The Eden Magazine Feburary 2025

EDEN

Legacy of the Dream

MARTIN LUTHER KING III

ARNDREA WATER KING

Creating the abundant life of your dreams by

Dr. Bradley Nelson

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EDEN

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The Eden Magazine is a free online publication is your guide to healthy living, spiritual awareness, compassion and love for all living beings, holistic lifestyle, mindfulness, organic living, positive thinking, sustainability, and personal development

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Philip Smith

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This January, Los Angeles witnessed an unrelenting wave of wildfires that ravaged communities and natural habitats, leaving behind a heartbreaking trail of destruction. Malibu, Altadena, and the Pacific Palisades were most affected. Thousands of residents faced sudden evacuations as hurricane-force winds blew embers about and flames consumed homes and livelihoods. Many who fled with only minutes to spare returned to find their homes and belongings completely gone.

A Community and Wildlife Devastated:

The Los Angeles Wildfires

In Malibu, nearly one-third of the city was lost. Beach houses, mobile homes, villas, and long-time businesses along the historic and scenic Pacific Coast Highway were reduced to ash. The Pacific Palisades

was home to 27,000 residents, and now 70% of those residents can never return to the homes they once owned. The Pacific Palisades was also best known for its natural beauty, hiking trails, parkland, and breathtaking views of the Pacific Ocean. Altadena, where the second largest of the fires occurred, known as the Eaton fire, was a soulful middle-class suburb near Pasadena. It was a community that drew diverse groups and creatives unlike anywhere else in Los Angeles County. It was also known for its hiking trails and proximity to the beauty of the San Gabriel Mountains. They lost 9000 structures, and 30,000 residents were forced to evacuate. In total, to date, those fires have killed 28 people. Cadaver dogs continue to search amongst the rubble for several who are still missing.

The toll extended beyond human lives. The fires obliterated habitats, claiming the lives of countless wildlife animals that could not escape the inferno. Images of domestic animals, loving pets, who may have been home alone when the fires broke out, were seen wandering the streets, scared and confused. Forests and green spaces, once teeming with life, now stand as charred remnants of what they once were. Losing these ecosystems is a painful reminder of the delicate balance between human development and nature.

Local communities have come together in the aftermath, offering support to displaced families and aiding in rescuing injured animals. Wildlife rehabilitation centers tirelessly treat

surviving animals, underscoring the shared responsibility to rebuild and restore what has been lost.

These devastating events serve as a call to action for increased efforts in wildfire preparedness and environmental conservation. As Los Angeles begins its long journey toward recovery, we are reminded of the resilience of both people and nature and the importance of fostering a compassionate connection to the world around us.

This is a time to honor those affected and to commit ourselves to protecting the home we share with all living beings on this beautiful planet.

BRADY HUNTER FOUNDATION

Launches Wildlife Relief Effort Amid Los Angeles Wildfires

The Brady Hunter Foundation, known for its commitment to humanitarian and environmental causes, has stepped up to address the devastating impact of recent Los Angeles wildfires on local wildlife.

Partnering with Jeff Corwin in the new CBS weekend show Extraordinary World, the foundation is leveraging its platform to raise awareness and provide relief for animals affected by the crisis.

A Focus on Wildlife in Need

The LA wildfires have left countless animals displaced, injured, and struggling to survive in the wake of destroyed habitats. In response, the Brady Hunter Foundation has launched a dedicated animal-focused wildfire relief effort, kicking it off with a significant donation from the organization itself. This contribution underscores their unwavering commitment to protecting vulnerable species and restoring the balance of ecosystems in affected areas.

Collaborative Efforts with Jeff Corwin

Through their partnership with renowned conservationist Jeff Corwin, the foundation aims to bring global attention to the plight of wildlife impacted by natural disasters. Together, they hope to inspire viewers of Extraordinary World to take action, whether by donating, volunteering, or advocating for environmental conservation.

Building Hope for the Future

This initiative is just one of many efforts by the Brady Hunter Foundation to support animals and ecosystems in crisis. By addressing the immediate needs of wildlife while emphasizing the importance of long-term environmental stewardship, the foundation demonstrates its commitment to fostering harmony between humanity and nature.

For more details on how to support the Los Angeles wildfire wildlife relief effort, visit the Brady Hunter Foundation’s official website, www.bradyhunter.org Together, we can help protect the extraordinary creatures that share our world.

Josh Fox, CEO of Brady Hunter Foundation

Jeff Corwin, host of “Extraordinary World with Jeff Corwin”; Josh Fox and David Kanfer, Brady Hunter Foundation chief of staff

Cast Off Fear!

Words of encouragement, peace, and spiritual truth from Paramahansa Yogananda

“If your heart is truly quiet, you cannot feel fear at all,” says Paramahansa Yogananda. This simple statement from one of the greatest progenitors of yoga in the West sums up the surest way to find peace amid an emotional storm. According to Vedic philosophy, the answer to overcoming fear should not be taken on blind faith but by testing solutions for oneself in the laboratory of one’s own life, by living in tune with spiritual principles, and through deep and regular meditation.

Paramahansa Yogananda (Autobiography of a Yogi) arrived in the United States in 1920 from India; at the time, a twenty-seven-year-old swami (member of India’s most ancient monastic order) who would spend the remaining years of his life dedicated to teaching Westerners the ancient science of Kriya (Raja) Yoga. The following excerpts are from some of his many writings and talks, including the spiritual classic Autobiography of a Yogi.* Through the lens of yogic philosophy, fear is not to be feared but seen for what it is and overcome — a test that can bring us closer to the Divine and help fulfill our spiritual potential.

What is there to be afraid of? Even a little bit of fear, such as senseless apprehension of the dark or worrying about things that “might” happen, affects the nerves more than you can imagine.

Fully enjoy the wonder and beauty of each instant. Practice the presence of peace. The more you do that, the more you will feel the presence of that power in your life.

The delusion of matter, the consciousness of being only a mortal body, is overcome by contacting the sweet serenity of Spirit, attainable by daily meditation. Then you know that the body is a little bubble of energy in His cosmic sea. .

Everyone needs to let go of his worries and enter into absolute silence every morning and night. At such times, try to persist for one minute at a time without thinking about your problems. Concentrate instead on the peace within. Then try to concentrate for several minutes at a time on this inner peace.

Forget the past, for it is gone from your domain! Forget the future, for it is beyond your reach! Control the present! Live supremely well now! It will whitewash the dark past, and compel the future to be bright! This is the way of the wise. .

No matter how busy we are, we should not forget now and then to free our minds completely from worries and all duties.... Try to remain for one minute at a time without thinking negatively, fixing the mind on the peace within, especially if worried. Then try to remain for several minutes with a quiet mind. Following that, think of some happy incident; dwell on it and visualize it; mentally go through some pleasant experience over and over again until you have forgotten your worries entirely. .

Fear comes from the heart. If ever you feel overcome by dread of some illness or accident, you should inhale and exhale deeply, slowly, and rhythmically several times, relaxing with each exhalation. This helps the circulation to become normal. If your heart is truly quiet you cannot feel fear at all. .

Photo courtesy of Self-Realization Fellowship, Los Angeles, Calif

“ Fully enjoy the wonder and beauty of each instant. Practice the presence of peace. The more you do that, the more you will feel the presence of that power in your life.

Wherever you are, carry within your bosom a portable heaven of joy. Remember that you are here in this world to be entertained. When you go to a movie, whether you see a tragedy, or a comedy, or a drama, you say afterward, "Oh, it was a good movie!" So must you look upon life

Yoga teaches that where God is, there is no fear, no sorrow. The successful yogi can stand unshaken midst the crash of breaking worlds; he is secure in the realization: “Lord, where I am, there Thou must come.”

I will welcome all tests because I know that within me is the intelligence to understand and the power to overcome.

Whenever you are sitting still, without any demands on your attention, be away in your mind, using it constructively every moment. Great things are produced first in the mind. I keep mine at work all the time, and put its cre-

ative thoughts into action the moment I see an opportunity. Then the results come. Every day you should try to do something creative. Improve your destiny. Take your health, or your moral life, or spiritual life — one thing at a time — and change it as you desire. .

Teach me, O Infinite Spirit! that whether I am awake or asleep, alert or daydreaming, living or dying, Thine all-protecting presence encircles me.

Guided Meditations on Peace from Self-Realization Fellowship: https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=TnP9PeHbvTM

*Excerpts from books by Paramahansa Yogananda are from Autobiography of a Yogi; Inner Peace: How to Be Calmly Active and Actively Calm; Where There is Light; Journey to Self-Realization: Collected Talks and Essays, Volume I; The Divine Romance: Collected Talks and Essays, Volume II; and Whispers from Eternity.

Interview by Dina Morrone

&

Martin Luther King III

Arndrea Waters King

Carrying the Dream Forward on Legacy and Leadership

Photos by Denis Reggie & Ben Rollins Photography

What has been your most rewarding experience as a social justice advocate?

Arndrea Waters King: It's not as much the more significant wins. One of the things that we talk about as a family and share with our daughter, Yolanda, is to celebrate the seemingly small victories. Sometimes, those are the most significant ones. The ones where things that looked impossible or seemed small are the stepping stones paving the way to the beloved community.

We have been highly energized by campaigns like the Deliver For Voting Rights campaign, which works to get federal voting rights protection or legislation. Indeed, our work is building a Drum Major coalition with Black and Brown organizers on the ground. Also, what is genuinely fulfilling right now is our Realize The Dream initiative, where we are working to have the nation complete, and possibly the world, 100 million hours of service by the 100th birthday of Martin Luther King Jr. Our daughter Yolanda said, it's "100 for 100."

We fundamentally believe that this is a way for all of us to come together and serve. What's so beautiful about it is that we're not telling people how to serve. People get to choose what excites them and what they're passionate about. When we do something of service to humanity and others, that is a way, particularly for young people, to make them feel in control and part of creating the world they want to live in.

It will be a way of unifying and uplifting the nation and reminding us that what we have in common is so much greater than that which separates us. It's a way for all of us to come together, stand

together, and even work together for the common good. That will fundamentally begin building bridges for the beloved community to become a reality.

Martin Luther King III: It's important to emphasize fortifying oneself, particularly in moments of history like this. For those living in this era, it may feel like we've not seen this before, but our society and humankind have evolved significantly. While we are grateful for the continuous evolution, when you're in the midst of some level of battle, you don't appear to be winning your battle. It's essential to be fortified so that you can come back and fight another day because none of us can fight 24-7. We must take breaks. We must re-immerse ourselves. This is why you must turn internally and make sure you're internally fortified so that you can externally help to create the climate for that next potential battle that you're going to have. When I look at the length and breadth of many things that I have been able to do, some with Arndrea and some when I was an elected official many years ago, we create a climate about mentoring young people. Although I've been away from that for almost 30 years, the concept of mentoring we began is still ongoing.

There are many things in life that we appreciate. For example, Deliver For Voting Rights was a massive campaign, but it was not completed. But the fact that it was not completed does mean we go stew and decide there's nothing more we can do. Arndrea says, "At the darkest moments, look to the stars." When you think about the history of many in our society, history has been replete with many different things that were not always good.

“It doesn't have to be women we know. Every day around this country, women continue to be the heartbeat of our nation and world. Now more than ever, the voice of the sacred feminine, you can hear her roar and will no longer be silenced. It's a very exciting time.

Some during this time feel like they are embracing authoritarianism and that we are going in a backward direction. The universe goes forward. Humankind or human beings may attempt to stop progress, but progress will burst out, and ultimately, progress will win.

Why does it feel like peace, love, and prayer are impossible to achieve?

Arndrea Waters King: Because it's not instantaneous. However, those of us steeped in prayer understand that the prayers are always answered. They may not be answered in the way we would like, and yet sometimes they are answered instantly in the physical, but sometimes, like anything else, or like a gestation period, it takes some time for the fruitage to come up.

One of the questions that men and women have been pondering since time immemorial is the question of why it appears that peace is so elusive. At Martin's father's very last sermon, which was at the National Cathedral, he talked about the fact that mankind still had not been able to make out of a neighborhood, a true brotherhood, and sisterhood. Still, the answer to that is what Coretta Scott King talked about: each generation must earn its freedom.

When you think about peace, justice, and equality, if you think about it just in a linear, it will undoubtedly seem elusive, but when you know and understand that it is just like democracy and ongoing, it's a continuing process.

Martin Luther King III: It is work. It is an intentional effort, and maybe it would be wonderful if it just happened, but that has not been proven

throughout humankind, so if we say we want peace and love, we have to work on and for it. It will come if one's belief is great enough. It's almost like believing so profoundly, so fervently, that number one, you immerse it yourself, and you personify it, and it is something that when it is sent out into the universe, most people may wonder, what that is, and say "I want some of that."

Arndrea Waters King: Also, when we do look over the long tide of history and humanity, I always think back to what Gandhi said, which is that at times when he despaired, when he thought about it, tyranny never won. It might have appeared at times that it was winning, but ultimately, it never won permanently and was never sustained. That's the thought that carries me. I think of how far we've come. When I look at the fact that tyranny has never won throughout history, that's where I choose to focus, which continues to give me the steady fortitude to continue.

When you awake in the morning, do you have a daily routine that charges you and empowers you to get on with your day?

Martin Luther King III: One of the things we do daily is listen to music. We also listen to my father's sermons and speeches. Sometimes, we listen to Reverend Michael Beckwith. We listen to a lot of different energies and modalities. Sometimes it's just bowls. The sound bath, the sound of your verse in the bath of bowls playing. Sometimes, it's the ocean waves. All of these things that energize me are things that I've always done.

Arndrea Waters King: We believe in charging our atmosphere. As Martin discussed earlier, you must put on peace, justice, and equity daily. That begins even before you leave the house. The first thing I say most mornings is, "Thank you." Yes, we make sure that our atmosphere is charged with high vibrational sounds, whether that is, like Martin said, sound bowls or listening to Michael Beckwith or someone else of that nature that's uplifting or making sure that music is being played, that again is cleansing but also penetrating and energizing our atmosphere. We also make sure that aromatherapy is going on for our senses.

We do have prayer and meditation routines daily. We write things out and do a complete 360 immersion of being thankful. But we also do an immersion of programming ourselves to bring back our best selves and be those instruments before we even go out into the world. Those are all things we do before we take our first phone call, and our phone calls start very early.

You have partnered with the National Football League (NFL) to champion Realizing The Dream, Legacy. How did this massive project first take flight, and how will this work be implemented?

Arndrea Waters King: We approached the NFL and other sports leagues because, in many ways, in America and around the world, sports are the great unifier. It is one of the few places where people can come together and stand together. We thought it would make sense to approach sports leagues and have them get involved in this message and amplify the message with the owners and players by going into town halls and being those examples to energize and engage young people.

On our website, realizethedream.org, you can learn about our partnership with the Cincinnati Reds, the first Major League Baseball (MLB) team to sign up. Different sports leagues and teams are coming on as we speak. We are very grateful that the NFL came on board to champion this cause and initiative and let us use their platform to amplify this and work with us in partnership to make the dream of Martin Luther King Jr. a reality.

Martin Luther King. III: It takes a team to be able to win. One person may win a game, but it does take a team effort, even in sports where one individual competes, like tennis or swimming. There is always a team backing up that one athlete. It teaches people to work together for a higher cause, for a victory. In one sense, that's part of why, as we know, being a potential unifier, we've engaged sporting teams to help us amplify what we're trying to do. It is about bringing the nation together.

Three years ago, when we envisioned this concept, we felt that the nation was moving toward a direction of being divided. We had to decide: are we a part of creating division, or do we want to be a part of creating unification? Of course, unification is what we want to do. This concept teaches people to turn to each other, not to turn on and against each other. That's the climate we need to create.

Photo by History in HD

Did you both grow up playing sports?

Arndrea Waters King: I did not play sports but grew up in Florida, where football is king. Friday Night Lights is a huge deal. I do love watching football. In high school, I was in the marching band as a color guard and participated that way. And I love watching the Olympics. You see excellence on display. Sports, at its best, is so unifying. There are rivalries, but something about it is also so unifying.

Martin Luther King III: I was a tiny bit of an athlete. I played football for one year in third grade and learned it wasn't for me. Then, I played soccer and basketball until my senior year in high school. I have always been involved in sports. In my twenties, between 20 and 35, I played basketball for fun at least five days a week. It was great fun.

Besides large sports organizations, how can small nonprofit, like small local theaters, get involved?

Arndrea Waters King: We would love and welcome something like that kind of collaboration as a suggestion for one of the paths of service. There's more than one way that it works, but they all center around the website Realize The Dream. Suppose you're looking for a service project to be involved in. We have collaborated with Points Of Light, which will connect individuals and young people's families to service opportunities in their area. We have a lot of corporations coming on board and getting involved.

There is a button on the website if you want somebody to reach out to you or if you have any ideas on service. Say you run a small nonprofit, or you would like to donate hours or get people involved, then you would go to our website, Points of Light, and complete a form. Someone will reach back. It's that's simple. We intentionally use service. It is undoubtedly rooted in the fact that Martin Luther King Jr. talked about how everybody can be great because everybody can serve. We also know that service is a form of love and action

because it's the act of helping or doing work for someone.

An example of volunteering could be something like this. In the apartment complex that you live in right down the hall, you notice that your neighbor is in a tougher bind than you, so if you're a teenager, you can babysit her children for an hour or two. That’s service. We want people to understand we're intentionally using service because it's in serving and being of service to our fellow human beings, not just those we think are less than, but everybody. When we're doing this, that is how we're paving the path to the beloved community.

How do you balance life with advocacy work? And what do you enjoy doing when you are not focused on work?

Martin Luther King III: For me, it's watching movies with our daughter. That's our time to bond. It's about chilling at home, which we don't often do. But it's something we take advantage of when we have the opportunity. When you're in the public eye, you're almost always on stage, and it's a daily process, but it is who you are. Sometimes, you need independent, quiet time alone to re-energize and fortify.

Arndrea Waters King: It's all the practices that we talked about earlier, and what's essential are those daily practices. It is quiet time at home with Martin, our daughter Yolanda, my sisters, and very close friends. Having quiet time is essential for me, and it's how I recharge. Most importantly, I enjoy reading a good book. I'm an avid reader and do that as much as possible.

“ I think of how far we've come. When I look at the fact that tyranny has never won throughout history, that's where I choose to focus, which continues to give me the steady fortitude to continue.

Tell us about your new book, My Legacy: Realizing a New Dream of Connection, Love, and Fulfillment.

Arndrea Waters King: The new book is part of the Realize The Dream initiative. It's a way for us to talk about legacy and share the legacy of service in a new way. One of the things we found in writing the book is that we are in permacrisis. We are set to go from crisis to crisis to crisis. We learned that young people, more and more, as opposed to being more connected - you would think that with technology we would be - we found that people are less connected, which again is one of the reasons for the Realize The Dream initiative.

We want to challenge people to expand their version of what legacy is. For far too long, legacy has been seen as something only for the wealthy. But how can we look at legacy as something we can do daily? We can touch people no matter what our profession is. We must ask, "What are we doing for other people?" That is truly our legacy.

Legacy is not something that happens at the end of our lives.

It's something that we're doing every day. How can we be connected rather than turning on each other? How can we be deliberate and go from crisis to crisis to building community? This is something that we're seeking with the Realize the Dream initiative.

This book is a labor of love in the best sense. It's a love note to Martin's parents and to my mother, who passed away, and everything that they have sown into us. More importantly, it's a love note to the world. As a companion to the Realizing The Dream initiative and the book, we also have a podcast, My Legacy, with heartfelt and incredible conversations that will premiere at the end of January 2025.

Martin Luther King III: This book is about living your legacy and, hopefully, re-frames the discussion and gets people to think about what they want to be a part of creating in the world. It doesn't have to be the world, but it can be in the community, neighborhood, or street because that's about your legacy.

Arndrea Waters King: A workbook will also be coming out soon with exercises on how to live our best lives. Living that best life is not just looking at our families, but how can we find a way to remember that what we have in common is so much greater than what divides us. How can we find a way to begin to create out of this juggling of humanity and discord and find a way to create a true brotherhood and sisterhood?

You have some incredible notable contributors to this book.

Arndrea Waters King: Yes, we do, and we are honored to have them. The interesting thing about it is the conversations with some of these high-profile names you may have heard of who share their stories. It's interesting to see people we think we know, but then to see them through another's eyes and hear their stories. It's a unique perspective on legacy and many beautiful connections. Everybody can see themselves within these stories and leave feeling fulfilled, challenged, and connected.

Are the book and podcast connected or separate?

Arndrea Waters King: They all are connected because they are all part of the Realize The Dream initiative. It's a way to get people to think about their legacy, Dr. King's legacy, and how we're all a part of that. We must ask ourselves, how are we living our lives? On purpose and with intentionality?

Your family has been affecting change for so many years. What message would you like to impart to those who feel they cannot make a difference or affect change?

Martin Luther King III: We lead by example. Far more people want to engage in a positive rather than a negative way. We must keep showing up daily, whether for one person or one million. The fact is that most of the movement struggles, particularly those that my father and mother led, were just a few good human beings showing up. It wasn't the masses. Yes, the March on Washington was a massive demonstration. But there were others, and most were just a few good human beings who showed up and showed out in a real sense every day.

Our task is to continue encouraging and creating the climate so the people will want to show up. So much goodness is happening in the world all the time. However, the mainstream media and other outlets have chosen to highlight those things that may or may not be as important. We must change the climate, and people have to demand better, just like you have to demand excellence. It doesn't happen on its own. It is hard work, and we're dedicated to doing our part. We are asking those committed to join us because we will create a better nation and world.

Women have historically played a pivotal role in civil rights movements but are often underrecognized. How do you see your role in continuing this legacy and amplifying women’s voices?

Arndrea Waters King: One of the things that I always talk about is that women have been unwavering warriors. If you look at the Old Testament, Moses would not have been able to tell Pharaoh to let my people go if it hadn't been for his sister in the beginning, saving his life. Even if you look at the New Testament, I remind people after Jesus was crucified, it was a woman to whom his body was released. It was the women who prepared him for burial. It was a woman to whom he first appeared at the wells.

Women throughout history have always been unwavering warriors. When you look at the civil rights movement, when you look at the fact that Martin's mother, after her husband was assassinated, and even before someone had been arrested for his death, led the March with her three oldest children in his place a day before his funeral. Then she went on after that and had this all-consuming vision of a national holiday, not to honor Martin Luther King Jr., but to lift the legacy, to think about service, and how we could be a part of his legacy. That

was something that took her from 1968 to 1983 to accomplish.

It doesn't have to be women we know. Every day around this country, women continue to be the heartbeat of our nation and world. Now more than ever, the voice of the sacred feminine, you can hear her roar and will no longer be silenced. It's a very exciting time. This time is also full of challenges, but we are the ones who are here and well-equipped to continue that banner of the sacred and divine feminine in all of her various forms.

What advice do you give to your daughter as she continues to grow as a human rights activist?

Arndrea Waters King: I say the same thing to my daughter that I've told her since she was an infant, and that is that being the granddaughter of Martin Luther King Jr. and Coretta Scott King is a wonderful thing, but that's not what makes her special. It is unique. But there's something about every one of us that's unique, whether it's an eye color or a particular talent. There is not one person walking this earth who does not have something unique. But what makes her special is also the same thing that makes every one of us special, which is who we are as a child of God. I want her to understand her legacy and the freedom to be herself and follow her own path and legacy.

She said it best once when she was being interviewed. She was in the third or fourth grade. One of the journalists asked her, "Do you plan on following in your grandfather's footsteps?" She said, "Well, maybe some of the footsteps, yes, because I think they're very important, but I want to make my own footsteps." She still has that same spirit and mentality. That pretty much sums up who she is.

Where do you envision Dr. King's dream evolving, in 50 years?

Martin Luther King III: Dr. King talked about eradicating the triple evils. Throughout my mother's life, she spoke of it as well. The evils are the evil of poverty, the evil of racism and bigotry, and the evil of violence.

If, as a society, we focus for the next 25 years, we could almost wipe out poverty. If not wipe out, then reduce it. If we don't find a way to reduce violence, then we need to learn non-violence, or we may face nonexistence. Look at all the global crises that exist and the potential for war. These are monumental tasks, but we have the ability. We just have not identified the will. Ability and will create and yield results. We have to create that climate so that people demand this. When people demand, the whole temperature and climate change. It's like manifesting. We have to manifest it.

Are there any parting words you’d like to share with our readers?

Martin Luther King III: Every day that we're blessed to wake up, the first thing I hope we all consider is being

grateful that we were awakened and slept safely through the night. It's about starting with something positive, even if you don't feel good. You woke up, and that is a beautiful thing. Therefore, you have an opportunity to change. The old simple saying is, "When you know better, hopefully you do better," but you must start with an intention. You must be intentional about what you want to deposit into the world. Everybody doesn't have to do what we've chosen, but they should do something.

There's a quote that I often use that is inscribed on a statue of the educator Horace Mann, and that is, "Be ashamed to die until you've won a victory for humanity." That sounds grandiose, and it is, but we can win a victory in our school. We can win a victory in our place of worship. We can win a victory, some in our city, some in our State, some in our nation, and some in our world. All those words mean, be ashamed to die until you've done a little something to make the world in which we all must live a little better than it was when you arrived.

The Meaning of Colors

and Their Role in Your Life

Sadhguru: How is color significant for human consciousness as such or for any kind of spiritual process? It is significant in the sense that the color that you reflect will naturally add to the aura that you carry. In India, there are people on the ascetic path who do not want to wear anything because they do not want to add anything new to themselves. They just want to work with what they have. They do not want to take on anything more. What you are right now, to work that out is quite substantial. Adding one more thing complicates it. So, they walk naked. If walking naked is difficult socially, they put on a loincloth. But the idea is they do not take on anything more than what they are. They know that what they are is itself substantial. There are other aspects to it, but this is in terms of the color.

What is color, first of all? The color of any substance is not because of what it is, it is what it rejects or what it gives away or reflects. Something looks red not because it is red but because it holds back everything that white light contains and reflects red. So red does not mean it is red. Red means it is not red! Whatever you give away, will be your quality in the world also.

The meaning of the color red

If you walk in the forest, it is all green, but there will be one spot of red – somewhere, one red flower blossoming – that draws your attention because, in your perception, red is the most vibrant of all the colors. All other colors may be pretty and nice, but red is vibrant.

Many things that are significant to you are red. Red is the color of your blood, for example. In human consciousness, colors have a big impact on how you feel, and red creates maximum vibrance. Anything exuberant means red. You may have heard of “painting the town red!”

The meaning of the color blue

Blue is the color of all-inclusiveness. You will see in existence anything that is vast and beyond your perception generally tends to be blue, whether it is the ocean or the sky. Anything that is larger than your perception tends to be blue because blue is the basis of all-inclusiveness. It is based on this that certain beings in India are shown as blue-skinned. Shiva has blue skin, Krishna has blue skin, and Rama has blue skin. It is not that their skin was blue. They were referred to as blue gods because they had a blue aura.

There is another aspect to this. In terms of one’s evolution, there are various hues that one’s aura can take. If we make the Agna very important in our sadhana, then orange will be the dominant color. That

is the color of renunciation and kriya. If someone has a pure white aura, that means this is a pure being. Such a person’s presence will be fantastic, but they will not be so action-oriented. When someone attains to their highest but chooses to be active in the world, his aura will always be electric blue. Anyone who was dynamic was blue. It is this type of aura which allows you to function in the world in a way that other people think is superhuman.

The meaning of the color orange

Why people who walk the spiritual path choose orange as their color in India is because orange suggests so many things. When a person is moving towards Agna, it can be very visibly noticed that the color of Agna is orange. It is organically and naturally so. If you go into certain meditations, you will clearly see that Agna is orange or saffron. The color is not actually saffron; it is ochre. The Agna chakra is the chakra of knowing or enlightenment and is known as the third eye. There are 114 chakras in the body. Two of these do not ascribe to any color because they are not physical in nature. The rest of the 112 chakras ascribe to some color. Anything that is physical in existence naturally reflects light. Once it reflects light, it will have color in your perception. People who are on the path where the whole process is about enlightenment and opening up that dimension of perception referred to as the third eye will always seek ochre because they want to radiate that color.

Normally, a person who switches to orange drops everything that was old – their name, their identity, their family, their looks, their everything – and shifts into a different life. That means they are making a new beginning, a new sun has risen in their life. A certain realization has come where they are willing to shed everything and walk into another dimension of life or another possibility. It also suggests gnana and vision. Either a person has developed or they want to develop a new vision, that is why they are going into it. For both people, it is good to wear orange.

Orange is also a symbolism. When the sun rises in the morning, it is orange. You wear this color to indicate that a new light has come into your life and a new rising has happened within you.

A new sun is beginning to rise within you. Another aspect is, when the fruit matures, it becomes orange. Orange is a symbol of maturity. When a person has attained to a certain level of maturity or ripening, they use this color.

The meaning of the color white

In Sanskrit, white is called aatvarang means the eighth color. There are seven colors; white is the eighth color. This eighth color means that dimension of life which is beyond. White is not really a color. When there is no color, only white is there. It is the absence of color that makes it white. At the same time, white is all-inclusive. The white light that you see contains all of the seven colors. You can refract those colors and separate all seven of them.

“The color of any substance is not because of what it is, it is what it rejects or what it gives away or reflects. Something looks red not because it is red but because it holds back everything that white light contains and reflects red.

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, the centers offer an array of yoga and meditation programs in a vibrant and conducive ambience.

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

Learn more at ishausa.org/la

White has a good impact on you. Especially when you live in a tropical country, white is the best color to wear. It is comfortable weather-wise. Traditionally, a person who wears orange cuts himself off from family and social situations. The one who chooses white walks the spiritual path, but is still involved in the other aspects of life. Those who are on a path where they do not want to gather anything will wear white. Their sadhana is mild, but they are on the spiritual path, but they are involved with various aspects of life, they do not want to gather life around them. They want to be participating in life, but they do not want to gather anything, such people will choose to wear white.

The

meaning of the color yellow

In the Buddhist tradition, monks, who graduated to what Gautama called arhats, wore ochre robes. The rest wore yellow robes because the process that Gautama gave to the initial stage of Buddhist monks was a very rudimentary process. He chose this process for them because it did not need any preparation. He wanted to cause a wave of awareness. That means he did not stay in any town for too long. He was continuously moving from village to village and town to town. There was no time to prepare people for any kind of practice, so he gave them a very rudimentary process. But still, he was converting them into monks. He was fixing their life but not giving them enough preparatory steps, so he told them to wear the yellow robe because yellow is the color of the Muladhara chakra. The most basic chakra in the body is Muladhara. He wanted them to be stable.

Such a process is taught when you are charting out a spiritual path for a few lifetimes. That tradition still continues in the Buddhist way of life. They keep coming back and

coming back to do more work because the process is of stabilization, not of realization. So, he told them to wear yellow robes.

The meaning of the color black If you are in a certain space which is powerfully energized and you want to imbibe, black is good. Black does not give out anything, it absorbs everything. If you wear black and go to a good space, you will absorb that. But if you wear black and go to a bad space, you will absorb that.

So, not everyone is qualified to wear black. If you continuously remain in black clothing and expose yourself to a variety of situations, you will notice that your energies will fluctuate and it sucks out all the emotion from you and gets your mind into very volatile, imbalanced states. It makes you into a silent suffering. You will suffer in such a way that you cannot even find expression to your suffering.

But if you wear black in a situation which is very vibrant and positive, you will absorb a tremendous amount of energy, which is good for you. Black should be worn only if you are ensured of the quality of the space.

Vairagya

You may have heard the word “vairagya.“ “Raga,” means color. “Vai” means beyond. “Vairag,” means beyond color. You have become transparent. If you have become transparent, if what is behind you is red, you turn red too. If what is behind you is blue, you turn blue. If what is behind you is yellow, you turn yellow. You are unprejudiced. Wherever you are, you become a part of that, but nothing sticks to you. Only if you are like this, only if you are in a state of Vairag, then you will dare to explore all dimensions of life when you live here.

OF YOUR DREAMS theCreatingAbundant Life

7 steps to set yourself up for success

by Dr. Bradley Nelson

Do you ever look at other people who are living their dreams and wonder how they've been so lucky to have achieved all they desired? How can you craft the life of your dreams?

To attract abundance into your life, it's helpful to understand what real abundance is and what it takes to achieve it. First, understand that abundance is about more than material and financial wealth. Abundance can mean living in great health, having the energy to enjoy your life, maintaining wholesome and positive relationships, staying open to awesome opportunities that come your way, experiencing financial freedom, and setting yourself free of negative emotional blocks so you can experience joy to the fullest!

Second, determine what abundance means for you personally. Whether there is a specific area of your life you'd like to focus on or simply that you would like to improve your general quality of life, ask yourself the following:

• Have I achieved what I aimed for?

• Does my life look like I imagined it?

• Are my relationships happy and fulfilling?

• Am I comfortable with who I am?

• Does my career/work life reflect my passion?

• Is there something keeping me from working toward my dreams?

Answering these questions for yourself can help you understand where you are in your abundance journey and identify areas in your life where you want to attract more abundance. Then, you can begin crafting the life of your dreams. Here are seven steps to guide you along your way:

1. Envision the life you want. Having a crystal-clear image of the life you want to live will help focus your mind and heart. Try creating a vision board of what you want in your life. Let pictures and words represent values for the type of abundance you want to find. Look at your board every day to help define your dreams and stay focused on what you want to achieve. Envision how you want to feel, what you want to be, what you want to do, how you want to spend your time, who you'll be associated with, and where you will go. Envision living that life until you can feel it!

2. Ask! Whether you believe in a loving Heavenly Father, a Great Spirit, a Creator, a universal energy source, or however you conceive of something greater than yourself, it can be helpful to turn to that higher power. Ask that they oversee, protect, and bless your journey toward a dream life. It can also be helpful to share your dreams with others in your life. Allow them to support you on your journey. You never know who could be the networking connection that leads to your next career move or the person who connects you with your soulmate!

Break your vision of a dream life down into small, attainable, specific goals. Make sure they are measurable, and consider associating them with a timeline.

3. Create a Plan. Set yourself up for success by creating specific goals and a plan to achieve them. Break your vision of a dream life down into small, attainable, specific goals. Make sure they are measurable, and consider associating them with a timeline. Take time to identify the steps each goal will take and any associated skills, resources, or support you might benefit from along the way.

4. Act! Achieving an abundant life is not a spectator sport — it requires effort from you to attain it. When opportunities come to you, do your part to make things happen. There may be many steps to reach your goals, but you only have to take one step at a time to make progress. Keep taking action! If you feel that something is keeping you from taking action, you might benefit from a session with an energy healer. Energy healing can go a long way in helping you remove fear and negative emotions that keep you from acting upon the greatest opportunities that arise.

5. Be Grateful! Reflect on all you have to be grateful for, the abundance you've already received, and the life you are already lucky enough to live! Be grateful you have a vision for the future. Be grateful that you can ask for what you want. And, when success is attained, remember to be grateful that you made the effort and that others helped you get there. Gratitude is essential for your success.

6. Believe Deeply. Do you really believe you will receive an abundant life? While your conscious mind might long for the abundant life you're visualizing, perhaps your subconscious

mind believes a different version. Maybe you are subconsciously afraid that if you achieved an abundant life, you wouldn't be able to handle the responsibility or attention that comes with it. If something is blocking your path, there are ways to remove those blocks. Negative emotions create self-sabotaging thoughts and behaviors that can block you from creating your dream life. To create the reality you want, you must change your subconscious programming by releasing these trapped energies. The Emotion Code®, Body Code™, and Belief Code® can help align your subconscious desires and free you from negative emotional baggage and energies that hold you back.

7. Trust in the Timing. What if it takes you longer to achieve abundance in your life than you had envisioned? Don't give up! If your achievements are taking longer than you'd like, that doesn't mean you aren't moving in the direction of your dreams. It just means the road may take longer to walk along than you had expected. Believing there is something bigger than you looking out for you can help you continue to move forward when you're feeling frustrated or defeated.

While there will always be stumbling blocks along the way, if we stay focused on abundance, gratitude, self-improvement, growth, consistent action, and belief in ourselves, we can all attain the life of our dreams. Every single one of us can experience a life filled with health, energy, meaningful relationships, and success in all that we do. Stay invested in your own success and be willing to do what it takes to get there.

Veteran holistic physician Dr. Bradley Nelson (D.C., ret.) is one of the world's foremost experts on natural methods of achieving wellness. He is the creator of the Emotion Code, the Body Code, and the Belief Code and is the CEO of Discover Healing, a holistic education platform that provides training and certifies practitioners worldwide. His bestselling book The Emotion Code provides step-by-step instructions for working with the body's energy healing power. His latest book is The Body Code: Unlocking Your Body's Ability to Heal Itself

Wine Women Dementia And

Wine, Women, & Dementia is a profoundly moving and thought-provoking narrative by Kitty Norton, a writer and director with a unique talent for weaving humor and humanity into life's most challenging moments. Through this insightful piece, Kitty explores the intricate realities of Dementia while celebrating the strength, love, and resilience of women.

With an unflinching yet compassionate lens, Wine, Women, & Dementia offers readers a heartfelt journey into the emotional complexities of caregiving, the importance of community, and the enduring power of laughter in the face of adversity.

Photo by Janis Dzenis

What inspired you to create Wine, Women, & Dementia, and how did you combine these themes to tell your story? Do you have a personal connection to Dementia or caregiving that shaped your perspective in directing this project?

I was inspired to create  Wine, Women, & Dementia to get the word out that there is LIFE on the end-of-life journey, even when that journey is Dementia. In our five years of co-caring for our mother, Gloria, who lived with vascular Dementia, my sister and I experienced the hilarity, horror, beauty, and brutality that comes with accompanying someone to death's door. But tragedy and despair were the overwhelming narratives portrayed in the media. I was perplexed as tragedy was undoubtedly a part of the journey, but it wasn't the total. During this time, I authored the dementia family caregiver blog, Stumped Town Dementia, penning tales of dementia life, not dementia death, and through the blog, befriended caregivers all over the world who were also choosing a different dementia perspective, one that acknowledged the devastating heartbreak while embracing the love and laughter of the journey. Our online friendships became crucial support for me, and I often daydreamed about meeting them in person to thank them for their understanding, humor, and strength on this tough road.

Mom died in March of 2021. After surviving the death of her beloved husband, a disastrous attempt by her daughters at memory care, numerous falls, flu, and about of

COVID-19, a broken hip finally took her down and gave Dementia the opening it needed to zoom ahead and finish the job. She was free. As was I. I decided to meet these online friends face to face and express my gratitude for their unwavering support. There were five caregivers in the U.S. who were crucial to me. If they said yes to an eightstates-away drop-in, I would show up with a bottle of wine and a pizza, and we could talk caregiver smack into the wee hours of the morning, bemoaning, laughing, processing all we had been through. All five of those faraway friends said "Yes." The film was born.

The title suggests a mix of camaraderie and a serious subject matter. How do you balance humor, warmth, and the challenges of Dementia in your storytelling?

My parents gifted my sister and me with their sense of humor, and for me, it's been a life-long strategy employed during tough times, and there's nothing much tougher than that swinging dementia lifestyle! Humor was often the first weapon pulled from our caregiver toolbox when things were particularly SWINGING. This also held true for the caregiver friends I made through my blog -  they utilize levity over loss to help ease the journey. Because we had all coalesced over similar game plans, we were able to weave humor and warmth throughout the film while acknowledging, and being brutally frank, the crushing challenges of dementia family caregiving. The result is a film with a message of hope, warmth, and camaraderie when traversing the roughest parts of life.

What message or support do you hope this project provides to caregivers, families, and loved ones impacted by Dementia?

My Northstar for the film was to Celebrate Caregivers, and it has been delivered through the festival and community screenings. Caregivers leave the screenings feeling that, for the first time, they are represented in the dementia narrative. They are not the ones on the screen, but it's their successes, their failures, and the stories they are watching. They feel seen, heard, and validated that they've devoted themselves to an overwhelming, unrelenting job and, like the subjects on screen, are doing the best they can with the tools they have - and that is a feat worth celebrating. An additional message of the film is community, community, community. For the length of the film, audiences are immersed in the unconditional support the cast gives each other, often feeling like the silent participant in the conversations and experiencing how the journey can be easier when you have found your "village" of support. It's never easy, but with a little help from your friends, it is easier than going at it alone.

What were some of the biggest challenges you faced in creating  Wine, Women, & Dementia, and what have you learned through this process?

There were (and still are) a million challenges and a zillion things I had to learn to get this film made and out into the world. One of my biggest challenges besides practical logistics was within myself - I had to learn to trust my decisions throughout the process. I knew what the story needed to be

but was occasionally sidetracked by more experience, pulling it down a different path. In Dementia,  you are the expert in the room because you know your dementia person, you know yourself, you know the resources you are working with, and you have to advocate accordingly, even pissing off the professionals if need be when you know what's going to work for your situation. It's the same with filmmaking. I had such wonderful mentors who were instrumental in shaping the film into its success, but I also had to take a stand at times and give my politest, "My way or the highway, kids," when needed. It is not something I relish doing, but it was good to learn that I could and will when called for.

Do you plan to continue advocating for dementia awareness beyond this project, and how do you hope this film contributes to the broader conversation?

I've seen this throughout my life - when people go through a traumatic experience, they stay in that space to provide support to those who will follow in their footsteps. It's an admirable trait of humanity. I'm not a politician. I'm not a researcher. I don't write policy papers or present findings and data to solve problems. I tell stories that breathe life, emotion, and the joys and hardships of the experience into faceless papers and numbers. And the story of Dementia as one of complete devastation does a disservice to those living with Dementia and those of us helping them.  Wine, Women, & Dementia is the story of dementia life, and I will continue advocating for the complete picture of dementia life to be brought to the forefront.

THE LAW OF

CAUSE AND EFFECT

by George Lizos

The Law of cause and effect teaches that nothing happens by chance. Instead, there’s a logical cause behind every effect. What we call chance or luck is simply causes that we cannot perceive or understand. From this perspective, our manifestations are the results of a long string of causes and effects. Simultaneously, they’re also the causes of more effects and, therefore, new manifestations.

What  The Kybalion makes clear about manifestation is that there’s no such thing as creating something, but rather a natural and never-ending unfolding of a series of cause-and-effect events. To create something would imply that you start from zero, but nothing can truly start from zero, as there are always multiple preceding events leading to the manifestation of a desire.

To consciously manifest something, we need to be cooperative components of the causation process. We first need to create causes through our thoughts/intentions, our emotions/vibrations, and our actions. Secondly, we need to be cooperative components of the causes that are already in place and that we may not yet be aware of.

The majority of the literature on manifestation stresses the importance of the Law of attraction, thus the Law of vibration, in manifesting our desires and purpose.

Photo by Ali Karimboroujoni

Nothing happens by chance; chance is merely a term indicating cause existing but not recognized or perceived . . . there can be no such agent as ‘chance’, in the sense of something outside of Law—something outside cause and effect.

~The Kybalion

As a result, we’ve considered our thoughts and emotions to be our main causes for manifestation. Although our thoughts and emotions are indeed our primary tools, through which we can be causes in the manifestation of our desires, there are more factors involved.

Is the Law of Attraction the Most Powerful Law in the Universe?

Popular spiritual culture teaches that the Law of attraction/vibration is the most powerful Law in the Universe. I previously held this belief myself, but my subsequent research, experience, and understanding of Universal laws have taught me otherwise. I believe that the Law of attraction is certainly a powerful law in the Universe, but there are also many other powerful laws, and therefore causes, that the Law of attraction has to work with.

In other words, the Law of attraction isn’t more powerful than the Law of gravity. However much you raise your vibration or change your beliefs to believe you can fly, you really can’t. The Law of gravity won’t let you because, guess what—in this respect, it’s more powerful than the Law of attraction. The same is true for most of our physical characteristics. We may try all we want to change our height, hair colour, or facial features just with the power of our minds, but that goes against the laws of biology and is therefore, impossible.

How Miracles Take Place

But what about miracles? What about the hundreds of stories of using the power of the mind to heal seemingly incurable diseases? Aren’t these proofs of the Law of attraction surpassing other laws to create change? The answer is yes and no.

In every single real story of a “miraculous” healing there has been a chain of causeand-effect events leading up to it. The reason we may perceive them as miracles is because we’re not always aware of the complex series of causes behind them. One of these causes may have been utilizing the Law of attraction using positive thoughts and emotions to contribute to a positive outcome; but there will also have been other causes involved.

As discussed in the previous chapter, the laws of the Universe work together in complex and cooperative ways so that you can, at times, use one Law to curb the impact of the other. This doesn’t mean that you beat one Law with another, but rather that you can work with the laws in a more nuanced way.

The ancients understood miracles in a very different way than we do today. Our modern perception of a miracle is one of supernatural events—something that goes above the laws of the Universe. But the existence of an event that goes above or against the laws of the Universe would imply that there’s a power above the Universe, which, as I explained earlier, is impossible.

Conversely, the ancient Greeks believed that miracles are natural events in a chain of causes and effects that are in accordance with the laws of the Universe. From this perspective, miracles do take place, but the miracles are merely manifestations of people understanding and utilizing the laws of the Universe to allow an improved state of being.

Unknown and Little-Known Causes

As mentioned earlier, there are many causes beyond the Law of attraction that contribute to the manifestation process, many of which are often disregarded by popular spirituality. This results in frustration when our manifestation processes don’t work, making us feel inadequate and wonder what it is we’re doing wrong. As a result, we keep on buying more books and courses, learning the same limited perspectives on manifestation, which keep us stuck in the cycle.

The only way to break free is by educating ourselves about the lesser-known causes that contribute to the manifestation process. The seven Universal laws in this book are the main causes, but there are more.

Here’s a list of the most prevalent little-known factors that contribute to manifestation also:

1.   Soul Contracts: Soul contracts are promises and plans we made before our present incarnation about the lessons we wanted to learn in the course of our lifetime. Many soul contracts involve our relationships with people and the roles we decide to play in each other’s lives. Other soul contracts have to do with certain virtues, skills, talents, and qualities we wanted to develop, as well as the various achievements we wished to accomplish. Soul contracts are so-called because they’re decided on a soul level, and they aim to help our soul ascend on its spiritual journey of evolution to enlightenment. The reason certain manifestations sometimes don’t manifest is that they may not be in accordance with one or more of our soul contracts. Although our vibration

may create a cause for the desired effect, there may be a bigger, stronger cause behind it that originated before our incarnation.

2.   Fate: We often approach the subject of free will versus determinism in an absolute, black-and-white manner. Some people believe that everything is fated to happen and there’s nothing we can do about it, while others take the approach that we are the sole determinants of our future. I believe the answer is more balanced.

The ancient Greeks personified fate into three goddesses known as the Three Fates. The first is Lachesis, who’s said to visit each newborn baby on their first night and plan the main, large-scale events in the baby’s life. Although she determines the occurrence of these events, she doesn’t determine their outcome; this depends on the person’s free will.

The second goddess is Clotho, who’s responsible for weaving these main events into manifestation at the right time in the person’s life.

Lastly, Atropos determines when the person’s life will eventually end, thus the person’s death.

Essentially, this perspective on fate is very much in alignment with our soul contracts. Certain events and circumstances are set in stone and are fated to happen, but, as they do, we always have free will to change them if we so wish to. Consequently, for a desire to manifest, it has to be in alignment with these fated soul agreements.

3.   Our Four Purposes: Remember the four purposes of lightworkers that I shared in Chapter 3? Our first purpose is the collective lightworker purpose, which has to do with raising the overall vibration of the world. The second purpose is the soul realm purpose, which involves a larger-scale collective purpose shared among people within our soul realm, which is our soul’s origin. Our soul purpose draws from the soul realm purpose and is a

large-scale mission fulfilled over a series of lifetimes, whereas our life purpose is a step towards fulfilling our soul purpose and is, therefore, very specific to our unique set of skills, talents, and abilities.

For a desire to easily manifest in our life it has to be in alignment with our four purposes, primarily the life and soul purposes. If it isn’t, although we can still manifest that desire it’ll be harder to do so, as it won’t be in alignment with what we came here to be and do. Additionally, manifesting a desire that isn’t in alignment with our life and soul purpose may set us back in the fulfilment of our purpose.

4.   Collective Manifestation:

Although what we manifest in our lives is primarily an outcome of our personal, conscious, or unconscious understanding and use of Universal laws, there’s also a degree of collective manifestation taking place. Since we live in a shared and therefore interconnected world, we’re not only influenced by those around us but we also manifest together.

From our souls’ collective perspective, before we chose to partake in the human experiment on planet Earth, we set up collective contracts and agreements regarding what we wanted to achieve and experience together. From a human perspective, each thought we think, and emotion we feel contributes to humanity’s collective vibrational frequency, which goes on to shape, to a great degree, our collective reality. The COVID-19 pandemic and other large-scale events such as wars, financial depressions, and technological advancements are all prime examples of such collective manifestations.

Manifestation Is Universal Collaboration

With these factors in mind, manifestation isn’t just about our personal, human point of attraction. Instead, it’s a collaborative process that involves our whole, multidimensional

self along with the entire human and Universal consciousness. To manifest anything, our desires need to be in alignment with not just our mental and emotional outlook but also the aforementioned factors and Universal laws.

Frankly, what I’ve learned in my journey to mastering manifestation, and what I hope you can now begin to understand, too, is that the Universe is not our bitch! Manifesting our desires and purpose isn’t about willing the Universe to do our bidding. It’s about understanding our purpose, soul contracts, and collective manifestation and partnering with the laws of the Universe to co-create the desires that will allow us to both fulfill our purpose and also fulfill our collective purpose of raising the vibration of the world.

Although taking so many factors into consideration may make manifestation seem like a complicated task, it really is simpler than it seems. Your soul is already connected with and aware of all the various factors and Universal laws contributing to manifestation. Your soul knows your life purpose and soul’s journey of ascension and, therefore, knows the exact desires that you need to manifest to follow that. Consequently, any desire that comes out of a state of alignment with your soul is already in accordance with the aforementioned factors and can easily manifest in your life.

To master manifestation, you have to nurture and sustain a connection with your soul so you can receive the desires that are already in accordance with the multiple factors involved in manifestation, as well as the guidance needed to bring them to life.

In the next chapter, you’ll learn how the Law of gender can help you receive desires that are already aligned with your soul and highest good, as well as guide you in taking balanced action in your manifestation efforts.

George Lizos is a spiritual teacher, psychic healer, Greek pagan priest, and the creator of Intuition Mastery School. The author of Be the Guru, Lightworkers Gotta Work,  Ancient Manifestation Secrets, and Secrets of Greek Mysticism, he is the host of The Lit Up Lightworker and Can’t Host podcasts. Named one of the top 50 health and wellness influencers by Health Blog Awards,he regularly teaches workshops and online courses. He lives in Cyprus.  https://georgelizos.com

Photo by Eric Ward

Are YOU? Who

by Selina Maitreya

You are not the single “I” that you refer to as yourself. You are a Lifestream, a multidimensional being filled with frequencies that can be simply defined as both high (Oneness, higher consciousness, wisdom, love) and low (fear, judgment, anger, jealousy, lack) energies working within a dense, solid form: your physical body.

If you have any doubt that frequencies are present in your body, remember the medical testing of EEGs and EKGs, tests that measure the frequency of your brain and the frequency of your heart.

Frequencies are indeed alive and well inside of you now, and while medical science has acknowledged their presence, most likely, you have yet to understand and utilize these powerful aspects of your being as your core directional compass. Yet they are now working moment to moment, directing your life, and not always in ways that serve you.

In addition to your frequencies and your physical body, you were gifted a splendid tool called the brain, a highly complex physical organ that oversees your bodily functions and creates, organizes, and structures your frequencies into thoughts and emotional charges that are sent to and through your physical body.

With total respect for the magnificence of this wondrous partner, your life is not (as science and some New Age thinking would have you believe) the total product of your brain. You are more than your brain— so much more!

You are not your thoughts; you are more than that. Your true self is your higher consciousness (Oneness), which, to date, science has yet to fully explain. But Oneness has been experienced and spoken of since before the beginning of time.

Your brain did not create Oneness, which is your higher frequency of consciousness. Oneness is a separate field; it is the energy of love that came into you with your first breath as your brain was activated.

Science has said that the brain does not create anew; rather, it recognizes what already exists. What always exists within you constantly are your energy fields, your high frequency of consciousness, and the low frequency of your egoic mind, which is experienced as pain, lack, judgment, doubt, and worry.

The energy of love and the energy of fear cannot exist at the same time. Just as you cannot be hot and cold concurrently, you cannot hold the energy of love while you experience fear.

As you hold any frequency, your brain structures thoughts and emotions around whichever energy field is currently activated.

It is not accurate to say you are your thoughts. It is more accurate to say you are your frequencies. For the frequencies you hold are what your brain creates your emotions and thoughts around.

It is for this reason that your frequencies— not your thoughts oremotions—should be

your guidance system.

Having the ability to be aware of which frequency you are holding— and shifting your frequencies when they do not serve you—is what is needed in order to respond to difficulty from higher frequencies.

It does not change your thinking; it changes your life. It is indeed a change in your frequency, a change in your life, for your thoughts and emotions are a result of the frequency you are holding at any given moment.

The main reason why you have difficulty when trying to changeyour life habits are because you have been taught to work on the wrong end of the equation.

Your energy field is what needs to be shifted, as that’s what fuels your brain. If you are unaware (and most people are) that it’s the frequency you hold that needs to change, you will continue to focus your attention on the incorrect part of the equation, and the changes you seek won’t occur. But when you start to work with your frequencies and learn how to shift into high-vibrational modes when low frequencies are present, changes occur almost magically-extraordinary changes.

In your earliest days, as you walked in the physical world while your body and brain were developing, so too did your personality and history mature. Your low and high frequencies were activated and accessed over and over as your responses to life situations.

Frustration as an infant was most likely your first experience with pain. Crying was an announcement that was generated from hunger, from being alone, or from simple discomfort. It was your way of communicating that something was wrong.

Your patterns of response to your life circumstances began at an early age as your humanity began to be influenced by the energy that was present in your physical surroundings. Your family of origin, the beings who took care of you, were your earliest touchstone.

Many spiritual students who have found their way to me have had extremely difficult lives, and some became seekers at an early age. They developed a body of knowledge through the readings and workshops they focused their efforts on, but until they took on the work of using the difficulties that appeared in their daily life as their transformational tools, they were still stuck deep inside of each piece of pain they experienced.

How your life manifested in the physical world from the time you were an infant is different from every single being that has been birthed upon our planet. All beings have their own paths, and your life represents no one else’s.

Your physical body and life patterns are unique, yet you share one quality with everyone else. You contain the identical frequency of Oneness, and you have the same opportunity to experience peace and happiness in an extraordinary life, as do all human beings.

These states will indeed be yours to experience as you learn how to respond to the irritations and difficulties that you now experience from one of the many physical manifestations of love.

As a child and as an adult, when you went through any form of loss or fear, and you responded in kind, you were choosing to say no to your divinity; you were repeatedly deciding not to access the gift of love that you were seeded with.

Over time, responding to chaos, pain, and loss automatically with more of

the same became your habit. You forgot that you had a choice of responses; you did not remember that your highest wisdom was meant to be your GPS system. As you continued to respond from a low frequency, the Oneness got buried in the trunk of your being and your life now reflects this void of remembrance.

If you’re like many, the Oneness within you may now only be experienced through occasional, magical moments that you call synchronicity or through prayer and meditation.

When life is easy, you feel it’s because of “good luck” or karma. When times are tough, you may blame others or your own poor thinking. When your health suffers, you focus on the illness, believing that putting your attention on the illness itself will heal you. When you lose your job, your home, or a beloved, and you are at a loss as to what to do, you seek help from teachers and healers, as you do not know how to help yourself.

Prayer and meditation are helpful tools and healers, and teachers can be beneficial support team members, yet your greatest ally is the Oneness within you; your high frequency is the key to living an extraordinary life. Right now, it is lying dormant within you, waiting to be reactivated!

The concepts I have put forth here are easy to discuss but may seem difficult for you to implement—unless you have the tools and guidance that I am going to share with you.

As a spiritual teacher, I’ve discovered consistent blocks that keep people from leading an extraordinary life,and I’ve developed key, powerful spiritual practices that will move you through each impediment.

As you read on, I will guide you to discover where you are blocked and then give you tools to open to the Oneness that is your natural gift.

Selina Maitreya is a lecturer, author, and spiritual teacher. The creator of Clarion Call, an online conference of spiritual teachers, she is a founding member of the Manhattan Holistic Chamber of Commerce and a past board member of the Boston Theosophical Society. She lives in Arlington, Massachusetts. https://www.practicalspiritualitywithselina.com.

by Seline Shenoy

The Transformative Power of Love and Contribution Ego and Materialism World in an

On a sunny day at my neighborhood park, I was busy setting up a spot for an afternoon picnic with my friends. While waiting for them to arrive, I opened a bottle of lemonade to refresh myself.

As I waited for them to show up, I decided to pop open a bottle of lemonade to cool off. Once I finished my drink, I noticed there were no trash bins around, so I set the bottle aside to throw away later. A little while later, a young girl approached me and asked, "Excuse me, are you going to use that?"

I smiled and said, "No, I'm not."

"May I please have it? I'm collecting all the empty plastic bottles and cans in the park so that I can recycle them," she said.

"That's really kind of you! Is this part of a school assignment?" I asked with interest.

"Not at all. I'm doing this because I care about my planet. It's my only home, and I want to look after it," she responded with confidence.

This brief verbal exchange that I had with the little girl at the park made a lasting impression on me. Not only was I surprised by her mature disposition, but I was deeply moved by the strength of her conviction to save the environment.

She felt a genuine sense of responsibility towards the planet's welfare and took it upon herself to make a difference. Even though she was young and likely didn't have many resources to support her efforts, she didn't let that hold her back.

Just imagine if we could all be as driven as this little girl to do our part in making meaningful contributions to the world. Imagine if we could step out of our own little bubbles of self-importance and extend our concern beyond the superficial.

It can be challenging to do, especially with the way things are in the world today. Every time we check the news or scroll through our X feeds, it feels like there's yet another unsettling story or opinion that catches our attention.

Reading about the latest political scandal, pessimistic projections on the economy, and civil unrest in other parts of the world can send us down a spiral of negativity. Even though we know that news is often sensationalized, we usually find ourselves captivated by the unfolding drama. It strips away any love and intentions of giving back in our hearts and instills fear and stinginess.

This is compounded by the fact that ego and materialism reign supreme in our society, shaping our behaviors, values, and interactions. Ego, in its simplest form, is the sense of self-importance that drives someone to prioritize their own needs and desires above others. This self-centered

perspective can lead to a culture of competition, where personal achievements and external validations become the ultimate goals.

Conversely, materialism emphasizes the sole pursuit of possessions and wealth as measures of success and happiness. The focus on acquiring material goods, like clothing items, cars, and homes, can lead to a cycle of dissatisfaction, as each new purchase fails to provide lasting happiness.

The Buddhist term for people who define themselves based on their possessions, whose appetites exceed their need for consumption, is 'hungry ghosts.' Buddhist imagery depicts them as creatures with huge, empty bellies, thin, long necks, and tiny mouths.

These creatures are always on the prowl for food and drink, but their small mouths and skinny necks make it almost impossible for them to receive nourishment to satisfy their appetites.

A person who mirrors the ways of a "hungry ghost" will overindulge in various things such as drugs, drinks, smoking, gambling, lust, shopping, or anything else that they think will resolve the brokenness, incompletion, and imperfection they feel inside.

Sooner or later, they realize that these fleeting sources of pleasure cannot change their feelings of emptiness, no matter how much they partake in them. If they're open to seeing the truth, they'll see past their ego's delusions and recognize their spirit's deeper needs: love and making a difference.

When our mind is dominated by fear, ego, and material concerns, we often overlook the chances to create an impact in society. Even if an ego-driven person notices these op-

portunities, they might ignore them because they don't perceive any personal gain from partaking in them.

If your altruistic motives feel blocked, know that social change does not have to be something you tackle on your own, nor must it happen overnight. It begins with making a decision and acting on it. Mahatma Gandhi's famous line, "Be the change we wish to see in the world," reminds us that we first need to embody the qualities that will make us care enough to become proactive in creating impact. In our own unique way, we can change lives, one day at a time.

You can gain inspiration from many remarkable individuals who have shown how love and contribution can change lives, motivating others to do the same. One such figure is Mother Teresa, who devoted her life to aiding the most impoverished in Calcutta, India. Her unwavering dedication to love and kindness changed the lives of those she served and sparked a worldwide movement focused on service and altruism. Through her deeds, she proved that love in action can lead to significant transformation, inspiring many to uplift their communities.

Another inspiring example is the journey of Malala Yousafzai, a champion for girls' education. Following her survival of a Taliban assassination attempt, Malala persisted in advocating for the right to education for every child, with a special focus on girls. Her bravery and unwavering commitment have ignited a global movement, demonstrating how one person's commitment to love and service can drive meaningful social transformation.

In addition to these well-known figures, many everyday individuals have made remarkable impacts within their communities through acts of love and contribution.

Whether it's local volunteers who spend their time at food banks and shelters or those who lead community clean-up efforts and mentorship programs, these unsung heroes showcase the incredible capacity for change that exists within each of us.

Their stories exemplify the idea that love and contribution are not reserved for the famous or wealthy but are accessible to everyone willing to take action and make a difference in the lives of others. The good news is that you can also follow the path of these role models in love and generosity. Cultivating a mindset focused on love and contribution starts with simple, purposeful actions woven into our everyday routines. Here are some simple exercises that you can practice:

1. Daily affirmations.

An effective way to enhance your commitment to love and kindness is by using daily affirmations. By consistently reminding ourselves of our intentions to act with love and support the well-being of those around us, we can change our perspective and create a positive ripple effect in our interactions. These affirmations act as a beacon, guiding you through difficulties and keeping your values at the forefront.

2. Self-reflection.

To rise above the stronghold of ego and materialism, you need to be deliberate and dedicated to developing your awareness. A useful approach is practicing self-reflection, where you look closely at your motivations and desires. By investing time in understanding what fuels your actions, you can identify moments when your ego might be steering your choices. Activities like journaling, meditating, or having conversations with trusted friends can offer important insights, guiding you to move your attention from self-centeredness to a more community-focused mindset.

3. Gratitude.

A regular practice of gratitude is an essential part of cultivating a mindset of love. When you take the time to recognize and appreciate the abundance in your life, you can reduce your reliance on external validation and material goods. Gratitude allows you to see the love and support you get from those around you, helping you feel more content with what you already have. This shift in mindset allows you to prioritize relationships and experiences over material accumulation.

4.

Active

listening and community involvement.

Another powerful approach is to participate in active listening and empathy-building exercises. Taking time to really hear what others are saying— free from distractions and biases—can strengthen your bonds and promote a deeper understanding. By stepping into someone else's shoes, you cultivate empathy and a genuine desire to support and uplift them. This approach fosters a spirit of kindness and support within your communities.

Making time for community involvement can solidify your resolve to make a positive impact. Volunteering, joining local events, or lending a hand to neighbors in need can forge meaningful relationships within your communities.

The journey of embracing love and giving back is truly a path of ongoing growth and discovery. It calls on you to question societal expectations, reflect on yourself, and look for ways to serve others. As you walk down this path, you'll discover that true fulfillment comes not from material wealth but from the meaningful relationships you build with those around you. By making love and contributions as your north star, you can leave behind a legacy of compassion and kindness that will inspire future generations.

Seline’s mission is to help people live up to the truest expression of themselves by building a strong and balanced inner foundation of self-worth followed by designing a life that’s in alignment with their personal vision. Through her unique blend of personal experiences and professional expertise, combined with a genuine devotion toward personal and spiritual growth, Seline offers solutions that are both intuitive and practical.

Seline Shenoy, author of the new book The Nomadic Soul: A Seeker's Guide to Finding a Sense of Self and Belonging in the Modern World.

Welcome to Our Contributor Writers’ Neighborhood

By Susanna Schroadter

An Open Letter to Spiritual Seekers,

Conscious Friends, and Wellness Enthusiasts

Photo by mahdi chaghari

Dear Beautiful Souls,

As another year unfolds, I am filled with immense hope, deep gratitude, and an incredible sense of connection to the amazing spirits who, like you, are on a journey of self-discovery, healing, and transformation. Wherever you are in your path, whether you are seeking a deeper meaning to why we are here, navigating some of the heartbreaks and trauma of life, or are simply looking for ways to nurture your mind, body, and spirit, I want to remind you, that no matter what, you are not alone.

What I have learned on my journey is that we are all connected. Many of us here right now have a shared desire to live to our fullest potential and to create a world full of love for ourselves, our children, and those around us. Although we all have our own purpose, and the paths we take may be different, it is a balm to my soul to remember that as we travel together, supporting and uplifting one another, we can become the leaders of a powerful force for positive change.

I know that, at times, this life can feel overwhelming, uncertain, and oppressive. The darkness can feel suffocating as we face challenges and setbacks. Life can be easy to lose sight of our goals and forget how far we’ve come. But never forget: You are capable of more than you know. Your strength, you love, and your resilience have brought you this far, and they will continue to carry you through whatever comes next.

As we move forward into a new year filled with endless possibilities, my hope is this

letter serves as an invitation—a safe space for connection, reflection, and inspiration. Together, we can celebrate resilience, practice self-care, and find strength in the community.

FINDING SOLACE IN CONNECTION

There was a time in my life when I faced a loss so profound that I didn’t know how to move forward. When I lost my sons, the pain was so heavy it felt like I would break. Yet, at my lowest, I found solace in a community of parents who understood my grief. These parents, who had walked this devastating path before me, embraced me with wisdom, empathy, tears of their ow,n and eventually hope. The shared stories reminded me that even in the darkest moments, healing becomes possible when we lean on one another and remember the purpose of this human experience is connection.

This community of grieving parents became a beacon of hope. Their unconditional love gave me permission to find my way back into the light.

It taught me something beautiful and undeniable— it’s the people who stand beside us in our hardest and darkest moments who help us find our way back to our hearts.

THE TRANSFORMATIVE POWER OF SELF-CARE

Life has taught me that healing begins with the simplest acts of self-care. There were days when my anxiety seemed unmanageable, but through daily affirmations, guided meditation, and mindfulness practices, my world began to shift.

Some of the most surprising changes came from tiny actions—taking five deep breaths before a meal, centering myself while washing dishes, or simply remaining present in the moment. These seemingly small practices created ripples in my life, filling it with calm, clarity, and gratitude.

Even now, when I stray from this routine, I feel the disconnection creeping in. I’ve learned that each day is an opportunity to return to myself, to care for my own heart and soul.

If you’ve been wrestling with selfdoubt, anxiety, or simply the weight of everyday life, know this—self-care isn’t a luxury; it’s an act of love and resilience, both for yourself and others.

STRENGTH IN CONSCIOUS FRIENDSHIPS

And then there’s the irreplaceable gift of conscious friendships and relationships. There were moments when my world felt too fragile, but my friends reminded me of my own resilience.

They listened, held space, as well as my hand, and shared perspectives that expanded my view of what was possible. It was through their kindness and honesty that I grew. I carry those lessons with gratitude every day.

If I could share just one truth I’ve discovered, it would be this: resilience is not about avoiding hardship but about discovering the strength to grow through it. The pain, the joy, the love, the loss—they are all threads in the tapestry of the person you are becoming. Without trials and tribulations, I would not be who I am today. The highs of love and joy, balanced with the lessons of pain and loss, have created a fuller, more vibrant life than I could have imagined.

A NEW YEAR, A NEW CHAPTER

This New Year, I want you to know you’re part of a larger tapestry—a community of like-minded souls who are also navigating personal journeys of transformation. And together, we’re

capable of incredible things.

As we continue on this journey together, remember to extend a hand to others who may be struggling. Together, we can create a community of conscious friendships thereby cultivating empathy and understanding towards those around us. Together, we can build a community of strength and support.

While each individual story is unique, we all share common human experiences of joy and pain, love and loss, growth and transformation. Let this year be a time of conscious friendship, where we not only support and uplift each other but also challenge ourselves to be better friends and listeners, creating a culture of open communication, vulnerability, and understanding.

Now, I invite you to take the next step in your own path:

• Find an upcoming wellness gathering to share your stories, learn from others, and find strength in connection.

• Start a daily self-care practice, even if it’s as simple as a weekly journal entry or five minutes of breathwork. Share your progress with us—you’ll be amazed at what consistent effort can bring.

• Explore new wellness pathways through one of our workshops or programs designed to support your unique needs.

• Most importantly, spread hope and resilience by sharing this letter with anyone who may need encouragement.

You don’t have to walk this path alone. Together, we can create a supportive and loving community rooted in understanding, transformation, and growth.

Thank you for being here. For showing up, day by day. For seeking, questioning, loving, and healing.

With all my love and light,

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.

https://susannalitchfield.com/

By Dulce García-Morman, Ph.D.

THE COMPLEX INNER LIFE OF HIGHLY SENSITIVE PEOPLE

I remember the sense of relief I felt when I first heard the concept of a highly sensitive person (HSP) explained to me, as a rush of “OMG, that’s it!” hit me like a lightning bolt. I was 43 years old and finally able to make sense of a way of being in the world that was so different from those around me growing up, especially those in my family of origin. Since I was a child, I remember being accused of being overly sensitive, making mountains out of molehills, being too affected by things in the world that I could not change, and asking too many questions of an existential nature. I remember the stories my parents told of holding a frightened, crying child when they took me to group gatherings. Those social events usually ended in fits of terror for me, and I suspect my parents were often not happy about the toll that parenthood had taken on their social life.

That sense of unexplained “differentness” hung over me from childhood to midlife until I found validation in the work of psychologist Elaine Aron. “According to Aron’s theory, HSPs are a subset of the population who are high in a personality trait known as sensory-processing sensitivity, or SPS. Those with high levels of SPS display increased emotional sensitivity, stron-

ger reactivity to both external and internal stimuli—pain, hunger, light, and noise— and a complex inner life” https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/basics/highly-sensitive-person

To this day, my husband is always amazed at how sensitive I am to loud noises and strong smells and how his moods affect mine. I tend to “get lost in the other” and do not always know where the emotional boundaries are between myself and another person or an animal. I don’t have a strong sense of duality, and I “feel” the other with such intensity at times! I’m more about oneness and feeling embedded in the web of life with everyone and everything else, and I accept suffering and emotional discomfort as a normal part of living -I don’t chase happiness any more than I avoid suffering. As long as I’m “feeling,” there’s room for sad and happiness and everything in between. Being highly sensitive has both challenges and beautiful upsides, and I advise anyone who thinks they feel life is a “bit over the top” to explore the delicate complexity of being an HSP, not in the sense of taking on a label but as an opportunity for deep self-reflection and for validation of what may feel like a burden at times.

Photo by JJ Jordan

One of the things I have found is critical for an HSP is engaging in self-care, without which life can become very challenging at times. According to Calmerry.com, “High sensitivity can lead to feelings of discomfort or anxiety in situations such as noisy atmospheres, complicated social situations, and when wearing restrictive or uncomfortable clothing. HSPs may also feel overwhelmed by hectic work or social calendars when watching intense or violent movies. Or by the strong emotions evoked by nature, art, or literature” https://calmerry.com/blog/psychology/ how-to-thrive-as-a-highly-sensitive-person/

On-going stress management and mindfulness techniques, such as meditation, yoga, massage, aromatherapy, etc., are excellent ways for an HSP to deal with the occasional

overwhelm that results from too much activity and stimulation, especially around social events and the holidays. Another tip is to carefully construct your calendar. For example, I avoid taking on too much and try to stick to only one activity outside the home in a day, or I space a couple of activities out enough that I avoid feeling compressed. I am especially careful not to engage in “shopping marathons” because I can become easily overwhelmed in those scenarios. Having honest conversations with family members and friends is also very important -they don’t know what they don’t know. It is our responsibility to educate those around us so they can better understand where what may appear as strange quirks or whims come from.

An HSP can become easily overwhelmed in city centers, inside busy stores, on public transportation, or at parties. “All these places (and more) have a few things in common: a lot of lights, sounds, sights, and even smells that can be too much to intake simultaneously. So, your emotionally sensitive partner might require downtime to decompress from such intense stimuli, and they might not always be ready to jump onto the next opportunity to go out again. It’s not that they don’t want to go to a fun place with you, it’s that it takes a huge toll on them. Being accommodating and letting them explore the world at their own pace is a great way to protect them from feeling burned out and stressed” https:// calmerry.com/blog/relationships/how-todeal-with-an-emotionally-sensitive-partner/

Being an HSP is not a mental health disorder; it is a personality trait that has a profound impact on how we engage with the world. There is also debate on whether HSPs are neurodivergent because the brain processing and cognitive function of a highly sensitive person is different from what could be considered the norm. In other words, some researchers argue that HSP is not just a personality trait but that it is a distinct neurological makeup. Neurodivergent or not, there are important benefits to his “sensitive bundle.” For one, HSPs feel very deeply and are also able to express higher than usual levels of empathy, whether it’s intuiting what another person is feeling without the need for words or feeling highly moved by the subtle beauty of nature in a way that the entire body vibrates with exquisite bliss. In the latter example, I’m not talking about the awe that probably everyone feels when looking at the totality of a gorgeous natural landscape, but rather the awe that some people may feel at noticing the first petals emerge on a cactus bloom in the middle of a dry, barren desert -you know, the little almost imperceptible things that generally do not catch people’s attention. Other HSP traits may include high levels of creativity since these are outlets that allow you to express deeply felt emotions.

On the downside, while HSPs are considered good communication, they may prefer written as opposed to verbal expression, especially when it comes to saying “no” to someone’s request. Not wanting to hurt another’s feelings by rejecting a request or invitation can be problematic for HSPs, as can social events with too much noise, such as loud music and bright lights. The sensory overload of full days running around like chickens without heads can also cause high levels of stress and burnout for the

highly sensitive type. Therefore, it is very important that we “sensitive bundles” communicate openly and without shame about our specific wiring. Once your loved ones, friends, and colleagues understand why you get butt hurt easily or why you can’t stay at a party for more than a couple of hours, it allows them to accommodate you and not take your reactions personally. My husband now understands why I can’t schedule more than one appointment in a day or why I draw boundaries around our shopping escapades. But I think he has grown to appreciate the silly way I pick out the smallest of blooms during our hikes or the ambiance I’ve created in our home -candles, and drapes abound, vases with fresh flowers are the norm, aromatherapy and the burning of sage are frequent rituals, and he has learned to enjoy the crackling of the fireplace in winter as a form of silent meditation. And yes, I still overreact to criticism, and I get overwhelmed by the crowds at Costco, but we can have better conversations about those things now that he knows he’s married to a sensitive bundle. I am also better able to regulate my emotional states because I know myself a bit better, too, as long as I maintain honesty and do not use the HSP “excuse” to avoid personal accountability. It’s a complex dance!

Self-diagnosis is not the answer, and a therapist with knowledge of HSP is the only one who should provide a diagnosis. However, if you suspect that you or a loved one might be a highly sensitive person, there are some free online tests that you could try out as a start to the journey of self-discovery. This resource was produced by Dr. Elaine Aron: https://hsperson.com/test/ highly-sensitive-test/. I also highly recommend listening to Dr. Aron herself: https://www.youtube. com/watch?v=6DezjkilrSY

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/

Dulce

By Polly Wirum

Gifts of Vulnerability Discovering the

Photo by Simon John Mchaffie

“

Living in a constant state of vulnerability is not sustainable, which is why the more you let go of fear, the less vulnerable you become. If nothing else, vulnerability requires courage. It is allowing your life to be shaped by love and the unknown.

Is it easy for you to take a risk to create a life with more love, or do you struggle with being vulnerable? Do you continue the same patterns to avoid being vulnerable? This blog demystifies what vulnerability is and shares some of the benefits of living with an open heart. Most importantly, it was written to remind us of the power of living a life that is based on love, which is exactly where vulnerability leads us.

My Story

Before I tell my story, I want to clarify that I am sharing my own personal opinion and experiences of being vulnerable. Please reach out to a professional mental health provider if you are seeking insight into your vulnerability experiences.

I have chosen a life path that has brought tremendous changes into my world over the past years. Sometimes, it feels like I stepped into a vortex that transformed my life by rapidly removing everything that no longer served me. The changes have been wonderful, fast, exhilarating, and, at times, exhausting

Every time I think nothing else can change, another door opens, offering a new opportu-

nity. With all these experiences, I frequently shift between feeling empowered and experiencing vulnerability.

Several months ago, I began opening my heart to a new person in my life. It was easy to fall in love with him. He has many remarkable attributes; I cherish our adventures together, he inspires me, and most of all, his energy is amazing. The deeper I fall in love, the more vulnerable I become. This is not always comfortable; in fact, I'm fully aware that as I choose love, I am facing fears from my past relationships.

I feel more deeply and am more sensitive than with any partnership I have had; I believe this is because of my willingness to be vulnerable.

Several months ago, I began opening my heart to a new person in my life. It was easy to fall in love with him. He has many remarkable attributes; I cherish our adventures together, he inspires me, and most of all, his energy is amazing. The deeper I fall in love, the more vulnerable I become. This is not always comfortable; in fact, I'm fully aware that as I choose love, I am facing fears from my past relationships.

I feel more deeply and am more sensitive than with any partnership I have had; I believe this is because of my willingness to be vulnerable.

Sometimes, I feel like my life is on a movie screen, and I'm given the opportunity to choose differently. Other times, there is no choice to be made because I already feel grounded and safe in love.

When I think of some of the beautiful and completely open experiences we have shared, one comes to mind. We had been camping for very long days, hiking in the desert. One evening, we returned to camp emotionally drained, tired, and hungry. I was beyond dirty. There was sand and red dirt all over my body, mixed with days of sweat. It's not a pretty picture. I really wanted a shower to get rid of my smell.

As the full moon was coming up, my partner heated up water on the campfire. When it was the perfect temperature, we walked out to an opening on the sandstone, and I stripped off my disgusting clothes. I stood before him as he scooped water over my shoulders and back. It was the non-shower I could have hoped for.

The vulnerability wasn't standing naked in front of him. It was standing before him, dirty, smelly, tired, with no clothes, makeup, or words.  He saw an unedited version of me.

Now, I'm going to share with you a story that has a deeper impact than a memory. For some time, I have known that he would be traveling for a month. This did cause a little stress because my love language with him is touch, good conversation, and quality time together. All of this would be impossible.

As we moved through our days together, his absence would sometimes be on my mind. This was the case

when he offered to help build a bedframe for me. To clarify my skill set, that meant he would build one. Up until this point in my life, I barely knew what a Phillips head screwdriver was.

Together we picked out raw wood at a lumber yard. After he measured and cut the pieces, we got to sand the rough parts off. I loved watching the transformation.

As the full moon was coming up, my partner heated up water on the campfire. When it was the perfect temperature, we walked out to an opening on the sandstone, and I stripped off my disgusting clothes. I stood before him as he scooped water over my shoulders and back. It was the non-shower I could have hoped for.

The vulnerability wasn't standing naked in front of him. It was standing before him, dirty, smelly, tired, with no clothes, makeup, or words.  He saw an unedited version of me.

Now, I'm going to share with you a story that has a deeper impact than a memory. For some time, I have known that he would be traveling for a month. This did cause a little stress because my love language with him is touch, good conversation, and quality time together. All of this would be impossible.

As we moved through our days together, his absence would sometimes be on my mind. This was the case when he offered to help build a bedframe for me. To clarify my skill set, that meant he would build one. Up until this point in my life, I barely knew what a Phillips head screwdriver was.

Together we picked out raw wood at a lumber yard. After he measured and cut the pieces, we got to sand the rough parts off. I loved watching the transformation.

What Is Vulnerability

Vulnerability is choosing to live with an open heart that could bring potential pain emotionally I want to recognize that there are great benefits to being vulnerable. This can occur when you take a risk for something you want in your life. It requires stepping out of old patterns that are often found in the shadows of fear.

When I feel vulnerable, it's like jumping into a deep cavern of dark water. The farther I drop, the less control I have. As I continue to fall, I find myself being supported in new ways. Eventually it becomes easier for me to let go of what I once hid behind. The ripples of fear still occasionally bump up against me and sometimes even stop my fall into the unknown; after all, the fear is from my past and what was once a familiar part of my life.

Living in a constant state of vulnerability is not sustainable, which is why the more you let go of fear, the less vulnerable you become. If nothing else, vulnerability requires courage. It is allowing your life to be shaped by love and the unknown.

The Gifts of Vulnerability

Vulnerability offers many rewards, including healing old wounds and discovering new ways of being. You will discover a deeper connection in all you do, including relationships, even the relationships you have with yourself. Living with an open heart makes it easier to trust and see the bright parts of the world.

Part of being vulnerable is bringing self-awareness to your feelings, actions, and beliefs. There is a clarity that helps you see what triggers emotions and why behavior patterns come into play.

Vulnerability is an important part

of creating a life that you want. You must take a risk, try something new, and discover what has been waiting for you.

I will be the first to tell you that it can be very uncomfortable standing in front of someone or something with your heart unguarded, but this is where our highest expression of self is developed. The caveat to this statement is this, be discerning. Don't set yourself up for heartbreak; assess if this is a similar person or situation to past choices.

Remember, you can always choose again.

To Be Continued

Only time knows how long I will find comfort in my beautiful bed frame.  Maybe one day it will no longer feel loving and emotionally supportive. Possibly I will put the wooden frame somewhere in my garage, as a reminder of a time in my life that offered great transformation through vulnerability.  Of course, I hope that the craftsman and this beautiful piece of work will stay a constant in my life.

How Vulnerable Are You?

We are all vulnerable when big changes occur in life, but we are also offered opportunities to choose vulnerability as a way to experience life and love free of fear. When you are ready for a deeper connection, the risk won't be quite as intimidating. It will be easier to let go of old patterns and allow yourself to find a new way of being. The final outcome will be a story of courage, transformation, and love.

Thank you for reading this blog. Wishing you the perfect balance of courage, love, and vulnerability as you greet the new year.

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. visit Pollywirum.com

CENTRE IS YOU The

Has anyone outside of imagination, discovered where or what this mysterious human centre actually is? It has been often claimed the thinking mind, our human ego, will forever remain, has always determined "I" as the center of this earthly universe. On the other hand, could we actually be this all-seeing, knowledgeable creature that encompasses all things large and small? It's that formidable needle in the haystack that keeps us guessing.

All news outlets express as a constant that the world today is in chaos. Be it overseas, in our cities, or even in our own backyard that is in need of a major overhaul. At the core is us humans: you, me, everyone. It's our human thinking and behaviours that are the cause of all upheavals in the world. We allow this continuation as we go blindly about our business. After all, it's the government’s job and their sub-body's responsibility to correct and remedy all situations. Really! Unfortunately, the real truth is that responsibility belongs to all of us!

The only people who know they are alive in this chaos are those humans who live in crises. Be it a war-torn, complete financial loss, homeless, facing cancer, or some other form of death existing in their presence, every moment. It's not another's fault; you didn't get your correct coffee this morning! We are adults; it's time to stop the blame game!

Photo by Sergey Vinogradov

We humans have unknowingly allowed ourselves to be brainwashed by the power-hungry, money-hungry Pied Pipers of this world. Now, are we capable of deciding for ourselves? We have been led and educated to believe this. Having the ideas of what's right and wrong for us and humanity gives the chaos in play. Remain noble, and your actions will demonstrate you are not a follower of the crowd. Is there any real hope for humanity? Not as long as humanity remains sitting on its arse, waiting for others to do their thinking for them. This is why Human Design is important.

HUMAN DESIGN

The practice of finding one's self in today's chaos has ventured off in multiple directions. Profiling has now become the norm for an individual to discover their strengths and weaknesses in business or personal validation. It has become the uber-way to find one's direction and purpose if we are to make a difference in today's world. Human Design is one of these systems. The never-spoken question out loud is, has this (HD) system been totally misunderstood?

Human Design is a process of transmitting powerful knowledge. All humans, by the age of 7 years, have already dialed into their programming systems all patterned functions of thinking, emotions, and behaviours. Science has stated many times over that it's almost impossible to change once our patterns are set. Your existence has now been preset. If this is the case, why did "RA" create this system, and who is it meant to serve? HD's

primary function was not meant for adults.

Our True Nature is the Change Agent. We love everyone, yet are we able to express it?

The (HD) system was created for adult humans. Yes, to protect, observe, allow, and accept the unfolding of their child’s True Nature during their first 7 years. Please think about this. It allows one to grasp and fully understand their baby's function through this important growth period before they are transformed through copycatting their parents and self-misinformed experiences. Adults were never taught how a child learns to express their True Natural Self. Instead we indoctrinated them in how to survive and function within this existing Status Quo Prison. What an absurd way to suffocate a being into permanent submission. Not a fault, no blame, we never knew any different. Time to wake up one's awareness!

Unfortunately, our children, while they are in their learning stages, are enticed by product color, images, and wording through power marketing. Thus ensuring the continued existence and future survival of the product. "RA," in his wisdom, realised the only way to save humanity and the obvious consequences to this planet was a change of direction through our children. This would require the help of their parents. What a blessing for humanity to investigate. To all parents reading this article, please investigate these previous words. Our future is in your parenting hands.

No organisation or person is capable of altering humanity's preordained future. Humans, across the spectrum, carry a large appendix of beliefs, cures, and hope for change, Which they "THINK" will rid them of their pain and suffering. How many years have we kept this dialogue flowing under the disguise that ideas are some form of action, and to what avail?

Change has been predicted every month since time immemorial. The soothsayers are out in force once again, and 2025 will be no different. The 2024 Dragon, now sleeping, gave us the opportunity to collect all the knowledge necessary to strategise our way through this earthly chaos via the awakening 2025 Snake.

The follow on.

Could this possibly be important? As a repatriated functioning adult, I always refer back to one's past experiences to decide one's future, thanks to our "THINKING MIND." Did we miss seeing our reality experiences as they truly were/are? Science is now eluding to this as a human construct. Therefore, dare we ask, have the unseen consequences been Positive or Negative? Are we living in a constant source of health and wellness or a vacuum of control? That's a mouthful!

Life is about Connections!

Multiple connections through one's past perceived reality are the original source of all human forms of functions today. Were those experiences a Positive or a Negative to humans, mentally and physically? This is our self-created reality, existing now as an internal conflict within the self. Has the balance of our human life been corrupted by our misinformed perceptions? One's past observations of our external and internal environment,

and the misunderstanding of our personal experiences, could now be the source of any stagnate beliefs, sending us into our future. This is accepted repeatedly due to already knowing how to deal with new experiences through our existing fight-or-flight programming. How does life look from the driver’s seat?

Humans live in a constant state of functioning causality. A state is easily seen when observing the lack of acceptance, one's attitude towards their fellow humans, playing out their secret games, and false narratives concerning the condition of this planet. Constantly and repetitively supported by those who make a living off this out-of-balance success. Is balance the redeeming way of living a perfectly healthy life, internally and externally?

IS SUCCESS A HIDDEN NEGATIVE MASQUERADING AS A POSITIVE?

There is not one cycle of life on this planet that is different. They appear to our 5 senses as different, and yet energetically, as a vibration, as a frequency, they are one and the same.

Humanity is not dumb. The whole world sits in bated breath, knowing that only power can alter another power’s direction. If our wellness, and health care have been compromised for the sake of success and profit, will powerful corporations and individuals allow the necessary changes to bring order among the chaos? Have you revaluated how worthy your core values are to you, for your children, and for humanity? Then and only then will you be able to acknowledge truly which side of the fence your foundation lives. This will be a quest for human understanding and expectations. Prepare, as this moment is upon us.

The proposed continued use of drugs as the cure within the wellness area has finally gained more traction as a false narrative within the larger community, especially where cancer is concerned. Slow as we are, due to being irresponsible for the health choices chosen in the past, a new awakening light has begun to inform.

Options do exist.

We function, as do all great energies on this planet, in a harmonious dance of YIN-YANG. Not as a singularity, but more like a change agent, constantly evolving, equal to nature’s natural process of transformation! This is the cycle of life, visible before our eyes when observing how nature lives. Consider again, even after all one's failures, if everything on earth transforms, it's an absolute certainty for any human to create self-transformation. Not as some hopeful imagination possibility. It's our true essence process, sitting within the core of all human creatures. When do we start?

Knowing is never understanding. When you reach the edge of knowledge, it's a long walk across the pla-

teau of comprehension before you ascend to the next level of knowing. Our beliefs and pathways may appear different, and our experiences may never be the same. Upon entering the cycle of transformation, the involved process of compounding energies is the same and available for everyone now!

Are we one being functioning in multiple ways? The Chinese Solar astrological calendar starts on the 4th of February every cycle. Their system appears complicated for this very reason. For example, the year of birth is calculated as an Element, a number, an animal, your partner, your enemy, and then some. Yet, it doesn't express the complete you; there is more, much more. You have multiple talents, mostly hidden due to past misguided experiences.

Where to begin?

There is not one cycle of life on this planet that is different. They appear to our 5 senses as different, and yet energetically, as a vibration, as a frequency, they are one and the same. So, hopefully, you can now see that it's impossible to ever get separated or lost.

It's not that we can't all be kings, queens, or whatever. Some people are just made for the position. The rest of us mortals have a different set of talents, of no lesser or greater degree. The lack of acceptance of oneself after making comparisons destroys one's worthiness to no end. Like every leaf on the planet is not the same, humans are no different. When you decide to be the same as another, you give up all forms of personal freedom without knowing it. All forms of loss come with identity side effects, totally unrecognizable. Life can get in the way of retrieval!

Transcendental

Voyages: Roaming the World and Reimagining the Self

By Jan Wakefield, M.A.

Photo by AdobeStock

TULUM

Where Ancient Whispers Meet Turquoise Horizons

From taxi to takeoff, touchdown to baggage, adventures out to the eventual mountain of laundry back home, the experience of traveling makes my whole heart sing. I have spent many beautiful vacations in Mexico. This time, I visited Tulum after a twenty-year hiatus. Back then, Tulum was a bare-bones stop on the way to scattered ruins placed on the most beautiful stretch of beach in all of Riviera Maya. Tulum has transformed herself into the most vibrant, exciting, and unexpected destination in Mexico. The moment you arrive in Tulum, something magical happens. This isn't just a destination; it's a portal to rich Mexican history wrapped in modern amenities of accommodations, nightlife, restaurants, and mystery.

Perched dramatically on a 39-foot limestone cliff overlooking the azure waters, the Tulum Archaeological Site stands as a testament to the architectural brilliance of the Mayan civilization. Dating back to the 13th century, this walled city was one of the last great cities built and inhabited by the Maya, serving as a crucial maritime and trade hub. As you

walk through the meticulously preserved structures, you'll feel transported. El Castillo, the primary tower, watches over the landscape like a sentinel of history. The Temple of the Frescoes, with its intricate carvings and subtle astronomical alignments, reveals the sophisticated understanding the Maya had of the cosmos. Each stone tells a story of resilience, intelligence, and spiritual depth.

Tulum town itself is a delightful blend of rustic authenticity and bohemian chic. Narrow streets lined with colorful buildings wind past artisan shops, small cafes, and local markets. Here, traditional Mexican culture intertwines with a global, eco-conscious aesthetic.

Boutique stores showcase handmade textiles, intricate jewelry, and locally crafted artwork that tell stories of Indigenous creativity. Local markets burst with vibrant produce, aromatic spices, and handwoven textiles. Street vendors offer fresh-pressed juices and traditional Yucatecan dishes that tantalize the senses. Every corner reveals a new sensory experience, inviting travelers to slow down and immerse themselves in the local rhythm.

The Caribbean waters of Tulum are nothing short of astonishing. Imagine beaches where powdery white sand meets water so clear and turquoise that it seems almost unreal. The coastline is a playground for the adventurous and a sanctuary for those seeking peace. Snorkeling reveals an underwater world of coral reefs teeming with marine life, while kayaking offers a unique perspective of the stunning landscape. The beaches here are more than just scenic; they're full of tranquil peace and activity. Whether you're practicing sunrise yoga on the sand, swimming in a secluded cove, or simply sitting in quiet meditation, the ocean becomes a mirror reflecting your inner landscape.

My stay at the all-inclusive was nothing short of extraordinary. The five-star resort was an oasis of luxury nestled between the jungle and the sea. Each suite felt like a private sanctuary, with floorto-ceiling windows that blur the lines between indoor comfort and natural splendor. My view was of the arching coastline, and my balcony had its own soaking tub. Even for people who don’t normally take baths, this tub made relaxing transcendent.

The resort's holistic approach to hospitality went beyond mere accommodation. Wellness programs, spa treatments inspired by traditional Mayan healing practices, and gourmet restaurants that celebrate local cuisine create a comprehensive experience of rejuvenation. From the moment I arrived, I was not

just a guest, I was on a journey of personal transformation through relaxation.

I left the resort only once to swim in a local cenote. What is unique about Mexico is the raw bits of nature that somehow attract millions of visitors. The cenote was a short taxi ride from the resort. It was nothing much to look at from the road, but after a freezing cold shower in a stall that made me beyond grateful for my flip-flops, I ventured down the short trail to the cenote. It was a little crowded, but not so much that I turned away. I found a clear spot where I could sit and soak my feet. The water was cold but crystal clear. I debated hopping in to bless myself with its waters but opted to dangle my feet, close my eyes, and daydream a bit. It was then I felt an odd tickling on my feet. My eyes lazily opened, and there they were. A hundred tiny fish were eating the dead skin off my feet. I hadn’t planned for it, but I quickly learned that the cenote admission price came with a cleansing treatment. It was delightful.

What makes Tulum truly special is its ability to heal and inspire. The region carries an almost palpable spiritual energy that is a combination of natural beauty, historical depth, and a sense of timelessness that invites introspection and personal growth. Whether you're exploring ancient ruins, diving in cenotes, practicing yoga on the beach, or simply sitting in quiet contemplation, Tulum offers a profound opportunity for connection with history, with nature, and, most importantly, with yourself.

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

Photo by Sebastian Gómez

Photo by Marco Murakami

The Way I See It

By Joey Santos

The Enemy

Remember a time when our enemies were invisible?

Unrecognizable, hidden, and disguised even.

“What we don’t know can’t hurt us.” Remember that line?

No wonder we are a bunch of sheep. No. Correct that. We are sitting ducks. Our enemies are closer than ever, and what is scarier is that we know everything about them, yet we invite them in. Into our schools, places of worship, businesses, neighborhoods, homes, families, hearts, and minds. Yes, our minds. Sometimes, convincing us that right is wrong and wrong is right. Doubting ourselves to a degree that we abandon our hearts for the sake of our souls. And for what? Money? Fame? Beauty?

Or so what we think is beautiful. We’ve all seen some of those results: exaggerated features, misshaped body parts, unnatural hair colors, and extensions. Our own identities have been robbed by these enemies who want us to hate ourselves so much that we abandon our reflection, so we have to trust them for help or believe in their adoration.

We ask ourselves, how? When did we lose sight of ourselves? Did we not have or believe our parents or loved ones? Teachers, clergy, friends?

There was a time when our government protected us and guided us. It reminded

us of right from wrong and put laws into place so we knew what to expect from our world or at least hope for. Leaders to look up to who were smart, intelligent, resilient, forthright, and honest enough to keep us safe at all costs. It reminded us of what being united stood for. We need to find compassion, generosity, and kindness in our hearts and share them. No matter what we look like, what we wear, how much money we make, or who we love. Remember to aspire as we strive to be the best in everything, and that competition is healthy and makes us strong. And what makes us even stronger is competing with and for each other as a reminder to cheer us all on and pick each other up. Hold each other tight and love each other and (ourselves) with all our might because that’s what we need to learn and be reminded of.

Surrounding ourselves with the best of all these things is only the beginning of our healing. Learning what to look for and where to find it is another. Sharing the prize comes later. Part of that prize is the journey towards it. Together. Whether Black, White, Gay, Straight, Male, Female, Non-Binary, Trans, etc.

True love is seeing ourselves in everyone and everything and finding delight in that. What love truly is can’t be seen. Only felt.

The enemy is in all of us. It’s time to admit it and change it before it changes us forever.

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

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.

How to Choose an Astrologer

by Vish Chatterji

Vish Chatterji is a celebrated Vedic astrologer, yogi, and business coach. He makes the ancient wisdom of India accessible and actionable for modern seekers, helping them find balance and success through true self-understanding. He is the author of The Business Casual Yogi: Take Charge of Your Body, Mind & Career, and Astrology

Decoded: The Secret Science of India’s Sages www.vishchatterji.com.

Vedic astrologers are the ultimate karmic counselors; however, they, too, have their own karma (and their own charts), and it’s important that you find the right astrologer for you because you are opening your Pandora’s box of karma to them. Some astrologers are highly computational, calculating all sorts of data and giving you an overload of information that may not be relevant. Other astrologers might have better bedside manners and really try to understand your human experience before relating that to what they see in the chart. Some astrologers may be focused on impressing you with their predictive ability, while others might focus on developing your personal self-awareness. They may also have a more spiritual view versus a more material, mundane worldview. It depends on the consciousness and spiritual outlook of the astrologer and the efficacy of their own spiritual practices.

With any astrologer, it’s important that you assess whether they are sincerely in service to help and support you, out to make quick money, or just casual entertainment at a party or event. Do they have any other skills or training to add context to their astrological outlook? Their own personal experience might bias their interpretation of your chart. For instance, an astrologer who has never married or had children might have quite a different perspective on

relationships and family than one who has. You will find that some astrologers specialize in family issues, health issues, leadership challenges, finances, or relationships and have professional backgrounds ranging from medicine to psychology to business to investing. Cultural context can also be very important. A brilliant astrologer in India might not fully grasp the Western living experience. Conversely, a Western-born astrologer might not be as intimate with the ritual, mantra, mythology, and deity systems of Jyotish.

It is also important to note your chemistry with the astrologer. Do their affectand mannerisms resonate with you intuitively, or is there some karmic challenge between you and that astrologer that should be avoided? Their personality can be reflected through the planets. Do you want a more forceful, insistent Mars type, a diplomatic Venus type, or perhaps a more nurturing Moon type? You might also find strong-willed Sun types, heady Mercury types, doomand-gloom Saturn types, advisory Jupiter types, confusing Rahu types, and renunciate, reclusive Ketu types. If you decide to work with an astrologer, really tune in to your intuition and assess whether that person would be a healthy fit for you. Even during a reading, gravitate toward interpretations that make intuitive sense to you, and learn to let go of advice that just does not feel right.