing balm to me. I had created a belief that not only could I control things but that things were permanent and non-changing. And now, with the help of Zen, I am really seeing how this is causing me and has caused me so much suffering in my career and my marriage. Realizing that impermanence is actually the root of reality changes everything. One, it means that the ending of my marriage was actually okay. It was never permanent, and also that, the state I am in now will change.

I can change.

This coupled with the teaching that I possess Buddha nature, that I am whole and complete as I am, is crucial. I feel such deep shame for my affair, and now I feel hope that I can heal this and also that I am not a "bad" person at my core. I am not the sinner I was taught I was in Sunday school.

I was actually horribly unhappy and terribly confused. I created massive damage with my actions, and I can atone because I am whole.

Atone = at one.

This is becoming my foundation and keeps me motivated to continue to meditate every day, go to therapy, and become a student of Zen. After moving into my apartment, I updated the Abbott on where I was, and he said, "It's as if you are in the same room you were always in, but now the lights are on."

Yes. This is my life. This is my being and body. And I was so disconnected. I had no idea how to help myself, how to ask for help, and yet, when I lost everything and did ask for help, it came, and it's coming. Day after day, I am surrounded by care. My friends, my family, and new teachers all led me back to looking within.

As I took in Abbott's words, I suddenly realized I didn't know where the light switch was anymore. I actually couldn't turn the lights off in my room again, even if I tried.

In losing everything, I've lost the ability. The light is on. And it's bright, and it's blinding, and I have a lot to look at. But for the first time in my life, I want to. In fact, I now realize if I want a different life than the one I had, I have to keep the lights on, regardless of what I discover, regardless of how ugly it appears at first.

Another teaching that has been really hitting home has been the concept of my ego burning to ash. Except in the wake of the robbery, I feel like my life is burning to ash. I know things need to change, but how much fire is in front of me? How much has to burn?

How long is this going to take?

Am I safe now in this apartment?

Or is this just the beginning of much more that has to fall away?

Feeling vulnerable, I call Stacy after looking at my closed computer and deciding there's no way I can clean it out today.

Unloading where I am, I say to her, "I feel like I'm burning to ash again and again."

There's a beat of silence, and she says, "You're a phoenix."

Then she texted me a picture of the X-Men character Jean Gray, standing strong, with flame leaping off her body.

And just like that moment at the Zen Training weekend when I was asked if I was okay without Jon, something changed.

The phoenix rises. No matter how many times it burns, the Phoenix always rises. I realized I had been placing all my attention on the fact that I was burning down, and Stacy helped me reframe it to focus on the fact that I was rising every time.

Rising from the divorce.

Rising from the affair.

Rising from the robbery.

I can rise.

Oh, thank you, Stacy. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

No matter what comes, I can rise.

f

Nikól Rogers is a speaker, writer, and empowerment coach who helps people reclaim their confidence, expand their perfect audience, and bring their fearless vision to life. She has taught her ZenRed Method globally, which teaches you how to re-frame how you think, feel, and act from a place of power, rather than from fear or limiting beliefs.

Her work is greatly influenced by her Zen practice, Qi Gong, Nonviolent Communication, and her decades of experience as an Artist.

Her new book is called 13: One Woman's Sacred Journey to Discovering Her Greatest Power (Zenred released on November 2, 2023 for $13.99).

Connect with Nikól Rogers at 13thebook.com and on social media @Nikol_Rogers.

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In the Christmas Spirit with artist

Christopher Radko of HeARTfully Yours www.heartfullyyours.com

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C

hristopher Radko of HeARTfully Yours is a renowned figure in the world of Christmas ornaments. He is often called the "Czar of the Christmas present," and over the years, he has become synonymous with designing exquisite and unique glass ornaments that have graced the White House and adorned celebrity trees—philanthropy, donating some of his earnings to charitable causes.

In this exclusive interview, Christopher shares insights into his passion for Christmas, the inspiration behind his designs, the impact of his ornaments, and the deeper spiritual connection that fuels his creativity and mission. Christopher's message is a heartfelt reminder of the joy, compassion, and interconnectedness that the magic of Christmas represents, even in challenging times.

Christopher, your journey into the world of Christmas ornaments is fascinating. Can you tell us more about the moment that led you to start designing Christmas ornaments after your family's Christmas tree incident when you were 22?

Absolutely. That incident with our family Christmas tree falling over was a pivotal moment for me. It made me realize how important ornaments connect us to cherished memories.

When the tree fell, it was as if the memories attached to each ornament

shattered. My grandmother's reaction to it, saying that I had ruined Christmas forever, made me feel a deep responsibility to make things right. I wanted to bring back the beauty of glass ornaments, and that's how I started sketching my designs and eventually found glassblowers in Europe to make them.

Your ornaments have become renowned because they can be found in many prestigious places, including the White House. What sets your Christmas ornaments apart and makes them so desirable to be part of such esteemed collections?

It's all about the heart and soul I put into each ornament. These ornaments are more than just decorations; they are memory-makers.

When I receive the ornaments from Europe, I have a ritual where I infuse them with a mission to bring joy and smiles to people's faces. That energy, that light, is a part of every ornament I create. It's not just a product; it's an embodiment of the magic of Christmas. People can sense that even if they can't put it into words.

What is your process behind the making of these ornaments?

These ornaments arrive from Europe, handcrafted with techniques passed down for generations as if they hold a piece of history and tradition. They can't be mass-produced because they require a week's work and the touch of skilled artisans. I'm fortunate to be the steward of this magic in my New York State warehouse.

I believe that the understanding of our interconnectedness and the practice of opening our hearts to love and compassion can bring about a more positive and harmonious world.

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You've also supported many charities, making unique ornaments for them. Do you have a personal connection to any of them?

I am honored to create the official Nutcracker ornament for the Houston Ballet. This enchanting event draws under 200,000 people in Houston, Texas. This annual fundraiser is nothing short of magical, and it's heartwarming to see people come together to support the Nutcracker ballet.

Four other causes hold a special place in my heart. First and foremost, I'm committed to raising awareness about heart disease, especially in women. My mother's tragic experience highlighted the gender differences in heart health, and I believe there's a pressing need for more research and education in this area. AIDS research is another cause dear to me in memory of my dedicated sales representative, Jimmy Odom. He was a mentor who taught me the art of selling. Breast cancer research is a cause close to my heart as well, having lost my sister to a rare and aggressive form of the disease.

Lastly, I am deeply passionate about combating food insecurity.

Witnessing the long lines at food pantries during the pandemic

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underscored the ongoing issue of hunger in our world. I firmly believe that providing access to healthy food can make a significant impact on global peace and well-being. When people's basic needs are met, they can approach life with greater peace and less strife.

Recently, there has been a growing awareness of environmental concerns, and some people are opting for artificial Christmas trees to reduce their environmental impact. What are your thoughts on the sustainability of using real Christmas trees, and how do your ornaments fit into this?

Real Christmas trees can be a sustainable choice if grown organically and sustainably. They provide oxygen habitat for wildlife and can be a more eco-friendly option than artificial trees, which have a significant carbon footprint due to their production. While I understand the appeal of artificial trees, I advocate for live trees and suggest checking for sustainable and organic options. My ornaments can adorn real and artificial trees.

I also offer creative alternatives for displaying them if someone prefers to use something other than a traditional tree.

positive and harmonious world.

When we recognize that we are all part of a vast, interconnected network of life, it becomes difficult to engage in conflict or harm others. I hope that more people will awaken to this truth and that they will collectively work toward a more peaceful and loving world.

Your spiritual practice and connection to the divine are evident in your perspective on life and your work. Can you tell us more about your daily one-hour meditation practice and how it helps you navigate life's challenges, especially in today's world?

My daily meditation practice is my anchor in life. I start each day with an hour of quiet, away from emails and distractions. It's a time for me to connect with the divine within myself. This practice reminds me that we are all connected and vessels for expressing love and compassion in the world. No matter one's faith or beliefs, this connection to the divine within us can guide us to live a more heart-based life. In today's world, filled with negativity and conflict, this practice helps me stay centered and focused on bringing light and love to the world.

Real Christmas trees can be a sustainable choice if grown organically and sustainably. They provide oxygen habitat for wildlife and can be a more ecofriendly option than artificial trees, which have a significant carbon footprint due to their production.

Your message of interconnectedness and opening one's heart to love and compassion is a powerful one. How do you see this perspective shaping a more positive future, especially in challenging times?

I believe that the understanding of our interconnectedness and the practice of opening our hearts to love and compassion can bring about a more 15 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM e DECEMBER 2023

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Tatyana Vlachos is the IQMWELLNESS center owner and the energy healer. The Wellness center main focus is to detox body from heavy metals, mold, parasites, viruses and the other toxins. They use cutting edge technology to help with detoxing the body and have great results! Eesystem is one of them, which creates amplified energy field. Using scalar wave technology, this vortex generates multiple bio-active life enhancing frequencies.

The other technologies are Ozone saunas Hocatt, BeamRay- plasma light RIFE machine, biofeedback scans, High intensity ultrasound machine Cellsonic, Lifestream radiant energy generator.

805-405-2790 3625 Thousand Oaks Boulevard, Building A, Suite 188, Thousand Oaks, California, 91362

iqmwellness.com

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J

The Powerful Magic of

es MaHarry

by Polly Wirum

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T

ucked away on a ranch in Ojai, California, Jes MaHarry works her magic with gold, silver, and a variety of the most precious stones. Jes MaHarry is an artist and a fantastic jeweler, and though she does not advertise this, I am sure she taps into the mystical and shares healing energy with the world.

Her pieces remind me of Rumi's poetic messages coming to life in rings, necklaces, and bracelets. Her jewelry is inspirational and carries loving messages you can feel guiding you throughout the day. She uses ethically sourced materials and sustainable processes.

The best way I can describe Jes's artistic heart and creations is this: imagine having limitless potential and sparkling, golden energy captured in a jar. When you slip on a piece of her jewelry or share a moment with her, it's like the lid is twisted off, and the sparks fly far and wide, lighting up your world in the most magical of ways.

I am sure Jes's life was touched by magic long before her early twenties, but something shifted when her mother gifted her a silversmith class. It was here that she was able to create something that allowed her drawings to merge with the elements. This was just the beginning of Jes discovering how to blend and work with physical materials and the supernatural.

The Process Jes's artistic process is simply following the inspi-

ration that comes during meditation, hiking out in the open pastures, or yoga.

She allows visions and messages to come through, and all else falls away. Many of her pieces are created with a person or one of her many rescue animals in mind. She taps into their very being and can feel what they need most.

Sometimes, it is simply feeling strong and safe, like the mighty oak tree that is featured in many of her pieces.

The image and feel of the powerful oak tree are currently one of Jes's favorites.

No doubt, there is a practical and organized process that involves heat, wax, hammers, and sharp instruments, but my mind does not often go to the sensible and logical ways of life. To discover more about the physical ways her jewelry is created, I suggest you visit her welcoming store in downtown Ojai. You will feel like you stepped into a wonderland of untapped potential and care.

Jes believes both her studio and ranch have a halo that protects all the beautiful people she works with and the animals that call her sanctuary home.

One of my favorites is a garnet ring set in gold with engravings of hearts, stars, the sun, moon, and stars. This helps me feel balanced, peaceful, and courageous all at once.

I appreciate Jes's ability to live and create in a very uncomplicated way. She truly trusts her intuition and follows her heart. Every piece is intentionally created with the vibration of healing energy. I see how her beautiful thoughts grow and multiply.

It is not just her friends, family, and rescue animals that are touched by her loving and healing intentions, but the collective at large.

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Success Jes has enjoyed many successes in her personal and professional life. Some might believe that the recognition of high-profile religious figures and politicians would be what she is most proud of. What truly opens her heart to joy and inspires her to reach beyond is simple. She loves hearing from customers who experience a connection with her jewelry.

Many give her wearable inspirations credit for helping them through some of their greatest life challenges. Others have purchased her jewelry so they could bless their marriage or loved ones with the energy of joy. The stories of love and healing are what bring it all together for Jes! Outsiders might believe her 22 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM e DECEMBER 2023

greatest challenge would be managing a family, a thriving business, and a ranch. This is not the case; everything has always fallen into place, even in the beginning when she did not have a traditional business plan. Of course, she has a husband and friends who understand how Jes moves through the world. They understand she is divinely guided and occasionally gets lost in her latest inspiration.

Her favorite way of being is creating, watching her family thrive, and experiencing untamed land. All these things bring her to a place where she loses herself in the moment, whether it is hiking, watching the night sky, creating, or spending time with those she loves.

One of my favorites is a garnet ring set in gold with engravings of hearts, stars, the sun, moon, and stars. This helps me feel balanced, peaceful, and courageous all at once.

Choosing Your Inspiration When choosing a piece of Jes's jewelry, I first think about the type of energy I want to connect with. For example, I am currently wearing a moonstone ring set in silver. I know this helps me receive the moon's feminine, intuitive guidance. This ring has the oak tree engraved in the band. The combination of silver, moonstone, and the oak tree is a balance of the divine feminine and divine masculine working together, helping me stand strong and follow my heart and intuition.

"I have pieces with lapis lazuli for peace, wisdom, and harmony.

One of my favorites is a garnet ring set in gold with engravings of hearts, stars, the sun, moon, and stars. This helps me feel

balanced, peaceful, and courageous all at once. I also love a bracelet with words reminding me of love and bright, healing light. I touch the calming Turquoise, and it feels beautiful in my morning meditations."

Whether you are seeking a talisman or just something that is beautiful and fun, Jes has created it for you. Peruse her creations and discover what pieces are a nod to tarot, astrology, the Earth, moon, starlight, and eternal love. Notice how you feel as you look at the hawks, lions, and stars rising above all else. Imagine the gold band touching your wrist or a gem resting near your heart.

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Looking Forward with Jes Jes has goals that include helping more people connect to the energy that brings them comfort, peace, and joy. Continuing to help heal rescued animals will always be part of her life. Her joy and inspiration truly come from a well of love. This love grows as she watches her family enjoy life, animals learn to trust and love again, and, of course, share her love with others.

Establishing ethical and sustainable practices has always been a cornerstone of Jes's business.

She also gives back to her community and many charities that are aligned with her love of the world. Just a few are the Surfrider Foundation, Ojai Raptor Center, Musicares, Turtle Conservancy, and Heal The Ocean.

Visit her website to see how she supports the protection of nature, animals, and our beautiful world.

How Jes's Creations Impacted Me For years, until my daughter took possession, I wore a necklace created by Jes. The simple charms of feathers, leaves, and a heart right in the middle of a hand were one of my favorites. It reminded me of a little wildness mixed in with a spiritual presence. Somehow, this helped me feel connected to my soul's guidance. This necklace was my companion through many adventures, successes, and challenges. Now, my daughter wears it every day on the trails in Montana and Wyoming.

I swear there is magic in her jewelry. Currently, I am wearing another creation that I put on over a year ago. The past year has held challenges for me. I found myself reaching for the amulet of protection and strength when I 24 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM e DECEMBER 2023

felt less than strong. This little symbol of courage and strength never came off.

Not long ago, I was having a deep conversation with my husband. Together, we were creating a beautiful plan to transform our relationship. We both felt relieved and very hopeful about our ability to begin again in a healthier way. It was at this moment that the necklace I had been wearing for strength and courage slipped off. It was like the Universe let me know I was safe and could wear a new piece of jewelry.

Unbeknownst to me, my husband had already purchased new Jes Margarey jewelry for me. The piece's focus is on love, growth, and freedom. It feels wonderful.

Gratitude The Earth is a better place with Jes, who teaches others how to follow their heart and the sun and discover love, truth, strength, and peace. If you are in her presence, you will feel the Universe create space for something magical. If you are lucky enough to wear one of her creations, it is like high vibrational energy coming into your life and giving you just what you need.

Whether you could use a little more love, strength, peace, magic, or beauty in your life, check out Jes's offerings on her website Jesmaharey.com, or in the Sundance catalog. I am excited to see what resonates most with you.

I cannot wait for each of us to have a secret totem that guides us with love toward a peaceful and compassionate world.

Special Thank you to: Editing: Dina Morrone Photos by: Mariana Schulze

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Photo by By Pajaros Volando AdobeStock

GO VEGAN

"Animals have souls Don’t put them in your bowls"

CHOOSING

YOUR PATH ANEW EACH DAY Photo by Ester-ann

by Steve Farrell

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You are here on the Earth on a mission of sorts. When you follow your soul’s calling, it will guide you to your station in life. You will know who you truly are and how to best express yourself.

A

s part of the conscious path, it’s also important for each of us to look inward and figure out what we most treasure about our own lives.

You need to define prosperity for yourself. Is there prosperity in your relationships? In your professional work? Is it in close, loving relationships with your partner, your kids, your friends, and/ or your coworkers? Is it in your relationship with God or the natural world? Or is your prosperity in your bank account primarily tied to your income, your investments, and your personal financial wealth?

It’s important to decide this because whatever your prosperity is anchored to, that is where you place your attention and, thus, your intention. If your treasure turns out to be primarily financial, there is a strong chance that you will never truly feel prosperous. You will notice how much more others have or fantasize about how much more you could have if only you worked more diligently, had a higher IQ, or had insider knowledge about the tactics to get more.

The good news is that it is never too late to change. This is what I tried to do in my own life, and if there is one message I want to underscore here, it is that no matter how far down a path you’ve gone, you can always change directions. You can turn your life around and head toward happiness and fulfillment.

In truth, I’ve done this in my 30 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM e DECEMBER 2023

own life. I have found myself off course by a little or a lot. Whenever I discover this, I’m tempted to be frustrated and upset with myself, but I know there is no value in beating myself up over it. Instead, I’ve adjusted my course to the more true direction for me.

Once I’ve gotten myself back on track, I often realize the process has made me grow.

So many paths can deepen your connections to others, to the Earth and the universe that is our home, and to the Divine that is the source of everything. Those paths are never too far from whatever path you’re on. They are yours to choose for the first time or to choose anew every day that you live.

You are here on the Earth on a mission of sorts. When you follow your soul’s calling, it will guide you to your station in life.

You will know who you truly are and how to best express yourself.

Being fully devoted to your calling and your conscious journey requires the discipline to work on your mission every day to the best of your ability.

You are not simply a body experiencing a single lifetime and returning to dust at the end of that life; you are an eternal being evolving over lifetimes, an offspring of the Divine with unlimited potential. Each day, you will need to answer the same questions: How will I live? How will I feel at the end of the day about the choices I’ve made?

As an offspring of the Divine, we are the arms, legs, and lungs of the Divine, here to do the work only humans can do. Your job is to do the work that you alone can bring to bear in the world, fulfilling your unique destiny in each lifetime and over all the lifetimes you spend here. You were made this way to be a healthy cell in the body of life around you. You will naturally feel joyful and excited when you fulfill the role you were born for; You will feel unfulfilled and out of sync when you instead make choices that are selfish and self-serving.

Matthew 6:33 in the New Testament says: “Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and all things shall be added unto you.” The kingdom is our sacred relationship with the Divine/Life. We can find this kingdom when we go in prayer, meditation, and stillness.

When we align with the Divine, everything falls into place. We find a new prosperity in more loving relationships with family, friends, and coworkers. We feel empowered to work tirelessly for the causes we care about. We have a sense of being right where we’re supposed to be, which leads to a deep, abiding peace. We can share this peace when we join hands and hearts with others.

When we make this manifest in our reality, we create a new humanity and a new Earth.

Before leaving Silicon Valley, I thought I had a sense of purpose for the sake of transparency and perspective. I enjoyed various rewards. Yet I never truly felt settled, satisfied, or at peace. Since shifting gears with my family and coming to Colorado, I’ve felt far more purposeful and more in flow. I know I’m doing what I

truly came into this life to do, which is fulfilling my personal mission and doing my part for the whole.

As a result, my sense of cognitive dissonance is gone. The incessant tapping on my shoulder has vanished, along with the sensation of always craving more. The hole in my soul has been filled. I now feel a sense of prosperity and satisfaction far beyond anything I felt during my entrepreneurial days in the technology industry.

I believe this is one of the most important signposts on the conscious journey. At the end of the day, we feel full and alive instead of half-empty and depleted.

I am on my own personal journey. I have not reached some grand destination where I’ve achieved mastery of life, but I’m deliberately trying to evolve into the highest expression of who I am. I often push myself harder than I should, but it’s because I’m passionate and devoted to so many things. To counter this, I’m paying closer attention to myself every day, reminding myself to take more breaks and laugh more with my team. I’m making more time to take longer walks with my dog and to just sit and enjoy the outdoors with Stephanie and our now-grown children.

My passion and enthusiasm sometimes interrupt my sleep because I’m so excited about the coming day. I’ve made adjustments to ensure I get enough sleep to be at my best.

These are just a sampling of the things I’m pursuing in my own journey. I believe this is the kind of work we all must do on ourselves as we seek to honor the gifts and opportunities we’ve been given by the source of everything there is.

From the pinnacle of Silicon Valley success as co-founder of two high-tech firms, Steve Farrell pivoted to lead Humanity’s Team, a global nonprofit helping people everywhere awaken to our interconnectedness. He details his journey from the American Dream to conscious leadership in his new book, A New Universal Dream.

Steve and Humanity’s Team offers educational programs in business, science, spirituality, creativity, relationships, healing, and conscious living through multiple platforms, including their Humanity Stream+ streaming service.

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Sadhguru, Isha Foundation

5

Reasons Why You Shouldn't

Be Snacking Between Meals #1 Mind & Body Function Best on an Empty Stomach Sadhguru: You may think that eating something through the day will help you be more active.

But if you look at how your body feels when there is food in the stomach and how the body feels when the stomach is empty, you will see your body and brain work best when your stomach is empty. If food is constantly being processed in your digestive system, a certain amount of energy is naturally allocated towards that, so both your brain and body will not function at their best.

If you want to function at your full potential, be conscious and eat that kind of food where within 1.5-2.5 hours, your stomach bag becomes empty and the food material moves to the intestine. The body does not consume so much energy from that point. And within twelve to eighteen hours, the food must be completely out of the system.

This is what Yoga always insists.

The stomach being empty does not mean hunger. You feel hungry only when the energy levels run down. Otherwise, the stomach must be empty.

If you maintain this simple awareness, you will experience much more energy, agility and alertness. These are the ingredients of a successful life irrespective of what you have chosen to do.

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#2 Cleansing the System for Physical and Mental Health When the digestive process is happening in the stomach bag, the purification of the body on the cellular level almost shuts down. So if you keep eating through the day, the cells retain impurities for a longer period, which creates various problems over a period of time. Even the excretory process from the intestines does not happen efficiently because the waste material will keep coming to the colon at different times instead of at once.

If the colon is not clean, you are asking for problems. In Yoga, we say that an unclean colon and psychological disturbances are directly connected.

If the colon is not clean, you cannot keep your mind stable.

In Indian traditional medical systems such as Ayurveda and Siddha, it does not matter what a patient’s ailment is, the first thing they will want to do is purge your digestive system because most of your problems may be due to an unclean colon.

The way people are eating today, keeping the colon clean is going to be a big challenge for them. But suppose you eat just two big meals a day and nothing in between, like we normally do in the ashram, or if we are too active, we may eat a fruit, then your colon will always remain clean.

In the Yogic system, we say there must be a minimum of six to eight hours between one meal and the next. If that is not possible, at least a five-hour gap is a must. Less than that means you are causing trouble to yourself. #3 Assimilating Food Into The System What you call your body and your mind is a certain accumulation of memory. It is because of this memory – or you can call it information – that this body has taken its shape. The food we eat transforms into the body depending on this memory. Let’s say

I eat a mango. The mango gets into me and becomes a man. If a woman eats a mango, the same mango will go into her and become a woman. If a cow eats the mango, it goes inside a cow and becomes a cow. Why does this mango go into me and become a man and not a woman or a cow? It is essentially because of memory, a specific kind of memory that is there in my system.

And why is it that if I eat a mango, one part of it becomes my skin and it comes to the same skin tone? You don’t suddenly find one mangocolored patch on the hand. Because there is such a strong memory structure, whatever I put in, the memory will make sure it becomes this person, not some other person.

As you age, this ability of the body to integrate food starts to reduce because your genetic memory and evolutionary memory become less capable of transforming whatever you consume.

You may be healthy and capable of digesting what you eat, but the body will not be able to transform the mango into a human being with the same vigour. Digestion happens but transformation of one life into another will not happen as well because the memory is becoming weak.

The body will adjust itself to this slowing down, but if you are conscious about how you eat and what you eat, you can adjust it more sensibly.

Unless you are an extremely physically active person or have some medical issue, if you are over thirty-five years of age, two meals a day would definitely be healthier for you. If you are eating more, you are unnecessarily burdening the system. You no longer need that much food because your vertical growth is completely over.

If you feel a little hungry or tired, a fruit in between should take care of you. If you can maintain this, you will live very well. It is economical and eco-friendly and you will be healthy.

Taking away that compulsiveness in the body is crucial.

Your body and mind are a composition. All kinds of past imprints have formed tendencies and those are compulsive. If you go by that, it means you have decided not to evolve.

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#4 Maintaining Integrity One level of what the spiritual process means is that you bring a certain sense of integrity to your body and mind. By integrity, I mean when your system is not consolidated in a certain way, if it is loose, it becomes incapable of experiencing anything.

Even if the greatest things happen, you will miss it. Everything in the Inner Engineering program is designed so that there is a certain level of physiological and psychological integrity within you, so that your ability to experience is enhanced.

Infrastructures to Raise Human Consciousness

Experience Yoga in its classical form at Isha Yoga Center Los Angeles and Isha Institute of Inner-sciences. Established

by Sadhguru, the centers serve as powerful spaces for inner transformation and raising human consciousness. Located in northern Los Angeles County and Tennessee respectively, the centers offer an array of Yoga and meditation programs within a vibrant and conducive ambience.

You are invited to Free Yoga Day, a monthly open-doors event at the center. On this day, we offer a variety of free sessions dedicated to educating and empowering individuals to take charge of their wellbeing through simple but powerful practices sourced from the Yogic tradition.

Learn more at ishausa.org/la

The only instrument that you have through which you can experience is your body. You can say your mind, but that is also body. In opening up the body to something outside, you loosen the integrity of the physiology. This is something that people have not understood. How many times you open your body to receive something in a day will also determine how long you live. If you simply open up the system too often to outside things, you will loosen the system. A body like that cannot do anything because there is no integrity. When there is no integrity, there is no connectivity with anything. You will simply survive somehow. Nothing will happen beyond that.

Why Yogis or those who are in sadhana eat only once or twice a day and nothing in between is because they don’t want to open the body for anything. No outside elements except air and water should enter the system too often because it will loosen the integrity of the system in terms of sensitivity. Sensation is the outermost layer of who you are. If you want to keep yourself very sensitive, it is important you do not open your body to anything and everything that comes your way. You must eat well, that’s not the point, but you should not be eating many times. #5 From Compulsiveness to Consciousness Not eating when you feel like eating

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is one part of sadhana so that you take away compulsiveness for food, or for anything for that matter. Food is a very fundamental thing. Based on this, many other aspects of life become compulsive.

At the Isha Yoga Center, when it is meal time, people are really hungry and they come to the dining area.

There is food in front of them; they want to gobble it up. But they close their eyes and fold their hands for an invocation. The idea is that you are very hungry but you wait for two more minutes. Try to do this with everything that you are compulsive about. Whatever you are compulsive about, just wait for two minutes. It will not kill you. It will leave you very strong.

Taking away that compulsiveness in the body is crucial. Your body and mind are a composition. All kinds of past imprints have formed tendencies and those are compulsive. If you go by that, it means you have decided not to evolve. You have decided that you do not mind living in the pattern. You do not want to break the pattern and explore new possibilities.

Food is something very basic and simple but still, how you handle this aspect makes a lot of difference. This is a journey to a more conscious way of functioning by slowly distancing yourself from the information that is already there within you, which is ruling you from within. Bondage is on many different levels, but the foundation of all your bondage is your body, so that is why you work with the body.

Gautama the Buddha went to the extent of saying, “When you are very hungry and you are badly in need of food, if you give away your food to somebody else, you will become stronger.” I am not going that far. I am saying “just wait two minutes” – it will definitely leave you stronger. l

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In a world where the mysteries of the afterlife have intrigued humanity for centuries, author and researcher Mark Ireland unveils a remarkable journey of discovery in his latest book, The Persistence of the Soul: Mediums, Visitations and Afterlife Communication.

Drawing upon personal experiences and rigorous scientific investigations, Ireland presents a groundbreaking exploration into the realm of the beyond, shedding light on the existence of life after death.

In this captivating work, Ireland delves into psychic-medium phenomena, spirit visitations, afterlife communication, reincarnation, synchronicity, and near-death experiences. Through meticulous research and heartfelt introspection, he weaves together a narrative that underscores the continuity of consciousness beyond the confines of the physical body.

Ireland's journey leads him to confront his skepticism, inherited from his father, the renowned 20th-century psychic Dr. Richard Ireland.

Driven by a desire to understand the practices that once shaped his father's life, Ireland engages with respected mediums who bridge the gap between worlds, delivering unexpected messages from departed loved ones.

Mark's book not only provides insights into the mechanics of mediumship but also offers solace and healing to those grappling with grief. Ireland's encounters with mediums provide profound insights into how spirit communication can guide and console those who have lost someone dear. His interviews with mediums shed light on the intricate process through which they receive messages from the other side, demystifying the profound connection between the living and the departed.

Compelling Evidence for Afterlife Messages Backed by Scientific Research: A GROUNDBREAKING EXPLORATION

By Mark Ireland

A

cruel synergist moved me to explore life’s deepest mysteries. This had been my father’s path, but it was not mine—at least not until now. Reflecting back, I could see that I’d taken for granted the most important things in my life until one of the most precious and beloved among them— my youngest son—was gone. Oddly, it now seemed easier to take risks, following an inner sense that prodded me to pursue a new life course using my freshly recognized gifts to help others.

Prior to January 10, 2004, I could never have imagined that Brandon would die at such a young age. I’d been traveling just before this happened and was grateful to have returned home and spent time with him before the incident.

It was a Saturday morning, and Brandon told me that he was going to hike with friends.

Their plan was to tackle a particularly challenging mountain. The wind was blowing intensely, and something just didn’t feel right to me.

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As someone who has lost a loved one, I can personally attest to the need for healing after such a tumultuous experience. Yet I can also affirm that it is possible for a person to reclaim what can become a most meaningful and fulfilling life. After a time of reprieve, the loss can actually take on a unique and important role—serving as a catalyst for something crucial.

A short time later, I experienced an unusual “premonition,” which included the overwhelming sensation of another presence, as ominous feelings about Brandon’s hike suffused me. As a result of my experience, I asked my son to stay home. Of course, I didn’t tell him about the intense feeling that swallowed me up with trepidation and a sense of impending tragedy. Instead, I focused on the rational grounds for my request—the windy conditions present that day. In other words, I second-guessed my experience instead of fully trusting it.

Brandon was eighteen years old, adventurous, and determined. When leaving with friends, in a matter-offact fashion, he uttered his final words to me, “We’re going, Dad.” Later that day, we received a distress call from our older son, Steven, who was relaying a message from Brandon’s friends on the mountain. They said that Brandon had become dizzy and passed out, but they didn’t know what was wrong. We rushed home to find a swarm of people and emergency vehicles at the base of the mountain, located directly behind our house. Shortly thereafter, we were introduced to a chaplain who informed us that Brandon had died, providing no opinion on the cause of death. A short time later, I spoke to Brandon’s best friend, Stu Garney, and he told me that Brandon had complained about numb limbs and what seemed to be a rapid heartbeat.

Immediately after learning of Brandon’s death, I was in a state of utter 38 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM e DECEMBER 2023

shock. How was I to accept the death of my child—someone I’d loved since his birth—whose future I longed to see unfold? At that moment, it was hard to even imagine going on. How could I function? Would I ever experience joy again? Fortunately, my family includes members who are endowed with profound spiritual gifts, and this made all the difference for me. I soon contacted my uncle Robert, who—like my deceased father—was a minister and gifted psychic-medium, asking him to relay any information about Brandon’s well-being that he might receive. Two days later, while I was standing in the mortuary making arrangements for Brandon’s service, my cell phone rang.

It was my uncle calling. He explained that he had tried hard to make a spiritual connection the night before but was unsuccessful. However, his meditation the following morning—that very day—had proven fruitful. My deceased father came to him and shared information about Brandon.

My uncle stated, “Brandon’s heart failed due to a lack of oxygen. When he first left his body, he was confused, but your dad came to greet him and help him adjust. Brandon also wanted you and Susie to know that "you were the best parents he ever could have had."

Less than a week later, my uncle’s message was validated. When speaking to the physician who performed Brandon’s autopsy, I was informed that my son’s death was due to a severe asthma attack, which caused his blood oxygen levels to drop, resulting in heart failure.

My uncle’s message was the first in a series of connections, validations, and synchronistic events that forever changed me. After spending most of my adult life in the “numb comfort” of a mainstream, business-fueled lifestyle, I was suddenly jolted out of my spiritual complacency. It was a harsh yet vital awakening. Mysteriously compelled by the crucible of my loss, I embarked on an exploration that drew me back to my numinous roots. As I noted, my father had been a deeply spiritual minister and world-renowned psychic medium, but I had taken a different course in life. Perhaps my father had something to teach me after all.

I am now well into my journey, and I’ve learned many things, but the process will never be complete—at least not in this lifetime. Change is an essential element of life; challenges will continue to arise, as will periods of immense joy and fulfillment.

All the while, I hope to continue along my path, as I know that I am destined to keep growing.

During my search, I traversed a major precipice and discovered some astonishing things. The fruits of my study have been helpful and reassuring—yielding hope in a world that has adopted materialism as its religion— accepting meaninglessness and chaos as givens. I feel obliged to share my findings to help dispel this pessimistic worldview that I see as a falsehood.

First, I have culled evidence that physical death is not the end of the road for any of us. I know this message is critical because I’ve seen people consumed by fear of death or suffering unbearable grief after losing a loved one. Some can draw into a shell, ceasing all efforts to reach their

potential, or even give up on life.

Conversely, I’ve seen people freed from the shackles of despair who were able to rebound and view life from a different perspective.

These individuals were filled with a renewed sense of hope and optimism in the face of an apparent tragedy. This doesn’t happen every time because some people choose to hold onto anger or blame and will not release their debilitating thoughts. This choice is ultimately up to each individual. But being able to step back and view life from a larger perspective can change the context of a loss—seeing death as a simple shift to another form of life rather than the cessation of one’s existence.

As someone who has lost a loved one, I can personally attest to the need for healing after such a tumultuous experience. Yet I can also affirm that it is possible for a person to reclaim what can become a most meaningful and fulfilling life. After a time of reprieve, the loss can actually take on a unique and important role— serving as a catalyst for something crucial. Pain can be the ultimate teacher, but only when one is open to the possibility. Eventually, the person must learn to move past grief to some degree—otherwise, he or she will stand still or even regress.

I’ve seen afterlife evidence, including psychic and medium phenomena, play a role in easing the anguish tied to loss—advancing and accelerating the healing process. To provide illustration for those unfamiliar with this practice, in these pages, I share examples of my interactions with credible spiritual mediums. I also provide information to help readers learn more about this field, which most people do not understand.

Mark Ireland is an author, researcher, and co-founder of Helping Parents Heal, an organization providing support to bereaved parents globally.

He has actively participated in mediumship research studies conducted by esteemed institutions, including the University of Arizona and the University of Virginia. As a leading figure in the field, he operates a Medium Certification program.

Mark is the author of Soul Shift and currently resides in Camas, Washington.

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2024

RESOLUTIONS: Transformative, Simple ways to lighten your life

AND SAVE THE PLANET Reshape your relationship with consumption and the Earth with a few essential habit shifts.

by Julia Rockwell

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Photo by Peter Conlan

MAKE A CHANGE WITH A CHALLENGE In a culture where we are bombarded by consumerism from the moment we wake up until we go to sleep, restraint can be challenging. We can easily become susceptible to quick, unnecessary purchases—even when we have the best intentions. Developing green consumption habits can help you fight more by buying less. Here are three New Year resolutions to get you activated while also streamlining and simplifying your life: THE COST OF CONSUMPTION Overconsumption is costing us more than we know. u Our Time. The more we own, the more time we spend looking for stuff, putting things away, organizing, cleaning, and getting rid of unwanted belongings. The average person spends 1 to 10 minutes a day just looking for items; over a lifetime, that comes to 6.5 months (or nearly 5,000 hours) just trying to find our stuff. u Our Money. The average American spends nearly $18,000 a year on nonessentials and carries over $6,500 in credit card debt.

Ten percent of the U.S. population has a storage unit–costing $91.14/month, on average.

Photo by Aarón Blanco Tejedor

u Our Space: A third of homeowners with a two-car garage can only park one vehicle inside–with the average American home containing over 300,000 items.

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The Planet. Overconsumption is one of the main drivers of the climate crisis. A 2015 study found that household consumption, which includes the production and use of all of the stuff we buy and services we utilize, accounts for 60% of global greenhouse emissions—with footprints

skewing heavily on wealthier nations such as the United States.

The U.S. makes up just over 4% of the world's population and yet, for decades, has used one-third of the world's total material consumption.

Resolution #1.

Ease of the Excess In a society already responsible for "too much," buying more is not the answer, even if a product is made sustainably. Use your spending habits to fight for the future you want by cutting out the excess. Take a one-month "Ease of the Excess Challenge" to discover ways to make your purchases more intentional and find resources to help you buy less "brand-new." Don't worry. You can still purchase necessities like food, personal care essentials (hey, we still have to brush our teeth), any medical or health needs, including prescriptions, bills, repairs (a broken pipe cannot wait), essential services, pet basics, etc.

Nonessentials that you will be avoiding during the challenge include clothing (assuming you have yet to move from a nudist colony), makeup, toys, home decor, etc. Instead, use what you already own. If you need a nonessential item during the challenge, skip buying it brand-new and try getting it secondhand, for free (check out your local Buy Nothing group if you haven't already), borrowed from a friend, or as a rental.

Begin the challenge on the first of the month for a clean start, and an optional bonus is to give yourself one free pass (meaning you're allowed to buy one nonessential during the month). Getting to buy one new item might sound like cheating, but it can help you be more mindful about what you are choosing to consume.

Photo by Adobestock

Eco-Tip: If you're feeling shopping withdrawal, choose connection over consumption. Go for a run, read a good book, get a drink with a friend, spend time with your family, or plan a date with your partner. Connecting with yourself or someone you care about is much more fulfilling.

Resolution #2.

Join the Reuse Revolution If there is anything that's so last year, it's single-use items. Fifty percent of the plastic we use is single-use, meaning that it is used for minutes—sometimes seconds—and then thrown away.

But it's not just plastic that's the issue – it's all single-use items. Set a 2024 challenge to go without single-use items for a month (or even the full year).

To begin transitioning away from disposables (even non-plastics), start small by bringing a shopping tote and reusable produce bags to the grocery store and carrying a utensil kit in your bag or stashed in your desk drawer to avoid using disposable cutlery, swap paper napkins for cloth, paper towels for rags, plastic snack bags for reusable ones, and tampons or pads for a menstrual cup.

Eco-Tip: Don't Be Perfect: Taking steps toward leading a more sustainable life isn't about being

perfect. It's about doing what you can. If you mess up, it's okay. Please don't do it because you can't do everything. Even if you're not 100% successful, it can be enlightening to see how many disposable products you encounter and highlight where to start looking for alternatives.

You'll also learn where and when to anticipate disposables—and ways to avoid them.

Resolution #3.

Consciously Clear the Clutter Research shows what we already know: mess equals stress. Kick off 2024 by decluttering your home and creating space for more of what matters most–while riding responsibly. Here are 5 places to start: u Kitchen. The first step to a waste- and clutter-free kitchen is to eat what you already own.

Food waste is estimated to be responsible for 6–8% of global greenhouse-gas emissions. That's three times the global emissions from aviation. Additionally, 43% of all food waste in the United States happens in our homes, with the average American household throwing away 31.9% of the food it buys. When analyzed against all of the world's most effective solutions to fight the climate crisis, reducing food waste is ranked third.

If there is food that you aren't going to consume or is expired, donate it to a local food bank. They will generally accept expired shelf-stable food with undamaged packaging.

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Where to begin? By eating your way through your pantry and fridge. Don't (always) be afraid of expired food. If the packaging hasn't been damaged (no rust, dents, or swelling) and the food still smells and tastes okay; it's likely fine to eat it (with the infant formula as the exception–the expiration date there is a hard deadline). According to the USDA, most shelf-stable foods are safe to eat long past their sell-by date.

(We're talking years in some cases for canned goods.) End-date labels are voluntarily put on products to help consumers understand when food may be best by. They do not indicate that food is no longer safe to eat. If there is food that you aren't going to consume or is expired, donate it to a local food bank. They will generally accept expired shelf-stable food with undamaged packaging. u Bathroom. Spend 2024 using up the cosmetic graveyard you have stashed in the back of your bathroom cabinet. That means, before you buy anything new, finish up your half-used bottles of shampoo and lotion. Only once you are completely out of a product type should you replace it.

However, if a product is expired or unsafe to use, like that 10-yearold eyeliner at the bottom of your makeup bag, toss it. Products not to your liking but are safe, such as conditioner or body wash, can be posted on Buy Nothing to find them a new home. (The same can be said for your cleaning supplies.)

Once you've worked your way through everything, be conscious to use up products (or find disliked ones in a new home) before opening a new one. u Closet. Donation drop-off points often appear to be a simple way to pawn off unwanted clothes, no matter their condition.

This habit has left donation cen-

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ters overwhelmed, unable to handle or resell all that is left at their doorsteps. (Thrift stores sell only about 20% of donated clothing.)

So, while donating might feel like you're doing something good with your unwanted clothing, a colossal amount of these goods ends up in the landfill.

The best way to get rid of unworn clothing is to give it to someone you know will actually wear it.

Buy Nothing is a great place for that–or selling it for a low price on Poshmark to ensure it sells quickly and is out of your home in a snap. Another option is to get a Take Back Bag from For Days.

They will take wearable clothing and textiles that are beyond wear (like your yellow armpit-stained t-shirts and holey underwear.)

They work with their network of recycling partners to ensure the clothing and textiles are re-worn, reused, and repurposed properly. u Home Office. Are you tired of sifting through junk mail? It's time to stop the flow. As the Federal Trade Commission suggests, you can register at DMAchoice. org ($2 fee) to get fewer marketing pieces and catalogs and at optoutprescreen.com to stop credit card and insurance offers. You can also download the PaperKarma app, snap a pic of your unwanted marketing mail, and get less junk in 6 to 12 weeks (fees apply). And don't forget to unsubscribe from unwanted emails–your inbox has a carbon footprint too. u Your Junk Drawer. Say no to random free giveaways and swag.

They don't deserve a place in your house (or your time getting rid of them). This includes plastic utensils, so when ordering takeout, say no to extra cutlery, paper napkins, condiments, etc., that are just going to end up in the back of your kitchen drawers.

Julia Rockwell is a sustainability expert whose work centers around empowering people to make sustainable choices in their everyday lives that simplify, connect, and have an impact.

Julia is the author of Mothering Earth: The Busy Family's Guide to Saving the Planet,and founder of The Mothering Earth Project, an organization dedicated to helping people live sustainably through community and connection. A lifelong lover of healthy and mindful living, Julia holds an arts activism-based B.A. in World Arts and cultures from UCLA. She lives with her husband and two children in San Francisco, CA, where they lead a low-waste lifestyle.

Issuu.com

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Taro Meyer Taro Meyer is a Grammy-winning audiobook producer and director whose work has garnered Audie and Earphone awards. Her productions have been named to the lists for ALA Notable Recordings, the YALSA Top Ten, Publishers Weekly Annual Best of the Best, and Amazing Audiobooks for Young Adults.

A former actor and singer, Meyer starred on Broadway in Zorba with Anthony Quinn and in the miniseries Memories of Midnight opposite Omar Sharif. She has also starred off-Broadway and on daytime TV. Meyer received Gold and Platinum Albums for her work with the Trans-Siberian Orchestra (TSO). She was co-producer of the multiple touring companies of TSO’s arena show and directed Ossie Davis in the narrated version of TSO’s first album, Christmas Eve and Other Stories.

Meyer co-produced the TV Special, The Ghosts of Christmas Eve, starring Ossie David, Jewel, Michael Crawford, and Trans-Siberian Orchestra.

Meyer wrote and co-produced the children’s album Mighty Musical Fairy Tales, starring international artist and Grammy winner Patti Austin. She is currently directing the 5th audiobook in the smash hit series that launched with Eragon, and was an Associate Producer of a new musical, Relapse, in a showcase in New York on Theater Row in September 2023.

The Human Voice Exerts

a Magic Like No Other

by Taro Myer

M

illions of listeners are embracing audiobooks, and it’s not surprising. Everyone loves a good story, and there are audiobooks for nearly every story that’s ever been written. The story is at the very heart of the human experience, embedded in our emotional/intellectual DNA. It is through story that we learn who we are, what is valuable, and how the world works. We learn what is right and wrong; we learn to expand our point of view and see the world in ways we may not have imagined.

And of all the methods of communication we have devised, of all the exciting technologies, systems, and tools we’ve devel-

oped that keep us connected and make our stories known, it is the human voice – that most primal of systems ­– that exerts a magic like no other.

The oral storytellers, the tribal visionaries, and historians told their tales before communal fires, igniting imaginations and passing their ancient wisdom to those gathered before them under a darkened sky. Their ability to do this was the result of a powerful gift: the gift of voice, the repositioned lower placement of the voice box (the larynx) that enabled our species to transition from simple grunts, howls, squeaks, tweets, hoots, and chitters, to fully developed speech and language.

Creativity is a force, an energy that can be activated, harnessed, and focused by

employing the right techniques. The technique is critical to the performance because it works as a channel through which the audiobook actor can both spark and direct his or her imagination.

That, and our innate capacity for creativity, gave rise to our ability to convey information, ideas, and emotion through stories.

But we didn’t do it carelessly. As those storytellers of old invoked the chronicles of their people’s history, the ancient legends of creator gods and goddesses, and relayed tales of the tricksters and the benevolent helpers, it was important for them to not merely recount their stories but to infuse them with rhetorical magic and so engage their listeners. You don’t sit at the storyteller’s fire for long if he’s boring you. To keep their audience’s attention, they would have had to create excitement, tension, fear, and wonder. They’d have to give identifiable voices to all the people and creatures populating their tales. It’s likely that each also had a unique approach and mastery over the techniques through which their creativity could be expressed.

Today, the audiobook actor (also called audiobook narrator) carries on the oral storytelling tradition while seated in a small booth before a microphone. He or she records the stories that resonate in our world and enthrall millions of listeners. And they do that without the backdrop of a starfilled evening sky, without costumes, props, or lighting. They do it with just their voice and their imagination.

Creativity lies at the heart of the audiobook actor’s work.

What the author puts on the page is given a different interpretation by each audiobook actor’s unique experiences and understanding of human nature.

Creativity is a force, an energy that can be activated, harnessed, and focused by employing the right techniques. The technique is critical to the performance because it works as a channel through which the audiobook actor can both spark and direct his or her imagination.

Over the years, I’ve seen how implementing the proper narration techniques in the recording studio and teaching them to students can give the actors access to a broader range of communicative options and allow them to respond more intuitively. And that is where wonderful, sometimes unexpected inspiration occurs. Technique combined with creativity is powerful in any field. One excellent example of this power at work in audiobooks can be elucidated by looking at Paul Zak’s brain research regarding how the listener receives the story. His work demonstrates that a story having a dramatic arc is what keeps a listener engaged. A story without vital challenges, without rising and falling tensions and dramatic moments where the outcome is unknown, loses the listener’s interest.

47 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM e DECEMBER 2023

Now, it’s one thing to have that arc in the written story as the quest for love, power, success, and/or survival plays out. It’s quite another for the audiobook actor to convey all of that, moment-to-moment, as the story action shifts, as its characters respond to those shifts emotionally – in dialogue and in narrative action. That is where technique comes in! One that I teach, Experiential Immediacy, is specifically geared to enabling the actor to do just that: to convey the experience being described as it occurs in the story, in a manner that evokes an emotional response in both themself and in the listener.

To read a copy of Taro Myer’s new book, AUDIOBOOK Acting, visit https://www.silmanjamespress.com/shop/acting/audiobook-acting/

It’s thrilling to be a part of that process, to direct an audiobook actor into an interpretation of a story that is alive, exciting, and engaging. It’s been my experience that employing the techniques that lead to more creative outcomes is extremely empowering for the audiobook actor. And the more creative the performance, the more engaged the listener.

The dance between storyteller and listener goes on, even though the storyteller is no longer seated in front of a communal fire. Unless, of course, they’re toasting marshmallows and telling a really scary story.

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An excerpted from Midnight Water

Midnight Water is a journey inspired by death. When I was a first-year faculty member in the Department of Psychiatry at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, my younger sister suddenly got very sick with metastatic breast cancer—the two weeks I spent at her bedside in the ICU of a fancy New York City cancer hospital, it completely changed the course of my life. Her death opened up entire worlds in my mind and heart and inspired a decade-long odyssey of grief, self-discovery, and reconciliation. Although many others have experienced a version of this same journey following the death of a loved one, Midnight Water stands out in its raw confrontation with taboo topics and its embrace of alternative modes of healing, from meditation to shamanic ceremonies and psychedelic therapy. Throughout the book, I submit my-

self to the same techniques and methods that I studied as a clinical research scientist, elucidating the risks, benefits, and hidden nuggets of wisdom in each. Although Midnight Water is not a guide for others to follow, it is an effort to inform and educate the public about the many questions and considerations that an individual must face on the path of grief and healing through psychedelics.

The chosen excerpt is from the very beginning of my journey, in the hospital with my sister during the days leading up to her death (Chapter 1: One Missing). In this selection, the reader gets a vivid introduction to the mysterious realms that populate the remainder of the book, much like anticipating a rocket launch to a new galaxy. Join me on a brief excursion into otherworldly realms.

Midnight Water

By Katherine MacLean

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O

ne Missing I first heard about the Tibetan Book of the Dead when I was a grad student working on a big meditation study in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado. It was a guidebook for lay (non-monastic) Buddhists on how to navigate the bardos or the stages of transition of consciousness after death. According to this book, if you manage to follow the instructions, you can be enlightened on the spot, even if you've never meditated a day in your life. But most dying people are so bewildered by fear and confusion that they forget the instructions as soon as they get close to death. So, the book clearly states that you're supposed to have a calm, neutral, experienced practitioner nearby to recite the instructions in your ear and keep reminding you what you're supposed to be doing. I had studied this text and contemplated it and wondered to myself a thousand times, "What will it be like when I die? Will I recognize the bardos? Will I be able to choose my next life?" It had never occurred to me that I would need to recite the instructions for someone else, least of all my extremely non-Buddhist, antipsychedelic, couldn't-give-a-shit about New Age spirituality sister. And I had forgotten the damn guidebook. I didn't

even have the version that had been adapted back in the '60s to guide psychedelic sessions.

Then, a lightbulb went off. I had just been to a Zen center.

And every day and night, we would recite a million prayers, called sutras, in both Japanese and English. Out of all those recitations, I remembered the four words used to describe the awakened mind. So, I took a chance. I said into my sister's ear, "Your only job is to look for the clear light. Become one with it. Do not be distracted. You will recognize it when you see it. You cannot mistake it. It is eternal, intimate, pure, and joyful. You're going to live forever, Bec." "Wow," she replied.

"That sounds great."

By evening, everyone had gone home except me, John, and my mom. We had booked a hotel room across the street, but we all stayed with Rebecca in her room instead. The doctors had finally agreed to increase her morphine, and between that and the full oxygen mask, she was able to get some sleep.

The night was quiet and calm. We had her favorite opera music playing, and walking into her room felt like stepping into a small chapel for midnight mass on Christmas Eve.

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For most of those peaceful hours, John and I held her hands and meditated next to her. My mom slept on and off in the recliner chair in the corner. Then, sometime around two or three in the morning, something shifted, and I knew she was about to die. I started to hear her heartbeat as if it were my own, echoing in my mind, and then that sound became a rapid drumbeat like you would hear at a carnival right before the daredevil gets shot out of a canon. I closed my eyes and saw a dark lake at twilight.

A murmuration of swallows came swooping down from one corner of my vision and continued their flight path out across the lake. And I knew she was headed to the other shore. "That's it, Bec, you can do it. Just let go," I remember thinking to myself. I saw Death like a soft, billowing curtain coming down over her face.

She had been completely asleep, but suddenly, she shook her head and tried to turn away, as if she could feel this fabric of death brushing up against her face. She sat up in bed and shifted her body into a kind of royal posture, as if sitting on a throne, with one leg outstretched and the other tucked underneath her. In a graceful, purposeful way, she extended both of her hands until her arms lay one on top of each thigh, her palms turned upward toward the ceiling. The air took on the iridescent, fractal quality I remembered from so many mushroom trips. It looked like there were delicate,

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sparkling threads connecting every single object in the room and us. And with that oxygen mask on her face and the tube coming down from it, my sister kind of looked like an elephant. And then I really saw her. Or him, I guess I should say.

Ganesha. Great Hindu deity. Remover of obstacles.

Likes to hang out in the charnel grounds and help souls navigate the afterlife.

He was so beautiful when he was born that his father, Shiva, got jealous and cut off his head, and when his mother, Parvati, found out, she went into a rage and made Shiva replace it. So he killed an elephant and stuck that head on his son's body. Ganesha, the great elephant-headed god. This deity sure knew a lot about family trauma and difficult fathers. Of course, I didn't know any of this at the time; I had to look it up later. I just knew what Ganesha told me. "I'm your sister, and I'm dying. But I'm also a supreme deity who's been meditating in bliss since beginningless time. It's cool." And I looked at John, still calmly meditating. And my mom, sleeping in the corner. And then back at my sister/Ganesha. Let me tell you, it's quite a strange thing to realize you've lived your whole life with a deity as your sibling. No wonder she always seemed super-human.

As miraculously as the vision appeared, it dissolved again. And my sister's eyes popped open, and she said out loud, "Not yet."

Katherine MacLean, Ph.D., is a neuroscientist with expertise in studying the effects of mindfulness meditation and psychedelics on cognitive performance, emotional well-\being, spirituality, and brain function.

As a postdoctoral research fellow and faculty member at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, she conducted clinical trials of psilocybin, the primary chemical found in "magic mushrooms" and other psychedelic compounds.

Her groundbreaking research on psilocybin and personality change suggests that psychedelic medicines can enhance openness to new experiences and promote mental health and emotional well-being throughout the lifespan.

Dr. MacLean co-founded and directed the first center for psychedelic education and training in New York, was featured in the New Yorker article entitled "The Trip Treatment" by Michael Pollan, and her TED Talk has been viewed nearly 50K times. Midnight Water is her first book.

CENTR Brands Corp. is one of North America's leading functional wellness beverage companies dedicated to promoting holistic well-being. With a commitment to providing high-quality products and exceptional customer experiences, CENTR offers a range of available wellness beverages that support individuals in their pursuit of balanced and healthy lifestyles. By leveraging innovative technology and embracing consumer-centric strategies, CENTR empowers customers to prioritize their well-being and discover the benefits of wellness beverages.

For more information on CENTR Brands, visit www.findyourcentr.com or contact us at media@findyourcentr.com.

The Company produces CENTR CBD, a family of sparkling, low-calorie CBD beverages; CENTR Instant, a family of on-the-go, adaptogen-based CBD powders; and CENTR Enhanced, a family of refreshing, ZERO calorie, non-CBD, nootropic, and adaptogen sparkling waters incorporating a variety of science-backed ingredients.

The Company's ethos revolves around functional efficacy, exceptional flavor, and a visual design that resonates with consumers seeking a well-rounded approach to wellness.

Be sure to follow us on social media @findyourcentr 53 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM e DECEMBER 2023

Photo by Pixel

WALKIES WARNING:

Protect your pooch from these 7 poisonous plants

by Quotezone.co.uk et owners are being warned to avoid common poisonous plants their dogs may encounter while out on walkies.

P

Innocent-looking plants, such as bluebells, hogweed, and azaleas, can lead to a range of health issues, from gastrointestinal distress to severe heart problems.

Experts from Quotezone.co.uk advise Brits to steer clear of dangerous plants that pose a significant threat to their fourlegged friends.

Dog owners are being urged to familiarise themselves with poisonous plants, keep their dogs on the lead, and supervise their pets when venturing into nature.

Nature walks are a fantastic way to enjoy the great outdoors with dogs. However, it's crucial to be aware several common plants can be harmful to pets if ingested.

Typical signs of poisoning for dogs include drooling, pale gums, lethargy, vomiting, diarrhea, rash, and seizures.

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Small dogs and puppies are at greater risk of getting poisoned because even if they ingest a small amount of a toxic plant, it can lead to significant harm.

If you suspect that your dog has eaten a toxic plant, it is essential to contact a veterinarian or animal poisoning hotline immediately to aid their recovery.

Pet insurance comparison expert at Quotezone.co.uk, Helen Rolph, said: "When out on walkies, whether it's in a park, in the countryside or forest, it's important to be vigilant and make sure that your dog doesn't ingest anything toxic.

"Our four-legged friends are naturally curious, so it's our responsibility to keep them safe from the potential dangers during outdoor adventures.

"Every dog owner should read up on the range of toxic plants for dogs that can be commonly encountered in their area; some are quite surprising.

"Although you may want to let your dog roam free, choose your off-lead spot wisely, and if you're unsure of any surrounding plants, best keep them on the lead.

"If you have any concerns about your furry friend, most pet insurance providers now have a 24/7 vet helpline – it's worth checking if your insurance has this and storing the number in your phone in case of emergencies."

The team at Quotezone.co.uk has compiled a checklist of seven common plants that are poisonous to dogs: Bluebells are considered poisonous to dogs because they contain toxic compounds known as glycosides. These toxins can be found throughout the plant, including the leaves, stems, flowers, and bulbs. Bluebells have a distinctive appearance, with violet bulbs and a narrow bell shape.

Autumn crocus are highly toxic to dogs due to the presence of colchicine, which is extremely potent and can have severe and

potentially lethal effects on dogs. Colchicine poisoning can occur when your dog ingests any part of the autumn crocus plant. Autumn crocuses have large, fragrant bulbs that are usually light pink or purple.

Azalea contain grayanotoxins, which can disturb the function of dogs' nerve and muscle cells. The main symptoms of Azalea poisoning are abnormal heart rhythms, tremors, and low blood pressure.

Azalea shrubs have colorful funnel-shaped flowers.

Ivy can be poisonous to dogs if ingested and can also cause a rash if it comes in contact with skin. This is because it contains toxic chemicals called saponins as well as polyacetylene compounds. Although the symptoms are usually not life-threatening, they can still cause serious health issues such as an upset stomach and skin and mouth irritation. Ivy has glossy, heart, or arrow-shaped leaves.

Foxglove despite its beautiful appearance with colorful trumpet-shape blooms, you should never let your dog go near a foxglove plant. Foxglove is highly toxic to dogs, causing nausea, seizures, and tremors and can even lead to death. Fortunately, foxgloves are very tall, growing up to 5 feet, so they're easy for dog owners to notice.

Cotoneaster is a common evergreen shrub with bright red berries. Although cotoneaster is considered to be slightly poisonous to dogs, if they ingest a large number of cotoneaster berries or leaves, then it can cause gastrointestinal issues such as severe stomach pain and diarrhea.

Giant hogweed the most significant danger from giant hogweed comes from skin contact with the plant's sap and subsequent exposure to sunlight, causing severe burns and blisters. If the sap gets into your dog's eyes, it can cause blindness. Giant hogweed has an umbrella-shaped head with white flowers and can grow up to almost 15 feet tall.

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TS T W I S T E D S I LV E R 20% OFF code: EDEN20

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58 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM e NOVEMBER 2023

Welcome to our Contributor Writers ' neighborhood

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A Guide to High Vibrational Living

By Polly Wirum

60 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM e NOVEMBER 2023

Living

Simply Wherever

You Are I

have been looking forward to an eight-day road trip from Phoenix, Arizona, to Taos, New Mexico. I am looking for cool art and maybe a mountain town to relocate to. Other than that, my boyfriend and I will be hiking and just enjoying life.

Truth be known, neither one of us is great at sitting for long distances or navigating directions and freeways. I will leave the many blunders out of my daily adventures, but rest assured that mishaps, driving in circles, and wrong turns did occur.

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Day One Sedona. There is something about Sedona that sweeps away what does not belong in the mind, body, or life adventure. The essence of you settles in, and the rest falls away. I can often feel the vibration of the earth humming away.

Just for fun, I had an aura picture and chakra scan done in one of the crystal stores. Big splotches of orange and yellow are in my photograph. The person reading the image believed this indicated I am very logical and scientific. She also thought I had low energy.

The great thing about life is we can have a dream, give it a go, and change our minds. It is all good and probably creates a few laughs when you discover a twist in your mindset.

I was tired when the picture was taken, and maybe I was thinking logically because of my recent driving. I will wait a couple of years before I do It again; maybe my creative side will bloom. It was just fun to do something completely touristy.

Santa Fe We arrived in Santa Fe, New Mexico, and were given an early check-in. The hotel was beautiful and historic and was only heated by fireplaces. I loved it. I also loved touring all the churches. It reminded me of my grandmother, who was a devout catholic. She lived into her 90’s and never missed walking to a morning mass.

Day Two My meditation this morning shared a message of the importance of being aware of how you move through life. Awareness of self is more important than getting distracted by what people think of you. This is not a new concept, but I must have needed to hear it.

It felt so good connecting to this energy of devotion and prayer again. I like to think I live a prayerful and devoted life; the difference may be that I do not necessarily use a building as part of my practice, although I love the feeling of the collective coming together and praying in one area.

I was also reminded by my guides not to push so hard and to allow things to come naturally without pressure to change the outcome.

This is also a good reminder for myself and much of humanity.

Day Three We did a great hike in the morning, but what grabbed my attention was a sacred place called Santuario de Chimayo Holy Dirt.

I was totally caught up with the old buildings, statues, and crosses that created a soft, healing energy.

There were messages requesting prayers for the people in photographs.

My greatest revelation on this day was I am not cut out for van life.

A couple of years ago, I thought it would be fun to drive around to national parks and wilderness areas. In my mind, there would be a little driving, a little hiking, and a smidgen of work.

Driving from Arizona to New Mexico solidified that van life is

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not for me. I recognize that I am in a Toyota Forerunner and not a van, but I wouldn't say I like driving or sitting in a car. I also do not like the occasional bad night’s sleep and high potential for bad food.

One area had crutches from past visitors that had received a miracle healing. I am all about miracles and healing, so this just opened my heart to everyone who had such faith.

The holy dirt was in a small room with a stone floor. The space was dimly lit, and maybe the dirt patch was one foot by two feet. Three or four people could be touching the dirt at once. The room could maybe hold six people at once.

There was a little awkwardness about when it was okay to enter the room.

The dirt was cinnamon-colored, cool, and sandy. Was it my excitement to be in a place with such history, or could I feel the healing? I do not know, but I did get waves of many types of emotions moving through my body.

The funny part of the experience was watching people fill up plastic bags and other containers with the holy dirt. I wondered what they were planning to do with it. It had a little bit of the Costco feel, where people load up with more than they need.

I also wondered where they get the dirt to refill the hole and who blesses it.

Regardless of my questioning mind,

I am grateful for this experience and all those who keep the faith alive.

Heading to Taos After our holy experience, we hopped on a two-lane road that quickly came to a complete stop. It felt good just to sit in the fall sunlight while listening to music. I think the pause occurred to help us settle into the energy of miracles.

Eventually, I decided to walk to the top of a little peak in the road. It was not clear why traffic was stopped, but lots of equipment was moving off the road. Soon, we would be on our way. I slipped off my sandals and ran barefoot down the road. It felt fun and a little freeing to run barefoot without a care in the world.

I am not artistic or creative in the way of paint and canvas, but I totally appreciate allowing energy to move through me in the most unexpected ways. This was one of those fun moments.

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Back to Taos We returned to Taos because my travel partner had left his phone at a restaurant the previous day. Taos had something more to share with us.

I noticed beneath the art stores and galleries there is a very cool movement that welcomes different lifestyles and spiritual practices. We enjoyed this for a bit before heading to a trailhead.

We decided to explore the Rio Grande Gorge. It was everything. We had vast openness, an endless sky, and animal friends. I felt tremendous power coming up from the Earth. The grounding energy felt like we were being held secure in all that is. I could feel the pull of an electromagnetic plate beneath the dirt.

We saw Bighorn sheep from a distance and up close. This was magical. They are an impressive size and believed to be sacred animal that connects us to our guardian spirits. They resonate power, and some believe they touch both the earth and sky.

We also saw a black baby tarantula.

This is said to be a reminder to connect with your spirituality and trust the timing in your life.

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Leaving New Mexico In my prayer and meditation this morning, I kept seeing images of Mother Mary. Maybe it is time for me to reconnect spiritually with the energy of Jesus, Mother Mary, and the archangels. This would not be in a religious sense but in a spiritual sense. Call these beautiful spiritual teachers and protectors into my life and lean into the energy of miracles a little more.

On the road back to Gallup, snacking on salted seaweed and drinking Starbucks, I watch the clouds that threaten to dump rain or snow. I see the stark difference between eating organic seaweed and drinking Starbucks, but it allows me to appreciate our choices and how we can design our lives.

The sun shined brighter as soon as we crossed the border into Az. The rain stopped.

At home, I frequently pray for rain, but the change in light was not lost on me.

Flagstaff We woke up at 6:00 AM to an alarm we had not set. It was about 19 degrees Fahrenheit outside, but warmed temps were promised later in the day.

After a glorious meditation and prayer, we checked out of our room and headed for a trailhead. The attempt was ditched midway. We were on a dirt road that zig-zagged onto private property. The directions to the trailhead encouraged us to press on past the no-trespassing signs. We opted out of this experience and chose another trail.

We found ourselves on forest service land and dirt roads again, but no private property signs existed.

The trailhead was great, amazing, in fact, perfect dirt for hiking or running. It was cold, but we started with a climb, so we warmed up.

The views were amazing. There were steep rock walls that we were trekking to, with meadows, trees, and fantastic fall colors every step of the way.

A blue Jay guided us up the trail, maybe to remind us of our strength.

Near the ridge line, I stopped to sit on the ground and take everything in. I am not sure if it is God or the endorphins, but this is my happy place. Being able to get outside and move my body in nature always shifts my energy.

Eventually, a man came into my view from above. He shared that it is his 68th birthday today. He is retired and gets out every day. Nature is his church and where he finds peace.

Nature and peace, we have that in common.

Before we parted ways, he showed me a rock formation that looked like a monk standing high on the ridge. Perhaps the monk is holding space for each of us to connect with peace, God, and our higher power in the way that feels best to us.

Back at the forerunner, I ate two bananas. I was super hungry, and there is something satisfying about

eating the most basic and simple foods. Again, my gratitude for the sun, earth, and healthy choices knows no limits.

Sedona Our hike took us up to a plateau with amazing views. There is something magical about feeling like you are surrounded by the sky while touching the red rock.

I took a few photos but mostly tapped into the energy of the moment.

Returning Home We are on the way home. I totally failed in my plan to fill my car with art and furniture. This should not surprise me; I am always pulled to the trails. I love the movement of my body, but just as much, I love to stop and just breathe. It is a connection like no other.

On this adventure, the feeling of holiness was found in churches and out on the trails. I was reminded that the beautiful feeling of a peaceful collective can be found in the most surprising ways. It does not matter where you are coming from or planning to visit; all destined paths intersect perfectly.

Each of us creates a life that is helping us connect to something we need to feel fulfilled. I totally get that my mind and day-to-day life are both very simple, but maybe that is exactly what I need to thrive.

Fewer distractions and calmer.

I encourage you to look at what can be peeled away in your life and what you feel called to explore. Remember, it can be the most essential thing that opens your heart and creates space for peace and love to expand. f Photos courtesy by Jeff Poe www.jeffpoephoto.com

Polly Wirum is a psychic, life coach, and writer. Years ago, she experienced a health crisis that led to a complete spiritual and life transformation.

When she thought her life was crumbling, the universe was easing her grip on everything, distracting her from the truth.

The healing helped her discover the beauty of a joyful and uncomplicated life.

It is here that she connects with wisdom and magic. She shares this with her clients through life's coaching psychic readings and spiritual retreats. I0 discover more, visit Pollywirum.com

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Transcendental Voyages: Roaming the World and Reimagining the Self

Photo by Jeffrey Lee

By Jan Wakefield, M.A.

The Magic of Hong Kong: A Holiday Journey Through History and Modern Wonder

A

s the holiday season approaches, some of us yearn for a destination that seamlessly blends history, culture, and modernity while still providing holiday vibes that induce wonder. The dazzling city of Hong Kong is a bustling metropolis that has perfected this harmonious fusion. It has modern shopping malls resplendent with holiday decorations that range from cheery childhood chats with Santa at the North Pole to sophisticated color-coordinated decorative displays; the rich history that sets the city apart from China with 150 years of British occupation; and an impressive skyline with myriad skyscrapers you cannot count, even from the spectacular Victoria Peak lookout.

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Photo by twk tt

During the holiday season, Hong Kong comes alive with a plethora of festive activities. One of the most iconic events is the Hong Kong WinterFest, held at Statue Square. Unlike suburban spreads of endless homes decorated with wreaths, icicles, thousands of lights, or maybe just one giant air-filled Santa on a bare lawn, city decorations go up and up and up.

The sight of a towering Christmas tree set against a backdrop of skyscrapers completely covered in lights makes the whole scene look like a forest of massive, rectangular holiday trees cutting through the darkness of the night sky. It creates a magical atmosphere that looks like New York City but holds much more reverence than glitz.

As a child, my family always went south for the winter holidays, and my first travel memory was a trip where we spent the holidays away from home. I can still feel the excitement of waking up at two in the morning to hit the road early. We piled into a super-sized Cadillac, glided out of Pennsylvania’s gray, sleeting

sky, and landed on the pillowy, soft sands of Clearwater Beach, Florida. My father refused to fly anywhere because of his experiences in the Korean War. During long car rides, he would regale stories that eventually shaped my relationship to travel.

My conscious mind wanted to travel to every Asian destination he visited. My unconscious mind, however, had pocketed a few fears my father mentioned, and my trip to Hong Kong had one bonus feature: pervasive and unexplainable anxiety.

I am not an anxious traveler. Adventure is in my blood, so I embark on every journey with a sense of pure joy. Unlike other trips, one leg of my flight to Asia, from San Francisco to Singapore, was a whopping sixteen and a half hours non-stop.

My longest flight prior was a brief seven hours by comparison.

Nestled into my diminutive seat, I busied myself with an elaborate routine involving a neck pillow, lumbar pillow, foot sling, blanket, devices fully charged, face mask, ear plugs, water, movies downloaded and cued up, and plenty of snacks.

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Photo by Manson Yim

Only a week ago, I sat on a plane, curiously anxious about visiting this wonderful city, and now I feel extraordinarily blessed that I wandered through the darkness of my mind to enjoy the vibrant brightness of Hong Kong.

Photo by Paulo Evangelista

Somewhere over the Pacific, with an anxiety fountain effervescing in my gut, I unpacked old beliefs and looked at fears that were unconsciously tucked away in the shadows of my mind. Not only had I checked a bag full of clothing and toiletries under the plane, but I also had a much heavier bag checked in the underbelly of my mind. I recalled my father’s war stories and let myself feel afraid of the unknown, anxious about communication barriers, worried about all those scary things that happened to him, and I even felt a little sad about my father’s resultant refusal to travel to destinations unreachable by a Cadillac. The inward journey was worth it; I slept a full eight hours tucked into my coach-class travel nest and emerged fresh and ready to face my Asian adventure.

The benefit of overnight flights upon which you sleep is arriving at your destination with enough cognitive function to enjoy and remember your first sights.

Hong Kong’s cityscape is dotted with architectural wonders that stretch towards the sky. They are best seen from Victo68 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM e DECEMBER 2023

ria Peak, which is especially breathtaking when lit up during the holiday season.

With a lot of time between my arrival and hotel check-in, I dropped my suitcases at the hotel and hailed a cab to take me to the tram station. The line is long, but the enthusiasm around me is infectious. We all packed into the little red tram, and it trundled its way up the mountain at a pace that was not much faster than walking. Views are intermittent as the railway is lined with foliage, but it sets us up for the real reveal at the top.

Like cattle, we squeeze out of the tiny tram opening and make our way en masse to the lookout platforms. Higher ground is the best way to get a lay of the land when in any new destination.

Victoria Peak does not disappoint. Skyscrapers in dense formations are in every direction. I check it out from every angle, searching for the only building I might recognize and taking pictures and videos to bombard my social channels. Exhausted, I return to my hotel, check-in, and drop into my king-sized bed in sumptuous linens for a long night.

Photo by Jason Cooper

My sleek hotel is within walking distance of the famous Times Square Shopping Center in Causeway Bay. Along the road are souvenir bright shops, eateries, entertainment, and narrow convenience stores packed with products from floor to ceiling. The mall itself is over forty floors and houses more than 200 stores and restaurants. Standing in the center and looking up at all the escalators is like standing in a 3D MC Escher animation. Everything from Tiffany and Co. to a Miyazaki-themed shop is housed in the same shopping tower. Images of the cute Baby Milo seem to follow me everywhere, so I comb the shops until I find him innocently hanging out in A Bathing Ape. Occupying multiple floors is a movie theater, where I stop in to watch the latest installment of the Star Wars franchise while munching on buttered popcorn. Despite the Mandarin subtitles on the film, I completely lost my sense of time and location and felt transported right back to the USA. Blinking off the bright lights as I leave the theatre, I head for the elevator and a quaint restaurant on a distant floor below.

For a unique view of Hong Kong on my final night, I hop on a traditional Junk for a serene evening ride across Victoria Harbour. I select a futon seat on a platform at the front of the boat, where I grab a neatly folded blanket and lean against a couple of comfy pillows. All wrapped up, I sip hot cider and let myself be mesmerized by the lights shimmering on the water. Tsim Sha Tsui district is home to the Symphony of Lights, a nightly multimedia show that synchronizes music and dazzling lights from various buildings along the waterfront. After a round of synchronized carols, broadcasted on the Junk for full effect, blaze across the lighted skyscrapers, everything goes silent, and for a moment, the chill in the air, the twinkling lights, and the city sounds pause as if to let the holiday spirit have a moment of glory before it starts all over again. This moment of silence and darkness drops me into silent reflection. Only a week ago, I sat on a plane, curiously anxious about visiting this wonderful city, and now I feel extraordinarily blessed that I wandered through the darkness of my mind to enjoy the vibrant brightness of Hong Kong.

A lifelong traveler and educator, Jan Wakefield sees the world as a vast opportunity for expanding her understanding of the human condition.

For her, travel equals transformation.

Jan’s passion for travel and decades of experience as a personal transformation coach are the foundation for her international retreats, where people release who they once were and embrace who they want to be through meditation, relaxation, and a gentle return to self.

In addition, Jan plans to visit all 195 countries in the world and share her experiences with readers and audiences worldwide.

For more about Jan’s transformational retreats and programs visit http://jan-wakefield.com

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By Zee

Photo by Eugenia Maximova

EVERY HUMAN

IS ALREADY WHOLE 70 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM e DECEMBER 2023

E

very human is already whole.

Now, here is an interesting statement, considering humanity is spending an exhaustive amount of time and energy searching for the missing pieces to fit our creature puzzle into a spiritual state of being. Self-identification, this human dynamic, ensures and guarantees it will never be any other way.

Of course, the silly mind conjures up multiple possibilities for a myriad of evolving solutions, constantly feeding us hope and faith while deliberately leaving us standing at the altar. This same mindset, the wonder of creative genius, has hidden the missing pieces to ensure we perceive life and how we function entirely separately.

And rightly so if one's wish is to remain part of the human race. We have yet to learn how clever we are!

The natural world around us functions not from choice but rather from what appears to be a preset mechanical program that has no apparent purpose other than the continued survival of itself. Is it the program that is the living conscious entity, while nature and animals are merely

the hosts that enable the program's existence? One could say the program itself is a conscious being, the actual creator orchestrating all of nature's nature's harmony and order!

Following on from this concept of observation, if we are to believe all is connected, then it makes sense that humans may also function from a preset mechanical program. If this is the case, all human actions are mechanical and devoid of purpose, apart from the constant need for competition, difference, and personal survival.

What does it all mean?

The sheep mentality is now occupying the general public, thanks to social media, the desire to be seen and accepted, and there are a thousand selfies enough, which is the proof in the pudding.

Is it the disguise to remain socially on purpose with the benefits of stress and anxiety, a fulfilling way to live a life? This is the modern human, standing in all their glory. We have come so far; the distance is unnoticeable!

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Photo by AdobeStock

Dear reader, these ideas are not given as truths, just words to awaken the juices that may excite and transform one's presence into a new state of self-awareness. The idea that everything in the external is complete is now stated and confirmed by natural law.

One may now open a mindset portal to the possibility that everything exists entirely and whole within each human. Awareness is not the same as self-awareness.

Science is forever, slowly hedging its way to the forefront as the leading guidelines to follow, to live a wholesome way of being.

Constantly and insincerely attempting to convince us that they are doing right by us, when actually they only have their own interests in mind. Always follow the facts and you will be rewarded, safe and secure. Can science ever blend with our spirit-being or the spiritual growth encompassing the globe in these ever-present history-making moments of human degradation by our world leaders?

How will science and spiritual science, fully based on the idea we are a solid mass of physical material, to be constantly defined and then divided, blend with our spirit being when there is no such thing as a solid mass, material human?

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Division maintains separation.

Therefore, are we being threatened by our modern programming? Is it our FEARS that drive us towards reaching for the stars? That "NEW IS BETTER" as a survival means from extinction. Or do we follow the spiritual path, breathe, and meditate our way to survival and enlightenment? How do you choose when, up to this moment, neither offers a plausible solution?

Art is impossible to define. In absolute contrast, we are forever defining our lives in order to know we exist. Like art, how we feel is a creative language expressing itself. By defining our feelings, we completely entrap ourselves, deny the messages we are releasing, and present them to our aware self or lack thereof. "Hence, we are destined to remain in "suffering," declared the frog prince.

How sad is that?

Every single person on this planet who has experienced a death or a strong, deeply felt loss of a loved one has moved into a state of shock. For how long depends. We, as observers, may see that over time, the person is now functioning once again. In fact, for some, the shock remains so powerful.

They may appear functioning as before, but now they are only a byproduct of how they used to be prior to their experience. It isn't easy to notice, especially when everyone, including the individual, actually thinks they have moved on. In others, yes, it's obvious the grief remained. Even in these extreme situations, a human always remains whole. Be kind.

Yes, we are always whole, only now, due to human states of stress and anxiety, unable to comprehend, the thinking mind panics, takes over the helm and short-circuits our system out of FEAR. What future treasures existed are now chests of buried gold. Lost on an island of time, yet never completely out of view. Hence, one's drive to be complete.

IS FEAR REAL? There exists a knowing within all humans that something is missing, not from want, need, or desire. A knowing that has been suppressed for so long, captured in the chapters of time, remains awakened. A knowledge so powerful it can never be eradicated.

It appears that for masculinity to survive in either gender, it must defend itself while deliberately controlling another individual, relationship, corporation, or nation.

One commits validation to this under some humanitarian disguise or labels of faith or help. Don't we have laws forbidding bullying?

War is a notable example. It is a grown-up game where the savior or hero conquers its foe under the godly aspect for the greater good while acting from the most primitive, abusive actions imaginable.

A habit well-rehearsed and practiced.

Fortunately, our world is made up of natural protectors, natural leaders, natural humanitarians, and

natural teachers. It is said there is no such thing as a natural leader, but it is not true. That idea was conjured up by a salesperson wannabe who could not make the grade. Most people who teach and practice leadership think it's really only management. Hence, the world, through a lack of real leadership, is in such a mess. In this pretend world of needing to be, success has overpowered potential. It is an incredible loss to humanity's continued existence.

Learning is a fact of life and a necessity to build one's character. It has nothing to do with learning the subject or increasing one's level of intelligence. It has more to do with the challenges one faces and overcomes; remember, it's your journey and only yours. While saying that, due to the different character traits within humans, there are those humans whose personal foundation is absolutely based on their commitment to a lifetime of learning.

One's personal foundation is based on our beliefs, which we have determined about the world, nature, people, and which slice of life we fit into. This now predetermines our levels of awareness, focus, and the capacity to direct one's passage through time. Success, fulfillment, rewards, and friendships, no matter how great, may only be a small proportion of what one is capable of creating. If this is factual, is that all there is, or have I unknowingly sold myself short by not engaging in knowledge from past scholars?

One can self-create a life, but at what loss? You will never know what lies out there past the peripheral of one's existing ability.

In times of uncertainty and confusion due to an overabundance of external chaos, regardless of real or assumed, natural law has stated that you are always complete and whole.

Art is impossible to define.

In absolute contrast, we are forever defining our lives in order to know we exist. Like art, how we feel is a creative language expressing itself

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An Ecology of Ideas

Photo by Alberto Restifo

By Dulce García-Morman, Ph.D.

74 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM e NOVEMBER 2023

A Little Journey of Redemption

I

recently had a profound vacation experience, a multidimensional journey that reframed my sense of time and space.

On one level, this journey was a simple travel experience, and on another level, it was a very complex and spiritual trip. What shook my world was the unexpectedness of it all and the sense of wonder at how a seemingly ordinary trip can take us into extraordinary places -places that can alter our sense of space and time and our relationship to the world we inhabit.

My story begins with a recent trip to Alaska. I have been an avid world traveler, yet this is a place I had hardly given much thought to. In fact, those TV shows about people who decide to rough it in the Alaskan wilderness, which my husband loves to watch, tend to annoy me. I only went on this trip because my best friend suggested it -I got “talked into it,” and my sense of excitement was not particularly high.

Our first stop was Sitka, where it was rainy, windy, and very gray. The air felt exceptionally clean and crisp, and I was unexpectedly overcome by a sense of intense curiosity. I felt strangely comfortable in the crummy weather, and I was thrilled to visit the different shops that exposed me to the Russian heritage in the area. I could have spent more time in Sitka, and that feeling took me by surprise.

Ha! Who “wouda thunk it”

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Although I cannot say with any certainty that I fully understand what happened to me in Alaska, I do know that I encountered some transcendent elements in the natural world that remind me of Rudolf Otto’s “Mysterium tremendum and fascinans .”

It was during our second and third stops, in Icy Strait Point and Juneau, that I began to feel something shifting in me.

I couldn’t put my finger on it, but I did wonder why I felt so happy in what would generally be a very uncomfortable climate for me. I also caught myself telling my husband that we had to come back and explore Alaska more deeply.

There was something very rugged that I connected with, and I began to understand why this was America’s Last Frontier.

When the trip concluded, I came home and fell quite ill with a respiratory infection. It took much longer than usual and more interventions than usual to recuperate my health.

Even as I began to feel better physically, I was still feeling “off” in a way that was hard to describe. I was forced to replace my usual busy days filled with barn chores, yoga, reading, writing, and cooking with bare minimum efforts to keep my horses and my husband fed. I felt tired and unmotivated, and I would daydream of Alaska with frequency. It was a very disorienting experience that went on for three weeks. It was at that point that I shared my experience with Lisa, a colleague in my Jungian coaching community, and asked for help in 76 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM e DECEMBER 2023

making sense of the situation.

During our conversation, I was able to identify that I had not really “come home” three weeks ago. I was somehow still in Alaska, unable to “land” back home in the New Mexico high desert. I was “here and there,” sort of living between two worlds and unable to unplug from the immensity of the Last Frontier. It was as if time stood still, and there was no sense of movement.

Lisa intuited that I should do a guided imagination exercise a journey of sorts- that would take me back to a moment I connected to most in Alaska. I closed my eyes and was immediately transported to the old cannery at Icy Strait Point. I felt myself walking through the old wooden building with creaky floors, looking at the old black and white pictures that sat crooked on the dusty walls.

As I walked past the stations where they used to process the fish in the old days, I saw an elderly indigenous man gutting a big, silvery fish. His hair was gray and set in a long braid; his face was weathered and dark, like leather. I asked him how he managed this monotonous job, gutting fish for hours in this dank and stinky building.

He smiled and, while continuing to gut and clean the fish, he spoke to me. He said there was something noble in hard work, in weathering the elements, and in living an ordinary life of toil from birth to death. He wouldn’t have it any other way. He said that his harsh life had been redeeming and that I needed to think about taking a little journey of redemption myself. And now I was sobbing.

He hugged me, and I felt so warm and loved, and that embrace felt so real. It was at that point that I opened my eyes and “came back” to my conversation with Lisa.

Strangely enough, I felt more grounded, less spacey, and more “at home” than I had felt in those last three weeks!

I realized that I had been simultaneously living in two dimensions of time -Kronos, or linear time, and Kairos, where time stands still. Kronos is “tick-tock” time, and Kairos is the time when the gods interrupt the clock to touch us with something magical that transforms us.

I suppose this is why I described my experience as a “disorientation” of sorts.

Kairos was interrupting my clock. Although I cannot say with any certainty that I fully understand what happened to me in Alaska, I do know that I encountered some transcendent elements in the natural world that remind me of Rudolf Otto’s “Mysterium tremendum and fascinans.”

Renowned theologian Father Robert Spitzer defines these as: Mysterium tremendum: a sense of something mysterious, overwhelming, and daunting that elicits from us

a sense of diminution, humility, submission, and creatureliness.

Mysterium fascinans: a sense of something fascinating, desirable, good, caring, and comforting that invites us into its fullness, fulfills us, and, in so doing, produces a unique kind of spiritual joy (bliss).

What I can say with certainty is that I will return to Alaska because it is also “home” now. It is a place untamed and wild, where time has stood still. I long to sit on the rocky shore of Icy Strait Point in the discomfort of a foggy, gray, drizzly, windy, cold day, looking at the steely gray ocean and waiting for a whale to breach. And when it does, I know that my heart will skip a beat!

This is not a story of traveling in Alaska; it is a story of the immense power and beauty of nature untouched -rugged, harsh, towering, discomforting, nurturing, and oh-so-free. This is also a story of the irony of the spiritual search -we can intentionally search and never quite find it, or we can just stumble into it. “It” and “we” bump into each other, and we know we have crashed into something truly beautiful. What I mean by beautiful is a sense of being humbled by nature, not diminished or overpowered, but in that state of atonement where we are redeemed or able to re-enter a state of grace. Alaska was one of those places for me, and now I wonder when and where I will be humbled again. May the gods gift me with another little journey of redemption!

Dulce García-Morman, Ph.D. is founder of Life-Is-Art™ Equine Assisted Learning & Coaching.

She has facilitated learning and therapeutic experiences through the horse-human connection for the past 17 years. Dulce’s practice draws from different wisdom traditions and is strongly oriented toward a Jungian approach to the restoration of the authentic Self.

For more information, visit https://life-is-art.us/

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78 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM e NOVEMBER 2023

Dulce

Jan

79 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM e NOVEMBER 2023

Through the Lens of Love

By Susanna Schroadter

Art of Living The

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Photo by Omid Armin

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Slowing down is not about doing less, but rather, doing those things that add peace and joy to your life. It is creating space for what truly matters in your life and living each moment with intention and purpose. Breathe, focus, and embrace the beauty of the present moment.

L

iving a life of peace, joy, and purpose requires a conscious effort. Many of us are so busy that we race around without deliberate contemplation of what we need in order to create a life worth living. Each breath is hurried, food is eaten on the run, and we neglect to enjoy the miracles that are constantly unfolding before us. When we decide to slow down in life, it is akin to pressing the 'pause' button amidst the constant noise, thereby allowing us to reclaim our time and create more space for the aspects of life that truly matter.

"It's not the destination, it's the journey" ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson.

Many of us live thinking if we can just get to the next big "thing," we will be happy. We neglect to realize the journey is the living. After graduating from college, finding a job, getting married, and having children, many of us think if we can just hit the next milestone, everything will be perfect. We constantly race to the next stage of life. Yet, what happens before we cross the finish line? Do we take the time to experience the day-today? The miracles that are present in each simple moment?

The truth is life is what happens as we are getting to our destination or goal. The destination and the goal are not life. They may be markers of where we are in our lives, but they are not a mark of living.

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Living is what happens as we move to our goal. The learning, the healing, the simply being, that is life.

However, when we rush from moment to moment, we lose out on experiences that we will never get back again. We may miss out on appreciating the warmth of a child's hug as we try to race them to school. We may overlook the grace of a bird flying overhead as we quickly walk to get our mail.

It took the death of my two sons, an acrimonious and heart-wrenching divorce, and the devastation of the loss of a parent to finally realize that what matters most is this very moment. Not the next and not the last.

"Most people's minds are almost always too busy to feel their skins being caressed by the wind or the sun." ~Mokokoma Mokhonoana.

I have found that awareness of the present moment allows our hearts to fill with love. It is the simplicity of that moment that is the most beautiful. After years of chasing happiness, the just "being" brings joy. There is so much peace in walking with my daughters and dogs. Breathing the fresh air, listening to their voices, seeing the changing colors of the leaves; that is life. Slowing down has allowed me to find great pleasure in every instant, and in the slowing down, I have found more time.

But how do you slow down when there is a constant barrage of things "needing" to be accomplished and people demanding your attention? The answer is quite simple and yet not easy at all. That is, the solution is not easy until you decide your life is worth living and worth enjoying until you realize the truth that you matter, that who you are matters, not what you do. You matter because you exist. Your worth is not based on your external achievements. Your worth is innate within your existence. It is because you are you.

For me, I have found the answer is taking the time to feel and to lean into what increases space in my life and in my heart. This does not mean I am never excited and passionate. In fact, being in flow with life can feel exciting and full of energy. When you take the time to slow down, you can feel your purpose and what lights you up authentically, and then once your passion allows you to move fast and furiously with the thrill of your authenticity.

"Once she stopped rushing through life, she was amazed how much more life she had time for." ~ Unknown.

As you begin creating a life worth living, the first step is cultivating mindfulness. By being present in the moment, you can fully experience life as it unfolds instead of being caught up in the whirlwind of future anxieties or past regrets.

Meditation is one of the most common forms of mindfulness. This does not require you to commit to hours of silence

in a quiet room. Meditation can be as simple as focusing on the inhales and exhales of your breath or the warmth of the water upon your skin as you wash your dishes.

Next, tune into your heart and prioritize your time. Understand what is truly important to you and make those things a priority, be it spending time with your dog, watching the sunset, or following a passion.

Say 'no' to the things that do not serve your greater purpose; stop doing what society dictates you should do, and start consciously choosing what gets your time and attention.

Finally, take the time to be grateful. Appreciate what you have in life, from the small to the big. In doing so, you begin to focus on what matters most and will choose those people and actions that align with your values and with the life you are creating.

Slowing down is not about doing less, but rather, doing those things that add peace and joy to your life. It is creating space for what truly matters in your life and living each moment with intention and purpose.

Breathe, focus, and embrace the beauty of the present moment. Life is not a race but a journey to be savored each step of the way. It is only when we slow down that we can truly appreciate the little things in life and find joy in the simplest of moments.

You are capable of creating a life filled with love, purpose, and joy. So take that first step today and start living the life you deserve – a life full of peace, joy, and purpose.

Susanna Schroadter, once a practicing attorney and mediator, has has turned her focus to creating Sage, a safe sanctuary to allow others to heal.

She offers consulting and strategy for those going into mediation or dealing with life altering events so that they may be empowered and advocate for themselves. Once those events have occurred, she also offers different modalities for healing such as life and spiritual guidance and energy work. www.sanctuaryforpeace.co

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The Angel Connection

By Nikki Pattillo

S

ince the beginning of time, there have been angels. Angelology is the study of angels. It comes from the Greek word “Angelologia,” which is a combination of two words: “Angelos,” meaning angel or messenger, and “ology,” which is the science or study of— thus, the science or study of angels. In Christian, Muslim, Jewish, and other theologies, an angel is depicted as one who acts as a messenger, attendant, or agent of God. Throughout the Bible, the will of God is usually imparted or carried out by angels.

Angels are spirits without bodies who possess superior intelligence, gigantic strength, and surpassing holiness. Angels are composed of ethereal matter, thus allowing them to take on whichever physical form best suits their immediate needs to work with us on the spiritual lessons in our lives. They are the essence of love and joy. They are countless in their number and flock around the universe in their millions, helping all spiritual beings who ask for their love and guidance.

Angels are dedicated to serving the needs of all spiritual beings so that we may experience the same level of unconditional love as they do. Each angel carries out its assigned task without any hint of hesitation as it takes great joy and pleasure in offering their loving

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wisdom and guidance to all beings in all universes.

Without exception, all of us have angels around us, and they are eager and excited at the opportunity to communicate with us. Most of us have one to five angels assigned to us our whole lives or for many lifetimes, but additional angels will come and go as we work on our spiritual lessons. Angels were created with one purpose—to love and to serve without conditions. In doing so, angels hold a focus of pure love and are able to set up a resonance for the vibration of this love wherever and whenever it is needed.

Here on Earth, we have free will. This means that we have chosen to gain our experiences through many lifetimes and many varied forms of existence. Our angels are created to counterbalance any energies or actions that move in the opposite direction to love so that we will remember our true spiritual purpose. Love is all around us every day of our lives; we only need to open our eyes to see it, feel it, and experience it.

When we think of angels, we often think of a beautiful figure with white wings wearing a long flowing robe. We also see them with halos that emanate from the angels’ heads in a glorious wreath of light, serving as a symbol of divine wisdom.

Are Angels

Artwork by Maryam Morriosn

Among Us? 85 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM e DECEMBER 2023

However, angels can appear to us in many forms and shapes. At times, the qualities of an angel are so delicate that they come in specific forms that will suit our needs. An angel will often appear to us with the form that is best for us or one that we can understand.

Angels do not die or age; they are immortal, created by God and have been in existence since the beginning of time. They are thought of as the guardians of souls and can take on a variety of different forms. The actual image of an angel with wings tends to symbolize the spiritual nature of all beings. The wings allow the angel to travel through time and space and serve as a symbol of divine authority.

Angels are everywhere, and we can ask for angels to assist us with anything we wish that is for our higher purpose or higher good. There is no limit. There is an angel available for any particular task, and they come to us as an answer to our wishes and prayers. We are able to order an angel to request anything we want, need, wish, or desire. We can order a parking angel to help us park at the mall at Christmas time. We can order an angel to help us with a test at school or a troubled relationship. We can even order an accounting angel.

The possibilities are endless, and they want to come into our lives and help no matter how small or irrelevant our task may seem.

We can see, feel, and hear our angels at any time if we just calm our minds and try to listen.

They are above us, below us, over our shoulders, or next to us at all times.

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It is important to remember that angels cannot just come into our lives when we need help. We must specifically ask for their help. It is also important to be grateful and say thank you for their divine wisdom, love, help, and support in our lives because being grateful for both good and

bad things raises our vibrational frequency.

There are angels, specifically the messengers, that commune with various life forms within the physical world. These include the guardian angels of humankind. These are the angels most accessible to humans and other life forms, and they are constantly present. Guardians are the angels that are assigned to a particular human being. A guardian angel is an angelic being who is dedicated to serving and helping us throughout our lifetime and often many lifetimes. However, the relationship is somewhat deeper than that. Our guardian angel was created out of the same essence that makes up our soul.

It could be said to be a higher or essence aspect of our self.

Guardian angels are also called tutelary angels because they stay with us, watching over our lives, protecting us, and encouraging our spiritual well-being and happiness. They join us at birth and help us move over into the otherworld when we part the earthly plane. They defend us when we’re in trouble, guide us in the right direction according to our life plan, give us small insights into how things are, and inspire us to live better lives.

Our guardian angels are not separate from us. They are dedicated to us and travel with us everywhere we go. They are with us at all times. They have made an agreement with our soul to assist us in completing any of the tasks or lessons we have decided to u This is the reason why angels have been known to make miraculous rescues from accidents.

For instance, if we have decided to remain here on Earth for a given length of time, our angel

will assist us if we are in a situation where we might transition earlier than our allotted time.

It may be that we have certain contributions still left to make or lessons that we have not yet learned.

We agreed on an exit date, but due to free will or changes in our plan with our higher self, angels, and guides, our angels can arrange to give us more time if it is necessary. These changes will only be made if it is for our highest good, the higher good of humanity, or the higher good of the soul group involved.

Angels can be found in every corner of the universe and are countless in numbers. If we could see angels with the naked eye, we would be amazed at just how populated the Earth really is. There are many amazing and wonderful beings here, helping our Earth and the people on it, even though they may not be visible for all to see.

We can see, feel, and hear our angels at any time if we just calm our minds and try to listen. They are above us, below us, over our shoulders, or next to us at all times. They will never stop trying to reach us and give us messages that we are not alone and that they are here trying to help. Our angels are that part of our eternal being that is holding our vision and focus for us even when we are not.

Our angels have love and protection to impart, and, as such, their purpose is to provide us with a reflection of our true nature so that we may never really forget our connection with the Divine.

Our angels hold the blueprint of what we truly are so that we may awaken to our ultimate truth.

There are angels for every function we can think of, and then some. There is no limit to how many angels we can have in our lives, and there is no limit to how many we can ask for at any particular moment. We can call upon our angels whenever we wish and for whatever purpose we want, provided that the purpose is not intended to hurt or injure anyone or anything.

We can ask our angels to fill our home with love, watch over our children at school, travel with us on long journeys, aid us when we are trying to stop smoking or help us to stay focused when we are trying to lose weight and get healthier. We can ask an angel to take care of our computer or to assist us in resolving an argument with a friend or relative. By asking angels to be present everywhere in our lives, we will begin to embody angelic qualities. We will be more open to the love and abundance of the universe.

We will begin to experience more joy, health, and laughter as we sense the wings of angels flying around every aspect of our lives.

On a personal note, I have had an angel that has appeared to me many times throughout my life, often when I have suffered a loss. She looks like a glob of liquid mercury with sparkling lights and is approximately 4’ long and 3’ wide. She has zapped me with a crooked lightning bolt that comes from the center of her being, and it always lands right below my belly button. The zap raises me off the bed, and within a nanosecond, I experience a feeling that is nothing but complete love for all things in the universe, including rapists and murderers.

I know this is the feeling we will all feel when we pass. Are angels among us? Yes, I think they are.

Nikki Pattillo graduated from Stephen F. Austin State University in Texas and began her clinical and molecular biologist career.

As a child, Nikki was psychic, conversing regularly with her angels and guides, and it wasn't until she was in her 30s that she accepted her gift.

She is now an international author with Ozark Mountain Publishing. She authored Children of the Stars: Advice for Parents and Star Children, A Spiritual Evolution, A Day in Spirit: A Spiritual Calendar for Teens, and A Golden Compass.

She has been featured on BRAVO and The History Channel and writes numerous magazine and newspaper articles to help raise awareness and consciousness on environmental and spiritual issues.

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THE WAY I SEE IT

By Joey Santos, Jr.

May I help

YOU? S ome of us remember that greeting and what it meant; for many of us, it is sorely missed.

“Missed” not only for its warm familiarity but also for its intention of providing service and aid!

The last few decades have slowly erased all sense of politeness and duty.

As I write this, I wonder if I’m coming across as old-fashioned.

Then I think, when did manners and responsibility for one’s job, training, preparedness, and courtesies become dated? More importantly, how and why did they? The scariest part is those who don’t or have never known their value, making it nearly impossible to retrieve. If that sounds “old fashioned,” so be it.

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I’m curious if it’s from a lack of being parented as a child or having proper role models to look up to, emulate, and learn from. Whatever the reasons are, it most definitely has become an epidemic. And not because of our most recent one! That excuse is getting as old as the “Spanish Flu!” How frustrating is it to try and get someone on the phone? If and when someone finally does answer, we’re met with barely (if ) any acknowledgment whatsoever. God forbid we display an ounce of angst or dismay to the operator, sales agent, or representative on the other end; we are abruptly disconnected, thrusting us into sheer abandonment and the fear of having to start the dreaded process all over again!

I’m not sure we are going to solve any of this madness. It may be too late, too many people for one angry planet to please.

Wherever we go from here, one by one, let’s at least try and be as aware of each other and our surroundings. If we are lucky enough to find an ounce of kindness, politeness, or generosity, recognize it. Please pick it up. Share it. And have a nice day.

Joey Santos is a Celebrity Chef, Life Stylist & Co-Host of The Two Guys From Hollywood Podcast on Spotify.

A Columnist for The Eden Magazine since 2016.

Joey was raised in NYC, Malibu, and West Hollywood.

He is the son of Film & Television Actor Joe Santos, and his Grandfather is World-Renowned Latin Singer Daniel Santos.

To follow Joey on IG: @jojoboy13 To contact Joey; whynotjoe@gmail.com

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Photo by By pornpunStockPhoto

Animals don't belong in cages They deserve to be free

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www.shapellx.com 91 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM e DECEMEBR 2023

Shapellx Sustainable & Eco-Friendly Shapewear

Striving to improve a woman's self-esteem, Shapellx is a women's everyday shapewear brand offering a variety of flattering silhouettes for any occasion created with sustainable materials and high-quality fabrics.

Shapellx's pursuit is to create a world where women can fully express their unique beauty and reshape their lives.

"We have spent years researching and working with many engineers to help us design the perfect shapewear.

We have also dedicated our time to using GRS material in our design, and we will be 100% eco-friendly by 2025," Shane describes. "Shapellx is dedicated to making a positive impact on the planet by using sustainable materials and high-quality fabrics that are both environmentally friendly and long-lasting."

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When it comes to creating a greener planet, Shapellx is committed to becoming the world's first fully sustainable and eco-friendly shapewear brand in the mainstream market.

Society is now facing unprecedented environmental challenges, and textile waste is one of the problems. Ninety-two million tons of textile waste is produced every year. "Textile waste negatively impacts the entire supply chain, adding substantial and unnecessary pressure on natural resources when existing textiles could be harnessed to reduce the need for raw materials," Shane outlines. "Our ultimate goal is to establish a bodysuit production system that operates without leaving a negative footprint. That's why we are keen on driving the undergarment industry towards eco-friendliness."

To ensure environmental sustainability, Shapellx has adopted first-of-their-kind solutions with 3 key processes to address waste textiles, including recycling waste textiles, manufacturing eco-friendly fabrics, and manufacturing eco-friendly garments.

The brand's shapewear, ranging from innerwear to outerwear, represents empowerment and sustainability. "Our customers can feel good about expressing themselves and making a positive impact on the environment," Shane believes. "Shapellx shapewear, ranging from innerwear to outerwear, represents empowerment and sustainability."

Currently, Shapellx offers its Eco-Series collection, featuring 15 products in varying styles and colors, to help consumers look and feel their best without compromising their commitment to the environment. Made with soft, breathable, GRS standard Recycled Fibers, this collection is designed for your allday comfort. The proven seamless

technique and double-layered fabric provide a firm but gentle compression in the tummy and thigh area.

"This means you can look and feel your best without compromising your commitment to the environment," Shane adds. "Our seamless daily shapewear is soft, breathable, and lightweight. It's designed for all-day comfort as each piece feels like a firm but gentle hug."

The recycled fibers are cling-free, but the non-slip silicone in the waist ensures your undergarment stays put. The overlapped crotch gusset ensures airflow and easy access when nature calls.

In addition to shaping and smoothing your tummy, hips, butt, and thighs— Shapellx's sleek designs celebrate women's femininity.

"Our customers choose Shapellx because our products promise sustainable fabrics and an unmatched variety of offerings," Shane states. "Shapellx is redefining the shapewear industry through consumer insight, material innovation, and product diversification. We make you feel good while doing good through dedicated sustainable practices."

Since its launch in 2019, Shapellx has designed over 2,000 shapewear products, including its Eco-Series collection.

We support women of all backgrounds, shapes, and sizes to express their unique styles to the world.

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From

Photo by Dominik Lange and Magda Vrabetz

the Parrot Perspective

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A

Ginger

sk any of the three founders about The Plumery, a new haven for relinquished parrots, and you'll get three different answers.

Triton and Murphy

The Plumery philosophy imparts that parrots are not designed to entertain people despite the fact that they can and do. It is vital to recognize these species as exceptionally sensitive and demanding constant attention and interaction.

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Board of Directors President Leslie Rugg will talk about the millions of pet birds in this country, the lengthy lifespan of parrot species, and the minimal time people keep parrots as pets. Rugg cites shocking statistics of pet birds, ranging from ten to twenty million in the US alone. Not all those birds are parrots but just look on the internet at the countless ads from commercial and backyard breeders for parrots of all types. At the same time, marketplace lists contain a heartbreaking number of people needing to rehome their parrots, a euphemism, Rugg says, for getting rid of them. Parrots, even the tiniest, can live for 20 years, while the largest macaws and cockatoos may make it to 80 or 90, even 100 years of age.

Rugg adds, "The saddest fact is that most people only keep their parrots for two to four years. It is rare for a bird owner to spend the time or realize how much education and dedication is necessary when bringing an exotic creature like a parrot into the human home."

Executive Director Erica Brege will tell you about her original intention to start a dog rescue until she met parrots up close and personal, realizing not only how each has its own remarkable personality but that so few havens, refuges, and sanctuaries exist in the US, in contrast to the many rescues and shelters for dogs and cats. In her experience, Brege has been on the receiving end of several calls per day, with people begging to relinquish their parrots.

Brege says the excuses range from "we have to move and can't take

our parrot with us" to "the parrot only loves my wife/my husband and screams and bites me and the rest of the family."

Brege has learned, however, that the great majority of what we call negative behavior is understandable once a person views a situation through a bird's eye. Brege says, "What seems alien and intolerable to us is really natural and instinctive to a parrot.'"

Facility/Bird Care Manager Megan Bay likes to emphasize The Plumery's plan for individualized, customized care that will be given to each parrot who becomes a resident or a boarder at The Plumery.

Bay has worked with parrots in several California avian facilities. Currently sharing her home with her partner and their four cockatiels, Bay practices what she preaches.

For example, her disabled cockatiel has a safe but limited environment in which to play and flap her wings. A previously neglected cockatiel has been shown boundless love and given fun challenges and intellectual games to reawaken his spirit and mind. Bay will bring that individual attention to the care The Plumery will offer its avian population.

Right now, identifying the ideal site is a priority of the three women, along with their Board of Directors and Advisory Panel. As a new nonprofit with 501(c)(3) status, locating a physical space to set up shop is not as simple as it might seem. County and city zoning regulations are explicit and limiting when it comes to an organization that boards and provides residence for animals. Rugg, Brege, and Bay have scoped out properties on agricultural land as well as commercial/industrial and commercial/manufacturing. Both indoor and outdoor space is needed, with water and electricity already hooked up.

Starting there provides the opportunity to begin fulfilling the nonprofit's mission while then allowing the search team to find the ideal, more rural property in the Santa Barbara area where a facility can satisfy even more qualitative plans for residents and boarder parrots.

In the meantime, The Plumery is active through social, air, and print media as well as in communities of Santa Barbara and Ventura Counties, providing education, information, resources, and fun fundraising events.

Equally important, Rugg says, "We want to offer services to individuals and organizations in need of help. While our duty is to parrots who are no longer welcome as members of a human family, one of our chief concerns is to help people willing to renew their commitment to their parrots."

Sometimes, people just need real-life information and behavioral models to follow that will improve their relationship with an exotic bird. Bay explains, "We tend to want our animals to adapt to us rather than recognize we must also adapt to them."

Brege further clarifies that "parrots aren't just things of beauty; they aren't 'things' at all. They are amazingly intelligent, fiercely emotional and possessive, and easily frustrated when people misunderstand their needs."

The Plumery philosophy imparts

that parrots are not designed to entertain people despite the fact that they can and do. It is vital to recognize these species as exceptionally sensitive and demanding constant attention and interaction. Only a few people live a lifestyle that allows them to develop the kind of relationship a parrot craves, deserves, and would have in its natural habitat.

So, for people curious or intrigued with the idea of obtaining a parrot, The Plumery suggests a self-check to determine what is necessary to learn in order to make the right decision, what setup in a home or yard is feasible, and how much time can realistically be devoted to the bird, whose personality and needs are nothing like the usual pet dog or cat.

Rugg goes to the core of the matter, asking, "Are you prepared to share your home with a lion, a bear, or an alligator?

Photo by Zdenek Machacek

Most importantly, the area must cater to the environmental needs of parrots, who are incredibly sensitive to smells, fumes, chemicals, and even certain plants that can prove to be toxic. Currently, an urban site in Ventura that checks a lot of The Plumery's mandatory boxes has become available.

Because that's what you get in one feathery package, descended from dinosaurs: the loud roar of the lion, the bear's sharp claws, and the alligator's bite."

At the same time, among the founders and the members of The Plumery's Board of Directors and Advisory Panel who have or had birds, they will say that no other animal/human bond is quite like that of a parrot and a person, starting with the trust a parrot gives a human, who opens both heart and mind to this highly communicative feathered friend.

Contact The Plumery online at

www.theplumery.org or by email at

office@theplumery.org.

Let us know if you have parrots and are interested in getting involved. Supporting The Plumery through this giving season and throughout the year helps us fulfill our promise to the parrots entrusted to us.

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78 years

Photo: Ingrid Bostrom

of diving and exploration gala with Jean-Michel Cousteau

presented a Lifetime Achievement Award from Ritz Carlton in Santa Barbara 98 THEEDENMAGAZINE.COM e DECEMBER 2023

T

he prestigious Ritz Carlton Lifetime Achievement Award is bestowed upon ocean-diving explorer and environmentalist Jean Michel Cousteau ("A Voice For The Ocean") for his unparalleled contributions to marine conservation and environmental stewardship.

Photo Photo © Joanne A Calitri

Jean Michel Cousteau's lifelong dedication to exploring and preserving the world's oceans has left an indelible mark, inspiring generations to appreciate and protect our planet's most vital ecosystems. His commitment to sustainability aligns seamlessly with the Ritz Crlton's values, making him a beacon of excellence and a deserving recipient of this esteemed accolade.

Jean Michel Cousteau and his partner Nancy Marr; Marr's son Misha with his wife Olivia and children Rigby and Violet; Cousteau's long-time diver-photographers Carrie Vonderhaar and Matthew Ferraro; Chumash Elder Julie Tumamait-Stenslie; Radio Talk Show Host Dr. John Westerdahl; Manuel Lazcano of Diventure T.V.; Santa Barbara Channel Marine biologist and oceanographer Holly Lohuis; Heal the Ocean's Hillary Hauser and Harry Rabin; Santa Barbara Channelkeeper Education and Outreach Director Penny Owens; Ritz-Carlton Bacara General Manager Steve Janicek, Director of Sales and Marketing Gretchen Walker, and Global Brand Marketing Manager Hilary Crist; Ritz-Carlton Maui Kapalua General Manager Andrew C. Rogers, and Santa Barbara CEO Kathy Janega-Dykes were just among few of the guests who celebrated with Jean Michel Cousteau's family and friends.

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Photo by Jeremy Bishop

Don’t sleep on soot It’s damaging to our lungs and the climate. And it’s everywhere.

by Tree Meinch

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S

omesh Roy was about 10 years old when he discovered a history book depicting ancient cave paintings. The images captivated him. Inside his home in West Bengal, India, which lacked electricity, he used candlelight to gawk at the pages after dark.

“I knew I was going to be a historian when I grew up,” Roy says, flashing a smile to acknowledge his unconventional path. “Of course, if you’re going to be a historian, you become an engineer.”

Working both in the lab and classroom at Marquette University in Milwaukee, the mechanical engineer has carved out a unique specialty studying the molecular processes and behaviors of soot, a byproduct of combustion.

But Roy’s passion is painting a much bigger picture. “I’m researching how soot has influenced the formation of humans across the planet,” he says. And he’s sharing his findings in creative ways with the public.

His core message: Soot is a major — and often underestimated — substance influencing past, present, and future human evolution and well-being. As an example, soot, in the form of charcoal, rendered the earliest known human cave paintings.

Soot also casts the yellow hue of a candle flame and tints the tones of sunsets. More broadly, and consequentially, the particle is generated and launched into the atmosphere nearly every time a gas-powered engine fires up.

Heavy exposure to soot is closely linked to cancer, respiratory diseases, and cardiovascular dysfunction. The World Health Organization has estimated that around 7 million people die annually due to exposure to polluted air, with particulate matter and black carbon — another term for soot — playing a significant role.

“Soot, literally and figuratively, lives in the shadow of fire and in many places

without us realizing it,” Roy says. So he is making it harder for people to overlook.

Turning pollution into art This spring, an assortment of jagged, chaotic black objects were suspended in the air within one nook of Marquette’s Haggerty Museum of Art. Each structure, between a golf ball and a tennis ball in size, was a 3D-printed, enlarged model of an actual soot particle observed in Roy’s lab. Hanging at eye level, they invited viewers to consider the sobering fact that we inhale these particles every day.

“I could imagine the damage a microscopic particle that shape could do in a person’s bloodstream,” says Katie Praedel, a Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources air monitoring specialist who has partnered with Roy on projects.

The dangling particles comprised one of several soot-inspired, interactive art pieces as part of an entire exhibit that Roy arranged this spring. The exhibition, featuring international artist and activist Tomás Saraceno, centered a theme: “We do not all breathe the same air.”

To support Roy’s vision, the National Science Foundation last year issued him $550,00 in a coveted CAREER grant.

This included allocated funds for the art exhibition and a series of urban air walks, in addition to his lab work modeling soot dynamics and particles.

For the public walks, Roy partnered with conservation groups and the Department of Natural Resources. Together they equipped Milwaukee residents with air sensors before strolling through urban spaces and parks, concluding with a talk about their findings. This helped illuminate for participants what they are breathing daily and how the immediate environment shapes air quality. Notably, a state air monitor near downtown Milwaukee

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Trees and shrubs can clean the air In the classroom, Roy’s students regularly propose solutions or protective measures that people can take to offset the threat of soot. This includes planting trees and shrubs in your yard as clean-air barriers. The best options, according to a recent research project in one of Roy’s classes: plants with fine hairs or leaves with dense grooves and waxy surfaces that help trap air pollution before it reaches your lungs.

On the global scale, Roy recognizes that policy changes and regulations will play a vital role in air quality changes. New technologies are also key for capturing and limiting emissions, which is a natural application for his lab work investigating the origin of soot particles. Meanwhile, major climate events worldwide are turning public attention toward soot.

But can we clean up our act?

This past summer, for example, soot got personal for millions of people in the northern U.S. when record-setting Canadian wildfires sent waves of smoke southward.

Hundreds of miles from the source, the smoke (aka soot) engulfed New York City in a pinkish-orange hue

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One unique aspect of these soot incidents is how they carry acute, immediate risk to humans as well as a broader threat to our climate.

“Things that affect our health also affect climate and vice versa. They’re not two separate discussions,” says interdisciplinary researcher Tami Bond at Colorado State University.

Several years ago, Bond and colleagues conducted a benchmark, multiyear study that demonstrated that black carbon carries twice the climate-warming impact as previously thought. That work underscored that black carbon, along with methane, is the greatest human-generated contributor to global warming after carbon dioxide.

Photo by AdobeStock

“If you don’t see smoke, you don’t think of soot,” Roy says, underscoring a problem that perpetuates local inequities and global challenges. Because soot is generated from sources like manufacturing facilities and vehicle traffic, it often degrades the immediate air quality in local neighborhoods or regions and disproportionately harms Black and Brown communities.

that resembled Cloud City from “Star Wars.” In other major cities, skylines turned subtly hazy or cloudy, while air quality readings plummeted to dangerous levels for humans and animals.

Although forest fires have released soot for millions of years, the Industrial Age escalated things with widespread fossil fuel use. Notably, this molecule was the root of the famous Great Smog of London event in December 1952.

That winter, a combination of excessive soot emissions aligned with unusual weather patterns to wrap London in polluted darkness for nearly a full week. The unprecedented five-day emergency ultimately contributed to an estimated 4,000 deaths. But then it prompted a historic public response. “That actually kicked off the first Clean Air Act in the modern era,” Roy says.

Today, he hopes that art, rather than a series of tragic events, might inspire the urgent responses needed for our health and the climate. “Art is a very good medium,” he says, “a mediator between everything in our lives.”

Photo by AdobeStock

recently measured the highest levels of PM2.5 of anywhere in the state. This sooty pollutant, when inhaled, can travel deep into the respiratory system and even enter the bloodstream — contributing to premature death from heart or lung disease.

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

The thought process plays an important role and influence on metaphysical energy. ~Richard Garnier

HYPNOMAGNETISM Richard is revered for his multidisciplinary modalities, blending academic acumen with research and transformational acuity - embodying the role of a healer, intuitive engineer, and energetics specialist.

Richard has spent three decades transforming and elevating the lives of a client list that includes television personalities, entre preneurs, athletes, and actors.

As a renowned author,inventor, and frequent featured guest across European TV networks, Richard is regarded as a leader in alternative energetics.

Richard trained in both Eastern and Western methodologies, Richard has gathered a unique library and toolbox of ancient energy modalities (Taoism, Tibetan studies, Qigong) and modern-day neuroscientific techniques (hypnosis, NLP/ neuro-linguistic programming).

Richard offers new perspectives, insights, and teachings from his travels around the world, and exchanges knowledge with thought leaders in alternative practices and disciplines, including Tibetan, Taoist, and Shaman Native American masters, among others.

Richard

Garnier

BOOK YOUR NEXT APPOINTMENT

www.richardgarnier.com